Flomaster's Magic Chef 7.2 cuft Keezer Build

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Flomaster

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so I'll use this thread to document my keezer build process, but before begin I have a few questions.

I have this Magic Chef Keezer I scored at a garage sale for $50 I had not purchased it for a keezer build, but I have and its going to turn into one.

I plan on painting it black, and using granite tiles on the top and sides, it will have two 3" Perlick towers with dual faucets.




here is where I need some help or opinions

Collar: 1x8 so I can have 2 cornys on the hump even though I'll only have 4 taps or go with a smaller say 2" or 4" collar to attach my granite tile to.

I will not be using the stock lid as I do not want to cut into it so I planned on using 3/4" plywood, with cement board on top to attach tiles to unless I don't need the cement board.

or no collar just layer 3/4" plywood and 3/4" cement board use a 1x1 along the lower outter edge to attach my granite tiles to. I think the tiles are large enough to overhang around all 4 sides or at least the front 3 sides.




here is kind of a rough vision of how its going to look.

my ghetto MsPaint version of the finished product.
sorry I'm at work and don't have Photoshop like at home.

ghettokeezer.jpg


IMG_20101208_170404.jpg


IMG_20101208_170420.jpg



opinions and criticism welcome

-=Jason=-
 
I'm pretty sure I have those same tiles on my kitchen counters, lol

But I'd say that if having the 2 extra cornies on the hump is a dealbreaker, then obviously go with the taller collar.

Also, since you're not using the stock lid, have you thought about the insulation that plywood and/or cement board will give you? That'd be an easy place to lose a bunch of cold (or gain heat if you want to be specific about the thermodynamics...). I'm not familiar with cement board, is it a good insulator?
 
oh I'd insulate the lid for sure maybe I'll just got with a 4" collar to get the lid higher for insulation. I can do a couple inches of insulation on the lid to keep heat out.

-=Jason=-
 
I know I can fit 6 cornys plus co2 in the keezer, but at the moment I only have two dual faucet towers, I guess I could space them far enough apart to fit a 3rd in the middle, is 4 beers on tap not enough? 20 gallons of sweet nectar of the gods seems pretty good to me.

-=Jason=-
 
ebeer, what did you use to adhere the wood for the drip pan?

Sort hard to describe, but I needed something to hang the drip tray on without drilling into the fridge. I also needed the drip tray spaced out a bit from the fridge wall so I could catch both the drips and the flow when someone accidentally knocks the tap handle wide open. I know, this should never happen but the fact of the matter is it does - especially when you're in a hurry to lift a keg over the collar, not that it's ever happened to me :drunk:

Anyway, for the wood I used light trim pieces from Home Depot and built a sort of makeshift box. I attached a flat metal joiner on the back, then put 3 hard drive magnets on each side. Magnets stick to the fridge and to the metal, and OBTW they are strong. By strong I mean I had to use a screwdriver to pry it off the fridge to take these photos.

photo(2).JPG


photo.JPG
 
I know I can fit 6 cornys plus co2 in the keezer, but at the moment I only have two dual faucet towers, I guess I could space them far enough apart to fit a 3rd in the middle, is 4 beers on tap not enough? 20 gallons of sweet nectar of the gods seems pretty good to me.

-=Jason=-

Jason - good luck with your build, looks like a solid plan. One comment on the towers, they're a great way to go and means there are no excessive height demands for your collar. It does mean you'll either have to store the keezer away from a wall or put it on casters so you can roll it out to put kegs in (the towers get in the way and require a few feet to open).

And of course, when you have 2 taps you want 4. When you have 4 you want 6, etc... ;)
 
yeah I was planning on building a frame for it to sit on and having casters to roll around on. I'll have 4 taps to start out, I guess I could just cut the granite for a 3rd dual faucet tower and use a stainless plug or cap or some thing to cover the hole.

-=Jason=-
 
ebeer, nice job where did you get the magnets?

I get them from dead hard drives, which are pretty easy to come by (just call your friendly neighborhood computer geek). Alternatively, I think you can buy them at Radio Shack, McMaster Carr, or any other shops that respond to "rare earth magnet" in a Google search.

If you want to grab them for free from a dead hard drive, just see these instructions on my website.
 
so on the way home from work my Father in law suggested to just leave the stock lid alone, and I'd likely never use this a freezer again once it turns into a keezer.

so that got me thinking I can confortably fit 4 corny and 1 co2 bottle in this thing with the stock lid.

so I think I'll buy some cement board , plywood screw it together , put my granite tiles on and use liquid nails to glue the top cover to my stock lid.

does anyone think I should do anything more than liquid nails to fuse the granite top to the stock lid?

in the future if I want to go with taps I can build my collar. good idea?


