I'm contemplating going all in and buying a commercial 2-tap kegerator and a double keg kit.  Grand total will be close to $1000.

Is it worth it?

Just the savings in time and space of having to clean and store bottles I think is totally worth it! With a keg you just clean one item, fill it up, and add CO2 pressure. No sugar priming or busted bottles from over doing it.

Plus, its pretty sweet just being able to say you've got beers on tap!

It's really really nice to have beer on tap. I found I drink alot more because it's just as easy to grab a glass of beer with dinner as any other option. As MtnBrewer said, you don't realize what a pain in the ass bottles are until you move to a keg system.

Keep an eye on craigslist, I got my entire setup for less then $300 by piecing stuff together.

Yes, its worth it

I would not pay $1000. My single keg unit cost me about $350, and that's with buying the mini-fridge brand new.

If you keep an eye on craigslist you could build a keezer pretty cheap.

Yeah ebay and craigslist will be your best bet. Buy the Corneilous keg aka corny/cornie kegs, and a regulator. Some like Pin locks and while they provide a more positve lock htey are not interchangable with cornie kegs which most people have/use. Stop by a gas shop and ask for a small steel Co2  tank. 5-15lb. Don't waste your money on the Aluminum ones. With Steel you can drop off and pick up with no waiting. Fittings and keg parts can be had at most any brewshop, and kegs can be rebuilt with McMaster Carr o-rings google for the part numbers.

Last time I looked, Kegs are 30-40 each buy them one or two at a time.

My first kegerator was a converted chest cooler. You can find these for less than $100 on Craigslist, make a collar and install taps if you wish or use cobra taps to get started they are like $7 bucks. A duel gauge regulator (ebay) and braided tubing I got mine at lowes and used SS hose clamps. Pick up a temp regulator off Ebay and you are set. I find stuff on C/L all the time and bought single regulators and analog temp regulator cheap.

Some folks ferment in cornie kegs, I dont recommend it but you can. I ferment in a carboy or my Sabco then rack over to the keg w/ Co2 takes 2 minutes. I rigged a carboy cap with QD for Co2 and some copper tubing as the racking cane. VEry little pressure is required and once it starts you can increase the flow. Raise or lower the racking cane over the trub as required and turn on the gas.

If I plan my brewday correctly I will just rack my wort onto the yeast cake and hook up the blowoff tube for near instant fermentation kick-off. So I can rack off yeast cake over to keg then rack off my brew kettle through my cold plate onto yeast cake in less than 5 minutes and only clean and sanitize the keg, tubing, mash tun and keggle. No more futzing about with bottles and caps worrying about bottle bombs.


Then I apply some keg lube to the lid, lock the lid then hit w/ 18-20 lbs of Co2 rock around on the floor then stuff in my cooler to condition. Next day it is drinkable. You need to watch for carbolic acid formation but you get the idea. Most times I cold condition for months so that is not an issue. Once you get an arsenal of kegs, I have 20-5 gal ball lock and 3-3 gallon,  then you can make and condition to your hearts content. Some folk lager in cornies too, you can cut your dip tube to keep from racking the trub, then rack over to another cornie using a closed system. Easy-peasy.

One can naturally ferment in a keg too, just add priming sugar then seal for that natural bubble.

Short answer is yes.  I stopped bottling a couple years ago and couldn't be happier.  I have a growler/bottle filling adapter that I can fill from the tap if I want to share some beer or take some with me.  I went with a 4 tap setup, 3 Co2 and 1 nitro (beergas 80/20 Mix) for my stouts.  I bought my components over time when they were on sale, not a huge investment.  Bought the freezer off CL for $50 and wired up a temp controller for $25.

I love my kegs. I still bottle when my kegs are full but its nice being able to sample your beer after ~2 days instead of 2 weeks in the bottle


Shop around, you might beable to do better price wise
http://www.cornykeg.com/product/ugly-pin-lock-keg/
I've got 4 of those that i converted to ball lock and they work great

Oh god yes it's worth it just in time savings.

ETA...Troll CL for a couple months and you'll find a suitable chest freezer cheap. You'll have to clean the shit out of it but mine cost me $400 for a brand new (scratch and dent) Fridgidaire with all the bells and whistles. For the locals people I have a two-tap converted fridge I'll be looking to sell soon.

Yes. Faster and easier...once set up and working

Beer tastes better and you don't have yeast crap loss in each bottle.

Thanks everyone.

I've been checking the local CL for about the last year for kegs and kegerators.  Only saw single tappers come up (really want a 2-tapper) and some cobbled up DIY abortions.  Some kegs show up occassionally but they don't last long.  Bought a mini fridge cheap to build a kegerator, but once I started adding up the need items it came close to the price of a new, commercially made one.  Ended up using that fridge for a fermentation temp control chamber.

The kegerator will be in the living room/kitchen area so I didn't want something that looked homemade or beat up in a frat house, so I pulled the trigger and bought a new one.  Also bought the flex kegging system from Midwest Supplies to get me started.  Figure I'll probably want to add a few more kegs to my arsenal in the future.  Anyone every carbonate some KoolAid or something?

I have carbed some Skeeter Pee before just using the same stuff I am using for beer (ie, same PSI).  If you want to do something like a root beer or soda you will need to boost the PSI up a bunch so you might need a separate regulator if you only have a single and don't use the same lines for your beer.  Lines are cheap to replace though.  The lack of alcohol and the sugars in a kool-aid or soda type beverage will mean that you'll want to clean your tap well to prevent bacteria growth as well.

You can still bottle from the tap if you need to send some off for tasters and you get no yeast is the bottom like from bottle conditioning.  

Had the kegerator for a week now and I already wish I got a 3-tapper.  My goal was to have two different beers on tap but now I've got one tap with some kool-aid in it.  Wife and kids absolutely love it so I guess one tap will now be dedicated to a soft drink.

I think I might be able to squeeze in a 2.5 gal keg and swap the tower out for a 3-tapper.

How do you clean the lines?  I don't have an extra keg so I was thinking about getting some cheap sprayers (the pump up kind) and adapting the hose to fit right on the ball lock connector.  Then I can pump it up, open the tap and pump the fluid through the lines.  Maybe make two so one can be dedicated to BLC and the other to sanitizer.

Cheap line cleaner build:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f254/diy-beer-line-cleaner-226497/

if I had one suggestion for new brewers....START WITH KEGGING  DONT BUY/USE BOTTLES

?I AM LOOKING AT GETTIGN RID OF MY CHEST FREEZER KEGGERATOR--THREE TAPS--PICS HERE: http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=51627&start=45
WHERE IN WI?

In Madison...but you're a little late to his party as I've bought a kegerator back in March.

Finding that I still like bottling.  That way I can have a variety of beers stashed away and allows you to age some.  With the keg I'm always debating what I would rather have 5 gals on tap of.

You clearly need more kegs.  I'm sitting at 3 now with more in my future.



I did clean, sanitize, and keg a beer in about 1 hour total last night, 45 minutes of which was waiting.  I think I am going to get a beer gun to bottle some stuff for aging if I am trying to clear keg space.



 

Bottle from the tap. Your carbing will take a week and a half at most, and you'll be able to clear the keg out for something else.

 
Is there a good way to CO2 purge without a beer gun?

If you are asking about purging the bottle prior ro filling from the tap, you can just run a line from your Co2 regulator and dial down the pressure then slowly open the valve. It helps to have the bottles damn near frozen to keep the foam down. Purge bottle then fill from tap.

There are plans on the web on how to make your own beer gun but at the end of the day it may be cheaper just to buy one.

I found this:
No more stinking beer gun