Keezer build and updates

Just started my keezer build yesterday and already stoked with the looks. Framing with 1X8 pine and gonna face it with oak.

Nice. I just finished mine and will post some pics as well. I used silicone to glue the 2x6 to the lip of the freezer. I also made a bracket out of 1/8" steel that uses the existing bolt holes for the hinges in back and added two 1.5" heavy wood screws to secure the back down. So far itā€™s working well. How many kegs will yours hold?

I would suggest drilling the holes before you secure it to the freezer. If I were doing it again I would use a 1" spade bit in my drill press to get a perfectly straight hole. I used a hole saw and it took a lot of force even though it was a brand new one. The shanks are 7/8" and you can either drill a 7/8" or 1" hole. Most people drill a 1" hole. I got 2.5" shanks and they were just barely long enough to go through a 1.5" board. With your set up you may want 3" shanks.

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[quote=ā€œScalded Dogā€]Nice. I just finished mine and will post some pics as well. I used silicone to glue the 2x6 to the lip of the freezer. I also made a bracket out of 1/8" steel that uses the existing bolt holes for the hinges in back and added two 1.5" heavy wood screws to secure the back down. So far itā€™s working well. How many kegs will yours hold?

I would suggest drilling the holes before you secure it to the freezer. If I were doing it again I would use a 1" spade bit in my drill press to get a perfectly straight hole. I used a hole saw and it took a lot of force even though it was a brand new one. The shanks are 7/8" and you can either drill a 7/8" or 1" hole. Most people drill a 1" hole. I got 2.5" shanks and they were just barely long enough to go through a 1.5" board. With your set up you may want 3" shanks.[/quote]

I like your idea for the hinge brackets. I havenā€™t secured anything yet as I would like collar to be finished before that. Iā€™m gonna drill 1" holes for the 4 1/8" shanks I bought. With the collar, the keezer will hold 6 ball locks and my co2 bottle with some room for single bottles throughout. I only bought 4 faucets tho so Iā€™m gonna have lots of storage room.

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Wow!! Looking good!!! That finish wood looks like white pine not oak? still beautiful. Contrasts nicely with the black freezer. Mine is just basic whiteā€¦but it lives in the garage so I couldnā€™t see spending a lot to make it pretty. The wheels really make it nice to move around.

It is indeed white pine. Was gonna go oak route but I decided on a black stain for the collar and skirting and oak wouldā€™ve been a waste of money. Dry fitted everything and pretty much just the staining left to do. Plumbing should be fairly simple with my 4way gas manifold mounted to collar as well. I went with Bevlex200 for my beer line and gonna start with 6ft to see how they pour. My picnic taps were only 5ft and seemed to pour well for the most part. Waiting on my 19inch drip tray to arrive and plan on mounting magnets to it so I can just ā€œstickā€ it to freezer. Very excited to pour my first pint!

Looking good!

Iā€™d suggest going longer for the liquid lines. I just replaced my picnic taps with perlicks and figured Iā€™d use the 5 foot lines for the new taps. My pours were too foamy. I replaced the lines with 10 foot lines which I felt would be overkill but hey the line is fairly cheap and easier to shorten that lengthen. The pour is a little slower than Iā€™d like but much better and the extra line inside the fridge is not as painful to deal with as Iā€™d anticpated.

Just my $.02.

I have 6ft lines. Too much foam at 10psi but just right at 8psi, but slightly slow.

Looking good!

Iā€™d suggest going longer for the liquid lines. I just replaced my picnic taps with perlicks and figured Iā€™d use the 5 foot lines for the new taps. My pours were too foamy. I replaced the lines with 10 foot lines which I felt would be overkill but hey the line is fairly cheap and easier to shorten that lengthen. The pour is a little slower than Iā€™d like but much better and the extra line inside the fridge is not as painful to deal with as Iā€™d anticpated.

Just my $.02.[/quote]

Thanks. Iā€™m gonna give the 6 footers a try as I already have 2 sections cut. I did order 30 more feet of line the other day so I can adjust if the 6ers arenā€™t sufficient.

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Looks beautiful.

I really like the all-black look and the ā€˜skirtā€™ that you added at the bottom. Does that wrap around the left side? If so, how did you handle the grate / vent for the compressor?

Did you re-paint the freezer, so the shade and finish of the paint would exactly match the trim?

Is this the Kenmore 8.8 cubic foot chest freezer? Looks just like my (unmodified) one that I use as a fermentation chamber.

[quote=ā€œDiesel Tonicā€]Looks beautiful.

I really like the all-black look and the ā€˜skirtā€™ that you added at the bottom. Does that wrap around the left side? If so, how did you handle the grate / vent for the compressor?

Did you re-paint the freezer, so the shade and finish of the paint would exactly match the trim?

