Another KEEZER build.... w/ pics.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

HOP-HEAD

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2008
Messages
503
Reaction score
11
Location
West Michigan
Started my keezer build this past weekend. Started with the 7.2 Frigidaire from Lowes because I could special order it in black. Now the more I get into it, the more I realize I'm going to encase the whole thing anyway....

IMG_2185.jpg

7.2 Frigidaire


IMG_2198.jpg

Collar build.

IMG_2189.jpg

Fitting the collar.

IMG_2207.jpg

Laminate in place, initial trim, and planning the back rail.


....More to come.
 
looks good. Be careful of the encasement the walls on the freezer are used to dissipate the heat with the coils running through them. If you don't leave a little air space with a way for movement the unit will have a hard time releasing the heat because it insulated now granted thin plywood isn't a very good insulator .
 
Looks good!

As was said, be careful to allow enough heat to escape. I have the very same freezer, and the outsides of the walls get pretty warm.
 
As was said, be careful to allow enough heat to escape. I have the very same freezer, and the outsides of the walls get pretty warm.

The vent is still open for the compressor and the back wall is wide open. I may be kicking myself later, but everything I've ever learned about thermal conductivity is that wood is a poor insulator if no air space is provided... i.e., a thin section of paneling has a very low (almost negligible) R value. Where-as, had I left an air space, and then placed the paneling, the R value of the insulative-system would have actually improved, and thus lessened the freezers ability to give off it's heat. So I think this is the best of the "easy" options. Though I'm certainly still crossing my fingers.


Looks great. Should be a nice looking Keezer! What color stain are you going to use?

Something dark... Irish pub-ish....
 
The Ranco Temp Controller is wired and she's been running for a day and a half now. The top has yet to be insulated, and already it turns on next to never (probably a lot less if I stopped opening it) and the outside of the walls are just warm to the touch.... running perfectly. Time will tell of any issues.

Now for some stain... a few hundred coats of high gloss.... and my order from Kegconnections... and she'll be a thing of beauty.
 
Looking really nice.
Now just for the money shot with stain, all the full kegs, taps, etc.
You are filling up your pipeline now to fill these suckers right?
 
And 7.2 cu. ft. I just looked it up on Lowes. About $230. Not bad at all. How many kegs do you think it can comfortably hold? 4 or 5 plus a tank?
 
I have a 7.2 from lowes, a holiday, and I can fit 4 balllocks. the taller thinner kegs. the shorter thicker pinlocks I could do 3.

and a 5 pound tank on the hump also fits just fit, though you may have to keep your regulator on a 90 degree angle.

I have since added a collar so now it's all good.
 
Got an IPA sitting in secondary, and ingredients in the mail for a cream ale.

Great, just trying to remind you to plan ahead.
Nothing worst than an empty space or keg in your keggerator, it just feels wrong!
I have four taps on mine, 5 Co2 lines to force carb the replacement, and just enough room to fit in a 5 gallon carboy to crash chill something before kegging.
Can I just say I really don't miss bottling. :)
 
So, with a collar and the CO2 tank on the outside, the Frigidaire 7.2cf freezer will hold what, 6 kegs or 4 kegs and a 6 gallon Better Bottle?

How high is the hump? How tall will the collar have to be for 6 kegs?

There is NO WAY I can come close to what the OP did. That is a piece of fine furniture.

However, I can make a nice, black collar for it. All black, with the stainless taps and drip tray. Probably look pretty good.
 
So, with a collar and the CO2 tank on the outside, the Frigidaire 7.2cf freezer will hold what, 6 kegs or 4 kegs and a 6 gallon Better Bottle?

How high is the hump? How tall will the collar have to be for 6 kegs?

The hump measures about 10" high and makes up about 11" of the overall 30" of the length. I used a piece of 7-1/4" oak, so we'll see, but from what I've figured, it should be plenty of height on the hump.


There is NO WAY I can come close to what the OP did. That is a piece of fine furniture.

Appreciate the compliments.... and the furniture issue was a deal with the wife. That was the only way she'd agree to have it in the den.
 
I can wait for the pics, I'm not looking to replace my fridge based kegerator right now (you PM box is full).
 
Question for all:

How much height did you leave between the outlet of your taps to the drip tray on your keezers/kegerators? I think most 60 oz pitchers measure about 10 inches tall (?).... so maybe in the range of 12-14 inches?
 
Appreciate the compliments.... and the furniture issue was a deal with the wife. That was the only way she'd agree to have it in the den.

I have the same dilemma but a much uglier freezer. Your build looks very classy and I like the use of laminate, I might have to consider that for mine. It looks like you ditched the freezer lid, and I take it you are going with a tower. 12-14" sounds about right. I'm probably going closer to 12 or else my freezer will look like it should have more taps that it will. It's about 46" tall now without a tower as I've decided to put it on casters.
 
It looks like you ditched the freezer lid, and I take it you are going with a tower.

Yes, the lids gone, but no, I'm planning to put two taps out the front of the collar, spaced wide enough to permit the addition of a third one in the center.

Speaking of which... what's the "standard" spacing? I was planning to go with a 14" long drip tray, so was figuring on about 3.5 inches between 'em... or 7" to start with just the 2.