-=Jason=-
 
update: my perlick dual faucet towers arrived today

IMG_20101210_132136.jpg


the bottom: it looks like the beer lines and glycol lines are run inside of a foam tubing surrounded by bigger foam tubing.
IMG_20101210_111840.jpg


top cap removed: looks like great stuff spray in foam
IMG_20101210_110948.jpg


removed some foam: had lots of gray putty like material all around the back of the faucets. Perhaps this is like "plumbers Putty" ?

there was liquid down inside the spray foam thats why it looks wet. when I opened the box it smelled of Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney Land. kinda an old boat musty smell to them.

IMG_20101210_111114.jpg

IMG_20101210_111351.jpg


all foam removed and just beer lines exposed:

IMG_20101210_114950.jpg



one would think if I wanted to turn this into a 3 faucet tower all I'd have to get is the adapter to fit between the faucet and the tower. I could have it lower than the other two and centered between them.

whats the best way to shine these bad boys up? back in the day when I had my 1970 mustang I score some chromed krager wheels they were in poor shape I used some SOS pads with that blue cleaner to clean them up. I don't want to scratch the chrome finish at all.


-=Jason=-
 
Wow, lots of work digging down to those lines. I wouldn't use an SOS pad, maybe try some silver polish.

I'd look for one of these when/if you're ready for another tap, will save you from having to drill another hole through your tiles.

tn375_large_dt-1hk_2052510075537.jpg
 
was just a screw driver and some time to get the foam out not big deal.

and yeah I'd just keep both towers and convert them into tipple towers if I wanted more than 4 beers on tap.

-=Jason=-
 
not much of an update, but here goes i've been using the gator polishing pads and #5 Polish from Lowe's to polish up the towers and I did a faucet to just see how they would turn out.

I bought a $13 1-1/16th combination wrench used my hand grinder with cut off blade and cut it up then put on the flapper disk for some detail work to get it working better.
I was able to get the beer lines out of the tower so i can really get things clean and polished up.

Tool
IMG_20101220_192332.jpg
IMG_20101220_192927.jpg


took apart thing with tool and polished up
IMG_20101220_193437.jpg


polished up towers testing placement
IMG_20101220_192312.jpg


before and after on perlick faucets that came with towers
IMG_20101220_185755.jpg


perlick 525SS
IMG_20101220_213057.jpg

IMG_20101220_213047.jpg


both towers in place with new perlicks 525SS and old perlicks
IMG_20101220_221500.jpg


I still need to make some nifty tap handles and i'll probably buy 2 more 525SS faucets depending on how these old ones work.


I was tossing around the idea of using some angle aluminum to trim my granite instead of having my granite polished. I need to call and get pricing for polishing. I think a polished edge would look cleaner, but aluminum would be cheaper I think.



-=Jason=-
 
Looks good man. Definitely want to upgrade to those nice ss perlicks...they look (and work) so much better.
 
crappy cell phone picture.
IMG_20101221_175403.jpg


well here is one coat of rustoleum hammered black.

not going to do the lid because well its going to get covered in granite tile.

I'm eating dinner then i am going to apply a second coat and possibly a third coat

-=Jason=-
 
second coat of paint sprayed I think i am done since I ran out of my single can and I can take back my second can to walmart and get my money back.

IMG_20101221_184602.jpg


-=Jason=-
 
yeah I was planning on building a frame for it to sit on and having casters to roll around on. /QUOTE]

How bout this.

Home Depot:
8 X 5" Brackets (or whatever they're called)
4 X 3" Brackets
1/4"-20 bolts, nuts, washers
some self tapping screws

This all of course depending on if the holes in your casters line up with the brackets (mine are from castercity.com)

Got 3 Magic Chef 7.2s and 2 are ferm chambers. I definitely give them a not so subtle shakey shakey to rouse yeast and this is definitely sturdy enough for that. Not saying I'd roll it out onto the gravel driveway full of kegs or anything, but certainly can take 5 cornys on solid ground. Helps no doubt in pulling it away from the wall if you have to. I have mine setup so I don't have to necessarily but they are all on casters to keep a 15 gallon operation single person operable, meaning I never lift a full keg. Just roll the whole chamber away after filling.:rockin:

P.S. This worked well for me cause I was motivated to not add any height to the chamber (for filling from the boil kettle).

IMG_0725.jpg


IMG_0723.jpg
 
3/4" plywood + cement board + granite tiles will weigh about eleventy-billion pounds. If you're set on using tiles, I would look into ways to adhere the tiles directly to the stock lid (I wonder if you could scuff the surface and use Liquid nails/contact cement).

