Refurbished Kegerators

I know many of us have wanted a kegerator, but didn’t have $500+ to spend on a new unit. Refurbished kegerators can be a cost effective way to land a great deal. I am writing this article because a search in Google for refurbished kegerators renders pretty shitty results. All the best ranking links are expired.

Where to Check First

My go to site for refurbished kegerators is OpenBoxDirect. This is the same company behind Kegerator.com and the EdgeStar line of kegerators. They currently have a lot of deals on mini kegerators, they also have a dual tap full sized kegerator priced at less than $360 shipped! There is also a fridge made for an easy kegerator conversion priced at less than $230 dollars.

2nd Best Place to Find a Refurbished Kegerator

Craigslist is a great place to pick up used kegerators. While these units aren’t necessarily refurbished, they are usually cheap. Landing a great deal is usually the goal of any refurb bargain hunter. Caveat emptor applies much more to a site like Craigslist than OpenBoxDirect. I’ve known a lot of people, even people I typically regard as ethical, who use Craigslist as a way to unload unreliable crap. These people lose karma points for sure, but I am not sure you can do much beyond that if you happen to be the unlucky sucker that buys their junk. Most kegerators I’ve seen on Craigslist are usually priced between $100 and $400. Remember, negotiating is part of the game when buying from Craigslist. I know this skill doesn’t come naturally to many Americans. My advice is to think about how hard you work for your money or conversely how much ass you have to kiss and bite the bullet. Here is a sample of the current offerings in Phoenix:

3rd Best Source of Refurb Kegerators

If you are hunting for a good deal on a kegerator, Ebay is always worth a quick once over. My experience has shown that the prices usually suck due to the high shipping costs of such a heavy appliance. You never know until you look though. One of the cool parts about buying from Ebay is a purchase this large is likely to qualify you for Ebay bucks. You have to accumulate at least $5 in Ebay bucks per quarter to receive your voucher. Buying a kegerator is likely to put you well on the well.

4th Best Option

Find someone giving away or selling an old refrigerator on the cheap and just buy a conversion kit. People get rid of perfectly good refrigerators constantly. These won’t be the prettiest things most of the time, but they are usually cheap or free. I see cheap local appliance stores selling full sized refrigerators with warranties for less than $250. If you combine that with a $130 value conversion kit from a place like Kegerator.com  You can be rocking and rolling with a spacious and likely reliable kegerator for well under $400 dollars. The trick with any project like this is to not be afraid. Even if you screw up, there is usually a simple way to fix it. Besides, screwing up is how we learn the best.

5th Best Place to Look for Cheap Kegerators

Worst case scenario if you can’t find a good deal on a refurbed kegerator using any of the aforementioned options, you might check out Walmart. Yeah, Walmart is the store we all love to hate, and yeah, they by and large sell crap. This case is no different. They do, however, sell cheap crap. One of the cheaper units they sell is an Igloo 6 cubic foot for around $330. The good news is this unit is big enough to fit all full sized kegs. The bad news is even the reviews on the Walmart website indicate it is an iffy unit at best.

Only you can decide if you are going to rot in hell if you shop at Walmart. I cautiously and optimistically tend to think you won’t as long as you don’t make it an everyday habit. If you can’t tell, I am at least half joking on this point.

 6th Best Option

When I originally wrote this article, I didn’t realize the variety of offers from Home Depot. Most of their offerings aren’t refurbished, but they are cheap. Free site to store shipping is one of the best features with Home Depot. The discount on shipping allows big box stores to undercut smaller online competitors by a good $100. Read my Home Depot kegerator article for a full review of their best offers. My personal favorite is the Danby DKCC5811BSL. It costs less than $500, fits over-sized kegs, is stainless, and has automatic defrost. You can’t ask for much more than that even from models that cost far more.

Danby DKCC5811BSL