My keezer: black Kenmore 8.8 cu. ft. chest freezer

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redraider

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I finished building my keezer yesterday.

[IMG="[URL=http://img5.imageshack.us/i/keezerfrontsmaller.jpg/][IMG]http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9741/keezerfrontsmaller.jpg[/IMG][/URL]"][IMG="[URL=http://img4.imageshack.us/i/keezerisometric.jpg/][IMG]http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8855/keezerisometric.jpg[/IMG][/URL]"]

I used a black Kenmore 8.8 cu. ft. chest freezer, http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...&+Ice+Makers&sName=Chest#specificationsAnchor. With a collar, this freezer will fit 6 corney kegs and a 5 pound CO2 tank (I haven't tried any larger, but it may fit). Currently, I have four kegs and a CO2 tank sitting on the floor of the freezer and tubing, etc. on the hump. Unfortunately, only two of those kegs are in operation (double chocolate stout in secondary will be third).

Also, this is a dual hinge setup. I ordered a second set of factory hinges from Kenmore that allowed me to make absolutely zero permanant modifications to my freezer because I didn't have to drill any holes in either the freezer or the lid. Additionally, the dual hinges allowed me to avoid securing the collar to the freezer with glue, etc. This setup should also make it much easier to move kegs in and out of the freezer because the whole collar will lift which will take much of the tubing with it. I used two rows of black marine weatherstripping on the bottom edge of the collar (from Sutherland's). I have been satisfied with the seal the lid and collar make without any additional help.
[IMG="[URL=http://img5.imageshack.us/i/keezerrearview.jpg/][IMG]http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7656/keezerrearview.jpg[/IMG][/URL]"]

As for the collar itself, it's oak and about 11 inches tall and 1.5 inches thick. I used a radial arm saw to make mitered cuts in the oak and a combination of nails and glue to hold the pieces together.

I used Perlick 525SS faucets. They look great, but I haven't had them long enough to know if there will be any maintenance issues. I got the nicer two tap handles from Micromatic. I intend to have my brewery name engraved in them soon. I just need to settle on a brewery name first.

One more thing. I was pretty surprised by how expensive chalkboards were all over the internet. I ended up going with these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016KQZGQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. I have not tried to erase the chalk yet, but I have moved the boards around a bit and they seem to do ok with that. The chalk is pretty easy to read, too. For $16 for a four pack, it's definitely not a bad option.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Trying those pics again.

***Thanks for fixing that, Rick500! You're keezer was one of my main inspirations.***
 
Here ya go... surround the URLs with
:

keezerfrontsmaller.jpg
keezerisometric.jpg
keezerrearview.jpg
 
Very nicely done. I have the same freezer in white, but mine does not look that awesome.
 
I thought it looked sort of familiar. :D I love those black freezers.

Good idea spacing the faucets the way you did; now if you want one more tap you can put it in the center, or if you want two more you can put them on the outsides.
 
I thought it looked sort of familiar. :D I love those black freezers.

Good idea spacing the faucets the way you did; now if you want one more tap you can put it in the center, or if you want two more you can put them on the outsides.

When possible, I think black is the way to go. You saw right through my spacing. I hope to add a stout faucet in the middle someday. I hadn't really thought about adding another faucet to each side; that could work out nicely!
 
This might get me flamed, but here's my most recent addition. It will hold its place until I can get a stout faucet (should be a long ways off). Go Tech!



 
I'd love to check out a Penn State game in person sometime. My next door neighbor is a Penn State grad and he really had a positive experience there. I've never been to a stadium that big before either. Must be crazy.

Leach has really helped bring a lot of attention to Texas Tech in recent years. I hope they can finally get over the hump sometime soon. As for the BCS, I like his ideas, too--a 64-team playoff or settle certain tie-breakers with graduation rates. I will always feel that Tech got the short end of the stick in last year's three-way tie in the Big XII south. Both of Leach's ideas seem a bit farfetched at this point, but wouldn't a November/December Madness be exciting? Also, I just can't figure out what to do with teams like TCU, Boise State, Utah, etc. In any event, nothing of the sort will happen until we all stop tuning in to watch College Football Live, etc. I don't see that happening any time soon.
 
Hello, I know this post is old, but I really like this keezer and I plan on copying it. Do you have any pictures of the inside that you could share. Also, did you only use the oak, or is it mounted to pine or some other wood. Thanks.
 
Thanks, guys. I love my keezer, but I moved recently and it has been out of operation for months now. I need to get it functional again! Unfortunately, I don't have any inside pics to show. I'll take some and update this thread at some point. As for the wood, it's solid oak. I don't remember exactly, but I think it's 1.5-2" thick. Going oak wasn't cheap, but I think it's great looking and extremely solid.

In hindsight, I don't think there's much I'd change about my keezer. Well, I need to devise a better system for keeping the beer and gas lines looking clean. Mine were always a jumbled mess. I'd love to see what you come up with sudndeth.
 
It looks great, especially with the oak collar/black body. If you're going to build a keezer, do it right so you never second guess yourself.
 
Well, I ordered the faucets and such, but I'm having a hard time finding any oak that's over an inch thick. I'll keep looking and I'll keep you posted.
 
I bought this freezer too (my second one, first for ferm) just now and deciding on how I want to do the collar and taps. Did you ever get updated pictures? :)
 
No updated pictures. My keezer is still out of commission. I've been bottling since moving to my new place. I'll get it up again before too long, though. I'm very seriously looking into getting that stout faucet in the next month or so.
 
