Walmart isn’t the first place that comes to mind when I think of kegerators. Fortunately for those of us who are budget minded, big box stores have realized in the last few years that they can sell products not sold in the brick and mortar locations. Free site to store shipping makes already low prices from Walmart even better. Shipping a kegerator to the store instead of your house isn’t just a cost saving feature. Large flimsy appliances are frequently dented in shipping. Site to store shipping allows you to thoroughly inspect the shipment before accepting the purchase. Walmart’s return policy is great too. I’ve literally returned a lawn mower after using it. Sure, it was a little embarrassing, but it got the job done.
Best Walmart Kegerator
1. Magic Chef Kegerator – at a mere $467.37 the 4.9 cubic foot magic chef is a great deal. This model is almost identical to the Midea kegerator and more well-known Edgestar KC2000 kegerator. The biggest problem with the Magic Chef MCKC490B is that it isn’t large enough to hold over-sized kegs from brands like Coors, Miller, and Yuengling.
2. Danby DAN1256 Kegerator – I am a big fan of Danby kegerators. They tend to be large enough to fit all full-sized kegs, including over-sized and rubberized shells. They are also some of the cheapest models with automatic defrost. If you have ever had to push a refrigerator outside and let it spend a few hours in the sun to defrost, you will appreciate this feature. This Danby unit currently costs $647.99 and has free shipping.
3. Igloo 4.6 Cubic Foot Kegerator – this is one of the smallest kegerators in terms of cubic feet. It has a beveled door that just barely allows it to fit standard size half barrel kegs. Over-sized and rubberized kegs are out of the question with this model. It’s best feature is price. It can be purchased for $349 with free shipping included. Even with Walmarts enormous shipping discounts, no one in the chain can be making much off this model. The site claims the original price was $599. If you believe the original price, this is one hell of a discount.
In the recent past, Walmart also stocked a 6.1 cubic foot kegerator from Igloo. It was stainless and priced at just $389 with free site to store shipping. If this model comes back in stock, I would highly recommend paying the extra 40 bucks for it. 6.1 cubic feet is large enough to store all full-sized kegs, including over-sized variants from brands like Miller Coors.
4. Nostalgia Electrics KRS 2100 – one of the most popular kegerators sold on the web. I can’t strongly recommend this model at the current $399 price, but for several years in a row, Walmart has dropped the price to $299 during the holidays. The KRS 2100 is a great deal at $300 shipped because it will fit the needs of most people. It is a fairly meh deal at $400. The main weaknesses of this unit are a 2.5 pound C02 tank, 3 foot beer line, and design barely large enough to fit normal size half barrels (over-sized half barrel kegs are out of the question). The 3 foot beer line is a 5 dollar fix if you are remotely handy. It’s also only recommended if the 3 foot beer line results in foamy beer. The 2.5 pound C02 tank is fine for most people. The downside is it needs to be filled more frequently, andthe cost of filling a 2.5 tank versus a 5 pound tank is negligeble. As a side note, I always laught when I see a Nostalgia Electrics kegerator. They are one of two companies I know that use an alternative “kegorator” spelling.
5. Midea 4.9 Cubic Foot Kegerator – essentially the same as the Magic Chef and EdgeStar KC2000. Midea is the Chinese manufacture that supplies the kegerator refrigerator for the Magic Chef and KC200. There might be some difference in terms of the tap and C02 tank supplied. One of the best parts about the Midea is a full one year warranty on parts and labor. Walmart was selling this model directly for $384, which was a heck of a deal. They appear to have run out. It’s still listed on the site, but the price is much higher and sold by Wayfair through Walmart’s merchant program. I listed it because it is a great deal if/when Walmart stocks it again.
6. Danby 5.2 Cubic Foot – this kegerator is a great deal if you don’t drink beer out of an oversized keg. At 5.2 cubic feet, it is not large enough to fit rubberized kegs from Miller. That said, it is a hell of a bargain at just $404.10 with free shipping. Danby kegerators come with 5 pound C02 tanks. This is a nice feature for such a cheap unit. It also has automatic defrost. If you’ve ever had to push a refrigerator out in the sun to let it spend a few hours defrosting, you will quickly recognize the value of this attribute.
Home Depot Alternative
Walmart is often the low-cost leader in kegerators. However, their prices and stock vary wildly throughout the year. Fortunately for those who don’t mind fueling the increasing big box dominance, Home Depot also offers several kegerators at remarkably good prices. You can read my write up of the best kegerators at Home Depot here.
Commercial Kegerators at Walmart
Even more surprising than the selection of kegerators intended for home use is their commercial kegerator selection. As with the other kegerators, you are unlikely to find these models in your local store, but you can conveniently order them online.
1. Direct Draw Black Kegerator with Glass Rinser – I’ll be the first to tell you that Walmart’s current $2400 price for this no name unit sucks. This unit is identical to the Micro Matic Pro-Line unit sold for $2,045. It’s still one hell of a nice kegerator comparable to a Beverage Air or TRUE TDD-1. It’s still neat that Walmart even sells a unit like this and may be indicative of better models to come.
2. Direct Draw 3 Kegerator with Glass Rinser – this is the 3 kegerator commercial version of the first kegerator on this list. Compared to the first unit, it has a more reasonable $3500 price tag. The Walmart site claims the original price for this model was over $6000. Unfortunately, it is still priced about a grand higher than the comparable unit from TRUE. This 3 kegerator commercial style is perfect for bars, restaurants or the most badass man cave ever built.
Kegerators Currently Out of Stock
1. Igloo 6.1 Cubic Foot Kegerator – I like this model when it is in stock. The main advantages are large capacity and low cost. The typical cost of this unit is less than $400 with free site to store shipping. It also has a large enough capacity to fit all full-sized kegs, including oversized kegs from Miller, Coors and Yuengling. Unfortunately, this model has been out of stock for awhile. It’s still worth looking at the page if you are on a tight budget, but want a larger kegerator.
