If you’re sick of washing bottles, knowing the answer to the question 'What is a kegerator?' will come in handy. A kegerator is a refrigerator designed to chill a keg and dispense the beer through a tap. It's the bit of kit that takes you from "I brew beer at home" to "I serve beer at home". Some are purpose-built, some are converted from old fridges in the garage, and some are used for cider, kombucha, or even nitro coffee. Whatever your reason for landing on this page, this guide will tell you everything you need to know about kegerators.
What is a Kegerator?
Kegerators are designed to store and dispense beer from a keg. It keeps beer at the ideal serving temperature (typically 3–5°C) while a CO2 (or nitrogen / mixed gas) cylinder pressurises the keg, allowing beer to flow through a tap on top (or through the door). Kegerators are used at home, in bars, and for events.
The word itself is just "keg" + "refrigerator" mashed together. This is also similar to a “keezer”. This is the freezer equivalent of a kegerator (“keg + “freezer”). In this guide we will mainly cover kegerators. The term ‘kegerator’ covers everything from a second-hand £1500 fridge conversion in the garage to a £1,000 purpose-built unit running four taps in a small taproom. Whichever end of the scale you're at, the principle is the same: chill the keg, pressurise it with beer gas, pour the beer.
What Is A Kegerator Used For?
Most kegerators are used to dispense beer, whether home-brewed, commercial, or a mix of both. But they're more versatile than people realise. The same setup can serve cider, wine, kombucha, cocktails on tap, and (one of the fastest-growing uses) nitro cold brew coffee. Anywhere you'd want a chilled, pressurised drink poured straight from a tap, a kegerator does the job.
What is a Beer Kegerator?
A beer kegerator is just the most common type of kegerator - one set up specifically to dispense beer. Since beer is what the vast majority of people use one for, "kegerator" and "beer kegerator" usually mean the same thing in everyday conversation.
The only real distinction is what's inside. A homebrew beer kegerator is built around corny kegs and ball-lock disconnects, while a commercial beer kegerator uses commercial beer couplers (such as Sankey couplers) to dispense from pub-style kegs. The fridge, gas, and taps are essentially identical -it's the connection to the keg that changes.
How Does a Kegerator Work?
A kegerator works by combining cold storage with gas pressure. The fridge chills the keg to serving temperature (around 3–5°C for most beers), while a CO2/ Mixed gas cylinder connected to a regulator pressurises the keg. That pressure pushes the beer up through a dip tube, along the beer line, and out of the tap when you pull the handle. Stop pulling, and the flow stops - the gas keeps everything sealed, and fridge keeps it chilled, and ready for the next pour.
It's a closed system, which is why kegged beer stays fresh for weeks (or months) without going flat or oxidising. No air gets in, no fizz gets out.
Key Components of a Kegerator
Whether you buy a purpose-built unit or convert a fridge yourself, the components are essentially the same. Here's what's inside one and what each part does.
The Fridge or Cabinet
The body of the kegerator. Purpose-built units like the Kegland Series X.1 are designed from scratch to hold up to four corny kegs within the footprint of a standard fridge, with the taps mounted on top. Conversion setups use a regular larder fridge or chest freezer - cheaper, but you'll need to check internal height (a 19L corny keg is either 56 cm or63cm tall (depending on the type), plus clearance for fittings).
The Keg
The container the beer lives in. In the UK, home brewers overwhelmingly use corny kegs - refillable stainless steel vessels (typically 19L) with a removable lid for easy cleaning and refilling (the Kegland Series X can fit in 4!). Commercial kegs (Sankey, KeyKeg, polykeg) are sealed units used by pubs and breweries; you can dispense from these too, but you'll need the right coupler (and you often only fit in one keg at a time).
CO2 Cylinder And Regulator
The CO2 cylinder supplies the gas that pressurises the keg. The regulator sits on top of the cylinder and lets you set the dispense pressure precisely - usually 10–12 PSI for most beers. UK home brewers often start with a Sodastream-compatible regulator as a low-cost entry point before upgrading to a full-size CO2 cylinder.
