Select the draft or homebrew kegerator kit you are interested in
Draft Kegerator Kits are designed to tap commercial kegs such as Bud, Miller, Coors, etc.
Homebrew Kegerator Kits are designed to tap Cornelius type soda kegs that are used by homebrewers to keg their own beer.
We also design custom and combo (mixed draft & homebrew) kits. Please send any custom requests and requests for quote to
thargrav@hiwaay.net.
Building a homebrew or draft kegerator
Setting up a homebrew kegerator can be a rewarding Saturday afternoon project. And the real benefit of a homebrew kegerator is �no more bottling�, or at least you only need to bottle your beer for competitions and friends. Also, there is also a certain amount of satisfaction to drawing a glass if your own beer from your kegerator. Setting up a draft kegerator is just as easy and you have the satisfaction of dispensing from your own fresh keg of draft beer at home. Regardless of the type of kegerator you are looking at converting, the kegerator elements are the same.
The most important part of your kegerator is the refrigerator itself. Used refrigerators are an excellent deal but it�s wise to do some basic checking before hauling your $45.00 find home. Bring along a thermometer to measure the inside temperature of the refrigerator. And if it�s not running then have the seller plug it in & come back an hour later. If the inside temperature does not cool to at least 45 F then walk away. Also, look at the seal around the door. If you see signs of rust then the door gasket is probably leaking and you want to walk away. Also, check the door gasket by closing the door on a dollar bill and then try to pull it out in several places. The dollar bill should not pull out easily.
All kegerator conversions contain the same basic elements:
CO2 Tank � Most often a 5# tank, but sometimes a 20# tank. A 20# CO2 tank will be the most economical to fill or exchange but a 5# CO2 tank will be much easier to handle and can often be placed inside the kegerator with the kegs.
CO2 Regulator � The lowest cost regulators will only have a single gauge that will display only your regulator setting. Even though a 2 gauge regulator will cost a little more, a 2 gauge regulator is worth the extra cost because the second gauge (the tank gauge) will tell you when your CO2 tank is close to empty.
CO2 lines � Most often a single line or a line with a tee for multiple kegs. Most of the time the line is �� ID. Some more extravagant multi-keg conversions run their CO2 through a manifold with an individual shutoff and check valve for each keg.
CO2 disconnects / keg couplers � Disconnects attach the CO2 lines to the Cornelius tanks (kegs) while the CO2 line is attached to the side of a draft keg coupler. CO2 disconnects and keg couplers incorporate their own internal shutoff valves that turn off the CO2 when disconnected from a keg.
Homebrew - Cornelius (or Corny) keg � There are 2 choices here, pin lock (Coke) or ball lock (General Beverage or Pepsi). The difference between the two systems are how the disconnects attach to the keg. With pin lock, a collar is twisted to lock the disconnects onto the keg. With ball lock, a collar is lifted and then dropped down to lock the disconnects onto the keg. Both systems are available new or used.
Draft - 1/6 barrel, 1/2 barrel or 1/4 barrel - The tall, slender 1/6 barrel kegs are the easiest to handle, followed by the 1/4 barrel and then finally the 1/2 barrel keg. Also, a multi keg kegerator is easier to manage with 1/6 barrel kegs because they can be stacked side by side.
Liquid disconnects / keg couplers � Disconnects attach the beer lines to the Cornelius tanks (kegs) while keg couplers dispense beer straight through the center. And just like the CO2 disconnects, the liquid disconnects also incorporate their own internal shutoff valves that turn off the beer when disconnected from a keg. Quality keg couplers incorporate a check valve to prevent back flow when uncoupling a keg.
Beer line � should always be 3/16� ID and should be heavy beer line or BIB tubing. 3/16� tubing is small enough to make the beer slow down on the way to the tap, helping to prevent foaming. The ideal length for reducing foaming while still maintaining a decent pour speed is usually 5 � 6 feet.
Beer faucets � Can be a beer tower, commercial style beer faucets or low cost pony taps.
Converting a refrigerator into a kegerator involves building a shelf for the kegs (if you need one), initially placing the kegs inside and routing the CO2 lines, drilling a hole for the main CO2 line (if the CO2 tank will be outside the refrigerator) and mounting the faucets or beer tower.
Before converting a refrigerator, you need to follow a couple of simple rules. First, never drill or cut into a refrigerator that is plugged in. Second, before drilling or cutting into a refrigerator, find out where the refrigeration lines are. The last thing you want to do is to drill into the side of a refrigerator and then be greeted with a hisssssss, the sound of escaping Freon!
