My Keezer - The Documentary

That is one sweet Keezer! I think those chalkboard taps really make the whole thing pop and worth every penny! Did you find them cheaper or do you just not think they are worth the money? Either way great job!

Also being a wood worker, man I would love to play in your garage. The keezer is looking fantastic as well. Keep up the good work.

Now these are some first class wood working abilities!!! :rockin: Beautiful job on the keezer so far and excellent choice on the wood species. It's funny because when I was building my rustic keezer, people kept complimenting me on my "craftmanship" and "wood working skills". I kept telling everyone that I was a hack compared to some of the true wood workers on HBT. Installing knotty pine paneling around a 2x4 framed cabinet is a walk in the park compared to this build. I could easily hide my mistakes while trimming it out with cedar logs. Your precision is fantastic and the quality of your build is top notch! All of you future keezer builders take note of this build, because this is how a true professional builds a keezer! You 'da man!

Very nice work! I wish those tapboards came in something else other than walnut! It would look funny on my Cherry Keezer, but it looks great on the mahogony!!

That is craftsmanship at it's finest. Looking awesome.

Beautiful Keezer Brother!!

Looking forward to getting started on mine as well. Hope it comes out as half as nice as yours.

ScoobyKnows said:

That is one sweet Keezer! I think those chalkboard taps really make the whole thing pop and worth every penny! Did you find them cheaper or do you just not think they are worth the money? Either way great job!

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I don't think you can find them much cheaper than $40 each, I like them, but for that price I should have made my own and used the $ on beer ingredients!

I may change my mind once they are actually pulling beer. Thanks for looking!

I got a little shop time in today...so I started wiring the fan and my old temp controller. The ranco (3rd picture)had orange construction style extension cord leads, so I changed the male end to a black 14ga cord and wired the female side into 2 single gang boxes with 110v outlets. I will need 2 things to kick on with the compressor - the exhaust fan and the case fans in the base. The LED lights will have to plug into a full-time live plug.

I tested my wiring on the outlets and cut up my shop vac hose to connect to the bathroom exhaust fan. I plan on sitting the fan in the bottom of the freezer between the keg, and may make a stronger box for it, so I don't crush it with a full corny keg. I will then run the hose through the lid and into the coffin.

I spent about an hour looking at all of the tile at lowes today and finally came out with 6 sheets of this type - SWMBO likes the style so I obliged. When I got home I cut the first piece of insulation, for the lid, to size and glued it in place using this 3M spray.

With very few ways to secure the wood trim to the plywood top...I opted for lots of glue.

I test fit the tile and it was so thin I didn't like the 3/4" wood trim being much higher than the tile surface...so I glued down some 1/4" plywood to rais the tile a little.

Before I quit for the evening I cut the braces to size that will hold the 1/4" plywood backing on the coffin.

Hoppopotomus said:

Now these are some first class wood working abilities!!! :rockin: Beautiful job on the keezer so far and excellent choice on the wood species. It's funny because when I was building my rustic keezer, people kept complimenting me on my "craftmanship" and "wood working skills". I kept telling everyone that I was a hack compared to some of the true wood workers on HBT. Installing knotty pine paneling around a 2x4 framed cabinet is a walk in the park compared to this build. I could easily hide my mistakes while trimming it out with cedar logs. Your precision is fantastic and the quality of your build is top notch! All of you future keezer builders take note of this build, because this is how a true professional builds a keezer! You 'da man!

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Thanks for the compliments Hoppopotomus! my head is swelling as I type...I have seen your keezer and it's SHARP! I really like that rustic wood look. I sometimes drive past a store that sells that type of furniture and I always want to stop and look around.

All woodworkers make mistakes, and the very best craftsmen just know how to better hide them!

wfahey said:

Enjoying the build. And the pics of your wood shop. :rockin: I saw on another post where someone took a bilge blower fan and some pvc to circulate the air in the keezer. I thought that was a pretty cool idea and didn't take up much space at all.

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Good idea...I should have looked around first, but I bought the bathroom fan on impulse now I'm running with it. I can see that a bilge fan or similar would save a lot of space.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-kegerator-255232/

Thanks to notrealdan for his keezer lid design. I copied it and it works great so far...next I will be copying his gas lift assist!

Today I cut the back supports for the coffin. I recessed these 3/4" strips 1/4" into the back so the 1/4" plywood backs will sit flush. I had one pin nail curve up and blow out a chunk of wood. I'll have to glue it in place and sand it down to hide it.

I had more bad luck when I noticed the corner had separated on the skirt. I believe the top board was warped and just pulled apart overnight. I reinforced with a third pocket screw and some glue. I used some coarse threaded screws instead of the fine threads recommended for hard wood. It should hold, but I believe the warping was caused by me not letting the wood acclimate to my garage before dimensioning. Wood needs to equalize with the humidity for a week or two before being used.

I looked at the glass/stone tiles and the new drip tray that just came in the mail today. http://www.barproducts.com/ I believe this was $19 + shipping. I also purchased a set of beer glasses while shopping there.

The tray is 19.5 inches wide and a perfect fit under 4 taps. The grate needed a little 'tweaking" to lay flat inside the pan, but I managed to get it to fit. At $19, it was the cheapest stainless drip tray I could find.

The fix held on the skirt; I cut and fit the plywood backs on the small sides and installed more supports in the middle of the coffin. Then it was time to enjoy a nice IPA. I believe this is the best beer I have ever made..very tasty!

