Advice on kegerators

[Lawrence R]

I have the opportunity to put a kegerator in my kitchen utility room. Our tumble dryer has died, we feel that for the sake of the planet and the electricity bill we will remove it. Which leaves a space under a worktop. I could fit a kegerator in the gap and bring lines up through the kitchen worktop at some point to some taps. They taps don’t have to be right above the kegerator. I’ve looked at kegerators online and they seem to come with fixed taps actually fixed to the cooler. I’ve managed to get this past SWMBO by suggesting that we could have home made sparkling water on tap. Which also might be good for the planet - fewer plastic bottles. The space is 875 mm high, 615 wide and 615 deep (mm).
So I’m looking for something that fits, I’ve got to get the CO2 in that space and I use 23 L cornys. I suspect that the best I could hope for is a corny of water, one of beer and a CO2 cylinder. At an absolute push, as the gap contained a tumble dryer, there is a low level 100mm diameter hot air outlet to the outside world at that point, I could feed the CO2 in through that given more room for another corny although suspect the presence of a cylinder in the courtyard might need a little more negotiation.
Any suggestions or could anyone point me at a retailer who could get inventive?

 

[Leon103]

I would just buy a undercounter fridge and put a piece of worktop on top with some taps. Thr problem you will have is the space inside to incorporate the kegs and gas.

 

[Clint]

Where did you get 23l corny?

 

[Leon103]

I have partially filled the kids pool and emptied the toilet. Enjoying my next beer now.

Pressure Drop - am I being basic? 6.8% neipa.

Lovely, soft and fruity. Certainly not basic with imago 7, mosaic and simcoe listed as the hops. Can't beat a hazy from PD.

 

[Leon103]

I have partially filled the kids pool and emptied the toilet. Enjoying my next beer now.

Pressure Drop - am I being basic? 6.8% neipa.

Lovely, soft and fruity. Certainly not basic with imago 7, mosaic and simcoe listed as the hops. Can't beat a hazy from PD.

Wrong thread.

 

[dcbrookes]

You should avoid beer line in the open between your kegerator and taps, as this is a cause of excessive foaming. If the taps are on the kegerator body they are more likely to be cooled efficiently. The Kegland kegerator which I have has a small fan which blows cold air up into the font to help keep the taps cool.

 

[Lawrence R]

Where did you get 23l corny?

Many Apols, they are, of course, 19L. Think I was having a senior moment.

 

[Lawrence R]

You should avoid beer line in the open between your kegerator and taps, as this is a cause of excessive foaming. If the taps are on the kegerator body they are more likely to be cooled efficiently. The Kegland kegerator which I have has a small fan which blows cold air up into the font to help keep the taps cool.

That is extremely helpful. Thank you. I was aware of the need not to shorten the lines too much but not about the need to keep them cool. Might need a rethink here.

 

[Lawrence R]

I would just buy a undercounter fridge and put a piece of worktop on top with some taps. Thr problem you will have is the space inside to incorporate the kegs and gas.

Thanks. I am looking at this as an alternative but as you say space is an issue. Also there is dcbrookes’ point about lines getting warm. I do have a converted fridge in my brew area but it’s far too tall and the lines and taps are inside it - so that works v well but it’s it not close to the house. I’ll keep working on it.

 

[tigertim]

Where did you get 23l corny?

AEB manufacture 23l cornies. I've been contemplating one for a while now.

MM sell them ;
https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/aeb-23-litre-keg/

 

[Leon103]

Thanks. I am looking at this as an alternative but as you say space is an issue. Also there is dcbrookes’ point about lines getting warm. I do have a converted fridge in my brew area but it’s far too tall and the lines and taps are inside it - so that works v well but it’s it not close to the house. I’ll keep working on it.

Surely thr length of line that is out of the will be minimum. Just discard the first bit of beer.

 

[gyurmaember]

You can get an off the shelf kegerator, and route the lines to the kitchen, but as above you need to make sure the lines are insulated and chilled, what's fiddly, but not impossible.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

AEB manufacture 23l cornies. I've been contemplating one for a while now.

MM sell them ;
https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/aeb-23-litre-keg/

I bought one when they were a bit cheaper. They're great for kegging an entire batch but do take up an annoying amount of space, in that I can get 5 19L kegs in my keezer, and 4 in my kegerator, but if using the 23L keg in addition to 19L, I can only fit 4 and 2 respectively.

 

[Lawrence R]

The plot thickens. After much deliberation I bit the bullet and bought a Mangrove Jacks 3 tap kegerator. It’s basically the same as a kegland one with a logo on the front and was surprisingly cheaper. Part of the deal is still that it provides sparkling water on tap as well as beer. So our local water is quite mineralised (chalk aquifers) and carbonating it at around 30psi gives a v acceptable sparkling water. But - that’s too high a carbonation pressure for beer. I think what I need is two in line regulators for the other two gas lines set at a lower pressure (usually about 12 psi). These are available on the malt miller site. Another option might be a regulator manifold but they look quite big.
I’m not missing a simpler solution am I?

 

[gyurmaember]

The plot thickens. After much deliberation I bit the bullet and bought a Mangrove Jacks 3 tap kegerator. It’s basically the same as a kegland one with a logo on the front and was surprisingly cheaper. Part of the deal is still that it provides sparkling water on tap as well as beer. So our local water is quite mineralised (chalk aquifers) and carbonating it at around 30psi gives a v acceptable sparkling water. But - that’s too high a carbonation pressure for beer. I think what I need is two in line regulators for the other two gas lines set at a lower pressure (usually about 12 psi). These are available on the malt miller site. Another option might be a regulator manifold but they look quite big.
I’m not missing a simpler solution am I?

It's not the same as the kegland, the kegland can hold 4 kegs.

I'd go for the odl secondary regulator, you set your reglator 30psi, connect the pass through port to your water keg, and tee off your other port to your 12 psi kegs.
In my experience water and soft drinks don't have to be on constant 30psi, only until they're reach the desired carbonation level.