Hello all, I've got some craft beer experience under my belt but am entirely new to owning a kegerator. I decided I'd like to have my favorite ales on draught 24/7 at home so I made an impulsive (but good?) buy and picked up a used Haier kegerator off Craigslist for $100 everything included. Now, my question: Though very clean and in immaculate shape I'd say it's an older kegerator. The previous owner said he only ran one keg through it a couple years ago but its been sitting off since It's been plugged in for about 18 hours now and sounds like it's working but doesn't feel very cold when hovering my hand inside. That being said, the bottom is sheeted with a metal plate and the back wall (interior) also has a metal sheet. Both of these pieces are very cold so my question is, does the keg have to be placed on/against these surfaces to get nice and cool? Is this a retro cold plate type system? Please enlighten me. I'd rather not go rent a keg just to not be able to get it to the right temps.
The plate on the bottom is a skid plate to protect the floor of the unit, the plate at the back is called a cold plate and is the way the unit cools. This is not an antiquated system, it is the way lower end units are built today. Maybe a thermometer would be a good way to check how cold it actually is? The best way to know definitively is to put a 5 gallon bucket of water in it and see how cold it gets, you want to be around 38. Also check the dial on the back and see where it is set.
@DougC123 nailed it. You may as well set the dial to the coldest temperature and hope you can maintain 38 or below. Otherwise you have a $100 brick. Measure liquid temp, not air temp. If all goes well you will be buying a tower cooler and depending on circumstances a few other parts as well. Cheers.
I dialed it to "coolest" two days ago. Stuck a fresh keg of Two Roads Road to Ruin in yesterday and just let it all sit for 24 hours. Just made first pour, it tastes plenty cold. Just gotta play with the PSI. The brewery recommended 21 psi but I think that's way too high. Sticking with a standard 12 at the moment. Thanks for your input yall. Cheers
Two Roads kegs at 2.55 volumes, you'll need to understand why that's important. Hint - it's going to involve the thermometer I suggested earlier.
