Just another Keezer build...

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mtbcoach

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My hobby has grown since getting my first homebrew kit from the wife and daughter for my birthday, Christmas Eve this past year. I've built my own brew stand, a 2 tier HERMS stand with converted keggles. Did my first all-grain batch a few weeks ago and had to get things ready to start kegging.

My initial plan was to use my old "garage" standup fridge but after looking at the reality of converting it, I opted to buy a chest freezer from Lowe's, their Holiday 7 cf unit.

I built a 7" collar, hardwired the ebay controller into the existing wiring so that it controls the cooling after the freezer's thermostat. It holds 5 corny kegs and a 10lb CO2 tank. I built a shelf out of some crazy thick cardboard I saved from having a new Toyota H55 transmission shipped to me. The shelf is so I can store all my pint glasses inside the keezer.

Obviously, I painted it also, wife wouldn't be flexible on having the big white freezer anywhere other than the garage. I used the Rustoleum "aged copper" to kind of match our patio furniture and the deck color.

In any event, thanks to this forum for all the helpful threads and advise putting such things together. Very simple and easy project, can't wait to pull my first pint in the coming days...:mug:

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file-18.jpg


I used chalkboard paint along the front bezel so that I could label what was in each tap easily...
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I hoard cardboard, had this leftover from the H55 delivery, fits perfectly on the lip of the freezer so that I can store all the pint glasses in the same place as the beer...
file-21.jpg
 
sweet! that freezer looks exactly like the haer i have. 5 ball locks? does one go on the hump?
 
Hi

Very nice.

I'd be a little worried about the STC-1000 hanging out inside the freezer. I'm not sure they really like the cold / damp environment. Bashing it with something while changing CO2 or kegs would also be a concern...

Bob
 
Beautiful job. I love the paint scheme and the idea of using the chalkboard paint. I think my wife would even go for this. I'm sending her the pic on the deck. Who says a keezer can't be a thing of beauty?:mug:
 
Hi

Very nice.

I'd be a little worried about the STC-1000 hanging out inside the freezer. I'm not sure they really like the cold / damp environment. Bashing it with something while changing CO2 or kegs would also be a concern...

Bob

I'll test it and see how it handles it. I like to keep my beer under 40F so I'm not too worried about the temp, humidity may be an issue though, time will tell...
 
Beautiful job. I love the paint scheme and the idea of using the chalkboard paint. I think my wife would even go for this. I'm sending her the pic on the deck. Who says a keezer can't be a thing of beauty?:mug:

Thanks, I'm happy with how it came out.

I would give 2 warnings: I don't like the new Rustoleum spray cans/nozzles. I had 2 cans give me problems with plugging/nozzle problems. Normally, one can just swap nozzles but these new "spray any angle" cans/nozzles aren't that flexible. I did manage to swap one nozzle and save the can but I was not happy with how they worked. Second, I also wasn't happy with the Minwax stain/top coat in one. It was very difficult to manage the level of staining with this all-in-1 can. I'd go with the traditional stain/clear coat method instead of the all-in-1 product.

Beautiful? I wouldn't go that far, but not so bad it has to be sequestered to the garage...
 
it looks great. i need to do this to mine. i have pin lock kegs, can only fit three in the main area, but i might be able to get 2 on the hump with my tank on the floor. time to build a collar and ditch the tower!

could you get a close up of the paint? did you sand it down at all or just spray it?
 
Thanks for the compliments.

I just sprayed it after wiping the freezer with some acetone. Pleased with the finish of the Rustoleum paint, just don't like the new spray can design.

I'll take close up pic of the paint later but it came out great and looks good IMHO...
 
love the color man! I've got a white keezer myself and I"m debating if I should paint it or not. I painted the lid entirely in chalkboard paint. Looking to do a collar sometime later this year with my dad.
 
mtbcoach - very nice keezer. I'm a little nervous for you on the cardboard glass tray though. My keezer builds up a lot of condensation, which wouldn't be good for cardboard, but I suppose if you put one of those moisture absorbing boxes inside the keezer it would help keep that cardboard dry. Just keep an eye on it. ;)
 
mtbcoach - very nice keezer. I'm a little nervous for you on the cardboard glass tray though. My keezer builds up a lot of condensation, which wouldn't be good for cardboard, but I suppose if you put one of those moisture absorbing boxes inside the keezer it would help keep that cardboard dry. Just keep an eye on it. ;)

Thanks and, agreed on the cardboard. Its a temp situation to see if it works out the way I like it. If it works, I'll build a "real" glass tray for the long haul.

Yet, this is no ordinary cardboard. This stuff Toyota used to ship the transmission is more like wood than paper. Its a quad layered cardboard so we will see how well it survives until I build a real glass tray...
 
I'll test it and see how it handles it. I like to keep my beer under 40F so I'm not too worried about the temp, humidity may be an issue though, time will tell...

Hi

The back of the STC will be at say 38F, the front hanging out into the room. It will get condensation.

