Converting the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft Chest Freezer

Really great stuff, Quaffer (et al.) ... I've been planning to use the Frigidaire 7.2 for my project due to its perfect size and black color ... it's going to be sitting near my kitchen, right next to a server that is solid black with a reddish-mahagony top ... thus my original design concept was almost identical to yours, so I appreciate all of the information that you and others have posted in this thread.

Hop Head's completely skinned keezer (reply #100) has been tempting me to try the same thing, but discussions with SWMBO has me leaning toward a hybrid of the two projects ... leave the black freezer unskinned ... discard the lid and build a complete lid assembly with a nice top surface (thin quartz veneer or tile), using 1x6 for the sides and other lighter materials to keep the weight as low as possible ... and add a base with casters, surrounded by black (upside down) crown molding to give the unit mobility, hide the casters, match the aforementioned server, and add height to the unit.

Yep, this is all coming together ... thanks to everyone here for the inspiriation! Cheers!

2puttbird said:

Really great stuff, Quaffer (et al.) ... I've been planning to use the Frigidaire 7.2 for my project due to its perfect size and black color ... it's going to be sitting near my kitchen, right next to a server that is solid black with a reddish-mahagony top ... thus my original design concept was almost identical to yours, so I appreciate all of the information that you and others have posted in this thread.

Hop Head's completely skinned keezer (reply #100) has been tempting me to try the same thing, but discussions with SWMBO has me leaning toward a hybrid of the two projects ... leave the black freezer unskinned ... discard the lid and build a complete lid assembly with a nice top surface (thin quartz veneer or tile), using 1x6 for the sides and other lighter materials to keep the weight as low as possible ... and add a base with casters, surrounded by black (upside down) crown molding to give the unit mobility, hide the casters, match the aforementioned server, and add height to the unit.

Yep, this is all coming together ... thanks to everyone here for the inspiriation! Cheers!

Click to expand...

Sounds like a great project. We all would like to see pictures of the result. Cheers!

The inside of Quaffer's box reminds me of 1972 I was 21 and got a job as a bartender at Shakey's Pizza for $2/hour.

When the beer tap went dry, I was to go in the walk in cooler and take the empty keg off the shelf and lift up a full one. I weighed 135 pounds, and there was some serious huffing and puffing for me to get a full keg up on a 5' high shelf.

A few nights later, a call came for me to be a substitute bar tender at a much bigger Skakey's with a dozen employees. When I got there, they expected me to be manager, so I faked it.
Then we lost CO2 to the beer.
One of the employees asked me what to do.
I was like a computerized psychiatrist, in that I turned the question around.
"What are your options?" I asked.
The employee suggested, "We could hook up one of the soda pop CO2 tanks to the beer."
I said, "Let's try that."
The guy found a crescent wrench somewhere and did it.
We had beer for the rest of the night, and no one ever figured out that I knew nothing.

Clark1 said:

The inside of Quaffer's box reminds me of 1972 I was 21 and got a job as a bartender at Shakey's Pizza for $2/hour.

When the beer tap went dry, I was to go in the walk in cooler and take the empty keg off the shelf and lift up a full one. I weighed 135 pounds, and there was some serious huffing and puffing for me to get a full keg up on a 5' high shelf.

A few nights later, a call came for me to be a substitute bar tender at a much bigger Skakey's with a dozen employees. When I got there, they expected me to be manager, so I faked it.
Then we lost CO2 to the beer.
One of the employees asked me what to do.
I was like a computerized psychiatrist, in that I turned the question around.
"What are your options?" I asked.
The employee suggested, "We could hook up one of the soda pop CO2 tanks to the beer."
I said, "Let's try that."
The guy found a crescent wrench somewhere and did it.
We had beer for the rest of the night, and no one ever figured out that I knew nothing.

Click to expand...

Lifting 135 pounds five feet up!? Nowadays OSHA would have something to say about that, I am sure. I would have to go home with a herniated disk if I attempted this feat.

Hey Quaffer, thanks for the thread and all the cool ideas; I'm making my own this weekend out of a 5 ft freezer, and am getting a lot of my ideas from here. Just one question though (apologies in advance if it has already been answered somewhere in the past 20 pg's), how did you attach the drip tray and cap catcher? Thanks in advance!

