Haier Kegerator (Haier BrewMaster)

This is our own kegerator that we have had in use since December of 2005. We had it delivered new from Best Buy. The current price of this model is between $550 to $700

The general specifications of this unit are:

Cooling: Exposed cold plate (evaporator) using a 115 volt compressor and standard grounded plug. Thermostat cooling control is mounted on the lower rear of the unit. It also has automatic defrost.

Pressure: 5 pound co2 cylinder mounted inside the unit on a moulded shelf. Mounted with a stainless steel bracket that comes with the unit (user installed). The regulator was a single gauge model of low quality that did not have an integrated shut off valve. All gas hose sections were secured with plastic snap clamps.

Beer Service: Holds 1/2 barrels, 1/4 barrels and two 1/6 barrels. (Will not hold "bellied" kegs such as Coors and some Miller as they are too wide to allow the door to close). 2 1/2 inch diameter, chrome plated tower (user assembly required). The tower was insulated with a 1/8 inch sheet of foam. Fully equiped with American Sanke coupler (low quality) and beer line. Hose ends secured with plastic snap clamps. The unit was suppled with a black, generic tap handle and a cleaning kit.

Exterior/Interior: 14.3 cubic feet. Black cabinet (steel) and top (composite board) with a faux stainless steel door. Unit includes a user assembled guardrail. Comes equiped with a removable, plastic drip tray. Casters are supplied (user assembled) for easy mobility. Comes with a steel floor support to protect the interior surface. Can be converted to a standard mini-fridge with supplied shelving and brackets.

The unit functions as a cold box very well and has been very reliable. The thermostat needs to be adjusted frequently as the temperature doesn't seem to stablize very well. With the thermotat behind the unit, having casters helps. As mentioned elsewhere this unit is one of those that has limitations. In fact, this kegerator and its limitations are the inspiration for a great deal of the information on this site.

Some issues we just lived with early on until we discovered some changes we could make. Without good instructions on serving draft beer and working with co2 pressure, we had to use some trial and error and some Internet research to come up with workable solutions to these common problems:

Foamy first pours causing considerable beer waste

Over and under pressurizing kegs (lack of instruction and knowledge)

Not serving beer cold enough (lack of instruction) - more foam and waste

Smelly, dirty drip tray

The desire to serve home brewed beer on draft

The desire to have more than one beer available at a time (Miller Lite tall 1/4 and 1/6 barrel of various microbrews or homebrew (5 gallons)

To take care of these issues we took on the following projects (most of which are chronicled elsewhere on this site):

Adding a tower cooling device Adding a two faucet tower, which required expanding the hole in the unit's top

Replacing the drip tray with a stainless steel model mounted with a drain through the kegerator's top

Moving the co2 cylinder to the outside of the unit. This move provide more space inside for the cooling fan.

Replacing the low quality regulator with a dual gauge model with separate shut-off valve

Adding an additional beer line and coupler

Splitting the gas line using a gas manifold in order to supply two kegs.

Retrofitting the gas and beer lines for use with homebrew kegs

Now the Haier BrewMaster is a draft beer dynamo, but given what we know now, a comercial kegerator would be a better option. Though considerably more expensive a commercial unit would have alleviated a lot of expense and trial and error. NOT TO MENTION WASTED BEER and disappointed guests.

Best attribute of this kegerator: ability to hold two 1/6 barrels or a tall 1/4 and a 1/6 barrel. Not all kegerators in this class can do that.

Worst attribute of this kegerator: need for tower cooling and inconsistent temperature.

If you are interested in a Haier kegerator you can find one online here.