BakerStreetBeers
Well-Known Member
Having recently broken up with my girlfriend and moved out, I found myself with the space and time to take up homebrewing again. I brewed quite a bit in the early to mid 90s -- probably about 150 gallons over 3-4 years -- but since then I have used my brewing equipment exclusively to take up space in garages, closets, sheds and moving trucks.
My financial resources being much improved over 1994 levels, I determined that I could free myself from bottling chores. Yes, I was ready to move up to kegging my brews. Over the course of a month in which I brewed my first two batches, I studied this forum and scoured craigslist for kegerators and potential kegerator/keezer conversion candidates. My "first" brew (an AG IPA) having been in a secondary carboy for close to a couple of weeks, it was finally time to stop waiting for the deal of a lifetime to appear and pull the trigger.
Last Friday I ordered a deluxe 2 corny conversion kit from kegconnection (expected next Monday): two Perlicks, dual body reg, etc. On Saturday I picked up a craigslisted Montgomery Wards freezer for $50 from Uncle Crusty in Santa Rosa. I don't know the cubic feet, but it's probably about 7 or 8. There is room for two cornys "off the hump" -- possible, but not likely that you could squeeze a third one in there. However, from the hump to the lip of the freezer compartment is just about 19 inches so I decided to go with a taller than usual collar, 10", which (I think) will give me enough clearance to put two more cornys on the hump when I am ready to expand my tap count. In the meantime I am looking forward to using that space to do some lagering, something I have never had the opportunity to do.
Here's the freezer in its original state:
So, after I picked up the freezer, I wandered around Lowe's a while and picked up lumber and hardware for the collar. I'm going with 1 X 10, which I plan to reinforce at the top and bottom (and wherever else it seems appropriate with 1 X 2 or 1 X 4.
Next up, a very poor decision . . .
My financial resources being much improved over 1994 levels, I determined that I could free myself from bottling chores. Yes, I was ready to move up to kegging my brews. Over the course of a month in which I brewed my first two batches, I studied this forum and scoured craigslist for kegerators and potential kegerator/keezer conversion candidates. My "first" brew (an AG IPA) having been in a secondary carboy for close to a couple of weeks, it was finally time to stop waiting for the deal of a lifetime to appear and pull the trigger.
Last Friday I ordered a deluxe 2 corny conversion kit from kegconnection (expected next Monday): two Perlicks, dual body reg, etc. On Saturday I picked up a craigslisted Montgomery Wards freezer for $50 from Uncle Crusty in Santa Rosa. I don't know the cubic feet, but it's probably about 7 or 8. There is room for two cornys "off the hump" -- possible, but not likely that you could squeeze a third one in there. However, from the hump to the lip of the freezer compartment is just about 19 inches so I decided to go with a taller than usual collar, 10", which (I think) will give me enough clearance to put two more cornys on the hump when I am ready to expand my tap count. In the meantime I am looking forward to using that space to do some lagering, something I have never had the opportunity to do.
Here's the freezer in its original state:
So, after I picked up the freezer, I wandered around Lowe's a while and picked up lumber and hardware for the collar. I'm going with 1 X 10, which I plan to reinforce at the top and bottom (and wherever else it seems appropriate with 1 X 2 or 1 X 4.
Next up, a very poor decision . . .