Best chest freezer for three!

I have been researching for days now and I am still having trouble..... I have read a lot of the posts about kegerator builds and what is the best chest freezer.... My problem is I don't have a Sam's Club or a Lowe's home and Garden anywhere near me And I know they do free shipping on their websites but I cannot find what I'm looking for. The Home Depot near me does not have squat! What I'm looking for is the absolute smallest chest freezer that will fit three corny kegs... Someone told me the General Electric 5.5 ft.³ chest freezer will do that but I cannot seem to find them anywhere online? Seven cubic is way too big and I really don't need four or 5 kegs, I think I will be just fine with three. Can you guys help me out? What would be the smallest unit that will hold three. And I have just around $200 price range...

P.s. that Danby looks like JUNK!
I hope nobody points to that one....
I've heard of GED, holiday, Magic Chef, that Danby POS and kenmore (But from what I hear this is the worst one for space)

I think most 5cu ft freezers with a collar can hold 3 kegs. One sits on the hump. i've got the Holiday 5 cu ft from Lowes with a 10 inch collar. I can do 3 cornies, or 2 cornies and 1 commercial 1/6 keg.

b-boy said:

I think most 5cu ft freezers with a collar can hold 3 kegs. One sits on the hump. i've got the Holiday 5 cu ft from Lowes with a 10 inch collar. I can do 3 cornies, or 2 cornies and 1 commercial 1/6 keg.

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WHOA! That's great! I see that one on sale for $169!
Is the 10inch collar good or would you have made taller or shorter?

I trust you totally B-Boy but I would still like to hear what the other guys say about their 5 cubic freezers (or whatever size you guys like)...

EDIT: just heard Holiday changed there design and the hump goes all the way across and is also narrow now....
Anyone care to comment

Will this fit three corney kegs and a co2 in side?

http://m.homedepot.com/p/GE-5-0-cu-ft-Chest-Freezer-in-White-FCM5SUWW/203547584/


I will build a 8 or ten inch collar...

Try this link for ideas,

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sizing-your-chest-freezer-corny-kegs-75449/

I have a Haier 5 cubic foot that will hold 3 kegs and a CO2 tank without a collar.

I purchased mine at HHGreg for $175 new

Here's a link
http://www.hhgregg.com/haier-5-cu-ft-chest-freezer-with-adjustable-thermostat-control/item/HCM050EC

I have an older Magic Chef 5 Cu ft that holds 4 kegs(with a collar) If you build a collar I think almost any 5+ cu ft freezer will hold three kegs most will hold four if you stagger the kegs. I think if you order from Home Depot, the will ship to the store for free and you can pick it up. Not sure though.

Check out my build in my sig.

DakotaPrerunner said:

Try this link for ideas,

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sizing-your-chest-freezer-corny-kegs-75449/

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I read every single post in that entire thread... The problem is some of those are very old entries and they do not make those models anymore... And I didn't see terms of General Electric's in the five cubic... I don't even think they make 5.5 ft.³ anymore...

CGVT said:

I have an older Magic Chef 5 Cu ft that holds 4 kegs(with a collar) If you build a collar I think almost any 5+ cu ft freezer will hold three kegs most will hold four if you stagger the kegs. I think if you order from Home Depot, the will ship to the store for free and you can pick it up. Not sure though.

Check out my build in my sig.

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Thank you CGVT... If they will all fit with a collar, that's the ticket...
Anyone care to second that?
I like the GE models.... They just seem to be the best liked by the masses.. (Not the HB forum masses but all the reviews have them in the top 3)

BadgerBrigade said:

WHOA! That's great! I see that one on sale for $169!
Is the 10inch collar good or would you have made taller or shorter?

I trust you totally B-Boy but I would still like to hear what the other guys say about their 5 cubic freezers (or whatever size you guys like)...

EDIT: just heard Holiday changed there design and the hump goes all the way across and is also narrow now....
Anyone care to comment

Click to expand...

I have the model with the hump that goes across. It's plenty wide to hold a corny. 10 inch collar is really what you need to put a 5 gallon corny on the hump. The alternatve would be a 3-gallon corny with a shorter collar.

I got mine in the scratch-and-dent section at Lowes for < $100.

b-boy said:

I have the model with the hump that goes across. It's plenty wide to hold a corny. 10 inch collar is really what you need to put a 5 gallon corny on the hump. The alternatve would be a 3-gallon corny with a shorter collar.

I got mine in the scratch-and-dent section at Lowes for < $100.

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Wow... $100! Great deal!
I think I will want to put three 5 gallons inside so if a 10 inch collar is what I need I will do it but damn that is tall! Lol

No shorter uh?

BadgerBrigade said:

Wow... $100! Great deal!
I think I will want to put 35 gallons inside so if a 10 inch collar is what I need I will do it but damn that is tall! Lol

No shorter uh?

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I use a small step stool. Hardest part is hoisting the keg into the keezer.

