If you plan to brew your beer, then you can not do without such important equipment as a kegerator. This is a refrigerator, designed for cooling, storing and dispensing draft beer from a keg.
Buying such equipment is quite a serious investment. That is why many brewers wonder what is more profitable: buy a kegerator conversion kit and assemble the equipment themselves or fork out and buy a ready-made device.
Read our article about all the nuances of choice and upcoming costs.
How Much Does It Cost to Build Your Own Kegerator?
The purchase of a kegerator conversion kit and further assembly of the kegerator from a conventional refrigerator will be much cheaper than the purchase of ready-made equipment.
However, before we move on to the prices, let’s figure out how to choose the right kit for your needs.
Answer the following questions:
- How many beers do you plan to store and serve with a kegerator?
Each type of beer requires a separate beer line. You can choose a kit designed for one to five beer lines.
- What beer varieties are you planning to serve?
Most lagers are carbonated with standard carbon dioxide. However, you need nitrogen to produce nitro varieties like Guinness, various stouts, and ales.
- Which kegs do you plan to use for storing your beverages?
Each type of kegerator has its connection system, designed for a particular type of keg.
The Corny keg is equipped with a ball lock. If you are using this type of tank, put the lock on the top of the gas stand and press it until the lock is fixed.
Most other kegs come with a pin connection system. In such tanks, small pins are located around the fitting, necessary for fixing the connection.
The cost of such kits depends on the configuration: the most basic option will cost $225.
It includes the following:
- Primary CO2 regulator with 2 pressure meters: one displays the pressure and the other is needed to control the amount of gas in the cylinder.
- Keg connector, type D (suitable for most North American beers).
- A thermoplastic vinyl hose.
- 2 stainless steel serrated clamps.
- Gaspipe.
This option fits for buyers who already have a gas cylinder, beer tower and faucet, and only need equipment to convert the refrigerator into a kegerator.
If these components are not available, you still have to buy them. You can buy them separately or look for kits with more components included.
For example, kegerator conversion kit for $350, which, in addition to the components from the first kit, has also:
- Beer faucet;
- 1-faucet beer tower;
- Drip tray;
- Red key for tap;
- Shank.
The cost of the kit may be affected by the number of beer lines. If you plan to serve several varieties of beer, look at:
- 2-line kit for $275-500;
- 3-line kit for $275-500;
- 4-line kit, which costs $350-650;
- 5-line kit that you can buy for $500.
Not all of these kits include a gas cylinder. So be sure to add it in your expense list. Its cost depends on the volume and is $130-315.
It may seem that the list of expenses is too long.
Let’s see, then, how much money should be allocated for the purchase of a ready-made kegerator.
What Is the Average Cost of a Kegerator?
Before buying this piece of equipment, decide which model suits your needs.
You can select a model depending on the following options:
- type of beverage (there is equipment for storing beer, wine, etc.)
- type of use (home, commercial or industrial kegerator)
- place of installation (outdoor, kitchen, built-in, under the table, etc.)
- type of the device (full-size, built-in; with different number of doors, etc.)
If you want to buy the basic model without a beer tower, designed for home use, such equipment will cost $700. The option with a beer tower will cost $900.
The more expensive commercial models are estimated to cost $1,700-4,000.
We hope this article has helped you decide which option is best for your needs.
Whatever you choose, you can find the best beer equipment on the Beverage Craft website. The consultants of the company will gladly advise you on all questions of choosing the right kegerator conversion kit and tell you how to convert your refrigerator into a reliable and convenient kegerator.
