Looking for advice about keginator

Associate
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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).

mj_3tap_kegerator_open_lores.jpg
 
Associate
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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
 
Man of Honour
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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.
 

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Soldato
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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...
 
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OP
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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.
 
Don
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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
 
Don
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Notts
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
 
Associate
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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
 
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