Adding some more keezer love

There's gotta be over 100 threads on keezer builds...so i figured, hell, why not another one!

I just recently decided i wanted to start kegging (tired of bottling 2+ cases at a time) and of course i had to make a good looking keezer (with coffin) to go with it...My main issue with most coffin keezers is they look to be a bit heavy.

Since i plan on moving sometime in the next year or two, I wanted to build something that was a bit lighter, that i could easily break apart (the "skin") in case i want it to match a room in my new house, and i also want the ability to be able to change the "face" of the coffin (where the taps go) with ease (on the fly perhaps) since i only have a setup for one keg (plan on upgrading in the future).

Here's what I plan on doing/using:

• For the skin I'll be using a very thin piece of plywood - to help reduse weight and also allow the keezer to breathe since it won't have a lot of space around it.
• To control the temperature, I'll be using an STC-1000 (110v found on eBay) - I'll be tapping into the freezer's current power supply so I won't need extra power cables.
• For the coffin, I want to have the ability to swap the face out with different faces. Since i'm starting out with 1 tap, i want it to be centered. If i add another tap, i'd like to just slide the face out and drop the new face in.
• The lid will have the thickest of the plywood (3/4"). I'm using this for a couple of reasons - 1. I have a big piece laying around and 2. I think this will prevent the need of concrete board (i'll be tiling the lid as well)

Without further ado, let's get started.

Started with the base:








Next i used 2*3's for the framing:






Removed the old thermostat:




And now we wire in the temp controller:







Tested it and it works great!


That's all I've got for right now - I'll be mounting the lid either during the week or this weekend if i get a chance...I can't wait to finish this up!

Any suggestions are welcome!

I was looking for a reason to buy a nifty Kreg jig, now I have one.

Great photos of the base and framing. Looking foward to how the side panels and top are constructed.

Got the lid mounted over the weekend... unfortunately i didn't give full thought to what I was doing. I measured where i wanted the holes, but didn't take into account of the plastic linear thats on the under side of the lid lol...oh well. I'll just be lining the inside of the lid with that sticky foam vent insulation stuff...just keep this in mind if you do this yourself.

The lid is held on with T-nuts, bolts, and oversize washers. Got the idea from Hoppopotomus and his keezer build...except he actually took the time to account for the plastic linear on the underside lol




yup...crap...

A great start! Especially like the Kreg pocket holes. Looking forward to your progress.

Time for a little update.

I've been a bit busy/lazy so haven't exactly completed too much with the keezer. Looking back at how I framed it out, I wish I had done it differently. Instead of using the pocket holes I should have framed it like you would a wall. Would have made for a much sturdier keezer.

I also decided to change the "skin" of it. Instead of using the lightweight thin plywood, I decided to use 1x4s and stain them for a more old-school feel and add structural stability. So far, I'm liking how it looks.

I've framed out the coffin and drilled a hole for the lines (pics to come).

What's left to do:

• Drill 2 holes for air exchange
• Finish Staining & sealing 1x4s and afix them to keezer
• Figure out how to make a removeable tap face
• Tile keezer lid
• Have a keg party

The lid will have the thickest of the plywood (3/4"). I'm using this for a couple of reasons - 1. I have a big piece laying around and 2. I think this will prevent the need of concrete board (i'll be tiling the lid as well)

Click to expand...

I would advise using concrete board no matter what. Unless you want the mortar / grount on the tiling to eventually crack. It doesn't really add that much weight either.

Annnnd another update. Finally started to put the planks on last night. I'm liking the way it looks!

Got a fair amount finished today...the front and sides are all paneled up and i installed the temp controller! Started working on the coffin, got the sides finished, and am in the process of building a door for the back.

Still need to panel the front and top of the coffin as well as drill 2 air exchange holes...this thing didnt turn out absolutely perfect, but for my first keezer, i can live with the imperfections.

So just a quick update...I'm going to have to scrap this project and start over.

I was under the impression that I could fit 2 kegs side by side in my keezer, but as it turns out, i can't (need about an extra 2 inches of space).

So with that in mind i'm planning on adding a collar to the freezer itself so that i can store one keg on the hump and the other on the bottom. I still plan on having a removable face plate (where the taps will be) but I will be completely redoing the framing to make it a bit more solid (no more pocket screws) and obviously a little taller to accomodate the collar.

Depending how the money situation goes, I plan on having it finished late spring/early summer. I'll make sure to keep this thread updated!