A kegerator is a fridge or freezer with a keg, gas, beer line, and a faucet. This page names the parts in pour order. Affiliate cards live on the kegerator parts page.
Gas first
Beer in a keg needs pressure to move. A five-pound CO₂ tank is the usual bottle for ales and lagers at home. A dual-gauge regulator sits on the tank: one gauge reads the tank, the other the serving pressure you set. Stout and similar pours often use a nitrogen tank or a mixed beer-gas bottle instead of pure CO₂, because the gas blend changes how the beer breaks in the glass. The gas line runs from the regulator to the keg’s gas-in post. Ball-lock fittings and Corny liquid/gas disconnects are the common home hardware.
Beer line
Liquid leaves the keg through a beer line. Home kits often use 3/16-inch inner-diameter line as the restriction that keeps the pour from blasting foam. A beer-line kit is the hose plus the bits that meet the keg and the shank. Length is a balance: too short and the beer dumps; too long and it pours slow. Follow the booklet that ships with the conversion kit you buy rather than inventing a length here.
Shank, faucet, tower
The shank is the metal tube through the fridge wall or keezer collar. Beer line meets one end; a beer faucet threads onto the other. A forward-sealing stainless faucet (the Perlick-style search) keeps beer out of the faucet body when it is closed, which makes cleaning simpler. The tower is the chrome or stainless column on top of the fridge: a 3-inch kegerator tower is a common size. A replacement faucet search is useful when the tower is fine and the tap is not.
Drip tray
A drip tray with a drain sits under the faucet so the pour has somewhere to go besides the floor. Some trays drain into a bottle; some are a shallow pan you empty.
Cleaning
Beer line takes a film. A kegerator cleaning kit and a bottle pump push cleaner through the line between kegs. Clean the faucet the same day you clean the line. This page does not invent a schedule. Use the cleaner’s label and the kit booklet.
Handles
The lever on the faucet is a tap handle. Collectible, custom, sports, and ceramic handles are on the handle catalog. They still pour. Buy one after the tower already exists.
Updated 2026-08-31.