Keg Coupler (Or Ball Lock Disconnects)
The bit that connects the gas and beer lines to the keg. Corny kegs use ball-lock disconnects; quick-connect fittings that snap on and off in seconds. Commercial kegs use a coupler matched to the keg type (Sankey is the most common UK pub format). Match your fittings to your kegs, not the other way around. Give us a shout at Brewkegtap if you need any help here.
Beer Line
The food-grade tubing that carries beer from the keg to the tap. Sounds simple, but the right beer line matters more than people realise. Length and inner diameter affect line balancing - get it wrong, and you'll get foam instead of beer. As a rough rule, a 3/16" ID line at roughly 1.5–2 metres works well for most home setups at standard dispense pressures.
Shank, Tap, and Font (Tap Tower)
The hardware on the outside of the kegerator. The shank is the part that passes through whatever the tap is mounted on (fridge door, tower or wall). The tap is what you pull to pour, and the font (or draft beer tower) is the housing that holds it all upright. Forward-sealing taps like the Nukatap are worth the small upgrade - they close cleanly to prevent dripping, sticking, and the dreaded first-pour foam.
Types of Kegerators
Not all kegerators look the same, and the right one depends entirely on what you're trying to do with it. Here are the main routes UK buyers take.
Freestanding Kegerators
Purpose-built units designed to do one job: hold and dispense kegs. They plug straight in, come ready to run (with some easy assembly), and require no DIY. The Kegland Series X.1 range is the most common UK option - it fits up to four 19L corny kegs in roughly the same footprint as a standard fridge, and comes in single, double, triple, and four-tap configurations. These kegerators need a little space to the sides (100mm each side).
Best for: home brewers who'd rather buy than build, garden bars, cafes, small taprooms, anyone wanting a proper-looking setup without the conversion work.
Built-In / Undercounter Kegerators
Designed to slot into a fitted kitchen or home bar, like an integrated dishwasher. They look smart and save space.The Kegland Undercover / Semi Integrated Kegerator can slot into a 60cm wide gap in a kitchen and doesn’t need any space either side. Heat is lost at the bottom of the front panel.
Best for: home bars, kitchen installations, and setups where space is at a premium and it you only have a single appliance space (60cm).
Countertop And Mini Kegerators
The small, decorative end of the market, usually designed to take a 5L mini keg rather than a full-size corny. They look great on a kitchen worktop, but they're limited in what they can dispense (usually only specific branded mini kegs), and they're not really practical for home brewing.
Best for: casual beer fans who want a single commercial mini keg on tap. Not the right choice if you're brewing your own.
Kegerator Conversion Kits (The UK Home Brewer's Choice)
By far the most popular route for UK home brewers. You take a standard larder fridge (or buy a cheap second-hand one) and add a keg kit with everything you need - kegs, taps, lines, regulator, and fittings. Drill a hole or two in the door, run the gas line, and you're pouring beer. Depending on the fridge you might be able to fit between 1 and 4 kegs in a DIY kegerator - a tall larder fridge is best as it places the taps at chest height and can normally fit more kegs than a smaller fridge.
Why it dominates the UK market: it's cheaper than a purpose-built unit, fits the kegs you've already got, and you can spec it exactly the way you want. The trade-off is the DIY itself - but it's well within reach for anyone comfortable with a drill just be careful when drilling through a fridge - most doors are OK but the sides and top often house tubes full with pressurised coolant gas.
Best for: home brewers, budget-conscious buyers, and anyone with a spare fridge in the garage.
Keezers - The Chest Freezer Alternative
A keezer is a chest freezer fitted with an external temperature controller (so it runs at fridge temperatures, not freezer temperatures) and a wooden collar around the lid to mount the taps. You get more keg capacity for your money than a fridge conversion, but they take up more floor space and the collar build adds a bit of woodwork to the project.
Best for: brewers who want serious capacity (four to six kegs is common), have the space, and don't mind a slightly bigger build.
