My Kegerator/Bar Build

So, I was getting sick and tired of only having 3 beers on tap at any given time. I was also looking to build a bar in my basement...

Well, SWMBO gave me the green light to build the bar. I posted my old kegerator (2002 GE Upright Fridge w/Freezer) and sold it.

I picked up this Montgomery Ward 23 cu. ft. freezer for $100 from a guy in WV:



Here is the info on the freezer (it's quite old):



So, I started by building a support structure for the freezer:



Then a frame:



I put 1/2" Birch plywood on all of the sides and stained it using Minwax Oil Stain (Cherry):



I put a 1/2" sheet of sanded plywood in the lid, and replaced the plastic molding with some rigid plastic/fiberglass composite paneling from Home Depot, and two 3/4" pieces of Birch on the top to make a sturdy bar top:



Then I drilled holes in the top, starting in the middle and another hole on each side of that one, exactly 11" apart. The holes were 1.5" in diameter, just large enough for two 1/2" Type L copper tubes to inserted (16.5" long, but only 8.5" protruding from the top). The copper was cinched together using SS screw-clamps to ensure the tubes would stay in place (I had heard of a lot of people having issues with their tubes sliding out, and this was a cheap fix).



Now that the unit was ready for the 3 towers, and the holes had all been drilled, I went ahead and applied the first coat of Minwax Spar Urethane (will be doing a total of 6 coats):



I will be working on this to finish it up over the next few days (still waiting on my Micromatic 642 regulator). Here is a link, if anyone is interested. Pretty good price too:

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-pid-642.html

I got my towers from:

http://www.kegcowboy.com

I bought a Love TS2-010 from Grainger, for a much better price than I found anywhere else. Here is the link to it:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/LOVE-Temperature-Switch-2HMF3?Pid=search

Here is a pic of my temp controller built into a box that has a wall outlet that is always powered (for case fans inside of the keezer, and a plug that is powered by the thermostat:



I will be posting more pics as I go along. I hope this helps some other newbie out when they are building their keezer/bar.

P.S. Here is a pic of the inside of this beast, prior to me putting my 20# co2 tank in, and running the gas lines:



Happy Brewing!!

Great looking build!

let's try to resurrect this thread. Any more Pics. I want to see the final product

rockinmarty said:

let's try to resurrect this thread. Any more Pics. I want to see the final product

Click to expand...

The freezer died, so I had to replace it. Good thing chest freezers have same depth/height, just width that's different.

Here are some pics of the shell:

reddskinnfan said:

The freezer died, so I had to replace it. Good thing chest freezers have same depth/height, just width that's different.

Here are some pics of the shell:

<img src="https://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48888"/>

<img src="https://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=48887"/>

Click to expand...

Here is some of the finished product:

reddskinnfan said:

The freezer died, so I had to replace it. Good thing chest freezers have same depth/height, just width that's different.

Click to expand...

that explains a lot. That's what I'm worried about with used freezers, you never know when they're gonna die on you and new ones a so bloody expensive. Well cheers to the new freezer and have a few for me

rockinmarty said:

that explains a lot. That's what I'm worried about with used freezers, you never know when they're gonna die on you and new ones a so bloody expensive. Well cheers to the new freezer and have a few for me

Click to expand...

You never know when any freezer will die. You just hope for the best and keep brewing!!