How long?

[gmendoza]

Ok, so let's say I get my kegerator today, how long before I can enjoy some beer? What is the proper procedure? Do I plug it in and let it get proper temperature? Do I tap a keg right away? Do I set up my tower cooler before anything? Can I drink right away?

[Sketch]

My advice would be to keep reading up on what you need to do and what problems you might encounter. Most posts on the forum are from people that dove right in head first and didn't bother to do things properly - ending up with beer that pours like champagne, flat beer or frozen beer - frozen is the worst as you can't really recover the keg.

I will give you several links on suggested reading to help get you going - but I will also break down the basics as simply as I can.

Some members tap and pour right away - but these members know exactly how their kegerator will perform, so they can do this. Other members allow the keg to acclimate 24 hours before tapping, this ensures the keg has reached it's resting temperature.

3 things matter when maintaining a kegerator. The beers volume of Co2 (v/v), the 2nd pour temperature and your PSI.

You learn the v/v from the brewery and you get the 2nd pour temp by pouring from your keg at a resting temperature. Then, using a beer carbonation chart you cross reference your temp and the v/v to get your PSI. Setting PSI without knowing the other two variable is a recipe for trouble. It might pour fine for a day or two, but you will eventually be fighting foam or other issues.

As others have mentioned, the tower cooler is an optional accessory - but if you plan on using one, I would install it before you put the keg in. It will create airflow within the unit and could change the beer temp. Which would be fine, as long as you monitor the temp for any changes.

Here are so suggested threads to check out:

http://www.micromatic.com/forum/us-en/forum-guidelines-read-before-posting/6950-read-before-posting.html

Micro Matic Keg Beer Blog

http://www.micromatic.com/forum/us-en/trouble-shooting-beer-quality-home/8327-solutions-troubleshooting-common-problems.html

http://www.micromatic.com/forum/us-en/trouble-shooting-beer-quality-home/8136-foam-troubles-got-you-down-please-read-me.html

There are also countless other helpful threads to check out - the more you read and understand, the better your experience will be.

Some of the information is redundant, but this is because it comes up a lot on the forums. Read through and make sure you really understand what you are doing and why, prior to tapping the keg. It's not as simple as turning it on and tapping the keg at a random PSI, there's some science to it.

I hope I answered your questions in a helpful way.
Cheers.

[psychodad]

In most cases, if you get a kegerator today, you should be able to enjoy keg beer today. I'd set co2 regulator to where it should be based on the temperature expected that the beer is going to be and start enjoying beer. Tomorrow I'd measure the temperature again leave the co2 alone until I was sure I had my temp dialed in where it should be.

[gmendoza]

So I'm thinking of ordering kegerator on Monday and picking it up on Tuesday. Should I go buy beer that same day, or do you suggest waiting a day? I think I'm only going to buy a pony keg so that I can play with temps. Is there a typically co2 range???

[aspinallar]

One never really knows how cold you new kegerator will get. Depending upon which model you get, you might the not be able to drop the temperature inside cold enough. Some of the less expensive kegerators require considerable effort to get them to work right (Get cold)
Instead of a keg of expensive beer, I would buy a good thermometer, and get a 5 gallon bucket of water into your new kegerator, and let it sit for a day and see what the temperature is. Use a thermometer with a probe on a wire, so you can see from the outside what the temperature of the water is inside. Once you are sure it will get cold inside, go get some beer.
You can always drink out of bottles until you are sure it gets cold enough.

[jmark]

So I'm thinking of ordering kegerator on Monday and picking it up on Tuesday. Should I go buy beer that same day, or do you suggest waiting a day? I think I'm only going to buy a pony keg so that I can play with temps. Is there a typically co2 range???

Just make sure you have room in a separate refrigerator to store the keg while you fuss with the kegerator, so the beer never gets warm. I'm fairly new to this (just a few months using my own kegerator, which I made from a Walmart fridge), but CO2 pressure for most beers seems to be in the range of 11-14. With Sierra Nevada, getting pours at 38 degrees, I found 11 worked well.

[KillianBoy]

GM,
Sure you can turn on, put keg in and drink as psychodad says but what's the rush? Take your time, most instructions say turn on, wait 24 hours and see if goes to right temperature, you still have to fill your CO2, get some sort of fan inside. If brand new unit, take your time and get it right, also if unit is on side in transit, you have to let refrigerant and oil settle (12 hours at least ) before even turning unit on.
jmark,
Your numbers seem low for temperature and v/v, if at sea level 1-2 PSI too low, you can pour your beer perfect with low PSI but the end of the keg will be flat.

If you finish your keg in 1-5 days then it's a party keg situation (jockey box or party pump), you really don't have to worry about the correct PSI, just pour to empty. But if your keg lasts 6-90 days then having the correct PSI is crucial, too high foam, too low foam or perfect pour but will turn remainder of the keg flat.
KB

[jmark]

Thanks, KillianBoy. Right at the moment, I have Captain Lawrence IPA in there and it is set at about 13. For some reason the Sierra Nevada wanted to foam too much at that pressure, but the CL works well. I have a lot of friends over and seem to go thru a 5.16 in about three weeks. I'm really still learning and making little tweaks now and then to test the results. Your help is much appreciated. This site has been really great as I have tried to learn the ins and outs of this.

Mark

[djc]

I'm thinking about CL for one of my next barrels. The place where I get my kegs has it on tap for their growler business. Good stuff.

[psychodad]

GM,
Sure you can turn on, put keg in and drink as psychodad says but what's the rush?

It's not a rush. The thought that a keg needs to set after being moved likely stems from the thought that a can of beer that has been shaken will spurt foam. The spear in the keg draws from the bottom. A new kegerator needs to have the regulator set and a guess made as to where to set the the thermostat. In the meantime, enjoy a beer or three while waiting for things to settle out and then check the temperature the next day to see where you're at before worrying too much about adjusting everything. Setting up a kegerator is easier than what people make it out to be some times.

Relax and enjoy the beer.

[gmendoza]

Where can I get a decently priced thermometer with probe?

[psychodad]

Beer Thermometers

[aspinallar]

I use two: I got mine from Amazon
One to measure the second pour:

http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-9842-Co...7901621&sr=8-3

And another left in place permanently to monitor the inside temp of my kegerator:

http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Scienti...901793&sr=8-36