Sizing your Chest Freezer for Corny Kegs

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GE 7 cf freezer, I can only get 3 ball lock kegs in mine. If I hammer on the hump I might be able to fit one more.

There are two GE 7 CF freezers. Do you have the D model or the S model? One fits 3 ball locks and the other 4. I can fit 4 in mine with a little muscle, but certainly no need to hammer.
 
thadius856 said:
There are two GE 7 CF freezers. Do you have the D model or the S model? One fits 3 ball locks and the other 4. I can fit 4 in mine with a little muscle, but certainly no need to hammer.

I have a model FCM7SUFWW GE 7.0 cf. so not sure it is a D or a S model. I am thinking it is a F model.
 
Any thoughts on a Frigidaire 7.2 cubic deep freezer? I found one on craigslist for $150. I haven't seen anyone comment on this brand and was curious on whether or not I should pull the trigger or wait for a GE or kenmore.
 
GE 7 cf freezer, I can only get 3 ball lock kegs in mine. If I hammer on the hump I might be able to fit one more.

Following up on this one.

Those look rather short in that freezer. Are these converted kegs? Original ball locks measure 25" to the top of the rubber handle, pin locks or converted ball locks would be 21" tall.
 
Just an FYI, my pin lock kegs are 9" in diameter and the tank is roughly 21" tall. My ball lock kegs are 8.5" in diameter with a tank height of 24".

If your kegs are short and fat, they're pin locks with ball lock fittings, as Thadius suggested above, which will restrict the # of kegs you can fit in a freezer. This is the biggest set-back I've found to having pin lock kegs. If I had BL instead, I could fit 1 more in my keezer...
 
Which freezer will hold a half barrel?

You need 16-1/8" depth (front-to-back) to fit a 1/2 bbl or 1/4 bbl (not slim). That puts you at minimum 8.8cf territory. The Frigidaire 8.8cf LFFC09M5HW is the smallest model I know of that can handle one. There used to be a Frigidaire 7cf-class model that could do it (see first page of the thread, it's the one that stacks ball locks two-deep), but it's not in production anymore.

All 15cf models and larger should hold two 1/2 or 1/4 bbl without needing to utilize the compressor hump.
 
Is it possible to use a keezer without having a temperature controller? Anyone using a freezer on just simply its highest temp settings?
 
Is it possible to use a keezer without having a temperature controller? Anyone using a freezer on just simply its highest temp settings?

Um, its a freezer. If it is simply on its highest setting it will simply freeze your beer. There is a thread on how to hack the freezer thermostat. Though its much more accurate when using a temp controller. The stc1000 build can be built if you are on a budget.
 
Now that's not true.

There's the Igloo 5 cf and 7 cf that have thermostats with refrigerator mode built in. See my sig for a link to preview them.

ok so there are some exceptions.

Is it possible to use a keezer without having a temperature controller? Anyone using a freezer on just simply its highest temp settings?

^^ will freeze beer. Even some refrigerators at the highest setting will freeze things.
 
Now that's not true.

There's the Igloo 5 cf and 7 cf that have thermostats with refrigerator mode built in. See my sig for a link to preview them.

I have one, Igloo 7cf, and it definitely does not freeze your beer when set to refrigerator setting.
 
Yep thank you guys! May play with the set screw just a tad and see if I cant keep her above freezing before buying a Ranco. Has anyone had luck with set screw adjustments on the Holiday 5cft?
 
Can anyone confirm the fit of the Igloo 7.2? four 5B?

Scratch and dent or possibly demo 7.2 Igloo freezer available locally for $95. Though the guide doesn't have the 7.2 yet I will assume that three kegs and the bottle will fit in there. Anyone had a problem with Igloo products?
 
Does anyone know if there is a 5cf chest freezer out there that can fit two better bottle fermenters (6 gal)?

I'm thinking possibly having one on the floor and one on the shelf, and putting in a wooden collar high enough for the fermenter on the shelf.
 
Am I screwing something up? I went to HD with 4 empty ball locks and the GE 7'er wouldn't fit 4 on the floor. 4 went in over the lip, but not all the way to the floor. Are the kegs warped? Is there magical way of fitting them that I am missing? Thanks in advance, folks.

(Disclaimer: Building my first keezer and first purchase of used kegs)
 
Either you're doing something wrong, or they changed the model. I have two of the GE 7.0cf FCM7SUWW's and have crammed 6 kegs into each before. Four on the floor, two on the hump. It's a tight fit.





I've found that the rubber handles on the sides of ball lock kegs bulge outward ever so slightly. You can file these down with a rasp, or you can turn it so the opening between the two handles is touching the adjacent keg. Either way, it should be close.

If it's not even close to getting 4 on the floor, then you probably have "converted ball lock" kegs, which are pin lock bodies with ball lock posts and lid.
 
It seems as though it the bases that don't fit, they flare a bit. I could probably muscle them down but didn't want to buy a floor model if ya know what I mean. It looks like I'm going to take a rasp to them, or just build something to make the whole level. Figure I'd experiment with a fan in the floor to recirculate the puddle of cold air down there, but that's off topic. Thanks, Thadius.
 
I just crammed them down. It makes a tiny dent in the compressor hump, but there's nothing vital in that area unless you take a sledge hammer to it. It's so small that nobody would notice if you didn't tell them.

Check the first post in my sig to see what other 7 cu ft models hold 4 ball locks on the floor. Perhaps you'll see another you like more.
 

Just picked one up today. You have to stagger them, but 4 fit on the bottom without hammering anything down and even a little wiggle room. I save the hump for bottles, but two more would fit. Kegs fit with about 2" to the top of the compartment where the collar would go. Unfortunately that means I can't reuse my 6" collar from my dead freezer for the project, gotta go up to 10 for the same amount of hose wiggle room.

FYI I have ball locks
 
Just picked one up today. You have to stagger them, but 4 fit on the bottom without hammering anything down and even a little wiggle room. I save the hump for bottles, but two more would fit. Kegs fit with about 2" to the top of the compartment where the collar would go. Unfortunately that means I can't reuse my 6" collar from my dead freezer for the project, gotta go up to 10 for the same amount of hose wiggle room.

FYI I have ball locks

Lucky! I've got ball locks too, 5 will fit max in my Home Depot ge 7.2 with co2 outside.
 
i said the hell with it and bought the frigidaire 15 cu ft chest freezer at lowes for $ 359 , got the extra 2 year warranty ( 3 yr warranty now ) , for $ 447 out the door with tax and extra warranty , it holds 8 ball locks in the well 2 on the hump hell yah , i save over $ 200
 
There ya go! :)

I have that model recorded as 9 on the floor, 2 on the hump. Or for pin locks, 8 on the floor, 2 on the hump.

Sure there isn't room to squeeze another on in there?
 
i said the hell with it and bought the frigidaire 15 cu ft chest freezer at lowes for $ 359 , got the extra 2 year warranty ( 3 yr warranty now ) , for $ 447 out the door with tax and extra warranty , it holds 8 ball locks in the well 2 on the hump hell yah , i save over $ 200

I too was going to go this way but decided on two 7 cu ft models. That way I can have 8 on the floor or a fermentation chamber in one. On sale they work out to be a little over $300 and gives me more flexibility. :)

Still haven't bought the second one yet though! Lol
 
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