Which brand to buy?

[wonderfulwife]

I have been searching kegerators on-line for a few weeks. Want to surprise husband for his bday. I wanted the Kenmore because that seems to have great reviews, but I called Sears and it only comes in blk. Husband wants stainless. So now I'm considering the Summit 500. Is there any major reasons I should NOT buy it?
Everything I read on Danby was bad. Haier seemed 50/50, but supposedly the customer service is a nightmare if you need anything. I was going to purchase the Sanyo 1206 from Beverage *******.com, but when I called with a few questions the salesman told me he recommends the Summit 500 (they are priced the same). From all the searches I'm doing, I can't find anything negative on the Summit -- can't even find many reviews.
Also, for $40 extra I can upgrade to a Commercial Dual-Gauge Co2 Regulator - is that worth it to do?

[psychodad]

You are a good wife.

Go with the Kenmore unless the stainless is a must do. They seem to be trouble free from what people here report.

Edit: and go for the dual gauge regulator.

[oneandonlychaz]

kenmore

I agree with psychodad, i own a kenmore and i must say i love it. I put 27 kegs thru it in the past 10 months and havent once had a problem with it. Temp has always stayed constant. The only problem is the non-cooled tower and the first pour is a lil foamy but after that its all perfect pours.

[Bric]

I just bought a Sears Kenmore Kegerator about a month ago. Sears contracts their products out to other companies. The Kenmore Kegerator is made by Sanyo, which in turn is the sister to the Summit.

All 3 are the same except that the Sears Kenmore only comes in black. If color is really that important to him get a Sanyo/Summit where for an 'extra' fee you can choose a stainless door. The black is actually decent looking and my wife let me put it upstairs instead of down in the family rooom.

The Sears kegerator I bought appears to be really welll made for an entry level unit, and once temperature is adjusted doesn't seem to budge. Unless you have the extra cash for a commercial unit, you can't go wrong with a Sanyo/Sears/Summit. Hope this helps.....

Brian

[indianaroller]

Won't she need a blower though?

[oneandonlychaz]

depends

Obviously a blower would help but depends how they will be using it. If they are going to pull a pint here and there than yes a blower would be usefull because they are going to get a little foam between beers because the beer in the tower will get warm. If they are going to use it for parties where theres not much of a gap between getting beers or if they are pouring pitchers they should be fine.

[dgodfrey62]

Easy place to find a Sanyo / Summit Kegerator

http://www.micromatic.com/keg-refrigerators/kegerators-pid-BC-1206.html

[wonderfulwife]

Thanks everyone for all your help. I ended up going with the Summit because he really wanted the stainless -- and people say women are picky
I believe he will be using his new gift on a nightly basis -- would you still recommend a blower? And if so, where should I look to purchase one?

[psychodad]

A blower is nice, but it isn't a must have IMHO. The blower prevents foam before the first draw of the day/evening. Before my tower cooling, I could snap my tap open and closed into a beer clean glass, toss what would amount to half a swallow were it not foam down the drain and then draw a glass of beer.

But if you try to draw a glass with that first shot of foam, it will be a mess. You can't draw beer correctly through foam.

[schmido]

My wife just purshased a new kenmore kegerator for me!!! She picked it up last night while I was at work. I got it set up and cooling down this morning and put a 5 gal bucket full of water in it to check the liquid temp. It read 40 degrees on the first check. I picked up my first keg this afternoon and put it in the kegerator and set the thermostat down just a little. I am thinking about tapping it in the morning when I get home from work. Is 7:00am too early to start the holiday weekend???

[bamachubby]

Kenmore

I had a problem with the regulator at first...went through a 5lb CO2 in a weekend...they fixed the problem by sending me a new regulator...not happy with the warranty...I bought the protection plan which states that they will replace any "food" items lost in the fridge...I was sold the warranty based on the fact that beer would be covered and now they are saying it is not covered...not that big of a deal...the kegerator is working fine now!!!! Little bit of foam on first pour...not enough to cry over...