Jockey Boxes - Kegerator Alternatives For Events
A jockey box iis the portable cousin of the kegerator. Instead of chilling the whole keg with a compressor, it chills the beer only as it passes through stainless steel coils sitting in an ice slurry inside an insulated cooler. The keg stays at ambient temperature next to it, and no mains power is needed. This makes jockey boxes ideal for outdoor events, weddings, festivals, beer gardens, mobile bars, and taprooms needing overflow capacity.
BrewKegTap's four-tap stainless steel jockey box kit is the same base unit used by mobile bars and event-hire businesses across the UK - it comes with the cooler, coils, and shanks, and you spec the taps and couplers to match your kegs.
Best for: anyone serving beer away from a power source, or anyone who needs portable dispensing alongside their main setup.
Benefits Of Having A Kegerator
There are a few good reasons kegerators have become the standard finishing line for anyone wanting pub-quality beer at home.
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No more bottling. The biggest benefit! Bottling a 19L batch means cleaning, filling, capping, and storing roughly 40 bottles. A keg takes a quick clean, one fill, one seal, and you're done.
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Better beer. Proper carbonation, correct serving temperature, and no oxygen exposure during dispensing means your beer tastes the way you brewed it.
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Cost savings over time. A kegerator setup pays for itself if you brew or buy kegged beer regularly. No bottle caps, no wasted bottles, no fridge full of cans.
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The home pub factor. A working tap turns a garage, shed, or kitchen corner into the kind of space friends will love to visit.
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Versatility beyond beer. The same kit can dispense cider, kombucha, cocktails on tap, and nitro cold brew coffee. Swap the keg, swap the gas (nitrogen tanks for nitro coffee), and you've got a completely different drink coming out of the same tap.
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Longevity. A properly maintained setup lasts ten years or more. Most of the parts are stainless steel, and the consumables (lines, seals, O-rings) are cheap to replace.
Drawbacks and Common Challenges
We won't pretend kegerators are perfect. A few honest things to weigh up before you commit.
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Upfront cost. Even a budget conversion runs to a few hundred pounds once you've got the kegs, gas, regulator, lines, and taps. A purpose-built unit costs more.
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Space. A kegerator takes up roughly the same room as a standard fridge - fine in a garage, less fine in a small UK kitchen.
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A learning curve. Force vs natural carbonation, line balancing, dispense pressure, temperature control - none of it is hard, but it does take a brew or two to dial in.
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Cleaning isn't optional. Regular beer line cleaning iis the single most important habit. Skip it, and you'll end up with off-flavours and biofilm in your lines and taps.
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Pour problems happen. Foam, flat beer and slow pours are almost always traceable to one of three things: temperature, pressure levels, or line balance. They're all fixable, and once you know your system easy to sort. At Brewkegtap we’re kegging experts (its what the business started off doing) so if you need any help on this give us a shout.
How Much Does A Kegerator Cost in the UK?
Honest UK pricing, depending on the route you take (prices include kegs):
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Fridge conversion route: £1500–£300 for a starter keg kit, assuming you already have a spare fridge (add £100–£200 if you need to buy one or as little as free if you look on local ads like facebook marketplace).
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Mid-range home setup: £250–£400 fully kitted out with quality components, multi-tap capability, and a proper CO2 cylinder rather than Sodastream.
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Purpose-built kegerator: £600 (for 1 keg/ tap) –£1,500+ (for an 8 keg, 8 tap behemoth).
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Commercial / multi-tap event setup: Commercial setups aren’t really much more expensive than home kegerators but they need slightly different connectors and lines to work the best. Single tap commercial setups (for dispensing a 50L keg start at £550.
The honest BrewKegTap approach: build only what you need. Most UK home brewers don't need a £1,500 kit - they need the right one for their budget, set up properly first time. We’ve got lots of options and have advised 100s of customers before on the best equipment for them. By all means give us a shout.
Where to Buy a Kegerator in the UK
Many kegerators in the UK are sold out of the box with a set number of taps. At Brewkegtap we can custom make any kegerator setup to fit your requirements and (importantly) we are always on the end of the phone if you need help.