Is this the Kenmore 8.8 cubic foot chest freezer? Looks just like my (unmodified) one that I use as a fermentation chamber.[/quote]

Thanks Diesel. It is the Kenmore 8.8 cubic foot freezer. You have a fairly expensive ferm chamber I might add. Did not repaint freezer to match the collar because the collar is stained with 2 coats of gloss black stain and 3 coats of poly. The skirting does wrap around the left side as well. The wheels added about 3 inches in height which only brought the skirting to just below the temp dial on side. Should be plenty of ventilation still. Still waiting on a few add-ons but this baby is all but ready to go!

[quote=ā€œDiesel Tonicā€]Looks beautiful.

I really like the all-black look and the ā€˜skirtā€™ that you added at the bottom. Does that wrap around the left side? If so, how did you handle the grate / vent for the compressor?

Did you re-paint the freezer, so the shade and finish of the paint would exactly match the trim?

Is this the Kenmore 8.8 cubic foot chest freezer? Looks just like my (unmodified) one that I use as a fermentation chamber.[/quote]

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Ah, that additional pic helps. Nicely done.

(I did indeed upgrade for my ferm chamber, with big plans to lager 2 batches at a time and have a kegerator effectively in place if my 20+ year current kegerator diedā€¦ alas, I have only lagered two brews (at the same time, though!) since I got it two years agoā€¦ but, itā€™s been very helpful for keeping some high OG IIPAā€™s under controlā€¦)

Remind me to come back in a year and ask you to critically evaluate how you like (or how annoying it is to have ) the collar as part of the lid. Specifically any hassle, quirks, or hindrances (or lack thereof!) what with the taps & all the lines, etc etc, also lifting up each time you need to swap kegs & whatnot.

My collar/taps do not lift with my lid; Iā€™m not sure Iā€™m happy with it, or whether your option is superior, so Iā€™d appreciate the critical evaluation.

[quote=ā€œSilentknyghtā€]Remind me to come back in a year and ask you to critically evaluate how you like (or how annoying it is to have ) the collar as part of the lid. Specifically any hassle, quirks, or hindrances (or lack thereof!) what with the taps & all the lines, etc etc, also lifting up each time you need to swap kegs & whatnot.

My collar/taps do not lift with my lid; Iā€™m not sure Iā€™m happy with it, or whether your option is superior, so Iā€™d appreciate the critical evaluation.[/quote]

Iā€™ve got my doubts it will be superior. Seems like a severe PITA. Looking forward to hearing the evaluation but Iā€™m betting it wonā€™t take a year. :wink:

Mine too does not lift with the door.

b.

[quote=ā€œSilentknyghtā€]Remind me to come back in a year and ask you to critically evaluate how you like (or how annoying it is to have ) the collar as part of the lid. Specifically any hassle, quirks, or hindrances (or lack thereof!) what with the taps & all the lines, etc etc, also lifting up each time you need to swap kegs & whatnot.

My collar/taps do not lift with my lid; Iā€™m not sure Iā€™m happy with it, or whether your option is superior, so Iā€™d appreciate the critical evaluation.[/quote]

Just marked in my calendar on Dec 16, 2014 ā€œremind silentknyght on NB forum to ask me how I like collar being part of the lid on keezerā€. I canā€™t see any negatives to the build approach I took at the moment. I looked at many builds with the collar both ways and decided that attached to lid was gonna be best for my build. Iā€™m gonna mount some handles to collar to make lifting it more user friendly yet I donā€™t see an issue even without the handles. I really shouldnā€™t need to open it that often with 4 taps and the extra 10 inches to lift a keg over the collar shouldnā€™t be a problem either. Everybody has their own likes and needs with a keezer therefore, no build is wrongā€¦just some a lot nicer than others!

[quote=ā€œStormyBrewā€][quote=ā€œSilentknyghtā€]Remind me to come back in a year and ask you to critically evaluate how you like (or how annoying it is to have ) the collar as part of the lid. Specifically any hassle, quirks, or hindrances (or lack thereof!) what with the taps & all the lines, etc etc, also lifting up each time you need to swap kegs & whatnot.

My collar/taps do not lift with my lid; Iā€™m not sure Iā€™m happy with it, or whether your option is superior, so Iā€™d appreciate the critical evaluation.[/quote]

Iā€™ve got my doubts it will be superior. Seems like a severe PITA. Looking forward to hearing the evaluation but Iā€™m betting it wonā€™t take a year. :wink:

Mine too does not lift with the door.

b.[/quote]
I donā€™t see the severity of the ass pains Stormy but to you it may be. I think your way would be a greater pita hence the reason I chose the route I chose. To each his own, I guess. I certainly donā€™t need the negativity just because I didnā€™t build it YOUR way

I have a low tolerance, for PITA. And mine is a PITA with 4 kegs, and Iā€™m a sloooooow drinker. :wink:

To avoid the extra lift, I put a swinging door on my collar. Taps are to the left and door is to the right.

you can just make it out in this pic.

Edit: OBTW, youā€™ve done an awesome buildā€¦I need to make a lower collar with wheels like you did. :smiley:

:cheers: