Tasting Room Coffin Keezer

Yet another "Coffin Keezer" Build.

Thank you to all of HBT members for the plethora of knowledge and information shared in this forum.
I started building this keezer in July and hope to have it finish by the end of October. My woodworking skills have improved considerably during this build.

I bought the freezer from Home Depot on sale for $185 and used my DD214 for an additional 10% discount. Nod bad. I plan on cramming 4 corny kegs into the freezer. It is a 7.2 cu ft.


The only way to get them to fit is by starting in the front right hand corner, and then slide the rest in. If you start in the back right hand corner, they will not fit by 3/8". Go figure.

I bought a bunch of stud 2x4 boards and some casters, and spent the next few weeks trying to figure out the best way to assemble this base. At this point I had close to zero woodworking experience.

Then I made the collar, which was redone several times.

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Fast forward. I made my gas manifold. I wrapped the collar with 12" aluminum speed tape to form a reveal for the seal to adhere to. I also placed 1 1/2" foam seal beneath the collar to seal the collar to the freezer chest. Then I ran a bead of silicone to seal the gap.



I used 1/2" Oak plywood on the sides of the cabinet, and 3/4" oak on the top and front. Then I started trimming it with the ornamental pine trim from Home Depot. I started trimming the cabinet.





The CO2 bottle will live behind a door on the side.



I trimmed out the top with pine 1x3





Time to layout the top. I plan on a 19" drip tray. 6 bolts to secure the top to the freezer lid. and black granite tiles.

This keezer is the first part of transforming our dining room into a tasting room / sports bar. The ivy wallpaper has got to go. The mirror will have to go too, I don't think I want to watch that fat guy drinking beer all the time.

I wanted to raise the coffin, so I could have more real estate on the counter top. I saw another keezer build, where two square posts were used to hold the coffin up. Since my taps are chrome, I thought I might need some chrome pipes to hold the coffin. How about 3.5" Chrome exhaust tips from the muffler shop?



Chopped them down and ...



Added 2" pvc pipes for the beer lines and wires to run to the coffin.

Then my buddy helped me build the coffin top. It is built from Oak. He is very advanced in his skills. I am concerned that the top may not match the bottom.



I core drilled the 2" coles for the PVC and cut a 3.5" groove for the chrome pipes. Then I drilled three holes for 10-28 all thread bolts that will secure the top to the base plate.



So this is what I've got so far.











The chandelier is going to have to go as well.



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I want to add lights to the coffin and the base of the keezer. I bought the 16 foot reel of lights complete with power supply and remote from Amazon.
This is a mockup of the lights.

white...




blue...



light blue...



red...


Or any other color, or flashing and fading slow. This is the coolest add-on ever. I wanted it to light up the taps a little more than this. So not sure what the final design will be.

I plan on installing the tiles soon, and staining the cabinetry with Dark Chestnut Minwax.

Holy crap this is pretty awesome! How did this get posted 3 days ago and not a comment...shameful!

At first I thought "Boy, another 'look I built a collar on a freezer' thread...ho hum" but you really did some extra stuff here that makes it stand out. The pine trim, cool! The raised taps, super nice.

Well done, this is a slick looking unit that I bet any swmbo would allow in the living room!

Really nice. Are you gonna stain and seal it? One of the few things I could see doing different, and isn't that one of the key reasons we share on here, would be to take the base wood piece which the 2 metal colors travel up through off. Then take it to a local countertop or tile place, have them make you a piece from marble/tile cutting the holes in it etc. to match the wooden piece. Replacing the wooden piece with marble/tile would make cleanup even quicker/less apt to damage, vs the wood piece.

Again, very nice. My kegerator is a moldy fridge out in my garage!

damn dude, thats crazy. Incredible job here.

Love the idea of using chrome exhaust tips, I'm totally stealing that idea! How are you going to get into the keezer for keg changes and cleanup? That's about the only bit of logistics keeping me from putting mine in a coffin at this point.

One question.. how are u getting the lines out of the keezer before they go up to the taps? Standard holes drilled thru the side collar? I looked but may have missed it...

So do you have to lift the whole top off to change a keg?

Pratzie said:

One question.. how are u getting the lines out of the keezer before they go up to the taps? Standard holes drilled thru the side collar? I looked but may have missed it...

Click to expand...

The beer lines will be routed thru the 2" PVC pipes. 2 lines in each tube.

MVKTR2 said:

Really nice. Are you gonna stain and seal it? One of the few things I could see doing different, and isn't that one of the key reasons we share on here, would be to take the base wood piece which the 2 metal colors travel up through off. Then take it to a local countertop or tile place, have them make you a piece from marble/tile cutting the holes in it etc. to match the wooden piece. Replacing the wooden piece with marble/tile would make cleanup even quicker/less apt to damage, vs the wood piece.

Again, very nice. My kegerator is a moldy fridge out in my garage!

