Does anyone here have a kegerator in their outdoor kitchen and, if so, is it worth it?

We're finalizing plans on a new outdoor kitchen, and everything is telling me a kegerator is a bad idea. We're already going to have an outdoor fridge, and I don't need more excuses to drink. I can already see myself trying to polish off a keg because it's starting to go bad and don't want it to go to waste.

Also with the summer heat in central Texas, having two refrigerated units running full time (under a covered patio) just seems stupid.

But I can't shake the thought of how awesome it would be to pour beer from a keg while watching a game or after finishing up the yard.

Please tell me a kegerator is a waste of money if I'm already planning on a fridge as well. Or tell me why it's the greatest thing ever. My heart says go for the kegerator but my brain is saying this is a total waste.

I say put it in now, because retro-fitting one later will be a pain.

I'm putting one in my outdoor kitchen at my ranch house. I went thru the same debate you are doing. I figured It will never be easier to install than the present time in terms of enclosure, countertop and electric.

I can always just turn it off if I'm not using it.

It's both awesome and stupid...unless you have more friends than I do, you'll waste massive amounts of beer. But the 10% you do drink is awesome. If I had to do it over again, I'd try to buy and customize my fridge to hold a small pony keg, and silicone the lines in and out or something. I haven't used the kegerator in over two years.

Having a Kegerator is awesome but there are a couple of considerations. Kegs have a shelf life so you have to make sure you drink enough to not be throwing away beer. Also, if you dont mind going outside when you are inside and want a beer. Mine was inside which worked for me but there were a good amount of times I was in the pool or in the yard and wished I had a tap outside so thats more of a preference thing.

If you get an outdoor one make sure you have a nice enough fridge to keep it cold during the summer.

At the end of the day I don't think you regret having one even if you don't have a keg in it all the time.

Friend of the family got one decades ago. He was in construction so possibly ahead of the curve on outdoor kitchens and stuff. Anyway story from my mom is he felt obligated not to waste the beer and had a couple every day. Long story short he became alcoholic and passed before his time even though he eventually went clean. Be careful what you ask for.

agree with the above and just get a pony keg

Other side of the wasting beer aspect is that more specialized places like specs will sell most beers in 1/4 and 1/6 barrel kegs, so that will slow the rate of waste.

What you have to keep in mind is that it is just beer and you are under no obligation to finish it.

All of that said, unless you've got a lot of friends and your place is a central meeting place (i.e. people show up with/without kids all the time to watch the game/swim/whatever) I would skip the keg and just have a beer shelf for yourself. Get some nice glassware, a built-in bottle cap puller, and other good stuff.

The third thing you might consider is a built in top-open ice chest. So when you have gatherings, you can stock it with cans and bottles and fill with ice. That will give you the outdoor icehouse feel without the expense of the kegerator or the worry that you're wasting beer. Whatever isn't finished just goes back into the fridge.

This is sort of the cooler concept, but with a closing lid and bigger:

Mine is in the house and it's awesome.

Couple of concerns putting one outside for me. Cleanliness. With wind blowing and dirt/grass clippings blowing there will usually have to be cleanup before use.
Wintertime- while the towers are "insulated" they are only insulated enough to keep beer cold, not prevent from freezing. I live in the Texas Panhandle and we hit single digit temps in the winter. I wouldn't want to deal with that headache.
You become the bar- I enjoy having folks over all of the time. However, you will immediately be asked to host events (birthday parties, game watching parties, cookouts).

The reality for me is I have no trouble running inside to grab a cold beer, usually with cooking, I'm going in and out enough where is really a non issue.

Buddy had one, novelty wore off and doesnt really use it anymore. Plus, with so much variety of beers out there now, why saddle yourself to a whole keg?

I moved into a house last October with a Kegerator in the outdoor kitchen/patio area. If you're looking for someone to tell you it's a bad idea, sorry I can't lie. It's not something I would probably ever have done myself but now that I have it I feel like I will always need one. Mine came with two lines/taps and fits two pony kegs. Have not had an issue with beer going bad yet and have not even got into the busy summer/pool season.

So I came here looking for moral support for the practicality of this, and it seems like the majority opinion is to go for it. Well crap, I guess I'm getting one then. Thanks ODB!

