MysticPhantom

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Basically I wanted to create a keezer but instead of using a wood collar, I wanted to make one out of plexiglass and light it up using LED's. Besides the price of plexiglass, is there any other drawbacks besides doing it with wood? Below is a quick lil sketchup.

HexKrak

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1) The wood is a natural insulant, and often is still backed with some sort of insulation. Plexiglass has a very very low R rating and will let a lot of heat out. If you were to double pane it, with some space between, then it might work out slightly better.

2) How are you going to attach the hinges to the plexi? Or are you just going to sit the lid on top without any real attachment?

3) The strength of plexi might not be enough to support the lid while open.

These are my initial thoughts. But it could be cool, especially if you kept the inside nice and clean.

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Manfish

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How thick of plexi? My first thought is that it would take more to keep it cold due to a thinner collar... Meaning ur temp displacement might be higher with plexi than wood.

Beer_Guy

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You could make a wood frame with a window on each side of the taps and on the sides. Use a router to cut grooves for the Plexiglass.

That does sound cool. Post pix if you do it. I'd like to see that.

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MysticPhantom

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The two sides and front would be plexi and the back would be wood. I would attach the plexi to each other by "welding" it together, and probably screw n glue the sides to the back wooden panel. The plexi is 1" thick, so I think it would support the weight. I was thinking about doing it all wooden and using plexi windows because I could use thinner plexi which would be cheaper. I just wanted to do something a little different and I don't have the wood working skills to do a keezer conversion like Jester and others.

Bobby_M

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Sure it would work. Where are you thinking about buying 1" thick acrylic? Actually, I think 1" is about twice as thick as you'd need.

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woodstone

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Plexi will not insulate...was thinking the same thing...wood frame, router for LEDs, plexi over...

I'd like to see pics too!

rodneypierce

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I would suggest using Lexan. Alot less prone to cracking/breaking when trying to drill and tap it for the screws through the wood backer. I work in the sign industry, and use this stuff all day, everyday. Lexan (polycarbonate) is more expensive, and scratches easier. But it sure is nice to work with something not so prone to cracking and chipping.

cornhole

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Two layers of clear plastic, maybe. Then you would have a insulating barrier. Top and bottom capped by wood?

cracked1

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I'll be building a keezer one of these days and this got me thinking a bit... My mom makes those lit up glass block craft things, kind of like these:



I can custom make these however I want pretty easily. Different words, sayings, pictures, logos, colors, etc... I think it would be pretty great to mount a couple in the collar like little windows. I could even dehydrate some whole hops and seal them up inside or something (without lights of course). Hmmmmmm... I think I may have to play around with this idea a bit!

I guess if a person wanted to, a whole collar could probably be built from these.