I like that drip tray. Maybe I missed it, but where did you get the mounts?

assuming you are talking to me since I didn't see a drip tray on the OP.

we ended up finding the mounts at lowes. we sort of just stumbled across them. I am not sure what the were actually intended for but we just used construction adhesive to stick them to the chest freezer and then drilled and mounted the tray with a small bolt and wingnut.
 
Very nice! I just bought the oak and all the parts. I hope to have it done soon. I still need to decide on the drip tray, but I'm doing my almost exactly like the OG, with the original hinges. Those are on order.

How did you guys do the miter cuts? I'm going to try it on my table saw, but I've never done it before and I'm pretty nervous to mess up my wood.
 
Chad,
I had not seen those mounts before. I'll look for something similar on my next trip to Lowe's.

Sudndeth,
I used a radial arm saw to do the miter cuts. I could not find a miter box large enough to fit my collar. I had help from a more experienced and talented carpenter, though.
 
Chad,
I had not seen those mounts before. I'll look for something similar on my next trip to Lowe's.

Sudndeth,
I used a radial arm saw to do the miter cuts. I could not find a miter box large enough to fit my collar. I had help from a more experienced and talented carpenter, though.

Yeah they were near the cabinet hardware if that helps. about $5 a piece..
 
Alright guys, in the next couple of days I'll have some pics up. Bout to stain the collar, my miter cuts were perfect on the back side, but not too great on the front. It looks good overall though. I didn't go with the dual hinge because they (Sears, local appliance stores) didn't stock them and it was pretty expensive. I am just going to attach the lid with silicon so it's not permanent. I can't wait.

EDIT: May be good enough that the wife lets it in the house.
 
I didn't go with the dual hinge because they (Sears, local appliance stores) didn't stock them and it was pretty expensive. I am just going to attach the lid with silicon so it's not permanent. I can't wait.

I had to order my extra hinges because those aren't the type of things that Sears or their parts stores typically stock. To that end, I don't remember if I ordered the extra hinges through the Sears parts people or if I got them directly from the manufacturer. It's been awhile, but I think I paid about $30 total for both hinges and delivery. Unfortunately, I have encountered several people over the past year who told me the price went up at some point. Sadly, the cost went up enough that it thwarted their efforts to install factory dual hinges on their keezer. Had I known the idea would catch on and that the price would go up, I might have bought a few extra for future keezer builders.

EDIT: May be good enough that the wife lets it in the house.

Ultimately, this is exactly why we need to make these things as attractive as possible. Keep the peace. Keep the beer!
 
It's been awhile, but I think I paid about $30 total for both hinges and delivery. Unfortunately, I have encountered several people over the past year who told me the price went up at some point. Sadly, the cost went up enough that it thwarted their efforts to install factory dual hinges on their keezer. Had I known the idea would catch on and that the price would go up, I might have bought a few extra for future keezer builders.

I just ordered mine through Sears part direct last week. They were $17 each. I had to order hinges from a different model # schematic on the site. They are the same hinges but they change the freezer serial every two years or so and the "new" hinges show as unavailable. I will try to get a part number to add here and in my build thread.

By the way, thank you for the inspiration Red and Chad. I had the image in my head and when I saw yours it sealed the deal. Check it out. Not finished yet, hopefully this week though.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/black-sunhsine-my-keezer-build-lots-pics-221572/
 
I got a 4-pack of ball locks that were converted from pin locks (short and stubbys). Could you tell me how many of the short and stubby kegs you can fit in this kenmore? I am trying to decide between the kenmore 8.8 and the frigidaire 7.2. Please advise. Thanks in advance!
 
I have the same one and four of either fit in there. You can also fit two more on the hump if you build a big enough collar.
 
I was hoping that was the case. Thanks for your help! If anyone could tell me the interior dimensions of this freezer, that'd be great. I am hoping to get the most out of the freezer but am still considering the Frigidaire 7.2 from Lowes.
 
approx. inner dimensions: 16.5" width x 35.75" length x 28" deep
approx. hump dimensions: 16.5" width x 11" length x 10" deep

Assuming you build a decent sized collar, I know you can fit 6 corny kegs and a 10 pound CO2 tank in this freezer without much trouble. I only have 6 kegs myself, but you might be able to squeeze 7 into it. In order to do so, you might have to move the CO2 tank out of the freezer. Of course, I haven't tried this myself and if it does work, it would be a very tight squeeze.
 
This might get me flamed, but here's my most recent addition. It will hold its place until I can get a stout faucet (should be a long ways off). Go Tech!




That is beautiful.

From an OU fan, Leach was robbed. I hope you guys run that administration out of town.
 
Pretty slick. Question to the OP how much room do you have left inside? Is it possible to fit another couple of cornies or a fermenter?

Edit - Nevermind I checked out some of the other builds in the thread.
 
I just wanted to add that I have the Kenmore 8.8 and I'm able to fit 6 ball locks and a 20lb co2 inside this chest freezer. Without the co2 tank i would be able to fit 7 ball locks. I guess it all depends on your arrangement and the size of your ball locks.
 
I have the same freezer and six fit perfectly. I have the CO2 tank on the outside, just easier to monitor that way.
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This seems to be the ideal size for my consumption and ability to have enough choices on tap along with my mini fridge full of other craft beers.

Nice build guys.
 
I have the same freezer and six fit perfectly. I

IMG_4062.jpg


Nice build guys.

This looks great. It's nice to see how the faucets look when spread further out.


That is beautiful.

From an OU fan, Leach was robbed. I hope you guys run that administration out of town.

Thanks, 40watt. I hated to see Leach go, but I have high hopes for Tuberville. OU looks like they should be very tough this year.
 
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