Would end up leaving 3.5" of tray on each end of the outside tap, and then 3 evenly spaced taps the same 3.5" distance apart. Sound reasonable?
 
Question for all:

How much height did you leave between the outlet of your taps to the drip tray on your keezers/kegerators? I think most 60 oz pitchers measure about 10 inches tall (?).... so maybe in the range of 12-14 inches?

Sounds about right. Measure your pitcher to double check.
 
Now just for the money shot with stain....

Not quite as dark as I was going for (the camera flash makes it look even lighter), but the wood conditioner I used first seemed to limit the color. While a second coat would probably do it, the first one took forever (and about 4 beers), so I think I'm good with it....

IMG_2238.jpg


Now for the varnish.

And my Kegging goodies are in the mail from kegconnection.... so she's comin' together. :D
 
Can you give a rundown of the type of skin you used, as well as the type of wood you used to make the top?
Is there a solid piece for the top, and then the laminate on top of that?

Looks good. I will be stea... err borrowing some of your ideas!
 
Can you give a rundown of the type of skin you used, as well as the type of wood you used to make the top?

Complete parts list (sorry for the detail, this is as all-inclusive as I could get, for those that need it to the penny....) Also included a few more pics to-date.... though the kegging goodies are still in the mail....

Frigidaire 7.2 cft Freezer $241.68 (after tax)

1x 4’x4’ Marble Laminate @ $9.99
1x Quart Laminate Contact Cement @ $5.97
1x 4’x4’x¾” Particle Board @ $7.79

4 x Oak Stair Riser – 7-3/4” x 42” @ $8.49

1x Package 3/8” Oak Plugs @ $1.84
Screws
Wood Glue
1x Finishing Nails @ $2.19
Tube Red Oak Wood Filler @ $4.97

3x 4’x 4’x1/8” Oak Veneer @ $16.48
1 x 8’ Base Board @ $9.97

3x 8’ Beaded Rope Trim @ $12.99
2x 7’ Leaf-Vine Banded Trim @ $11.99
2x 7’ Beaded Crown Molding @ $14.99
1x 8’ Oak Beaded ¼” Round @ $10.99
1x 8’ Oak Plain ¼” Round @ $8.79
1x 6’ Rail @ $14.99

1x 4’x8’x1” Super Tuff R Insulation @ $15.55
1x Roll Foil Tape @ $7.74

1x Package ½” Plastic Wire Clamps @ $1.59

1x Can Black Spray Pain @ $0.97

6x Large Rosettes @ $2.67
6x Small Rosettes @ $2.37
1x Black Caulk @ $2.48
2x - Construction Adhesive @ $2.49

1x Quart Varathane Wood Sealer @ $5.50
1x Quart Varathane American Walnut Stain @ $6.79
3x Cans Minwax Clear Gloss Varnish @ $5.97
120, 140, 180, 200 grit Sand Paper
Steel Wool

Un-wired Ranco Temp Controller @ $64.95

KegConnection Premium 2-Keg 5# Kit w/ adjustments @ $450 or so.
- Eliminated regulator/manifold in place of a single body/dual valve regulator on bottle and dual valve regulator in keezer with 6’ of gas line.
- Perlick Taps
- Add another 5 # bottle (2 total)
- 14" Stainless Drip Tray

Total: $1104.20 (to-date... much more to come)

IMG_2252.jpg


IMG_2249.jpg


IMG_2246.jpg


IMG_2245.jpg
 
Is there a solid piece for the top, and then the laminate on top of that?

The collar/top is a box made out oak stair risers, stood on their sides, cut to 45's, glued on the ends, and screwed. Screw heads are countersunk with oak plugs. Prior to assembling the collar, a 3/4" datto was cut along the top edge of each piece to receive the 3/4" particle board with laminate, which was glued up separate, using particle board due to it's smooth, flat, consistent nature. The top was then dropped into the collar.

IMG_2194.jpg


IMG_2204.jpg


Then I used a variety of trim to finish it off.

IMG_2213.jpg
 
If you're like me, you like pictures, so here's a few more....

IMG_2259.jpg

Goodies arrived from kegconnection... quality looking stuff, great communication, and fast fair-priced shipping.

IMG_2261.jpg

Plumbed and ready... plenty of room for expansion to 3 taps and another line for gassing a keg in advance.

IMG_2263.jpg

Can fit 3 cornies on the lower level, and 1 easy one on the hump. I think I can even fit two on the hump if I make the hump a little wider.... 4 easy, 5 possible.
 
You should listen to the recent Brewstrong show on perfect pours. Great info about tube length and pressure to get a smooth pour every time. Basically it talks about the resistance in beer line (@ 2.2 pounds per foot) and how you match length to the CO2 in your beer. Say you have a beer that is carbonated with 14 PSI at 45 degrees serving temp. So, 14 divided by 2.2 equals 6.3 feet to balance. You want a little pressure left over so the beer doesn't just trickle out, so maybe you want 5.5' of beer line to get the beer out. You also need to calculate the rise from the top of the keg to the spigot. Listen to the show and John Palmer will explain it all.
 
Back
Top