You might be able to do 8 Inches. It'd be close.

b-boy said:

I use a small step stool. Hardest part is hoisting the keg into the keezer.

You might be able to do 8 Inches. It'd be close.

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Sorry, meant three 5 gallon .... I know you knew that but just thought I would state that for the benefit of all

b-boy said:

I use a small step stool. Hardest part is hoisting the keg into the keezer.

You might be able to do 8 Inches. It'd be close.

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Close like MM or close like inches?

This is mine with an 8" collar

CGVT said:

This is mine with an 8" collar

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Wait? That doesn't look bad! I won't do 10" if I can look like this with 8"

Thinking to buy that 5 cu ft GE, will that be the same think?

Don't know. Regardless you can make it work with 8" or 10". Get it home and put a corny on the hump and see what you have. If not, get the inside dimensions of the the freezer and then see how much room you'll need. My ball lock cornies are about 25.5 inches tall measured at the top of the quick disconnect (I just measured).

CGVT said:

Don't know. Regardless you can make it work with 8" or 10". Get it home and put a corny on the hump and see what you have. If not, get the inside dimensions of the the freezer and then see how much room you'll need. My ball lock cornies are about 25.5 inches tall measured at the top of the quick disconnect (I just measured).

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I have not bought my kegs yet but I am right about to buy the whole set up so I have never seen them up close..... Is the top of the keg the highest point or does whatever lines hook up protrude up higher?

It's 25.5 inches to the top of the quick disconnects on the posts of my ball lock cornies. I'm not sure how tall pin locks are, but I understand that they are shorter and a bit wider. I would imagine that the hump would be the same height in a 7cu ft GE freezer. If they have one at HD, take a tape and measure to see how tall of a collar you will have to add...

CGVT said:

It's 25.5 inches to the top of the quick disconnects on the posts of my ball lock cornies. I'm not sure how tall pin locks are, but I understand that they are shorter and a bit wider. I would imagine that the hump would be the same height in a 7cu ft GE freezer. If they have one at HD, take a tape and measure to see how tall of a collar you will have to add...

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I think I may just buy the keg kit and walk into Home Depot and just drop that sucker in there right in the store...lol
I'll then just buy the freezer at that point too...
Hell, while I'm at it I may as well buy the collar material

Let us know how it turns out.

If you're going to have your kegs that close to the lid, I'd definitley think about adding a fan to circulate the cold air. You'll get significant tempurature difference from the bottom of the keezer to the top. The fan will help keep your kegs and lines cool. Should keep foaming to a minumum.

b-boy said:

If you're going to have your kegs that close to the lid, I'd definitley think about adding a fan to circulate the cold air. You'll get significant tempurature difference from the bottom of the keezer to the top. The fan will help keep your kegs and lines cool. Should keep foaming to a minumum.

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Too much work to save 2 inches maybe I'll make it 10 inches...
Actually what am I saying, I just went to Walmart today and got the GE seven cubic for $139!!
YAYY!
It looks like I should be able to easily fit three on the bottom and one or two CO2 tanks on the hump? Can I do that, can I rig two of those CO2 tanks together or on a splitter or will I not need that much CO2 for three kegs? The 7 in.³ looks way bigger than five cubic...
All I need is three kegs and my CO2, I don't think I'm going to need any storage area....

I'm still going to build a collar so I can put a nice digital gauge and my taps....
Any good ideas?

Kmart has one for $149 right now....

What is a coffin? I've heard this term a few times..

BadgerBrigade said:

It looks like I should be able to easily fit three on the bottom and one or two CO2 tanks on the hump? Can I do that, can I rig two of those CO2 tanks together or on a splitter or will I not need that much CO2 for three kegs? The 7 in.³ looks way bigger than five cubic...
All I need is three kegs and my CO2, I don't think I'm going to need any storage area....

I'm still going to build a collar so I can put a nice digital gauge and my taps....
Any good ideas?

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One tank is fine. It will last a while and can handle multiple kegs. You may want to pickup a CO2 manifold to handle splitting your CO2 between kegs.

As far as controllers go, the STC1000 is a great deal. It's like $20 shipped. It handles heating and cooling. It's only displays Celsius though.

As long as your keezer will be indoors, that's everything you should need. If it will be in a garage where it gets really cold, you might need a heat source like a reptile heater to keep your beer from freezing.

I'd still recommend the fan. I didn't add one originally, but I added one a few months after I built mine. It makes a huge difference with foaming.

BadgerBrigade said:

What is a coffin? I've heard this term a few times..

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A coffin is a style of keezer. It's an alternative to building a collar. It looks pretty cool. It requires some pretty solid woodworking skills, which I do not have.

b-boy said:

.

I'd still recommend the fan. I didn't add one originally, but I added one a few months after I built mine. It makes a huge difference with foaming.

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How do I build one, is there any directions anywhere?