Wow this is a beautiful build. I am curious, why did you want to add the collar to the Keezer?

Looking forward to seeing the finished build.

2 Reasons really...I wanted to add a little more head space to fit a 10# CO2 bottle (on the compressor shelf) and I also couldn't bring myself to cut up the lid of the brand new freezer. If this design turns out to be problematic, I can try again with the original lid.

This thing rocks man! A total inspiration! I currently have a fridge with holes in the door sitting in the garage, but one day I want a piece of furniture I can display in the house, and this will be my model to go by. Keep up the good work and great pictures!

t3e871 said:

2 Reasons really...I wanted to add a little more head space to fit a 10# CO2 bottle (on the compressor shelf) and I also couldn't bring myself to cut up the lid of the brand new freezer. If this design turns out to be problematic, I can try again with the original lid.

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Thank you for the information, deffinitely giving me good ideas for when i start one of these.

Your keezer is certainly a thing of beauty.

I was able to work almost two full days on the keezer this weekend. I started by putting the front splash board into the coffin, the back cover and cut out an opening to mount the temp controller.

I mounted the door to the back of the coffin.

I then switched gears and started the hard work...sanding! I used a random orbit sander and a lot of hand sanding. I went over all wood with 150 grit and then 180 grit. I also rounded over the top edges with a 3/16" roundover bit in a small router. I eased the rest of the edges slightly with the 180 sandpaper.

Today was a 2-beer day with a lot of sanding and finishing up on the small parts. This brown ale had zest of orange and cold brewed coffe added to the secondary. Its a nice combination giving a nose of orange before sipping and a taste of coffee in the end. This may be my first beer I enter into the AHA competition.

It was a perfect day to set up my "spray booth" outside and start finishing the parts. I sprayed about 6-7 coats of BullsEye amber shellac, thinned 3/2 with denatured alcohol. I sanded with 400g between every other coat and wiped down with a rag. Shellac is not the best finish for a bar top since it thins with alcohol, but I love the hue it puts on dark walnut and mahogany. I plan to put a final coat of laquer on top after the shellac fully cures in a week or so so a spilled beer won't eat through the shellac.

I started playing with the LEDs while waiting between coats.

I mounted the lights under the taps and made a small mistake. I'll explain later...first look at this stuff called Bondera? It is a SUPER STICKY sheeting that is made to replace mortar when laying tile. I tried it out on the backsplash and so far it is holding up nicely.

I first put the lights too close to the backsplash and once the tiles went on they covered the lights. When I tried to "unstick" and relocate the lights they broke at the seam.

I tested the drip tray location and it looks to be about 2 tile row back from the front edge.

Next step was to insulate the coffin. I cut the pieces to fit, filled the gaps with expanding foam, and taped up the seams with silver tape.

I drilled the holes to pump air into the coffin and sealed the tube (shop vac hose) from the bathroom exhaust fan into the hole. I put the temp controller probe in a bottle of water on the compressor shelf, a second thermometer on the top of the keg and a third thermometer inside the coffin up near the shanks. I'm letting it cool now and will check the temps in at each location periodically.

Wow! Terrific job. How many hours in total do you have into that bad boy?

RandyAB said:

Wow! Terrific job. How many hours in total do you have into that bad boy?

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I'd say at least 60 hours in labor and about the same in research and design. But it has been pretty fun the whole time and I can't wait to get it done and in the house.

t3e871 said:

I'm letting it cool now and will check the temps in at each location periodically.

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Overnight the freezer was set at 38F. This morning the temp controller was at 38F, the thermometer inside read 38F and the thermometer in the coffin read 47F at the shanks. I don't think this will be enough cooling inside the coffin, so tonight I plan to add more insulation to the coffin and seal more gap and retry.

Nice progress so far.

I've often wondered why everyone that builds a coffin-style keezer usually only puts two small holes to allow air to pass through. Wouldn't it be better to have the entire bottom of the coffin open to the freezer compartment, and then just drop a fan down below to push up air towards the opening?

Markd27 said:

Nice progress so far.

I've often wondered why everyone that builds a coffin-style keezer usually only puts two small holes to allow air to pass through. Wouldn't it be better to have the entire bottom of the coffin open to the freezer compartment, and then just drop a fan down below to push up air towards the opening?

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You may be right; I thought about mounting my fan on the lid (floor of the coffin), but then decided I would try to push the coldest air (at the bottom of the freezer) into the coffin. So I put the fan in the bottom of the freezer and pushed the air into the coffin via the shop vac hose.

My first test with the fan running constantly, left a differential of 9F between the temp controller reading (probe inside a bottle of water and sitting on the compressor shelf) and the coffin. I still need to insulate a few gaps in the coffin, that may help this.

My second test I wired the fan to the temp controller so it only pushed air when the compressor was running. This was really bad - temp controller reading 35F, coffin 53F!

My third test I put the shop vac hose a little further into the coffin (2") and wired the fan to run constantly - temp difference was the best so far! 35F on the temp controller and 43F in the coffin near the middle of the 4 shanks.

I believe after I add more insulation and seal the gaps I can get the temps even closer...but the problem I see is the hose directs the cold air onto a small are in the coffin - so the tap getting the direct air is coldest. I still may reverse this design and open it up like you suggest - this would also get my fan out of the bottom of the freezer and make more room.

I would add two fans to the coffin, one bringing cold air in, and one blowing it out.

You may want to hook up a tube so that the out intake is located at the top (heat rises). You may get a more uniform temp in the coffin that way.