my cousin gave me his nostalgia kegerator because he is moving it is a basic no frills unit. It took forever to get the temp down I’ve done a lot of research since getting it,first upgrade was a tower cooler and a circulation fan and I’ve been noticing huge air temp swings as hi as 52 degrees and as low as 28 degrees so that’s like 24 degree swing with out opening the door in the last 24 hours should I be worried Yesterday I got a probe thermometer and put it in a bottle of water and put it next to my keg it’s staying consistent at 35 degrees So basically I’m asking is a 24 degree swing normal and should I ditch the air thermometer and just look at liquid temp
Fast forward 5 hours water bottle temp is 32 beer in glass temp is 39-40 after pouring 3 Should I wait or mess with the thermostat a little more Water bottle was put in yesterday at 42 degrees, it went down faster than the keg which is a 1/2 barrel of bud lite Will the beer eventually match the water bottle
I’d turn up the thermostat one tick warmer and walk away for 24 hours, allowing the system to stabilize.
Chilling a keg down to 38 can take a day or so. You might see wide air temp swings but the liquid temp is really all that matters. Getting 15.5 gallons to stabilize requires a massive amount of energy, and it is not linear. In other words you can get from 50 to 45 in a certain measure, but the next 5 degrees might take twice as long, and the final few degrees can take another few hours. So be patient. Also, and this is critical, you must keep your keg beer cold. It is not pasteurized and should not ever be stored warm. Much above 45 and the beer begins to spoil. Much above 55 and it spoils quicker. 75? Forget it. Cheers Edit - Bud Light is a bitch to balance. Heads up. 15 psi at 38 I think. @IceAce will surely have better info.
Thanks Bill. Funny thing, I’ve always had a harder time balancing Coors Light. Bud Light kegs are racked and filled at 2.5 volumes of CO2 at 36*F. So typically, 12psi should do the trick from 36-38*.
Fast forward 24 hours water bottle reads 22-23 degrees beer temp 34 I can get a decent pour so I’m not going to touch a thing I’ll wait another 24 and see
While I’ve never heard of a Nastalga getting this cold, we are always learning. Isn’t the water bottle frozen solid at 23*F?
Your thermostat is a liar. 34 is really quite cold for beer but you can tame your pour at that temp. More importantly it works which is not something that happens too often with a Nostalgia. btw. Nostalgic for what? Cheers.
Water bottle has a brand new wired probe thermometer and I’m checking the beer temp with a brand new Weber thermometer But I guess each could be off And as far as the kegerator I’ve been tweeting the thermostat for over a week
A man with one calibrated thermometer knows the temperature. A man with two thermometers is never sure (with apologies to Confucius)
You guess it could be off? If it isn't off you and the Nostalgia just altered the laws of physics and might be in line for a Nobel Prize.
Couple more days in my pours are alright but beer temp is 33-34 degrees so I’m not going to touch anything Once this keg burps I’m going to lengthen my beef line but that’s it My goal is to put some good IPAs on but I’m going to wait
