Soooooo, this kegerator fell into my lap

glhs837

Power with Control
Nice gent from Taphouse offered it up, not working. Since bottling had become a pain, and I had been entertaining the notion of kegging my homebrew, why not? Worst that happens is I get the parts needed to turn some other fridge/freezer into a kegerator for nothing. Beer tower, valve, tap. And it looked to already have a Johnson Controls temp controller, since most kegerator/fridge temp controllers are notoriously sloppy.

Got to diagnosing it today, looks like the compressor start relay is crapped out. That and a new overload protector looks to be about $20.

So, time being not a commodity I have a ton of, thought my first keg might just be one I buy. Anyone buy 1/6th kegs anywhere? I'll call around tomorrow, but figured it was worth pinging to collective for knowledge. Local sources for 10 or 20lb CO2 bottles and refills on gas?
 

limblips

Well-Known Member
Nice gent from Taphouse offered it up, not working. Since bottling had become a pain, and I had been entertaining the notion of kegging my homebrew, why not? Worst that happens is I get the parts needed to turn some other fridge/freezer into a kegerator for nothing. Beer tower, valve, tap. And it looked to already have a Johnson Controls temp controller, since most kegerator/fridge temp controllers are notoriously sloppy.

Got to diagnosing it today, looks like the compressor start relay is crapped out. That and a new overload protector looks to be about $20.

So, time being not a commodity I have a ton of, thought my first keg might just be one I buy. Anyone buy 1/6th kegs anywhere? I'll call around tomorrow, but figured it was worth pinging to collective for knowledge. Local sources for 10 or 20lb CO2 bottles and refills on gas?
Voice of experience here. Having a kegerator is a great thing for a homebrewer but be warned when people find out you have one you will notice you have a lot more friends.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
So that was easy about 15 minutes of troubleshooting led me to the PTC which cost about eight bucks on Amazon just slapped it in and bam it's running. Now I just got to get a CO2 tank and a regulator and find out who sells sixtels locally and I'm in business
 

DaSDGuy

Well-Known Member
Not at all. I drive through there all the time. Lots of students. And I see them at Cooks all the time. Something to do with the distributor.
Interesting. I haven't been going that way since I'm at home instead of Webster Field so I wasn't aware the college was open again.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
I always get mine from Paul at International on Great Mills Rd.

What size do you get? My consumption isnt that high, so I'm going to start with a "sixtel" of sixth of a barrel (not even sure what to call it, the 5 gallon one) of a lesser brew while I dial things in. Buying a dual tap so in the future I can keep two of those in the machine. Sized to hold a "full" keg so two of those should fit fine.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
What size do you get? My consumption isnt that high, so I'm going to start with a "sixtel" of sixth of a barrel (not even sure what to call it, the 5 gallon one) of a lesser brew while I dial things in. Buying a dual tap so in the future I can keep two of those in the machine. Sized to hold a "full" keg so two of those should fit fine.
I'll post a pic.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
I have two of the large ones. The little bottle is my "emergency" one or if I need to tap a keg somewhere besides my bar. The large ones last a very long time...years. It takes so little gas to keep a keg charged and emptied at 5 psi.

152480
 

glhs837

Power with Control
I have two of the large ones. The little bottle is my "emergency" one or if I need to tap a keg somewhere besides my bar. The large ones last a very long time...years. It takes so little gas to keep a keg charged and emptied at 5 psi.

View attachment 152480


I meant what size kegs do you get from International? Thats a 5lb CO2, correct, the blue top?
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
I meant what size kegs do you get from International? Thats a 5lb CO2, correct, the blue top?
I almost always get the large ones....I guess they are "half kegs" or "half barrels"? The blue top one is a 20# bottle I believe. It's what I had at my bar when I owned it.
 
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