BrewKegTap stocks everything you need: purpose-built kegerators, keg conversion kits, kegs, taps, CO2 regulators, beer line and fittings, and the jockey box kit for event use. If you're not sure which fits your setup, get in touch - we’ll help you find the one that fits what you're trying to do.
Ready to Start Kegging?
Kegerators aren't as complicated as they look once you understand the components - a fridge, a keg, some gas, and a tap. Whether you're converting an old fridge in the garage, looking for a purpose-built unit that takes four kegs out of the box, or kitting out a mobile bar with a jockey box, there's a setup that fits.
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Ready-built and ready to pour? Browse our purpose-built kegerators
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Converting a fridge yourself? Start with a complete keg kit - everything you need bar the CO2 and the fridge.
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Serving at events or outdoors? Take a look at the four-tap jockey box kit - portable, ice-cooled, no power needed.
Not sure what suits your setup? Drop us an email or give us a ring. We’re always here to help, and more than happy to offer honest, transparent advice!
What is a Kegerator and Other FAQs
Q: How long does a keg last in a kegerator?
A: A commercial keg dispensed under CO2 typically lasts 3-6 months once tapped, provided it's kept cold and at the right pressure. Home-brewed beer will last for the same amount of time (or longer) - depending on how it's been packaged. If the beer was oxidised during the kegging process it won’t last long (especially so for hoppy beers).
Q: What temperature should a kegerator be?
3–5°C for most ales and lagers. For traditional UK cask-style ales, 8–12°C is closer to cellar temperature - CAMRA recommends 11–13°C for real ale.
Q: How much electricity does a kegerator use?
Roughly the same as a normal fridge - typically 50–150W depending on the unit. Annual running costs are around £40–£80 in the UK, depending on usage and tariff.
Q: Can I convert any fridge into a kegerator?
Most larder fridges work well. The key check is internal height clearance - a corny keg is around 63cm tall (or 56cm for some reconditioned kegs) and you need extra room above for fittings and lines. American-style fridges with a compressor hump inside often won't fit a corny keg properly, so check before you buy.
Q: Do I need a CO2 cylinder for a kegerator?
Yes - for proper dispensing and carbonation, you need a CO2 cylinder and regulator. UK home brewers often start with Sodastream-compatible regulators as a low-cost entry point before moving up to a full-size cylinder.
Q: Can I dispense commercial beer in a kegerator?
Yes - pre-built kegerators such as the Series X.1 are perfect to adapt for serving commercial beers such as Peroni, Estrella or Guiness. We have a specially customised version of the Series X.1 kegerator setup to serve perfect pints of draft beer at home. We’ve helped many customers install a kegerator serving perfect pour Guiness in the comfort of their own man-cave. Kitchen, garage. Just give us a shout if you want to make that happen!
Do I need a CO2 cylinder for a kegerator?
Yes - for proper dispensing and carbonation, you need a CO2 cylinder and regulator. UK home brewers often start with Sodastream-compatible regulators as a low-cost entry point before moving up to a full-size cylinder.
Q: Can you use a kegerator for nitro cold brew coffee?
Yes - but you'll need nitrogen gas instead of CO2, and a stout-style "creamer" tap (or stout spout added to a nukatap) to get the proper cascading texture. The fridge, kegs, and lines are otherwise the pretty much the same as a beer setup.
Q: What's the difference between a kegerator and a jockey box?
A kegerator chills the entire keg with a compressor and is designed for permanent or semi-permanent home, bar, or taproom use. A jockey box chills only the beer as it passes through internal coils sitting in ice - it's portable, needs no mains power, and is built for outdoor events.
Q: What's the difference between a kegerator and a beer fridge?
A beer fridge just chills bottles or cans. A kegerator chills and dispenses from a keg under pressure. Different category, different job.
Q: Is a kegerator worth it?
Yes if you home brew regularly, entertain often, or run a small commercial setup. Probably not if you drink occasionally and prefer variety in cans and bottles. It's less a yes/no question and more a question of how you actually drink.