Converting the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft Chest Freezer

Thanks for the inspiration!

Great build, tutorial, and pictures. Thanks

n/m

may be a dumb question, but i read in this thread that the beer lines should be 10 ft per keg....is there any length the gas lines should be? and am i correct on the 10ft beer lines

I run 10' for beer and 25' for soda. CO2 line length does not matter.

dahray02 said:

may be a dumb question, but i read in this thread that the beer lines should be 10 ft per keg....is there any length the gas lines should be? and am i correct on the 10ft beer lines

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10 ft should be good for your average carb levels. Belgians and German wheat beers require higher CO2 and longer lines

I recently switched my beer lines to around 8.5ft (I would have gotten 10 but the websites wording made it sound like 8 was the max they could cut) and I get a great pour. Most people go with 10 to avoid having to tinker around with finding the right length. I'm pretty sure there's a calculator on here somewhere for determining beer line length and I just got foot or maybe a little more of what it recommended.

Dumb question, but - did anyone do this build without thinning the 2x8's to 1.25" (still using 1.5" foam insulation) and use gorilla glue (or heavy duty velcro) to hold the collar in place? Wondering how it is holding up... any pictures with a top down view would also be appreciated! Thanks!

chiefwigms said:

Dumb question, but - did anyone do this build without thinning the 2x8's to 1.25" (still using 1.5" foam insulation) and use gorilla glue (or heavy duty velcro) to hold the collar in place? Wondering how it is holding up... any pictures with a top down view would also be appreciated! Thanks!

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I didn't thin the 2x8 and used either 1" or 1.5" insulation. I used metal brackets to connect the collar to the keezer, then caulked all the seams. Everything is holding up great!

First, let me just say WOW & Thank You for posting all the creative and incredibly nice work all has done on this units!!!

I know this isn't the normal but my wife & I are RV'ers and have started working on our basement coach fridge/freezer, turning it in a 'RV Keezer', LOL!
Since the Boss Lady won't let me have the whole thing, the plan is to build a 4" collar and use half allowing me only one 2.5Gal Corny Keg inside, with one Perlick 525SS faucet (on it's way) and a 5# CO2 (mounted on exterior) using a bulkhead adapter with ball-lock. The other 2.5 Keg will be filled and stored next to the keezer to naturally carb.

I sure don't have your carpentry skills or the proper tools but making it work
Still a long way from finished but here goes:
Robert

Making progress!

I'm not sure if this has been covered, i searched for it and found a possible answer. The love temp controller is throwing the 'ep2' defrosting probe error. I have the probe connected to output 1 & 2 and have the probe type selected for ntc. Not sure what action to take to resolve the issue, any ideas?

I was thinking of making a kegerator out of a mini fridge but now I want to make a keezer. Can fit more kegs any way ; )

BryanJ said:

I'm not sure if this has been covered, i searched for it and found a possible answer. The love temp controller is throwing the 'ep2' defrosting probe error. I have the probe connected to output 1 & 2 and have the probe type selected for ntc. Not sure what action to take to resolve the issue, any ideas?

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It depends on the model but generally you would set P4 to 1 and d2 to 0.

Quaffer said:

I made cleats from an 0.75" angle aluminum bar. The one large screw will go into the wood of the collar, while the smaller self-drilling screws will go into the plastic frame on the freezer body.

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Quaffer thanks for starting this thread it has given me a lot of ideas. My question is in reference to the screws that go into the plastic frame. I was wondering how long they are? I am thinking 1/4 in or less because I do not want to end up with a hissing sound when I put them in. Thanks.

jerryk said:

Quaffer thanks for starting this thread it has given me a lot of ideas. My question is in reference to the screws that go into the plastic frame. I was wondering how long they are? I am thinking 1/4 in or less because I do not want to end up with a hissing sound when I put them in. Thanks.

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The shanks on those screws are 1/2" long, which is just barely long enough considering that they have to go through the aluminum profile before entering the plastic frame. That's why I decided to have two screws per bracket.