Cacaman said:

Hey Quaffer, thanks for the thread and all the cool ideas; I'm making my own this weekend out of a 5 ft freezer, and am getting a lot of my ideas from here. Just one question though (apologies in advance if it has already been answered somewhere in the past 20 pg's), how did you attach the drip tray and cap catcher? Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I'm sure Quaffer will give you an answer, but some people use two sided adhesive tape while others use magnets. I plan to find stainless steel brackets and use velcro to attach to the underside of the drip tray and then use rare earth magnets to hold the brackets to the keezer. I plan to use magnets with my cap catcher too.

Cacaman said:

Hey Quaffer, thanks for the thread and all the cool ideas; I'm making my own this weekend out of a 5 ft freezer, and am getting a lot of my ideas from here. Just one question though (apologies in advance if it has already been answered somewhere in the past 20 pg's), how did you attach the drip tray and cap catcher? Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I described it in this post. Also click on the Amazon link there to see what it looks like. I used the same tape for the cap cathcer. It is a permanent install, so be carefull lining it up right.

Thanks!! It's so simple but I never thought of using magnets. I'll use that for now, if it's not stable enough I'll go with quaffer's solution. Thanks guys!

looks great. Does it fit the 4-5gallon kegs or 2 half barrels.

wetchicken6 said:

looks great. Does it fit the 4-5gallon kegs or 2 half barrels.

Click to expand...

I don't know if the half-barrel kegs will fit, but four or five 5-gallon Cornies will. I do know that it will be quite the feat of strength to lift a full Sanke keg into the kegerator, no matter how the lid is hinged. I'm thinking a winch from the rafters will do it, or a very strong buddy that will do it for a couple of beers.

2puttbird said:

Really great stuff, Quaffer (et al.) ... I've been planning to use the Frigidaire 7.2 for my project due to its perfect size and black color ... it's going to be sitting near my kitchen, right next to a server that is solid black with a reddish-mahagony top ... thus my original design concept was almost identical to yours, so I appreciate all of the information that you and others have posted in this thread.

Hop Head's completely skinned keezer (reply #100) has been tempting me to try the same thing, but discussions with SWMBO has me leaning toward a hybrid of the two projects ... leave the black freezer unskinned ... discard the lid and build a complete lid assembly with a nice top surface (thin quartz veneer or tile), using 1x6 for the sides and other lighter materials to keep the weight as low as possible ... and add a base with casters, surrounded by black (upside down) crown molding to give the unit mobility, hide the casters, match the aforementioned server, and add height to the unit.

Yep, this is all coming together ... thanks to everyone here for the inspiriation! Cheers!

Click to expand...

Can't wait to see the pictures.... so get to it already....

I would start my build; but of course my freezer was damaged during shipping. Ordered on-line from Lowes.com and rather then send it to the store closest to me; they sent it to one 200 miles away. Then they sub-contracted FedEx to deliver it; drove it to the wrong hub (170 miles from me in another direction). Finally got it today and the lid is bashed in two places.

AZ_IPA said:

I would start my build; but of course my freezer was damaged during shipping. Ordered on-line from Lowes.com and rather then send it to the store closest to me; they sent it to one 200 miles away. Then they sub-contracted FedEx to deliver it; drove it to the wrong hub (170 miles from me in another direction). Finally got it today and the lid is bashed in two places.

Click to expand...

You don't need their crappy lid anyway.... make your own...

AZ_IPA said:

I would start my build; but of course my freezer was damaged during shipping. [snip] ... the lid is bashed in two places.

Click to expand...

I agree with Hop-Head ... I ordered the same freezer, also from Lowe's, and if you read the comments on Lowes site, it seems like your experience is anything but unique ... bit I'm planning to toss my lid anyway, so if was you I would do the same thing (and then tell them you'll take a huge discount instead of a new unit)! Cheers!

Just make sure the unit works before you decide to keep it. If the lid is that mangled, there may be other damage to the mechanics of it.

HOP-HEAD said:

Can't wait to see the pictures.... so get to it already....

Click to expand...

Heh heh heh ... the freezer's on order, and I got some advice from the MM staff on the least expensive way to get what I want from their kit selection ... but waiting is definitely the hardest part ... my wife even suggested driving to KC (~120 miles) and finding places to buy everything (even at a premium) to avoid the shipping delays!

