Need Help Identifying Beer Dispenser/Purchase Advice

[identifykegerator]

Hi everyone,

I've got a question about a possible purchase of a beer dispenser and didn't know where else to turn to. I've recently met someone who's gutting a restaurant and I've been offered a pretty decent deal on what looks like an older Perlick Direct Draw Beer Dispenser, though I can't identify the model, or how old it is. I've been told it was fully functional as an outside bar setup up until a few weeks ago when the restaurant closed. I'll be going to look at it in person on Friday just to verify that it does work and gets cold enough without running constantly. It comes with all of its lines, couplers, and presumably a CO2 tank. The person selling it is asking $600; it seems to me that this is more than a fair price but I do worry about its refrigeration parts as it looks to me to be an older model. Would it be worth it to purchase this? What things should I ask about/look for when I go to meet the seller?

http://imgur.com/Wwh2XXc

http://imgur.com/P5CFYsY

[pvs6]

You could be interested to know what coolant it uses, the back plate might tell you. If it's R12 then it is a very old unit. You can still get R12 but I was told it's harder to get and more expensive but I don't know that's still the case.

Usually people want the seller to put a 5 gallon bucket of water inside and have the unit running for a full day before they get there, then measure the temp. of the water to test cooling capacity.

I'd offer $500 if it cools and it looked in good shape but at $600 ruffly 1/2 the new selling price I'd be ok with that.

[identifykegerator]

Thanks. I asked the seller to let it run for a day prior to me coming to take a look at it, and I'll let them know about the bucket of water.

[identifykegerator]

Also, I just realized both the picture links go to the same place. I fixed it so the unit itself is visible.

[pvs6]

Wow the picture helps a lot. 2 half barrels, 3 taps and a can and bottle cooler too! If it cools easily worth $600.

[identifykegerator]

Thanks, that's what I was thinking too. I'm not able to find anything about this model on the internet, though I found a guy on Craigslist who was selling a very similar one and said it was manufactured in the mid-50s. I'm hoping that the parts inside are a far sight newer, I think they'd have to be as this unit was in service in an outdoor bar setup and keeping beer cold enough to serve to customers as recently as 2 weeks ago.

Unless units from the 50's were built in such a manner that they could serve continuously for 60 some years, which I doubt.

[pvs6]

With proper service they can and do. There are still refig. of that era in service today. They aren't as efficient as todays models. This one may use a lot of electricity. It can be refitted with a newer compressor if it's ever needed, and coolant changed to the new standard. So rust would seem to be your major concern now if it cools, well that and space enough to use this monster and power consumed by it.

[identifykegerator]

I'm hoping that conversion has already taken place, I don't really want to have to deal with having an R12 unit because I know I'll have to change the compressor etc sooner rather than later. The lines, couplers and taps all look very new in spite of the dispenser's age so I'm somewhat optimistic that it's at least been serviced and tuned up fairly regularly.

I don't know too much about servicing these things, though I imagine I'll be learning more than I ever thought I would in no long measure of time if I buy this thing. I'd imagine I'll need to call an appliance/restaurant equipment repair company to do the retrofit when the time comes?

[pvs6]

If you can get "iceman" to respond to you he's a wealth of info on the working side of refigs. Try PM ing he's given his time freely in the past. But I'm mostly sure changing coolant types only requires sucking the system dry and then refilling it no need to change the compressor for that. Perlicks is a commercial brand and as such may run for ever without need of maintain or repair.
I have no idea if this is stainless steel but I doubt it. So if it cools and it sounds like it does rust is likely the only thing that would keep you from pulling the trigger.

[identifykegerator]

It does get cold, so I went ahead and paid the cash to take this thing home. It took around 9 people to get this thing onto the truck and into my garage. It was in a lot better shape than I thought, but there's a little rust and a couple of other little things I need to take care of. Plus, the lady threw in two full 20lb Co2 bottles and 6 kegs, 2 1/2 barrels, 1 1/4 and 2 1/6s so I it was a good deal in scrap metal alone. Here it is in the garage:

http://i.imgur.com/opOyNRx.jpg

Here's the Co2 regulator. Thinking that's going to need a replacement, someone was not kind to it.

http://i.imgur.com/rDy5dhw.jpg

And here's... this thing, which is definitely a fire hazard and needs its wires replaced at a minimum. Moving them blows the breaker it's plugged into.

http://i.imgur.com/BvVPIpx.jpg

I don't know what that thing is, but I imagine I can replace those wires fairly easily.

[PremiumVADraftTech]

Wow some of those wires look bare, better have someone replace them for sure, nice unit/find, you dont see those any more with the cooler built in

And yea get a new regulator lol

[identifykegerator]

Alright, I've got a major problem. The compressor cools just fine, but turns itself off at 58 degrees. I'm not sure where to begin to fix this. Does anyone here know where I should start? I can take more pictures etc, but I don't know where to even look for what might be causing the problem.

[pvs6]

You don't have scrap metal. Kegs are owned by the brewery. Scarp yards know it's against the law to buy them. Nor can you legally keep them for your own use. You maybe able to return them for the deposit however. If you get stuck with them don't try to saw the top off to do something with it. They're a pressure bomb and people have been killed trying to open them. She probably stuck you with them because she couldn't collect the deposit and didn't want to have to dispose with them.

The junction box you photoed is in most likelihood the AC plug in cord then split into a line to each compressors the keg unit & the bottle cooler drawer. Easy re-wiring job.

You could call the factory to get a replacement T-stat or use an external temp. controller.

Are both sides (the keg compartment & the bottle drawer) cutting out at 58F?

[identifykegerator]

Thanks for the reply, there's actually only one brewery keg and I will probably try to return it for the deposit. Don't worry, the scrap metal thing was a figure of speech. The rest are unmarked and were being used to swap with a couple of local microbrewery restaurants in the area, so I don't know what I'm going to do with them, but it'll probably something similar.

I've read about external temp controllers and such, but I'm not sure where I'd begin on installing one. It seems fairly straightforward for newer models, but this one is very, very old. Would I be able to just plug the thing's, uh, plug into something like this and then just turn it down to the level I want it? The pessimist in me doesn't want to believe it's that simple.

[identifykegerator]

I've read up on the external temp controller, and it seems to work for people who have busted thermostats in their kegerators so I might just go ahead and buy it. The only thing that worries me is that while the compressor kicks off at 58f (and it's just one compressor for both sides), the fans inside and outside of the kegerator still run, so I'm not convinced that an external controller that simply turns the power on and off by itself is going to be sufficient.