Then there are some basic rules you need to follow for each faucet type. If installing a beer tower then you must cut a hole in the top of the refrigerator or freezer that is close to the same size as the opening in the bottom of the tower. This lets cold air circulate into the bottom of the tower, keeping the beer shanks & beer lines cold. Beer faucets that are installed through the refrigerator side or door are mounted through 7/8� holes. It�s much easier to drill a smaller hole from the inside first, then drill the 7/8� hole from the outside. This will guarantee that no shelves or brackets get in the way of the beer shanks. A pony tap based system is the easiest to install because in most cases, you can place everything inside the refrigerator. But this is the most inconvenient kegerator conversion because you have to open the refrigerator door to draw a beer.
Balancing your system:
It�s nice to be able to hold a glass under your beer faucet, pull the tap handle and watch a 12 ounce glass of beer fill, leaving a 1/2� of head on top of the glass. But this does not come about by accident. Two things are required � proper carbonation and a properly balanced system.
To achieve proper carbonation, your homebrew must be carbonated (depending on style) to somewhere around 2.5 volumes of CO2. Fortunately, there are several carbonation charts available from books and off the internet that make carbonation easy to calculate. You only need to know the temperature of your beer and your regulator pressure to look up your carbonation level. Or you can read the chart in the other direction, look up your refrigerator temperature, follow the chart to the desired carbonation level and then follow over to the ideal regulator pressure setting.
To balance your system, you need to measure the inside temperature of your kegerator and then use a carbonation chart to determine the ideal setting for your CO2 regulator. In most cases, this setting will be between 9 and 12 PSI (depending on temperature). This also means that 9 � 12 pounds will be pushing the beer out of the keg when you are drawing a glass of beer.
If you had free flowing beer, even at 9 PSI, the beer would pour out of the faucet too fast and you would have a serious foaming problem. A properly balanced system works by slowing down the beer as it flows to the faucet. A length of 3/16� beer line is the ideal tool for slowing the beer because it provides a gradual drop in pressure from the keg to the tap. In all but the most carbonated beers being delivered by 9 - 12, the ideal length is 6�. If you prefer your beer in the 45 F � 50 F range then the beer line will need to be about 8�. This is because the ideal pressure for 45 F degree beer is about 15 PSI, requiring a little more pressure drop, and a longer line to the faucet. Beer towers need a little less restriction because the beer is also being pushed up hill to the tower and most beer towers come with a 5� beer line.
Note: There is no way to pour over carbonated beer without foaming problems because the beer will foam in the hose on the way to the beer faucet.
Cleaning your kegerator:
Just like any commercial draft system, the cleanliness of your new kegerator will affect the taste of your beer. But cleaning does not have to be a major chore if you follow a few basic rules. First, after you are done assembling your new kegerator, put sanitizer in one of your Cornelius kegs and use CO2 pressure to flush it through all of your taps. Then follow with clear water.
The next step is to attack contamination at its source � at the beer faucets. Think about the way a beer faucet works � you draw a glass of beer and walk away. But what did you just walk away from? You left the entire inside, front area of the faucet wet with beer and it�s just waiting for some microbe or mould to come along and start growing. And when something does come along, it will grow right past your beer faucet and into your beer line.
Fortunately, the solution is very simple. And the only tools you need are a cheap spray bottle filled with cheap vodka and a dish towel. At least every 2 days (every day is even better), place the towel under the faucets and use the sprayer to flush out the mouth of your beer faucets. Do this routinely and contamination from your faucets will not be an issue. The alcohol in the vodka will act as a food safe sanitizer while the water flushes out any beer residue.
The next step to cleaning is to routinely flush the entire system with sanitizer. For a Cornelius based system, you don�t need any special tools or a cleaning kit for this. Just need to use one of your Cornelius kegs to re-flush the system just like you did when you first assembled your kegerator. Home draft systems are cleaned by disassembling the beer faucet, disassembling the line from the top of the coupler, dropping the hose end in a bucket & using a squeeze bottle to push cleaner down through the line and then hand cleaning the coupler & faucet.
Your beer faucets can be periodically disassembled and cleaned but never use a beer line brush on the inside of your beer lines. A brush could scratch the inside surface, giving bacteria a place to grab onto.
The final step is to replace all of your beer lines about every 2 years to prevent the build-up of beer stone.
Complete Kegerator Kits