I discovered a video on YouTube by 4x4jeep74 who's building a keezer much like this one, based on the same Frigidaire freezer. He has come up with a way to locate and mark the locations of the refrigerant tubes so that he can drill holes through the front and attach the drip tray with sheet metal screws. Take a look at the six minute mark into the video. He has some other nice approaches to this build as well.

Quaffer said:

The shanks on those screws are 1/2" long, which is just barely long enough considering that they have to go through the aluminum profile before entering the plastic frame. That's why I decided to have two screws per bracket.

I discovered a video on YouTube by 4x4jeep74 who's building a keezer much like this one, based on the same Frigidaire freezer. He has come up with a way to locate and mark the locations of the refrigerant tubes so that he can drill holes through the front and attach the drip tray with sheet metal screws. Take a look at the six minute mark into the video. He has some other nice approaches to this build as well.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO5GqeA4sCc

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Thanks Quaffer I will give it a try. So I am guessing but the refrigerant lines must be steel in the walls of the freezer.

Thanks Quaffer, you inspired me! Thanks for everything in this thread. Here is the finished unit.



I also mounted a controller in the space of the old one using a wall plate. This way there are no live connections in the freezer itself.



The whole write-up and pictures are here on my blog: http://ageekdad.com/2012/10/18/pouring-a-pint-at-home-in-style/

-Jason

Thanks Quaffer and everyone else!

http://s687.beta.photobucket.com/user/Clancy4747/library/Kegeratorhttp://

RCBW - Those are some awesome tap handles. Where did you get them?

Thanks to all the great ideas from everyone. I recently recieved 2 cornies for by birthday and currently don't have a place to keep them cold. So I just got permission from SWMBO to start looking into a keezer. She wants a taps on top of the lid rather than a 2x8 collar. She feels the collar makes it feel more like a beer truck style dispenser. Tap on top with the surface tiled is the current plan. Keep some chilled glasses and bottled beer on the hump.

Hey mrstevenund, Those Tap Handles are:

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/tap-handles-pid-T180-7.html

I also bought a fridgidaire freezer for a conversion. I noticed the corners where the collar sits are raised. Did you modify the corners or the collar i any way to compensate for this, or was the adhesive enought to seal and fill the gap created by the raised corners? Thanks, and good job on the build!

Wonderful project! I can wait to get started and make one just like yours! Just a quick question--can you fit 4 Corny kegs inside your 7.2 cu ft freezer? I was thinking about the bigger one to more comfortably get 4 inside.

Thanks for the inspiration!

baldbeerguy said:

I also bought a fridgidaire freezer for a conversion. I noticed the corners where the collar sits are raised. Did you modify the corners or the collar i any way to compensate for this, or was the adhesive enought to seal and fill the gap created by the raised corners? Thanks, and good job on the build!

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On mine the gap was very small, maybe a 1/16th of an inch, I just used silicone to attach the collar and seal the gap. No issues at all. I also sealed both layers of foam that I insulated with to the collar and the freezer using silicone becuase overkill is fun. ;-)

p-mtallica said:

Wonderful project! I can wait to get started and make one just like yours! Just a quick question--can you fit 4 Corny kegs inside your 7.2 cu ft freezer? I was thinking about the bigger one to more comfortably get 4 inside.

Thanks for the inspiration!

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Four fits easily with one on the hump. Some have even fit five in it.

I did admittedly skip to the end of this thread... I hope to read it thoroughly later when I have more time. BUT... I can't find this freezer anywhere. All of the similar units I've found have big nasty looking temp controllers on the front panel. All of the ones I've found were white as well.

Where can I find this freezer?

SmokingGunn said:

I did admittedly skip to the end of this thread... I hope to read it thoroughly later when I have more time. BUT... I can't find this freezer anywhere. All of the similar units I've found have big nasty looking temp controllers on the front panel. All of the ones I've found were white as well.

Where can I find this freezer?

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I got mine from Lowes, summer of 2011 ... had to order the black.

