Hey how's it going everyone. New to this page and a novice beer enthusiast so go easy. I recently decided I want to purchase a kegerator for my house. It will be free standing in either my kitchen or my office. I am leaning towards a 2 tap system. Just want to be able to fit (2) 1/6 kegs or a half keg if I decide to only hook up one tap. I've been doing a lot of research especially on here as to what brand of kegerator I should get. I'm one of those guys that likes to go high end if it's justifiable. I don't like dirt cheap shit period. I've been hearing alot of reviews lean towards bev air and seems to be the best for quality and reliability there is to offer. It also seems like overkill to me though because it's only for home use and will not be getting beat around. Can I get by with a kegco or a summit that's around 800-1000 for what I'd use it for? I don't want to have to repair the damn thing every couple years or upgrade parts neither. Is it worth spending the extra grand for a bev air or will I be over spending when a mid line brand will accommodate me just fine? Just shoot me brands and ideas. Feel free to also shoot out a set up as well (tanks, taps, regulators, etc.)
I will give you my 2 cents...You sound a lot like myself, you want to save yourself a headache down the line, and have hassle free beer on tap. You are on the right track. I was searching for quite some time for that perfect, 1 time list that included everything to get going (for a non-home brewer). Well, a lady buying a Kegerator for her husband ended up being a little miracle for me because many folks spelled it out very simply (for us noobz), and I ended up purchasing everything listed out in the "Help! Trying to Buy a Kegerator for My Husband thread". Literally part for part. I got a great deal on a BM23 with no tower from Webstaurant, and everything else from Beverage Depot (coupons do stack too!) Long story short, I went from never even tapping a keg to getting the BM23 (and the other things listed out by IceAce) and having an absolutely beautiful set up. My only current "issues": -Still trying to figure out the 'art' of cleaning the beer lines. -Beer lines inside are a complete mess, and drive my Type-A a bit crazy -Still cannot figure out how to run an exterior gas line for Nitro (the wife is dying for a Nitro Stout) Aside from those SUPER minor issues, I really could not recommend a single thing differently. Also, there is absolutely nothing like the experience of pouring beer for you and your friends on a draft at the house. Once again, major shoutout to IceAce, BillandSuz, DougC123, and everyone else on the forum. I owe you guys some WI beers...no joke.
Thanks man I appreciate it. Still going to hold out for a couple weeks, but I'm almost certain I'll end up pulling the trigger on a bev air.
WOAH! ...I work like 5 minutes from Libertyville, IL. I hope you are at Mickey Finn's or Timmy O'Tooles! Cheers!
Do you have an external CO2 line? You could just put that regulator on the nitro tank (with the adapter) and run a nitro beer in place of the CO2 beer. Or is your CO2 Tank internal? If so, why not just get a smaller Nitro tank in it's place?
Currently, I have two 1/6 barrels on tap. Both running through a 5lb CO2 tank. All run internally. The dream is to be able to run a single 1/6 (or slim 1/4) of CO2 beer, AND a single 1/6 (or slim 1/4) of nitro at the same time - with my dual faucet set up. Do you think I'd have room to run that all internally? I don't see any existing spot to run any kind of gas line externally. The guy at my local beer store is SUPER against running any beer on Nitro. He claims the tanks are super big, and you go through gas so much faster, and goes on and on about how terrible it is...lol! Needless to say, I really want to have both, and having both at the same time would be epic for my wife and I. Any thoughts or suggestions are always appreciated!
I agree with your beer store. A tank of mix gas (it's a mixture of CO2 and N. If you just use straight N it wont work) does not have any liquid CO2. It is just gas. The N can be compressed to something like 4000 psi and still be gas, but CO2 becomes liquid under pressure. That means your typical CO2 tank has a lot of gas in liquid state. The gas in the headspace is what you use. But with the mix tank, it's just all CO2 gas and N gas, and it goes empty quickly. There is no liquid reserve to draw on. Plus if you want a blend of 75/25 for example, it must be all gas or the blend will change. You can try to push keg beer on a direct draw system (kegerators) with mix gas but it is wasteful and not something you want to try. The balance is near impossible because of the pressure needed to get the CO2 vols correct. The improper use of mix gas (G Gas, Guinness Gas, Blend Gas, 75/25) is probably the most common errors seen in commercial draft systems. That and temperature. You will need two tanks. Your Mix gas tank will need an N regulator and your CO2 tank will use the standard regulator. This is two separate systems. It can be done. If it all fits depends on the size of your rig of course. Cheers.
Thanks for the explanation billandsuz...however, this is the subject that starts to get me a bit confused. What you say in great detail makes perfect sense, however, I am still unsure if I should try running a nitro stout on tap at the same time as a standard CO2. Long story short, my wife (and I) loves beer like Boddingtons, Guiness, and Lefthand Nitro Milkstout, etc. She wants to invest in the equipment needed (nitro faucet, tank, regulator, etc) soon to set that up, however, if it's going to take a miracle to make it work...we'd rather count our losses, not invest in all of that equipment and just stick with strictly CO2 on tap. (The local brewery store guy was basically just saying that only beer snobs want beer gas, the beer that uses it tastes terrible, and the tank is bigger than the fridge, etc... It was strange). Even if this is doable...I still don't see how I can run an external gas line to a tank. Any honest thoughts/suggestions/feedback? I have a BM23 that I just purchased (new) - with a dual faucet tower, so its not necessarily the largest storage...but it could definitely be a LOT worse.
There are also plenty of stouts that will work fine on CO2. You won't get the creamy mouthfeel, but otherwise it will be fine. You could also give it a try with a stout faucet to aerate and froth it a bit. You might want to try a barrel like that before you head down the expensive path. Whether you should do a proper set up or not is up to you. Is it doable? Yes. Expensive? Yes. I looked at it once and decided my nitro needs were not as strong as my need to keep things simple and cheap. I answer the nitro call when I go out.
If you want nitro beer then why not? Your beer store is not drinking your beer. They are being snobby and also people really like Guinness. A lot. There is no need to defend your taste. A BM23 has a small knock out in the back that will allow you to install an outboard tank of gas. You run the gas line through the hole. Voila. Simple. You must use beer gas for nitro dispense. You must use CO2 for everything else. So you need both tanks. Beer gas is really not sold by weight though some vendors will tell you it's a 5 pound tank etc. It's not. It might hold 5 pounds of CO2, it might be the same dimensions but it isn't 5 pounds of beer gas. It should be properly sold by volume, and around here that is liters. Why pounds for CO2 and liters for beer gas I do not know. Who is to blame? You must determine just how much you like nitro dispense beer. A sixtel isn't too big. But a keg is a lot of beer, and people do get tired of the nitro. Cheers.