If you decide to move it, there's plenty of room for it in the compressor compartment. Pull the existing thermostat and throw it away. Wire the STC in where it was and mount it with double sided tape or glue. Quick and easy. You don't fiddle the controller once the keezer is set up and running.

Bob
 
Hi

The back of the STC will be at say 38F, the front hanging out into the room. It will get condensation.

If you decide to move it, there's plenty of room for it in the compressor compartment. Pull the existing thermostat and throw it away. Wire the STC in where it was and mount it with double sided tape or glue. Quick and easy. You don't fiddle the controller once the keezer is set up and running.

Bob

Agreed, I wrapped it with insulation to help reduce the condensation. Nice idea about moving it, I guess I should have studied the various keezer build threads to find more solutions for placement.

Thanks for the heads-up and ideas...:mug:
 
Hi

If you look at the pictures people post, most put the controller up where you have put it. A very small number of posted builds have the controller down in the compressor compartment. So far I'm quite happy with mine down there.

Bob
 
I'm in the process of having a roof built over my deck and I'd like to keep a keezer there. Will the roof provide sufficient protection from the elements for the keezer or will it need to be encased in some sort of weather proof covering?
 
Hi

A lot depends on the roof and how sheltered things are.

Around here, there is nowhere outside that stays dry when a big storm comes through. You *really* don't want to get water blown into the compartment where the compressor is. There are enough pictures of rusting keezers here that I'd try to keep the whole thing as dry as possible.

Bob
 
My hobby has grown since getting my first homebrew kit from the wife and daughter for my birthday, Christmas Eve this past year. I've built my own brew stand, a 2 tier HERMS stand with converted keggles. Did my first all-grain batch a few weeks ago and had to get things ready to start kegging.

My initial plan was to use my old "garage" standup fridge but after looking at the reality of converting it, I opted to buy a chest freezer from Lowe's, their Holiday 7 cf unit.

I built a 7" collar, hardwired the ebay controller into the existing wiring so that it controls the cooling after the freezer's thermostat. It holds 5 corny kegs and a 10lb CO2 tank. I built a shelf out of some crazy thick cardboard I saved from having a new Toyota H55 transmission shipped to me. The shelf is so I can store all my pint glasses inside the keezer.

Obviously, I painted it also, wife wouldn't be flexible on having the big white freezer anywhere other than the garage. I used the Rustoleum "aged copper" to kind of match our patio furniture and the deck color.

In any event, thanks to this forum for all the helpful threads and advise putting such things together. Very simple and easy project, can't wait to pull my first pint in the coming days...:mug:

file-19.jpg

file-17.jpg

file-18.jpg


I used chalkboard paint along the front bezel so that I could label what was in each tap easily...
file-20.jpg


I hoard cardboard, had this leftover from the H55 delivery, fits perfectly on the lip of the freezer so that I can store all the pint glasses in the same place as the beer...
file-21.jpg

I just bought one of these today, looks like a great build, I have one question, have you tried fitting a corny on the hump with a 7 inch collar? I was told it has to be a 10 inch collar to fit a corny (ball lock) on the hump...let me know what you think and is the wood 2x8?
 
I just bought one of these today, looks like a great build, I have one question, have you tried fitting a corny on the hump with a 7 inch collar? I was told it has to be a 10 inch collar to fit a corny (ball lock) on the hump...let me know what you think and is the wood 2x8?

Sorry for the delayed reply...

Yes, a corny keg can fit on the hump of THIS FREEZER. I say this because I measured others, that looked very similar in size and dimensions. Yet, this one can fit 4 on the floor and 2 on the hump, making for CO2 tank on the outside.

With this set up, I can fit 5 inside with a 10 lb CO2 tank.

The wood is off-the shelf @ Lowe's, 1" X 8" Poplar (real size is .75" X 7.25" size) that I applied a layer of adhesive backed foam insulation to eliminate any condensation. Its been sitting on the screened porch all summer and have not had any issues even when temps were in the mid-high 90's.

Couple of pics w/corny keg on the hump...

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file-23.jpg
 
I'm kicking around the idea of building a keezer and I love the way this looks. Mind if I ask how many hours it took you to build this? :mug:
 
I'm kicking around the idea of building a keezer and I love the way this looks. Mind if I ask how many hours it took you to build this? :mug:

I painted it right out of the box, just wiped it down with acetone and gave it two good coats of Rustoleum ~ 1hr

The collar is a simple box, I chose to dove-tail the corners but it could easily be built with butt joints, glue and some screws. Measure, cut, glue/screw together ~ 30 min

I put an adhesive caulk to hold it down, applied adhesive backed foam, mounted the top. I cut the hole for the controller, wired it into the freezer circuit such that it's after the freezer's thermostat so I keep the thermostat turned up full on the freezer and allow the controller to do its job ~ 1 hr maybe finishing it up

Honestly, it could be done in an hour if one didn't want to paint it. I took the time to stain the wood/clear coat it trying to come close to matching the paint. That add another couple hours sanding, painting, sanding, painting, sanding clear coat.

I say go for it. You won't regret it. It was an easy job with the right tools, well worth it, going to kegs instead of bottling everything is so much better...:mug:
 
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