Click to expand...

I like that idea. I am ready to get this keezer running soon. Maybe version 2.0 will do this. I am going to cut tiles to be placed on top of the upper coffin. They will be flush with the edge of the coffin lip.
Thanks for the input.

Pratzie said:

damn dude, thats crazy. Incredible job here.

Click to expand...

Thank you! Ive got Little Sumpin Sumpin and a Cascadian IPA in the fermenter that will go in two of the four kegs soon.
Cheers!

Psych said:

Holy crap this is pretty awesome! How did this get posted 3 days ago and not a comment...shameful!

At first I thought "Boy, another 'look I built a collar on a freezer' thread...ho hum" but you really did some extra stuff here that makes it stand out. The pine trim, cool! The raised taps, super nice.

Well done, this is a slick looking unit that I bet any swmbo would allow in the living room!

Click to expand...

I thought I posted this in the wrong forum. All I heard was crickets. I appreciate the support.
My wife is on board with ditching the entire dining room, and installing a sports pub. I just have to find a place to put all of my beer steins, that are stored in the China cabinet, and get rid of the Ivy wallpaper.

insp79 said:

The beer lines will be routed thru the 2" PVC pipes. 2 lines in each tube.

Click to expand...

Sorry I meant how do u route them out of the closed keezer? Did u drill thru the collar or thru the top? Im just curious how big u made the holes. I'd like to eventually do the same but would like to keep the loss of the cold air to a minimum

awesome job!

I like the way it turned out.

very nice.

The DD214 is the form you get when you leave the military, HD/Lowe's have programs that give veterans/retired/disabled and their families a discount. Other veterans can get the discount on certain holidays.

I've followed the post and you're either too humble with the "barely know woodworking" comments, or you're an incredibly fast learner. This was phenomenal! I've saved the link in my 'Maybe Someday" file... Thanks for the inspriation.

Looks wicked!!!

Pratzie said:

Sorry I meant how do u route them out of the closed keezer? Did u drill thru the collar or thru the top? Im just curious how big u made the holes. I'd like to eventually do the same but would like to keep the loss of the cold air to a minimum

Click to expand...

I bored a 2" hole saw all the way thru the the top to the freezer lid. Then I inserted the 2" PVC pipes. Like conduits for the beer lines and the cold air to circulate through. I'll add more pics soon. Thanks.

Sweeeeeeeeet!

That's pretty sweet but I thought it was going to be an actual coffin which is funny cause a friend of mine is a funeral home director and has a keezer made from a real casket...half set up with taps and the other a giant cooler filled with ice for bottles and cans. It's pretty awesome and eerie at the same time.

Fantastic job.

Nubster said:

That's pretty sweet but I thought it was going to be an actual coffin which is funny cause a friend of mine is a funeral home director and has a keezer made from a real casket...half set up with taps and the other a giant cooler filled with ice for bottles and cans. It's pretty awesome and eerie at the same time.

Click to expand...

Ok, you have got to get pictures!

A bit off topic, but is this your tool chest in the background? I just picked up one like it from CL, I wouldn't mind seeing a better picture...



Here is mine:

MrWildcat2U said:

Love the idea of using chrome exhaust tips, I'm totally stealing that idea! How are you going to get into the keezer for keg changes and cleanup? That's about the only bit of logistics keeping me from putting mine in a coffin at this point.

Click to expand...

I can lift the lid, using the original hinged freezer lid. I will probably place an empty keg into the keezer, and rack from the fermenter to the keg.

I stained the cabinet yesterday.

Inside of the coffin. You can see the three nuts sandwich the chrome tube to the base. It is very sturdy.



I've got the tiles cut

Looks great, fantastic build!

You might consider adding either a muffin fan or aquarium pump to keep the shanks and faucets cold.

What an awesome piece of work. I have one question. Since there are 2 holes for the liquid lines in the top of the freezer what is the purpose of the collar where the taps would go if there was no cabinet around the freezer.

starsman20 said:

What an awesome piece of work. I have one question. Since there are 2 holes for the liquid lines in the top of the freezer what is the purpose of the collar where the taps would go if there was no cabinet around the freezer.

Click to expand...

1)Using a collar raises the lid height to desired height.
2)Provides a location to drill holes for gas line, temp probe, and electrical for circulation fan.
Because you cannot drill into the freezer walls for fear of damaging the cooling coils.

JuanMoore said:

Looks great, fantastic build!

You might consider adding either a muffin fan or aquarium pump to keep the shanks and faucets cold.

Click to expand...

I am using a 12 volt Bilge blower, with a flexible duct. I have lined the upper coffin with foam, that has a channel cutout. This will provide a path for cold air to travel across all for tap shanks.

Beautiful! And you really only had minimal experience wood working? Gives me hope.


ps
Keep the chandelier. Just change it up a bit.