HOP-HEAD said:

You don't need their crappy lid anyway.... make your own...

Click to expand...

I think I was lucky... My freezer was just delivered, no problems with the physical aspects (short of the fact that the vent on the side by the compressor isn't really flush). I did have a hell of a time getting it though, ordered through Lowes and it came from a store an hour away when I had 6 closer stores... Oy vey Lowes! Waiting patiently on KegConnection to come through with the rest of the parts...

I was lucky. I ordered the black Frigidaire 7.2 over the summer and it sat in my basement until about 1 month ago. I did check out the lid when I received it, but not the sides, nor did I plug it in. However, it's perfect, so with all the reported dents and dings, I got lucky. I've been working on my collar for a while now because as a woodworker, I decided to wrap the hemlock 2 x 10 box in some awesome 1/8" birdseye maple I got off Ebay. I also turned my own tap handles from cocobolo and I made 1 in figured maple because I plan to dedicate 1 for soda and 3 for beer. I thought about waiting until the very end, but I might start a new thread with what I've accomplished so far. Uh.....yes, I'm over budget, but who really has a budget. If I don't add up the costs....then it does not exist.

MW66 said:

I was lucky. I ordered the black Frigidaire 7.2 over the summer and it sat in my basement until about 1 month ago. I did check out the lid when I received it, but not the sides, nor did I plug it in. However, it's perfect, so with all the reported dents and dings, I got lucky. I've been working on my collar for a while now because as a woodworker, I decided to wrap the hemlock 2 x 10 box in some awesome 1/8" birdseye maple I got off Ebay. I also turned my own tap handles from cocobolo and I made 1 in figured maple because I plan to dedicate 1 for soda and 3 for beer. I thought about waiting until the very end, but I might start a new thread with what I've accomplished so far. Uh.....yes, I'm over budget, but who really has a budget. If I don't add up the costs....then it does not exist.

Click to expand...

That is going to be one sweet kegerator! Budgets be damned, full speed ahead! Can't wait to see the result.

It's a given that as men, we have to go over our budget. Lol

MW66 said:

I was lucky. I ordered the black Frigidaire 7.2 over the summer and it sat in my basement until about 1 month ago. I did check out the lid when I received it, but not the sides, nor did I plug it in. However, it's perfect, so with all the reported dents and dings, I got lucky. I've been working on my collar for a while now because as a woodworker, I decided to wrap the hemlock 2 x 10 box in some awesome 1/8" birdseye maple I got off Ebay. I also turned my own tap handles from cocobolo and I made 1 in figured maple because I plan to dedicate 1 for soda and 3 for beer. I thought about waiting until the very end, but I might start a new thread with what I've accomplished so far. Uh.....yes, I'm over budget, but who really has a budget. If I don't add up the costs....then it does not exist.

Click to expand...

Cool project please post pictures during the progress stages.
Wood is a great medium in which to express warm beauty. Prost.

Quaffer:

In post #7, I just noticed that you have your fan connected to a micro switch. Is this something you bought separately and then screwed it into the side of the freezer body?

MW66 said:

Quaffer:

In post #7, I just noticed that you have your fan connected to a micro switch. Is this something you bought separately and then screwed it into the side of the freezer body?

Click to expand...

The switch stops the fan when the door is opened so that it does not expel the cold air, and it prevents me from getting my fingers caught in a spinning fan. The switch breaks one of the low-voltage wires for the fan. I attached it to the inside of the collar. I made a little pocket in the foam board for it.

I have another optional switch mounted on the left side at the compressor compartment. It is a three-position on-off-on switch by which I can turn the fan off, on continuously, or to run with the compressor. It is connected to the hot 120V side of the 6VDC supply. I run the fan continuously when I put a new (warm) keg in the kegerator. I don't know that it makes much difference; I put it in more or less for the fun of it. I decided not to complicate the wiring diagram with these switches. The more complicated it is the more opportunities there are to make a wiring mistake.

Quaffer,

I am building a Keezer based off of your design and had a couple quick questions. You say that you used 2x8's and then cut them to 1.25, is there any reason that 1x8's could not be used? With the insulation nearly flush with the boards I would think the thickness would not matter much. I have found 1x8's at my local Home Depot but can't seem to find 2x8's.