Love what you did here. I'm going to do this when I get my kegerator together!

this thread is a great resource, thank you. I hope to come back to review it again in the near future.

SmokingGunn said:

I did admittedly skip to the end of this thread... I hope to read it thoroughly later when I have more time. BUT... I can't find this freezer anywhere. All of the similar units I've found have big nasty looking temp controllers on the front panel. All of the ones I've found were white as well.

Where can I find this freezer?

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I got mine at hhgregg. If you sign up for their emails they'll send you a 10% welcome coupon as well

I recently started my keezer build and had to paint from white to black. I used the appliance epoxy paint at a local Menards for it. Went through about 2 cans of it only. It's done, but I've got a great picture of just after it was finished with the second coat.

If anyone knows the show, it looks like a scene out of Dexter on Showtime.....

Lookin like a Dexter protege.

Is the thermostat control really needed if the freezer comes with a basic dial adjustment. Has anyone used the johnson control that you plug the freezer into or is it best to stick with the love thermostat. I also found some on amazon for about $20 do I dare trust them?

photo_sports said:

Is the thermostat control really needed if the freezer comes with a basic dial adjustment. Has anyone used the johnson control that you plug the freezer into or is it best to stick with the love thermostat. I also found some on amazon for about $20 do I dare trust them?

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Yes, it's definitely needed. The freezer is designed to operate at temperatures that will freeze the beer, so when you use a freezer for a kegerator you need to make accommodations for that. Some have replaced the existing control circuit, but most use a supplemental control. Many of us built our own using an aquarium temperature controller that you can buy in eBay for $20-$25, which ends up costing about $35-$40 in the end. Sorry that I don't have the link handy in the android app, but there's a mammoth thread that has all of the details you'll need in the first few pages. Good luck!

photo_sports said:

Is the thermostat control really needed if the freezer comes with a basic dial adjustment. Has anyone used the johnson control that you plug the freezer into or is it best to stick with the love thermostat. I also found some on amazon for about $20 do I dare trust them?

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I'd been looking for this thread to give. Give it a try. It's very easy and I've had a number of my friends do this with success. It eliminates the need to drill a hole in your collar and is pretty darn accurate.

Good luck!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/gu...mostat-32f-eliminate-external-control-249612/

Here's the link for the aquarium temp controller

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

and the link to the seller most have bought from

http://www.ebay.com/itm/All-purpose...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3369717de0#shId

I need some feeback please. So I've already built the keezer dolly, collar, and in the process of finishing the top out of wood. Now my lady is commenting that it doesn't fit as well as she'd hoped with the room, and we are looking at painting all the wood white (to match the bottom half of the room). Since I've already painted the damn thing black with the epoxy spray paint, I'm not about to make that mess again. So I'm thinking of glueing a piece a 1/4 in sanded plywood to the sides and painting that. I'm expecting that the plywood would still be thin enough to allow for the heat exchange for the coils. What do yall think?

question for you guys - so i've been running this thing for like 8 months now, and just removed my first two kegs. When I looked at the bottom, there seemed to be orange crud all around the corners - I thought some beer might have leaked from one of my taps, but it turns out its on the hump corners too. I have an eva-dry in there, but nothing else - it doesn't look like mold either. Anyone? I scrubbed around with bleach/chlorine, but there is still some junk around.

chiefwigms said:

question for you guys - so i've been running this thing for like 8 months now, and just removed my first two kegs. When I looked at the bottom, there seemed to be orange crud all around the corners - I thought some beer might have leaked from one of my taps, but it turns out its on the hump corners too. I have an eva-dry in there, but nothing else - it doesn't look like mold either. Anyone? I scrubbed around with bleach/chlorine, but there is still some junk around.

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I too have run into this problem. I've just come to accept it. I clean it out with bleach every few months buy never get it back to its original state. I think it may be rust forming from condensation inside. I also have an eva-dry and some damp rid containers. It doesn't affect the beer though, so cheers!

excellent photos and details, thanks