Monitoring Your Kegerator Beer with a Keg Meter

Published On: Monday, December 7, 2009

Enjoying draft beer at home from your very own kegerator is always a pleasing experience. In the haze of inebriation, though, you may find it difficult to gauge just how much beer is left in the keg. This is where keg meters have stepped up to the plate. Keg meters tell you how much beer is left in your kegerator’s keg, and some even act as a robotic bartender, dispensing 12 or 16 ounce beers to any cup put beneath the keg meter’s robotic eye. Here we will take an in-depth look at some different models of keg meter and other beer/kegerator monitoring devices.

The Kegmeter of www.kegmeter.com is the closest thing we have seen to a robotic bartender – although it doesn’t ask for ID yet. The kegmeter consists of an led display with friendly messages, temperature regulator, and mug sensor for dispensing beers. This invention seems like it is in the prototype phase, although the creator does offer his kegmeters for $4,999.00, so we don’t think he gets many customers. Maybe if he had some kind of animatronic zombie goblin pirate that poured out the beer…

At Keg-Meter.com, you can see a much more reasonable offer – for $89 you can get a small unit which mounts onto your pre-existing kegerator. This unit digitally display cups of beer remaining in keg; can be set for full size kegs, pony kegs, and 5 gal. kegs; monitors temperature of fridge; counts ounces in real time.; is battery powered and always on; mounts outside of kegerator for easy viewing; and is designed for home draft beer systems and kegerators. It also comes with a lock-out feature on some models, and can even be used in conjunction with a draft tower.

One easy way of monitoring the amount of beer left in your beer keg is the use of a scale. Most bathroom scales can be used for this purpose – just zero the scale at the weight of an empty keg – then you have a mechanical gauge which tells you how full your keg is, and at the lowest cost to you. If you know you will compulsively check your keg meter every five minutes, the scale will not be the best choice, as your beer may foam from temperature changes. But if you have a little knowledge of electronics, you can acquire a digital scale and extend the wiring to the LED display or from the pressure sensor and mount the LED where it can be read from the outside of the kegerator.

The SmartStrip Level Indicator: is another gadget that can help you tell how much beer is left in your kegerator. The SmartStrip strip measures 16" tall by 1-1/4" wide, and uses a thermometric technology (i.e. heat sensing) display to show the amount of beer left in your kegs. The SmartStrip is designed for use on a number of smaller kegs, including the home brewer’s old stand-by, the six-gallon Cornelius keg. A SmartStrip displays the temperature of the beer in the keg as well, in the range of 30 to 50 degrees. These strips are adhesive, and look like long, thin stickers. They are, by far, the most economical option for monitoring your keg beer, going for a mere $7.95.

For commercial purposes, there is a device called the kegcheck that is available for $199.00. This device uses a gravity and weight based measurement to monitor the amount of beer left in a standard U.S. keg. This tools looks to be durable and long lasting, as well as easy to use, but clearly fit for commercial beer dispensing and not for the home bar owner.

We can see that there are many options for monitoring the beer in your kegerator. Depending on your budget, and what perks you are looking for, you can easily install a keg monitoring system into your own home built kegerator or your factory produced kegerator.

For additional information on kegerators or draft beer topics please visit our kegerator article center.