Zombie Moan Keezer build Magic Chef 7cf

Here is the story of my keezer build. The freezer is a Magic Chef 7 cubic foot from Home Depot. I saw it on super sale for on $109 and had to make my move.

Thanks to TomSD and EasyE (and others) as they were the inspiration for my build. Here are the links to thier build threads:
TomSD:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ge-7-cf-fcm7suww-keezer-conversion-192208/

EasyE:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/chest-freezer-keezer-conversion-mikees-diy-build-242624/

I built a platform with casters out of 2x4. The casters are from Home Depot.

The wood collar is red oak 1x10 stained with Minwax PolyShades and plain old polyurethane with a total of 4 coats. I secured the boards together with two L brackets in each corner and sealed the small gaps with white silicone caulk.

My faucets and shanks are Perlick 525SS from Birdman brewing. The collar is insulated with 1 inch foam board. Gotta love the way that chrome glistens.

These hinges worry me a little since they are plastic and not counter balanced with spring. We'll see how they hold up over time. My air distributor is from Keg Connection.

I have a 1" wide strip of foam weather stripping attached to the top of the freezer to help seal the collar.

I'm using the fancy Accuflex Bev-Seal lines from Birdman Brewing after reading and hearing about off flavors from basic lines. I attached the lid to the collar with 3" hinges. The red air line is from my LHBS, Midwest.

Got my Johnson Controls temp controller wired up. The unit is resting on some nails I hammered into the collar. Probe is in a can of water sitting on the hump to keep the compressor from cycling more often.

The 19" drip tray is from BarProducts.com it was the cheapest I could find. It's attached to the L brackets with velcro. The L brackets are secured to the front of the freezer with 3M Heavy Duty double sided tape. The stuff can easily support three full pints without any movement at all. CO2 tank is secured to a 2x4 with a couple duct ring clamps. The 2x4 is connected to the cart base with some L brackets. Not the greatest looking thing, but it's hidden from view.

I added some wood washers to get the taps better secured to the collar. I put a dehumidifier from EvaDry in the unit to take care of any condensation issues. Here are a couple shots from the first pours. Ed Wort's Haus Pale ale and BierMuncher's Ode to Arthor.

Even though I have 4 taps there is easily enough room to fit 5 kegs in the thing with the collar.

looks good, real clean. I would keep a close eye on those plastic hinges though. Do you actually plan on lifting the collar up though, since you have your lid on separate hinges attached to the collar?

pannell77 said:

looks good, real clean. I would keep a close eye on those plastic hinges though. Do you actually plan on lifting the collar up though, since you have your lid on separate hinges attached to the collar?

Click to expand...

Yes. Only when changing a keg. I left the lid unsecured to use that as access for quick adjustments or to show off the guts.

Your build looks great, by the way!

Thanks. It doesn't look like your top will weigh all that much with just a collar on there, but it might be worth upgrading those hinges now just in case.