So for those of you with kegerators, if you have a brand or model you recommend, I'd love your recommendations. I don't want to cheap out on it. I'm thinking a dual tap system would be nice so I can fit a couple 1/6 kegs for the occasional crawfish boil and/or pool party at our house, although I'll probably mostly run with a single keg. It seems like Edgestar is a pretty popular brand in the sub $2k range.

Also, for those in the Austin area, where's the best place to purchase kegs? Specs? Total Wine?

Nah, a fridge is all you'll really need. As others have stated, there's a huge variety of beer out there and you can keep it stocked and replenish as necessary.

I would suggest get into homebrewing and use the 5 gal pony kegs. That way you get the variety and less waste. That said, 5 gal is still a lot to drink on your own. I dumped multiple kegs with about a gallon left due to age.

I had one at my old house with a 2-tap 5 gallon keg setup and wouldn't ever want one again. Once the novelty wore off it just turns into one more thing to deal with. Much easier to just keep bottles on hand in the fridge. The price of Premium Kegs meant there was little financial benefit once I stopped home brewing and probably ended up worse off because I gave so much beer away.

Want to spend your money on something you won't regret? Ice Maker

FIDO*98* said:

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I had one at my old house with a 2-tap 5 gallon keg setup and wouldn't ever want one again. Once the novelty wore off it just turns into one more thing to deal with. Much easier to just keep bottles on hand in the fridge. The price of Premium Kegs meant there was little financial benefit once I stopped home brewing and probably ended up worse off because I gave so much beer away.

Want to spend your money on something you won't regret? Ice Maker

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The one I had in college was pretty awesome but we went through a couple kegs a week. No way I'd get one now unless I had several buddies that came over to hang out every weekend.

Go with a brand that has a "convertible" unit. Ships with shelves so you can use as a refrig and then you can pull them out when you want to use for a party or event. Most will fit two of the small size kegs or a full-size. We offer a couple different options if you are in the Houston area. Come and see us.

www.creekstoneoutdoors.com

Do it. You can use it to dispense sparkling water 90% of the time and just fill it with beer before party's.

I built this with twin 5gal corny kegs and a 20# co2 cylinder. It is pretty much like having Topo Chico on tap.

80sGeorge said:

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Friend of the family got one decades ago. He was in construction so possibly ahead of the curve on outdoor kitchens and stuff. Anyway story from my mom is he felt obligated not to waste the beer and had a couple every day. Long story short he became alcoholic and passed before his time even though he eventually went clean. Be careful what you ask for.

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I dont think you can blame his alcoholism on a keggerator. Thats like saying: I know a guy who bought a crack pipe and didnt want it to go to waste so he overdosed.

I installed one in my old house's old refrigerator in the garage. It was fun but not sure I'd do it again. Agree with getting a pony keg, unless you're having a party you don't want to feel compelled to finish a full keg. It'll last a good while as long it's kept under pressure.
CO2 was easy to find in Houston.

Keep your lines and tap clean. That's probably the biggest issue. Not a hassle just something you have to do.

ATL Aggie said:

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80sGeorge said:

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Friend of the family got one decades ago. He was in construction so possibly ahead of the curve on outdoor kitchens and stuff. Anyway story from my mom is he felt obligated not to waste the beer and had a couple every day. Long story short he became alcoholic and passed before his time even though he eventually went clean. Be careful what you ask for.

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I dont think you can blame his alcoholism on a keggerator. Thats like saying: I know a guy who bought a crack pipe and didnt want it to go to waste so he overdosed.

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Just going with the opinion of the wife and son who were there to witness it on a daily basis. He was a good Ag.

Would he have bought and consumed 16 gallons of beer repeatedly without it? Maybe, maybe not.

I only provide the story as a warning.

80sGeorge said:

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ATL Aggie said:

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80sGeorge said:

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Friend of the family got one decades ago. He was in construction so possibly ahead of the curve on outdoor kitchens and stuff. Anyway story from my mom is he felt obligated not to waste the beer and had a couple every day. Long story short he became alcoholic and passed before his time even though he eventually went clean. Be careful what you ask for.

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I dont think you can blame his alcoholism on a keggerator. Thats like saying: I know a guy who bought a crack pipe and didnt want it to go to waste so he overdosed.

