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Author Topic: Kegerator/ Fermentation Chamber  (Read 2516 times)

Offline flbrewer

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Kegerator/ Fermentation Chamber
« on: April 22, 2015, 10:23:23 am »
I'm currently using a chest freezer w. temp control as my fermentation chamber. I would like to start kegging but would like to use the single chamber for both fermentation and kegging.
My plan is to ferment, pull the fermenter out when it's done and place the kegs in the chamber. Not ideal, but does anyone do this?

Secondly, does anyone use a kegerator without drilling holes for taps? I wouldn't mind just using a picnic faucet setup and opening the door to pour beer.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2015, 04:56:11 pm by flbrewer »

Offline tommymorris

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Kegerator/ Fermentation Chamber
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2015, 07:35:16 pm »
I can answer the second question. I only have picnic taps. They work, my lines stay cold without effort, and I didn't have to building anything.

I have a separate ferm chamber. What will you do with the finished beer when fermenting a new batch? Let it warm up? Or do you only have one batch at a time?
« Last Edit: April 22, 2015, 07:36:54 pm by alestateyall »

Offline flbrewer

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Re: Kegerator/ Fermentation Chamber
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2015, 07:36:42 pm »
Yup, one at a time for now....until I can sneak another chest freezer into the garage.

Offline tommymorris

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Re: Kegerator/ Fermentation Chamber
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2015, 07:37:48 pm »

Yup, one at a time for now....until I can sneak another chest freezer into the garage.

"sneak"...

I hear that ;)

Offline erockrph

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Re: Kegerator/ Fermentation Chamber
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2015, 07:00:45 pm »
Yep, this is exactly what I do. I got a smallish chest freezer for use as a lager chamber. Then I realized that I could fit a few 2.5 gallon kegs in it. I was starting to get fed up with bottling at the time, so I decided to go for it. It's a pain in the butt that my kegerator is out of commission while I have beers in active fermentation, but I use that time to drink down my stockpile of commercial brews.

My kegging rig is as simple as it gets. I have a 5-gallon CO2 tank and a couple of picnic taps. I don't have any kind of manifold to run multiple kegs off the CO2. I simply move the CO2 line to whatever keg I'm dispensing off of. I can't force-carbonate multiple brews at once, but otherwise I get by alright.

My next upgrade is a real-deal commercial kegerator. I'm getting sick of having to run down to my basement every time I want to pour a beer. But until that happens, this is a good entry into a kegging setup. I have no plans to add any collar or faucets to my freezer. Whenever I get a kegerator it will revert back to being a full-time fermentation chamber.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer