"Keezer Soze" (yet another keezer build)

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JuanMoore

Getting the banned back together
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
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Location
The Old Pueblo
I apologize for the rambling post in advance, but this project is a bit of a story. Last year I found an antique mini fridge and box of kegerator parts at a yard sale for $25, so of course I took it home with me. I couldn't talk SWMBO into making room for it in our tiny house, so I fixed it up as a sanke kegerator and gave it to a friend as an early x-mas gift. A few days after it was delivered we were invited over to test it out. SWMBO liked it so much that she became jealous and changed her mind about having one in our house. Here's what that one looked like before delivery-
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When we were first discussing the conditions of having a keezer int he house, SWMBO was watching the movie "The Usual Suspects", so one of the conditions was that we name it "Keezer Soze". That I could handle, but the bad news was that I had a very limited budget to work with. On the plus side, I had some parts left over from the 1st project, and a GE 5.0cf freezer that was in storage. Thanks to a little luck and some craigslist scores, I slowly gathered most of the parts I needed. Yesterday I picked up 5 cornies from HBT'er Malt-O-Meal, and decided that it was time to start building.

The small freezer will just barely hold 4 ball locks and a 5# CO2 tank if I put a tall collar on it. I have a 20# tank, so I'll only have 3 kegs for now. I'm setting it up for 4 taps in case I ever put the tank outside, or happen upon a cheap 5# tank.

I started by making some boxes out of scrap 3/4" sheet goods to form the collar. I had some 1" stucco foam left over from a remodel job that I used to insulate the boxes with.
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I wanted to minimize the overall height, but without having any QD's for the cornies at my shop yesterday, I didn't know how short I could go. I made the collar pieces extra tall and left them separate so that I could later rip them to optimal height. I bought some QD's and brought them to the shop today, so I was able to cut the collar to height and assemble it. I used a motley assortment of scrap plywood, particle board, and MDF pieces, so I tried to face the nicest plywood inside where it will be exposed, and the ugly sides out where they'll be covered later. Then I ripped some mesquite to cover the top with so that the rubber part of the lid will seal well. The front pieces were bowing out, so I used some clamps to get it straight before securing the mesquite to hold it in line.
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I removed the lock, and hinges from the freezer, and popped the thermostat inside the mounting hole so that nothing would protrude and interfere with the frame I plan to make. I then mounted the collar, re-installed the lid, and test fit some kegs.

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After much discussion, we had decided on mesquite trim/top, and a pass through tower. I originally wanted to make the tower out of some 3" copper pipe I had, but I measured and it wasn't long enough. I priced out getting some more, but it would have easily doubled the budget. I then considered making an octagonal tube out of mesquite, but decided that it would be way too much wood and wouldn't be very balanced and pleasing asthecially. In the end I decided to use a piece of 3" ABS I found in the corner of my shop, that I could paint any color I wanted, similar to this build that uses PVC-
http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/Custom-Draft-Tower-and-Kegerator

I couldn't get the angles on the top rail perfectly in line using my miter saw, so I made a jig and used my radial arm saw to cut those. I then slathered on some ABS cement and held the joints tightly for about a minute. Some minor sanding had it looking pretty good. I then cut out a section on the back for access. Rather than use the cut out piece for the door which would be smaller than the hole, due to the width of the saw kerf, I decided to make the door out of a separate piece so that there wouldn't be any gap.

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This is when my Dad showed up, and asked what I was doing. After explaining the project to him, he informed me that he had several feet of 3" copper pipe in his garage that I could have in exchang for a sixer of homebrew!!! I may have an extra ABS pass through tower for someone elses keezer project. I went to get the copper, and was able to make the first two cuts before calling it a day.

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I may have to find someone with a gas chamber to weld the copper for me. I haven't decided exactly how to approach securing the joints yet. I will keep updating this thread as I make more progress, but I don't have much spare time, so it will probably be slow going.
 
Update-

I was unable to get in touch with the welder who owes me a favor, so I decided to look for another option to join the corners. I made a test joint soldering a 3/4" piece of copper, and was surprised at how strong it was. A surprising amount of solder pooled on the inside, creating a nice bond. It also cleaned up pretty easily with a little filing and sanding. I soldered both joints on the 3", and then reinforced them by epoxying some steel angle brackets inside. I then used a dremel with a cut-off wheel to cut out an access panel on the back. With the back removed, I was able to use some mauls to straighten out a few dents on the front side of the pipe. The pipe was in pretty rough shape, but I think it will shine up nicely in the end.

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Then I soldered some small brass hinges onto the access door, and drilled holes for the faucets. I didn't like the idea of using those cheesy chromed plastic bushings to mount the faucets to the round surface, like I've seen on other towers. Instead, I cut some short lengths of 1" copper pipe and used the spindle sander to contour one side to a 3" concave radius. Then I soldered them in place. I also soldered a small brass knob on the door. I still haven't found a suitable catch or latch to keep the door closed.

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After cleaning up the soldered joints, I set the mostly complete tower aside, and started on the box with the help of my wife who had the day off. We were able to score half a sheet of 16oz copper that had been damaged slightly. The "damage" was barely noticeable, and easy to work around. With that in hand, I planed and milled some 1/2" mesquite flooring I had picked out of the burn pile at a flooring mill. We made some quick frames and wiped on a coat of teak oil finish. After cutting the copper panels to size, we pre-drilled some holes and used small screws to secure them in place.

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The top of the freezer had a small plastic lip that prevented the panels from fitting completely flush, so I used a flush trim bit in the router to cut it off. Then we attatched the collar and the panels.