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Just going with the opinion of the wife and son who were there to witness it on a daily basis. He was a good Ag.

Would he have bought and consumed 16 gallons of beer repeatedly without it? Maybe, maybe not.

I only provide the story as a warning.

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Chances are that he was already an alcoholic and this just enabled him more so than anything else and was an excuse to blame it on.

I say go for it. (Full disclosure: I'm a homebrewer with a kegerator.) Don't worry too much about your beer going bad. If it's on CO2, it'll pretty much last as long as a bottle or can in your fridge will, which is to say a year or more. Sunlight, oxygen, and high heat are what will kill your beer, and the keg/fridge take care of all three.

The biggest hassle will be keeping the beer lines clean, though there are lots of ideas out there, especially on homebrewing forums, for making DIY line cleaning rigs that make it a lot easier.

If you do decide to proceed, I highly recommend browsing the homebrew forums. Most of the discussion will be dominated by people using ball lock corny kegs (old pepsi soda kegs) which have different connections than the traditional beer keg, but otherwise the concepts are the same.

aTm2004 said:

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80sGeorge said:

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ATL Aggie said:

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80sGeorge said:

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Friend of the family got one decades ago. He was in construction so possibly ahead of the curve on outdoor kitchens and stuff. Anyway story from my mom is he felt obligated not to waste the beer and had a couple every day. Long story short he became alcoholic and passed before his time even though he eventually went clean. Be careful what you ask for.

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I dont think you can blame his alcoholism on a keggerator. Thats like saying: I know a guy who bought a crack pipe and didnt want it to go to waste so he overdosed.

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Just going with the opinion of the wife and son who were there to witness it on a daily basis. He was a good Ag.

Would he have bought and consumed 16 gallons of beer repeatedly without it? Maybe, maybe not.

I only provide the story as a warning.

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Chances are that he was already an alcoholic and this just enabled him more so than anything else and was an excuse to blame it on.

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No, he was not alcoholic beforehand.

Enabled? Absolutely. Used as an excuse. No, he was blamed 100%

Get a kegerator. I don't GAF. Just take the story as a warning and stop trying to diminish what happened in this particular instance. All things in moderation.

If it was my choice I like the sound of the hybrid or one of those ice machines that makes Sonic ice.

80sGeorge said:

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Just take the story as a warning and stop trying to diminish what happened in this particular instance

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The problem is that your "story" isnt really relevant at all to the discussion and it is so full of holes that it seems completely made up. It seems like your goal was to derail the thread in which case I took the bait and you've succeeded.

My apologies. Not trying to derail at all. God bless.

80sGeorge said:

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aTm2004 said:

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80sGeorge said:

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ATL Aggie said:

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80sGeorge said:

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Friend of the family got one decades ago. He was in construction so possibly ahead of the curve on outdoor kitchens and stuff. Anyway story from my mom is he felt obligated not to waste the beer and had a couple every day. Long story short he became alcoholic and passed before his time even though he eventually went clean. Be careful what you ask for.

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I dont think you can blame his alcoholism on a keggerator. Thats like saying: I know a guy who bought a crack pipe and didnt want it to go to waste so he overdosed.

---

Just going with the opinion of the wife and son who were there to witness it on a daily basis. He was a good Ag.

Would he have bought and consumed 16 gallons of beer repeatedly without it? Maybe, maybe not.

I only provide the story as a warning.

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Chances are that he was already an alcoholic and this just enabled him more so than anything else and was an excuse to blame it on.

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No, he was not alcoholic beforehand.

Enabled? Absolutely. Used as an excuse. No, he was blamed 100%

Get a kegerator. I don't GAF. Just take the story as a warning and stop trying to diminish what happened in this particular instance. All things in moderation.

If it was my choice I like the sound of the hybrid or one of those ice machines that makes Sonic ice.

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I think you misinterpreted what I was saying. He was probably an alcoholic beforehand as it's usually already in a person. I've had several in my family and lost an uncle at 47 from it. He got clean for a couple of years and told us the addiction had always been there with him from an early age. He didn't just start drinking one day and then feel the "need." He felt it from the start and was able to control it.

The keg obviously enabled him and something he could point to as a cause, but the desire had probably been there for years. That's what I meant, not that his family blames it.