Refridgerator, Chest Feezer, or Walk-in Cooler

[beerocracy]

I just upgraded from a 2-keg mini-fridge to a 14.8cf GE chest freezer. It can hold 6 kegs. You can squeeze a 7th in if you put your CO2 tank on the compressor hump. I put a collar on it to run 4 taps out of.

[foomench]

So my chest freezer setup is described here. I've been very happy with it. And if you look in this picture, you can see a smaller fridge I use for lagering and finer temperature control. I have a heater for it, but I don't have a two-way temp controller yet. Now I'm thinking I need a full size fridge so I can lager bigger batches. -Eric

[Brandt]

I like my upright fridge for fermenting. It only holds two carboys, but I dont like to take any chances with them when they are full of beer. The front door access just seems safer and it's certainly more convenient. For lagering and serving I use a chest freezer. I also have another serving fridge for beers I want to be a little warmer than lagering temps.

Just keep an eye out for used ones. The total for all mine was $70, but I had to scan garage sales and craigslist for a couple of months to find those deals.

[Agnebrew]

Thanks for the tips. Been looking at craiglist daily.

[Mylo]

Ah, just make yourself one of these...


http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/phpBB2 ... php?t=9540



Mylo

[WormsandBeer]

Go with a big chest freezer, if you can find one cheap on craigslist. I got a 28 cubic foot one for $50 bucks, but it took a while to find (6 months). I drilled a hole in the top and mounted two faucets on a wooden box.

At first, I thought I would compartmentalize it and make one side for fermenting lagers and the other side for serving. However, instead of dealing with two different temps, during lager fermentation, I set my fridge for 40 and put the probe on the side near my kegs. The heat generated during fermentation seems to keep the fermentation temperature at around 45-48, and the kegs hold at a nice steady 40. It seems to work quite well.

I can fit 20 gallons (4x 6.5 gallon buckets) of lager, as well as two corny kegs ~30 bottles and a 5# co2 cylinder at maximum capacity.

If you can find a cheap one I say go with a chest freezer. Its really nice to have the capacity. Good Luck!!

[Agnebrew]

Found a chest freezer for free this morning on craigslist. Hopefully it hasn't been snatched up.

[Todd]

So, have you made up yoru mind yet? I live near you (in Chardon) and just completed a conversion from a small 2 tap kegeraotr to a monster 10 -tap chest freezer, see this post under kegging group:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9834

I'd be happy to help you through the process, and if you want - you could visit me and we can drink some beer while I show you how mine works and let you kick the tires.

Good luck either way!

Todd