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We removed the vent for the compressor, and replaced it with a copper panel that we drilled a bunch of holes in. I hope it provides enough airflow. I think I'll probably install a computer fan in the compressor area just to be safe.

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Then we made some trim pieces for the corners, and some brackets to hold the panels together on the bottom. After securing the trim pieces, we started on the sub top section. I designed it to hold a section of rope lighting that will be tucked up inside and light the copper and mesquite side panels from above. We also picked up a floor register cover to use as a drip tray. We made a little tray out of the scraps of copper, but haven't soldered the corners yet. We need it to roll, but want to limit the height, so I found the smallest casters I could and screwed them to the base. We used some scraps of 3" ABS to create the inside flange pieces with the convex radius. They give a flat surface for the shank nut to tighten against.

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That's the extent of the progress so far. We're still undecided on what the top surface will actually be. One thought is a day of the dead mural painted on and then covered with bar-top epoxy. We've thought about making some old school leather rails to go around the edge of the top. I also have a bunch of colorful mexican talavera tiles we could use too. We're open to any ideas or suggestions.
 
that copper tower is going to be so cool... cant wait to see it done. keep the pics coming.
 
looks great... too bad SWMBO let that other one go! but this one looks like it will be a nice addition to the house.
 
Thanks for the pics!

I have a freezer about the same size and need a pretty tall collar to be able to fit 4 cornies. I doubt I'll do a tower, but at least I have proof of concept for a tall collar.
 
wow. that copper is going to be awesome! can''t wait to see it. I think you gotta paint the keezer black
 
That is AWESOME! You should be very proud! IMO one of the best keezers I have seen on here. I really like it!

Good work!
 
i say no external latch for the brass door. i'd go with internal mechanisms like a magnet set or some sort of cabinet door device.

this is a truly awesome project!
 
wow looks great! still trying to find the right fridge at the right price. the craigs list search continues!
 
Had a couple hours free today that I put towards the keezer. I drilled the tower holes in the top and in the lid, and cut a recess for the drip tray. Then I mounted the rope light using some little plastic clips.

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I made the lid trim wide enough that it covers the white weather stripping when the lid is closed. I installed it with 1/8" of reveal that will act as a dam for the bartop epoxy I plan to cover the lid with. I wiped on a quick coat of teak oil, and snapped a quick pic of it with the rope lights on. The temp controller should be here any day, and then I'll get to work on the wiring and the rest of the plumbing.

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We were thinking of blowing a picture of beer bubbles up to poster size as the image for the top, but looking at it with the black primer, I kinda like the elegant simplicity of a solid black top. The beer pic would be something like this-

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I had a few hours last night to install the temp controller and get it wired up. I added a toggle switch for the rope lights also.

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I tested it out and it seems to work fine. It was fairly easy to program even with the terrible directions in broken english. The top of the keezer got damaged from a recent rain storm and leaky shop roof. I've started rebuilding it, and redesigned it slightly. I'll post more progress pics when I get a chance to work on it again.
 
Looks great..What did you use to attach the collar to the freezer?

Just some clear silicone. I thought about putting in a few vertical dowels, but between the silicone and the panels holding it in place, it's pretty secure.
 
WOW! I think my wife would actually let me put something like this in my living room ! hahaha Good call on the copper. It looks awesome.
 
Looks Great! Not to be a downer, but won't the copper oxidize pretty quickly from condensation?

We still haven't decided if we want to let the copper patina naturally, or if we should polish it up and then seal it. I'm leaning towards the polished look.
 
Do you happen to know/remember what the brand of antique mini fridge that you gave to your friend was? It looks pretty cool.

It was made by Indesit which I believe is an Italian company. It looked like maybe it was made in the 50's or 60's, but it's hard to tell for sure. There is an appliance guy near me that specializes in retro applicances, and he has the coolest old Philco fridge from the 40's that I would love to convert into a kegerator. I'm trying to talk my brewing partner into buying it.
 
Haven't really had any time to finish the keezer, but I did at least get it functional for an upcoming party. Here are pics of the first pours in it's temporary home at my Dads (where the party's being held). Hefe on the left, and Black IPA on the right. Still need to balance the lines and install the tower cooling fan before the party. Got some porter and IPA that should be ready to go in soon to make use of all four taps. I hope the polish the tower, re-shape the tower base rings, pour the bar-top epoxy, and get 4 perlick faucets next month. Still not sure what I'm going to do for tap handles. The yeast vials full of malt (idea stolen from here) work fine for now.

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Awesome! It is beautiful as is, but a little more cleaning up will make it amazing!
 
awesome build my friend! love the pass-through, even in it's current non-polished state. i'm sure polished would be bling sweet too
 
Haven't really had any time to finish the keezer, but I did at least get it functional for an upcoming party. Here are pics of the first pours in it's temporary home at my Dads (where the party's being held). Hefe on the left, and Black IPA on the right. Still need to balance the lines and install the tower cooling fan before the party. Got some porter and IPA that should be ready to go in soon to make use of all four taps. I hope the polish the tower, re-shape the tower base rings, pour the bar-top epoxy, and get 4 perlick faucets next month. Still not sure what I'm going to do for tap handles. The yeast vials full of malt (idea stolen from here) work fine for now.

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the one on the right looks great

the left looks like a shook up Hefeweizen keg! Lol

what is the beer on the left?
 
the one on the right looks great

the left looks like a shook up Hefeweizen keg! Lol

what is the beer on the left?

It's a Widmere Hefe clone which was my compromise for the BMC drinkers who'll be at the party. I was just seeing if they poured halfway decent, and I'm sure that was mostly the yeast from the bottom of the keg.
 
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