Product review (4 stars): Some Good Advice
Everyone,

My wife bought me this kegerator for a birthday present and I was super excited.  I ordered a keg of Stone IPA, and after some searching, I found a local place that exchanges 5 lbs beverage-quality CO2 canisters.  I went ahead and swapped the empty that came with this setup for one of their exchange canisters because in the end, I think it will make my life easier not having to worry about refilling it.

I put it all together, let everything chill down inside the fridge to the coldest setting of 7 (this is important because the CO2 loses pressure when it gets cold).  When I went to pour the beer, it was super foamy.  I thought it was just the new keg so I let it sit for another day, and I tried it again only to end up with the same result.  I wasn't sure what to do, so I did some research and found that for my elevation, my regulator was out-of-the-box set to 25 PSI - way too high.  I found a PSI kegerator chart, and realized that I needed to be at a much, much lower PSI of around 5.  I got a wrench and twisted the +/- nob on the regulator until I got it down to 5 PSI and that solved the foam problem - I did not need a new hose like some of the reviews stated.

My next issue.  Once I adjusted the pressure the pour was fine, but I noticed the beer had a really strong plastic/rubber/metallic/chemical smell/taste.  I did more research and convinced myself I had oxidized my beer by having it exposed to too much CO2 PSI -  this later turned out to be false and I learned that beer can easily withstand up to 30 PSI without being ruined.  I was ready to call it a wasted-keg-day, but out of denial I continued to do research on the problem.

Finally, I found an article on a beer brewing forum that talked about how the synthetic washer between the keg and the tap hose could be to blame.  I disconnected the keg from the hose that connects it to the pourer, and I could smell the problem at once.  There is this white ring/washer/gasket thing that comes with this kegerator that is known to give the beer this horrible taste/smell as it passes over it and/or sits in the tube, and it reeked of that chemical smell.  I truly did not know one little washer could stink and foul up beer so badly, but it sure can.  My fingers still smelled like that chemical a day after I washed them, and I have a terrible sense of smell.  I yanked that thing out, replaced it with a rubber o-ring, and the problem was 90% solved.  I ordered a keg cleaning kit to flush the remainder of the smell out of the tap tube, and a set of black synthetic washers that has been reported not to have that problem.

The only reason I gave it a 4/5 is because of the research I had to do, and the emotional toll it took on me thinking I ruined 5 gallons of expensive beer.  I can tell you right now with 100% honesty that I am enjoying a beer, straight from my keg, and it is delicious.  This thing is going to turn me into a beer snob for sure.

I emailed the people at Smart+ and hopefully soon they will stop shipping those bad-news white washers.

Make sure you adjust your regulator, make sure you don't use one of those white washers, and you will love this thing.

-R