How heavy is the collar to lift to access the Freezer section?
I like it.. very nice.
Roughly how much additional cost? Did you have a write up on a website or something?
Heavy? Very! But then there are 7 1/2 pieces of marble tile on it
(and it's not actually a collar - just a top attached to the lid of the freezer) I just have a wooden prop to hold it open for moving kegs around - works fine so far.
I haven't done a real write up on it, but if you check out the Keezer link in my sig, you can see a lot of progress shots and some details.
As for cost - are you sure you want to know?
The big cost items so far have been
1) freezer
2) faucets, shanks, etc
3) wood
4) overkill manifold.
Then I did the marble, which actually wasn't as expensive as I had thought it would be. The SS drip tray wasn't cheap either, but I really wanted to make this thing right. Casters, temp controller, misc this and that - it all adds up.
It's way more expensive than a simpler setup, but I do get to have 7 beers on tap, served from something that is nicer than the rest of the furniture in the room.