Help with Keezer

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Monk

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Hi guys,

Building a keezer here. I've made my collar out of redwood and I'm ready to mount it on the freezer, but I have a question for those in the know: should I treat the wood with some kind of sealer, or just let the wood's natural defenses deal with the moisture. There's always a little bit of condensation, it seems.

Thanks!
 
I added a coat of polyurethane on the inside. I also bought a Eva-dry Renewable Wireless Dehumidifier just to help lower the risk of damage to the wood.

It doesn't need to look pretty on the inside and I figure that it is better to be safe than sorry.
 
I'd definitely polyurethane both sides. The inside of the freezer will have far less humidity than the outside, which might cause the wood to bow outwards. I haven't built one though, so weigh my comments accordingly.

You don't have to have built one to know something about wood, so thanks for your advice. I think I will polyurethane it through and through.

Does anyone know what type of glue would be best to stick it down (my collar will attach to the freezer, rather than the lid)?

I'm also considering caulking the wood/freezer crack with some of that clear gel-type stuff, though I don't know what it's called.
 
I used liquid nails to hold the collar to the lid and it is doing well so far, and black silicone to fill in the gap since I have a black freezer
 
I used liquid nails to hold the collar to the lid and it is doing well so far, and black silicone to fill in the gap since I have a black freezer

Liquid nails sounds like a good idea. I'd like to paint my freezer black, too. I might get some appliance paint.
 
Instead of gluing my collar to the freezer I used some Rope Caulk Weatherstripping like this:

http://www.wattbusters.com/Rope_Caulk_30_Linear_Feet__Replaceable_Cord_Weatherstrip-p-19855.html

It has a putty like consistency, it's sticky, it's flexible and it's removable. It works like a champ. It also fills the gap nicely, so there's no need for additional caulking. You can buy it at any hardware store or one of the big box stores. It's also dirt cheap, which is nice. So far as I know, I'm the only one who has gone this route. Everyone seems to think that you must glue the collar to the freezer with messy silicone or some other kind of adhesive. This will only work if you are attaching the collar to the freezer and not the collar to the lid, but that should be obvious.
 
@Cat22: I am thinking of going your way and using a rope caulking to attach the collar to the freezer. I was wondering if you've had any issues with the collar moving inadvertently while lifting our or putting in kegs etc into the freezer? I bought some of the rope caulking, and I am not sure how 'sticky' it will be - hence the question.

Thanks.
 
@Cat22: I am thinking of going your way and using a rope caulking to attach the collar to the freezer. I was wondering if you've had any issues with the collar moving inadvertently while lifting our or putting in kegs etc into the freezer? I bought some of the rope caulking, and I am not sure how 'sticky' it will be - hence the question.

Thanks.

No problems at all with it. I think it's been in service for about three years. The collar is made of 2 x 6 lumber. It's fairly heavy and the width provides a lot of area for adhesion. The caulk is stickier than you might expect, especially when it is relatively warm. With the freezer running, it kind of "sets" and firms up a lot. The rope caulk is actually a flat strip about an inch wide rolled up in a coil. You can easily rip it to the required width. It's designed to be able to do that. I do have one tip that may help you. After you install the caulk and position the collar on top of it and attach the hinges and lid, set some heavy stuff (a couple of buckets of water will do) on top of the lid overnight before you turn on the freezer. This will sort of squash the caulk and make a good seal. I don't know if you have figured it out, but at least one of the hinges on the freezer will be spring loaded to counter the weight of the lid. You can relieve the spring tension by backing off the nut located up inside the hollow hinge. This will let you position the hinges while mounting them to the collar without having to fight the tension. Tighten is back up after you have the hinge secured to the collar. I've been hoping someone would give this a try. It's so much less messy than using silicone caulk or some other type of adhesive. Please post back with how it works out for you.
 
Thanks a ton for the quick reply and all the tips. Right now, I am in the staining process - I should have the collar ready to give this a try early next week. Will upload some pictures and the results then.

Have a great weekend.
 
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I first put 1/2" thick high density foam weatherstripping onto the tip rim of the freezer. Then, I just put the collar on top to where it is squared up nicely, then secured a 90 degree angle bracket at each corner- one screw at each corner holds the collar to the freezer. I like this since I could compress the collar onto the top somewhat, and the foam would fill all the gaps and imperfections in the wood. This way, if the freezer ever dies, it's a piece of cake to remove the collar and put it on a matching sized unit.

The end result is a tight fit, strong connection, and no gaps. It was cheap too.
 
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