First Time Kegging & Short Time Brewer

[LIHomeBrew]

Me and my friend have been talking about getting a kegerator and a few kegs- we're really interested in doing Lagers (probably because of the fact we can only do Ales right now- and for no other reason then that hah) but after looking around- I have no CLUE what I'm looking at...I work at Home Depot where they have a Kegerator for about $350 - but I've been looking at other ones online too...I was wondering if anyone could help me pick something thats worthwhile - I wanna be able to get the Ale's up and running a bit quicker (instead of waiting a week or two after bottling for example) and the ability to make lagers (we don't have a cold room or anything and the temperature has been kind of erratic up here lately)

Thanks =D

ps: We've also been actively seeking a Dunkel Weisse Recipe - Something comparable to that of Michelob's Dunkel Weisse - but haven't been able to find a clone just yet- Throw me a bone! =D

[beerking]

1. Kegerators. I have a Danby. It supposed to be set up for a single half bbl or single full bbl keg. I repaced the tower with one that had 3 faucets (I also replaced the faucets with Perlicks), and now I am serving from 3 cornies at a time. I have heard the Danby's are not the most durable. I have only had mine a year, no problems so far.
2. Lager. You need much more than a kegerator for lagers. To do lagers, you need a way to control fermentation temperature. You need to be able to keep it steady, and below 55F. How much below 55F depends in the yeast you use.
3. Time to drinking. If you switch your ales to kegs, you could conceivably shorten your conditioning time, but I don't recommend it. If you use the shake and roll method, you could have the ale carbonated the same day you put it in the keg. The carbonation will be a bit harsh, but it will be there. Much better is to put the cornie in the cold, and set the psi to your serving pressure. In about a week, it will be well carbonated, and it won't be harsh.
Still, even ales require some conditioning time to be good. You will need to allow time for it to "drop bright" as cellarmen in the UK say. This can take 2-5 days, so you have further reason to follow the slower carbonation method.

[LIHomeBrew]

Gotcha - I'll look into the lagers then - that's probably a ways down the road lol- thanks for the advice King...Don't think I'll be puttin money on it just yet but- at least now I know what to expect =D

[Mad Scientist]

Look into gettiing a chest freezer and do that conversion, if it is within your budget....I have five taps as a result...