With all the additional weight that you're planning, you'll need to have some sort of support for when the lid is open. I guess you could pull it out far enough away from the wall so that the lid just rests against the wall as long as the towers dont interfere...
 
oh change of plans. wood and cement board are out of the question. if you look at the painted photos I have removed the side trim on the lid so I have an perfectly flat surface to glue the tiles down using liquid nails. I will build a wood frame around the outside of the lid so I can attach my side tiles. I don't really want to cut my 12" tiles down in size just so it fits the exact same footprint of the lid. which is probably 2.5' x 1.75'.

unless I build my own lid say using 2x4s and a piece of plywood and just glue tiles to that. it MIGHT be how I end up doing it depending on how the stock lid works out for me. not sure if the weight of the tiles will have a negative effect on the structure of the lid since its thin gauge metal and expanding foam insulation


EDIT:
OH I can take the lid off cut out a channel at the backside where the hinge connects and put a piece of wood in there and attach to the frame I am going to build. :)


-=Jason=-
 
With all the additional weight that you're planning, you'll need to have some sort of support for when the lid is open.

That's pretty much true no matter what to you put on the lid - the hinge springs aren't rated for much more than the weight of the stock lid. I have marble tile and a bigass coffin, so I just prop it with a piece of wood. Works fine, although I do worry about knocking the prop out with a keg - that would be unpleasant.
 
@SankePankey

any side effects from laying the keezer on its side like that to attach the casters?

-=Jason=-
 
oh change of plans. wood and cement board are out of the question. if you look at the painted photos I have removed the side trim on the lid so I have an perfectly flat surface to glue the tiles down using liquid nails. I will build a wood frame around the outside of the lid so I can attach my side tiles. I don't really want to cut my 12" tiles down in size just so it fits the exact same footprint of the lid. which is probably 2.5' x 1.75'.

unless I build my own lid say using 2x4s and a piece of plywood and just glue tiles to that. it MIGHT be how I end up doing it depending on how the stock lid works out for me. not sure if the weight of the tiles will have a negative effect on the structure of the lid since its thin gauge metal and expanding foam insulation


EDIT:
OH I can take the lid off cut out a channel at the backside where the hinge connects and put a piece of wood in there and attach to the frame I am going to build. :)


-=Jason=-

I took a very similar route with my Keezer. In my case, I built a 1x3" oak frame around the outside of my freezer lid, laid a thin sheet of plywood down directly on the top with liquid nails, and then put down grouted ceramic tile.

I ended up cutting my tiles, it just looks better, and although it's a pain, it really works better.

Also, the plywood was necessary to stiffen up the top, that thin gauge metal flexes every time you put something down on it, open it, or close it. I suspect that sooner or later your tiles will pop off, even if you use liquid nails.

It will require a prop to stay open, I use a piece of CPVC. It will look great when it's done, and you'll get a good seal with the weight of the tiles.
 
Well here goes the lid transformation.
I pried the plastic away enough to channel out the foam I then inserted a 1x2 and framed the outside of the lid. I will probably put a' thin 1/4" plywood on top like jawbox suggested.

IMG_20101222_170806.jpg
 
IMG_20101222_181540.jpg


now I need to get a tile contractor to polish up the edges of my granite and attach the plywood top.

-=Jason=-
 
after laying the tiles on the lid I think the stock lid will be sufficient to hold the tiles just fine.

IMG_20101222_202110.jpg

IMG_20101222_213335.jpg


-=Jason=-
 
here's a to scale model I made in google sketchup its how I figured out the wood dimensions needed to frame out the lid.

Keezer.png


Keezer01.png


-=Jason=-
 
Hahaha...thats pretty funny.

Looks good man. I finally got my tap hooked up and it seems I fixed the leak.
 
no new pics, but I got some 1/4" FibeRock agua board installed on the top and sides. my Tile guy said that Liquid nails was basically Micky Mousing it together and my side tiles would fall off and break just gluing to wood.

so I took his advise and went out and spend $30 more on material but at least I'll have some tiling experience.


I *should* get my polished tiles back today, if so I'll be mixing up some thin set and laying tiles.

-=Jason=-
 
Looks pretty good, cant wait to see the finished, gotta love Google sketchup to btw!
 
had to have a late Christmas Dinner with the GIL aka Grandmother in Law last night so tonight I'll lay some tile and get some photos.

-=Jason=-
 
laid some tile tonight I'll let it dry over night and grout it tomorrow night

IMG_20101229_182415.jpg


IMG_20101229_190529.jpg


-=Jason=-
 
I have to warn you, you might need a change of pants after you see the following photographs.

















DSC_3560_800x536.jpg


DSC_3558_800x536.jpg


and here is what my tiles would have looked like had I not paid to have the edges polished.
DSC_3565_800x536.jpg


I say its worth every penny of the $60 I paid to have the tiles polished.

now I just have to drill holes and wait until I know the tile is cured before I drill my mounting holes for the towers.

I'll likely buy another can of spray paint because well I could have done a better job and the wood supports I used to keep the edge pieces from falling scratched my paint job.

-=Jason=-
 
Yes this keezer build has turned out great. Once you have your paint touched up on the bottom maybe buy a can of clear coat. A bit of extra spraying I know, but much less of a chance of scratching the paint, and having to repaint again. Most of the time I don't recommend spray can clear coat because it give some colors and off colored look, but since your keezer is black no such worries. And it will make the bottom shine to match the shiny tiles.
 
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