How far from the top of the collar did you drill the tap holes? I saw 4" on the centers but just that you put them as close to the top as possible.

Thanks,

~Danny

If you don't mind my 2 cents, I'll offer an answer. I'm surprised you could not find 2x8's. I bought 2x10 hemlock at Lowe's, but both should have it. I'm sure you could get away with 1x8, but now you're probably at 3/4 inch thickness. The thinner you go, the less structural rigidity, but with the foam you might gain some back. I am currently building a similar design and I located my taps 2 1/4 inches down from the top edge of the collar. It's really a matter of visual taste and pouring height comfort. My collar (finished height is approximately 9 inches and is constructed from 2x10 (I trimmed both edges square to final 8 1/2" height, added a 1/2" thick maple top frame to hide the pink foam board) and my keezer is on a platform suspended by casters, so it's pretty tall. I found that 2 1/4" down was a good height for me and I like the way my tap handles extended above the lid of the freezer. I hope that helps, but I'm sure Quaffer will respond. I'm an east-coaster, so I have a few hours on him.

HD: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Lowe's: http://www.lowes.com/pd_4545-99999-..._prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1

I used 1x8 maple, worked out fine. Been running for a couple years now and stays cool well.

Paramecium said:

Quaffer,

I am building a Keezer based off of your design and had a couple quick questions. You say that you used 2x8's and then cut them to 1.25, is there any reason that 1x8's could not be used? With the insulation nearly flush with the boards I would think the thickness would not matter much. I have found 1x8's at my local Home Depot but can't seem to find 2x8's.

How far from the top of the collar did you drill the tap holes? I saw 4" on the centers but just that you put them as close to the top as possible.

Thanks,

~Danny

Click to expand...

The seal is one inch wide so I wanted the collar to be at least that thick. The boards I used had a .25" round-over, so by making the boards 1.25" thick I have just enough wood there to properly engage the seal. I attached the collar to the body so I had to provide a surface on the collar for the seal to seat against. If you instead attach the collar to the lid then you can use the original surface on the body to seal against, but you will have to figure out some other issues when moving the seal from the lid to the collar.

I don't remember the distance from the collar top to the faucets but I can check that tonight. I more or less eyeballed it for good looks. I wanted some wood to show above that black cover plate.

Paramecium said:

How far from the top of the collar did you drill the tap holes? I saw 4" on the centers but just that you put them as close to the top as possible.
~Danny

Click to expand...

Danny, I drilled the holes 1 3/4" from the top of the collar to the center of the tap holes. This distance is not critical at all; whatever looks good to you is the best.

I am posting the values I have programmed into the Love temperature controller, model TSX-10140.

SP Set Point: 45 now (varies from 33 to 50 depending on use)
r0 Differential hysteresis: 1
r1 Lower value for SP: 32
r2 Higher value for SP: 80
d1 Temperature defrosting stop: 70
d2 Defrosting duration: 0
d4 Delay of first defrosting: 20
d5 Display of defrosting: -d-
d8 Defrosting intervall time: 8
d14 Defrost counting mode: ct
c0 Minimum stopping time: 5
c2 On time of fault cycle: 5
c3 Off time of fault cycle: 55
c4 Minimum ON time: 0
c5 Minimum time between activation: 0
P1 Ambient probe adjustment: 1
P2 Defrosting probe adjustment: 0
P4 Number of probes: 1
H1 Keyboard protection: no
H5 Access code to parameters: 0
H6 Probe type: ntc

Notes:
r0 Differential hysteresis. I have the probe in a plastic drinking glass with about 1.5" of water located on the compressor hump. This combination provides good run-time and off-time.

c0 Minimum stopping time, needed to prevent the kegerator to start with liquid refrigerant in the compressor. After the compressor stops it takes up to 5 minutes for the refrigerant in the compressor to completely evaporate. Initially I had this set to something much less, and as I was programming the controller the compressor started but could not turn. I unplugged it for 5 minutes and everything worked again. It is not necessary to set this above 5 minutes.

P1 Ambient probe adjustment, use this to calibrate your temperature probe using a known good thermometer.

Quaffer said:

Danny, I drilled the holes 1 3/4" from the top of the collar to the center of the tap holes. This distance is not critical at all; whatever looks good to you is the best.

Click to expand...

One thing to think about when determining the faucet mounting height is whether you want your tap handles to protrude above the level of the top of the freezer. You're going to probably tend to put stuff there (glasses, whatever)...and at my house, the cat likes to sleep up there as well. So I decided to drill the holes low enough that my 4" tap handles aren't above the level of the top (so the cat doesn't brush against them and turn them on).

If you're going to use larger tap handles, I guess it doesn't matter one way or the other.

Rick500 said:

So I decided to drill the holes low enough that my 4" tap handles aren't above the level of the top (so the cat doesn't brush against them and turn them on).

Click to expand...

Easier fix.... lose the cat...

All in fun.

timOD said:

I've got pin locks. Oddly, kegconnection sent me 2 short and stubby kegs, and my LHBS had tall thinner ones. If you've got the shorter ones, I don't think you'd be able to fit what you want on the bottom.
Skinny and tall, I cant say for sure.

Click to expand...

Sounds like what happened to me. I got a 4-pack of ball locks that were converted from pin locks (short and stubbys). Could you tell me how many of the short and stubby kegs you can fit in this frigidaire? I am trying to decide between the frigidaire 7.2 and the kenmore 8.8. Please advise. Thanks in advance!

Quaffer said:

Notes:
r0 Differential hysteresis. I have the probe in a plastic drinking glass with about 1.5" of water located on the compressor hump. This combination provides good run-time and off-time.

Click to expand...

Whenever I use the word "hysteresis", I loose my audience.

In temperature control, hysteresis is the pump turning on at one temp, and not turning back off until it is a few degrees cooler.
This keeps the pump from turning on and off too often and running for a very short time.
The difference between the turn on temp and the lower turn off temp is the hysteresis.

There. I lost my audience 3 times

I have the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft freezer and I can fit four stubby kegs on the floor but then i dont have room form my 20lb tank inside, I purchased 8 kegs. four from ebay the stubby firestones and four from sabco the taller ones. I can fit four taller ones and my 20lb tank (only after I exchanged the steel one for an aluminim tank its thinner I believe) on the floor w/ two stubby kegs on the hump, which is my best arrangment.

crackhead7 said:

I have the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft freezer and I can fit four stubby kegs on the floor but then i dont have room form my 20lb tank inside, I purchased 8 kegs. four from ebay the stubby firestones and four from sabco the taller ones. I can fit four taller ones and my 20lb tank (only after I exchanged the steel one for an aluminim tank its thinner I believe) on the floor w/ two stubby kegs on the hump, which is my best arrangment.

Click to expand...

I was hoping that was the case. Thanks for your help! If anyone could tell me the interior dimensions of this freezer, that'd be great. I am hoping to get the most out of the freezer but am still considering the Kenmore 8.8 from Sears.

I'm almost done with my conversion. I have a 15lb aluminum tank on the floor with 3 cornies. I could fit 2 more on the hump, but I'm only planning for 1 since I have 4 taps. The extra space on the hump will be used for my fan and my Eva-Dry 500 to keep moisture to a minimum. I could also throw in some bottles or a Growler.

for those of you using rare earth magnets to hold drip tray, where are you finding them? The only ones I could find were at radio shack and really small

Ebay. Look for Magnets4Less. However, I have some and I'm still using the tape. I tried my rare earth magnets and the brackets slid down the smooth surface of the freezer.

Magnets

try this link!

I ran with design but, made a few "design" changes. I glued the lid to the collar and mounted the collar to the body via the hinges.

I'm running into a problem however now... Seems the hinges after everything is added arn't supporting the weight of the lid. I mounted the dual body regulators to the collar, along with the love controller, a GFCI outlet that I wired in for convienience sake, and the taps/shanks... I havn't even added the lines yet... The fan seems is the model from Radio Shack, an 120V AC fan that is all metal, it added quite a bit of weight, as did the dual body regulators with the high pressure hose. I did this to really get things out of the way when the lid is lifted up...

It really keeps things clean but, I'm wondering if I can just add another pair of hinges for some added strength... Does anyone know if it's possible to add more hinges without drilling through coolent coils on this one? I was thinking of adding another pair, just using self tapping metal screws and then of course attaching to the lid... Any thoughts? I've come too far to blow this thing up! I guess the easy thing would be to just make a wood bar to prop the lid up...