Looking for advice about keginator

[silk186]

I recently had a big party and was thinking that it could be improved by a keg of cold beer. A friend had a mini keg at their party and is was OK but not the same as a pub. I looked into it a bit and the mini keg dispensers use 2L kegs and don't require CO2. I read that the CO2 free feature affects the taste the beer by adding air. This sounds worse than drinking from cans. Also, the price per pint is not good.

I tried to look into keg systems but it doesn't seem that keg parties are as popular as they are in the US. I figure I need a keg, hose, regulator, tap and CO2. In order to avoid a coolant modual, I can put the setup in a mini-fridge.

This is when I came across the Keginator. This model is £580 and seems to work with Cornelius Style Kegs. This seems ideal for homebrew.

Has anyone build a keg setup at home. Is it worth going DIY or is a prebuilt system the way to go? What do I need to look out for? I would be happy with a 1-2 key setup as I don't really need to have 3 beers on the go (I don't have that many friends, though a key might help).

 

[NoobCannon]

Why dont you and dave just go down the pub

 

[tom_nieto]

If you drink proper beer you can just pour it straight from the keg.

 

[Kearney_1988]

Depends how cheap you want to go and where you are planning to keep it.

I built one out of a chest freezer I picked up on eBay.

Ended up costing me about £50 in the end for the freezer and some timber to lift the height of the lid.

Obviously this isn't as pretty on the eye but mine isnt in the house so looks are not really a priority.

A single keg setup with taps and regulators will cost you about £150 and a double kit would be around £200

A co2 tank is around £50 for the bottle deposit and £10 for a 10kg gas refill

Obviously way cheaper to DIY. Just need to know what your doing but it's not that hard

 

[Greebo]

Just hire one from your local pub. Thats all we have done in the past when we have had parties and wanted kegs as well.

 

[Rroff]

I know nothing about it but the house I just moved into had a mini bar and something like that - they'd removed it all before moving out though. Not seen that much in the UK though it is a little less uncommon in the US.

 

[FTM]

we are lucky enough to have quite a few craft breweries close by and they are more than happy to supply a cask/keg and hand pump for a suitable fee

went to a great wedding that Almasty brewery supplied the beer for...

 

[Hades]

Came into thread expecting to see something about a 'medical' device to help people do kegels.

Left disappointed

 

[silk186]

Why dont you and dave just go down the pub

It's hard to find a table for 20+ people and they won't let us drink until 3am.

 

[silk186]

Depends how cheap you want to go and where you are planning to keep it.

I built one out of a chest freezer I picked up on eBay.

Ended up costing me about £50 in the end for the freezer and some timber to lift the height of the lid.

Obviously this isn't as pretty on the eye but mine isnt in the house so looks are not really a priority.

A single keg setup with taps and regulators will cost you about £150 and a double kit would be around £200

A co2 tank is around £50 for the bottle deposit and £10 for a 10kg gas refill

Obviously way cheaper to DIY. Just need to know what your doing but it's not that hard

Thanks for the information. Where did you go to figure out how to put it all together and what parts are compatible?

Just hire one from your local pub. Thats all we have done in the past when we have had parties and wanted kegs as well.

I didn't know that was an option. That would be the more responsible option for a party.

 

[Chris Wilson]

It's hard to find a table for 20+ people and they won't let us drink until 3am.

Whitchurch, for all its issues that I regularly bemoan, does at least not pose such problems, as my liver will no doubt testify!

 

[ci_newman]

we are lucky enough to have quite a few craft breweries close by and they are more than happy to supply a cask/keg and hand pump for a suitable fee

went to a great wedding that Almasty brewery supplied the beer for...

I'd recommend this too. Our local breweries offer this too

 

[FTM]

I'd recommend this too. Our local breweries offer this too

best way to do it, support a local company, rather than inbev or interbrew or some other foul beverages

 

[ci_newman]

best way to do it, support a local company, rather than inbev or interbrew or some other foul beverages

One of our local breweries even offers lager and a proper pump for it, if you like drinking pond water anyway

 

[Chris Wilson]

Anyone else old enough to remember the "Beer at home means Davenports" adverts on the TV?

 

[Rotty]

I have a Maxi 310 2 line chiller but for a party on bank hol weekend and borrowing one of those types of things from local craft beer pub

 

[Kearney_1988]

Thanks for the information. Where did you go to figure out how to put it all together and what parts are compatible?

I done a fair bit of research around homebrew forums and Reddit first

The kegs you can buy as full kits and just add your own co2

I'm a pretty hands on DIY kind of guy and come from a design/engineering background so building the kegerator was pretty easy. But it's not generally difficult anyways

 

[AHarvey]

Whitchurch, for all its issues that I regularly bemoan, does at least not pose such problems, as my liver will no doubt testify!

yeah but it's a **** hole it's nice to pop over from Drayton now and again for the McDonalds but that's it, oh, and the fireworks each year

 

[TrannyBill]

If you want ale you can just get a keg and tap it

 

[silk186]

If you want ale you can just get a keg and tap it

I not a fan of warm ale in the Summer.