My wife (a Saint) gave me the green light to build a keezer. She even told me to buy a new freezer, instead getting a used one - what a woman. Living on an island, the used selection is very limited. The same with home brew supplies - none. Everything has to be shipped in - I'm a long term member of Amazon Prime, everything have to be flown in (no ground shipping). I have been reading the posts and searching the web and have decides to put together my system rather than buy a "start-up". I would appreciate recommendations on equipment. I would rather buy quality the first time around, than buy cheap and have regrets. I'm getting a 7.35 cu. ft Frigidaire chest freezer. I don't home brew, but drink about 20-30 beers a week (currently drinking Kona Brewing Company brews). My goal is to buy 1/2 keg and go through it in 6 to 7 weeks. I have decided to build a collar and use a hunter's hoist to lift the keg up. The keezer will be on wheels, so I'll just roll it under and lower the keg down. I'm planning on a single tap to start, but can always add more and switch to corny kegs if need be. I will use the Johnson A419 to regulate temperature. I'm planning a 10 feet of 3/16 beer line. Faucets - I am looking at a Perlick 630 SS. Is this ok, over kill, ...? Shanks - are shanks just shanks? Just need the correct length and I'm good.. right? Keg Coupler/Tap - any suggestions on make and model? I know it should be a D Style... but that's it Gas Regulator - looking at the Taprite double gauge with a shut off. This brand ok, suggestions? Gas Lines - do I need a different diameter than the beer line? From what I've read the length doesn't matter in a keezer. I see some post with different color lines etc... suggestions on size and type would be helpful. CO2 Tank - I am going to price out the exchange cost vs buying a tank and getting refills (suggested on a thread here) Cleaning Kit - any suggestions on make & model? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Ah opinions... I have many... Perlick forward seal faucets. None better. None more expensive either. But you can economize with chrome over s/s if needed. The cost savings is significant. The bottom line is that you should buy a good faucet. A cheap faucet will only remind you of the crummy $20 you saved every time you pour a cold one. a Coupler can certainly be chrome. Chrome with a s/s probe is a step up, and all s/s is top of the line. But since only the probe comes in contact with the beer, it is not really needed. Brand name couplers are what you want. Abeco, NADs, Perlick, Micromatic. Krome is made in India, a lot less expensive and probably your best bet. Couplers don't really fail very often, and a good brand name will last nearly forever. Taprite. Nailed it. Get a Taprite. You can spend more. You can spend less on a no name and it will fail almost guaranteed. Cheap regulators are as bad as cheap faucets. Taprite is my choice. Solid, good price. We have a lot of them in the filed. Shanks. There is s/s and chrome. S/S is always better. You need enough length to penetrate the collar. A shank that is too long will be a problem when you attempt to lower in your kegs. The shank can get in the way. You can also get a welded barb or a threaded barb. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but for your set up with all commercial beer, welded (integral barb) is one less thing to deal with. Consider getting shiny chrome or s/s escutcheons instead of the black plastic that is standard. Tank. Yes, compare price. Remember that the cost of CO2 from the 5 to the 10 to the 20 pound is negligible. So once you have the tank, the gas is not much more expensive to trade in/refill. A 20# tank is therefore a good investment. More convenient too. Cleaning kit. A DIY pump is good. I just junk the old lines every now and again and replace with brand new. Soak the faucets in cleaner. Good to go. Good luck, let us know how it goes. Cheers.
Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions. I'm a big fan of buying it right the first time. I live by the saying "Penny wise, dollar foolish." And really, what are we talking about, $30, $50, $100 over the lifetime of the keezer? If I'm that worried about money, I should be drinking the generic beer from Costco
BTW, what are your thoughts on CO2 tank being inside vs outside the cold area? Does cold CO2 make any difference?
Perlicks are good and a no brainer if just buying one faucet. Shanks can be 3/16 or 1/4", I went with 1/4 but not sure that makes a difference. I would pay another two bucks and get a ss tail piece. I use a Taprite reg and it has been good. But, it's possible to find used tanks w/regs if you shop flea markets/garage sales (you have garages in Hawaii?). For cleaning search this forum for "cleaning draft lines", this thread is for cornies but could probably be adapted to commercial coupler. The CO2 doesn't care if it's cold or warm, it will pressurize your beer with no complaints. But you lose space by keeping it in the freezer. Snaking a gas line through a collar is easy . . . I used red lines to impress my friends. My fetish is to plumb in "wyes" wherever there is a gas outlet: This doubles your gas output for another keg or if homebrewing use the extra line for beer gun, purging kegs . . . lots of uses. Cost is ten bucks for the wye and about the same for the second shutoff valve. If buying new some suppliers will set this up for you. A bigger concern is you are going commercial with the idea of changing to cornies. I would do some careful measuring . . . you don't want to end up with floor space for 1.9 cornies when another model would take an even 2. There is an epic thread on HBT that discusses keezer size and corny placement in great depth. With a collar it's possible to use the hump for a corny, but again this requires some prior planning. Search Google for "corny dimensions" and you'll get the picture. How much does a Belgian keg cost in the middle of the Pacific? EDIT: I have joined the STC-1000 camp for the best temp controller . . . kept my membership in the Ranco club but see this fading away . . .
I'll check on the price for a 1/2 keg of Belgian. Is this the name of the brand - sorry not very beer savvy? I will probably not go to Cornies, it's a matter of price per volume. I'm moving to a keezer for economic reasons, not for quality of beer involved but the quantity. I'll save 20 cents a beer - and I'm bound and determined to make up the $600 investment in this system as soon as possible. ... or die trying. Cornies would actually cost more than bottle beer to drink... I'm not that guy. 1/2 kegs are the cheapest way to drink. I've just ordered a Perlick coupler and faucet, along with the Taprite double gauge regulator. I had to ship the coupler to my brother in CT and get him to ship it to me in Hawaii. The company would not ship to Hawaii... funny. I've seen companies do this for chemicals and the such, but never for a piece of metal... oh, the cost of living in the island. I've seen the post on wiring in the STC-1000 ... I'm just not sure I want to save $40 to break the warranty on my freezer. Seems like it does the same as the Johnson A419... I really can't see why I would want to go through all the trouble of wiring it in. Why are you leaning toward using it?
The STC is less than 20 bucks, find an old extension cord and you're in business. A wired 419 is around $80. Using your math (20ยข/beer) you will have to drink 300 beers to break even. No warranty to break with either controller . . . just a different receptacle for the freezer to plug-in. See both in action on youtube/google-images.
