Chest Freezer Specs and Layouts

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thadius856......been enjoying all your hard work on here. I'm looking hard at that Frigidaire 8.8 cu ft Chest Freezer Model #: LFFC09M5HW. Any ideas on the Sears Kenmore 8.8 Chest Freezer. Looks like measurements are:

Dimensions and Capacity:
Depth (in.): 23.25
Freezer Capacity: Less than 10 cu. ft.
Height w/Door Closed (In.): 34.25
Height w/Door Open (In.): 55.32
Overall Capacity (Cu Ft): 8.8
Width (in.): 41

Just want to get the a little more room than the 7 cu foots as this will be a bottle storage place also...thanks for any guidance and help!

Honestly, I need the measurements listed in Post #4 to draw up a model somewhat accurately.
 
Maytag 14.8cf MQC1552TEW



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Looking at these pics I am not sure if the hump needs to be modified to fit 2 1/2 bbl kegs. does anyone have any ideas?

Also can I use standard taps on the keg or do I need to use the low profile? I do not plan on using a collar on the freezer.




Thank you for the assistance in advanced.
 
Woops. Sorry, I forgot.

Looks like 5-3/8" from the top of the keg handle to the underside of the lid.

I know that the sanke tap connector is lower then the top of the keg handle. How much lower, I don't know. I also don't know how much space you need for a sanke tap and hoses, but this sounds like plenty of space.

There are other models that fit two 1/2 bbls also. I've included a matrix in the first post to help identify these, and other, commonly requested builds at a glance.
 
Kenmore 19.7cf 16082

Download this specification sheet and layout as a high-resolution printable PDF at Dropbox.

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I want to put a kegerator in the pantry of our new house. The door frame is a bit over 27" wide.

I am limited to an overall length of 50-51 inches.

The top of the kegerator will be a counter surface. Because there will be wall cabinets above it, I cannot use a collar.

Generally, these restrictions point me in the direction of a 12.7 to 15 cubic foot freezer. Generally the advertised width of those freezers is 29.5 inches.

I can't find any of these freezers on display locally. Which freezers in that size range will fit through a 27 inch doorway with the lid and hinges removed ?

Thanks
 
Frigidaire 12.9cf LFCH13M2MW


Wow, this is some VERY helpful work you are doing. My old Whirlpool (which was the absolute perfect size for 5 kegs) recently died so I'm looking to replace it. Anyway, there's something wrong with the width you have listed. The exterior width is less than the interior width. Lowe's website has it listed at 42.75.

Thanks!
 
I want to put a kegerator in the pantry of our new house. The door frame is a bit over 27" wide.

I am limited to an overall length of 50-51 inches.

The top of the kegerator will be a counter surface. Because there will be wall cabinets above it, I cannot use a collar.

Generally, these restrictions point me in the direction of a 12.7 to 15 cubic foot freezer. Generally the advertised width of those freezers is 29.5 inches.

I can't find any of these freezers on display locally. Which freezers in that size range will fit through a 27 inch doorway with the lid and hinges removed ?

Thanks

Well, all of these measurements are given on my drawings and in the spec sheets I provide.

You won't get anything larger than an 8.8 cf model through a 27" doorway. At that point, you're looking at 41" in length.

Note that most kitchen countertop heights are usually 36-37" from top of working surface to flooring. The 8.8 cf model with no wheels or frame will come in at 34½" tall. However, with cabinets above it, you'll likely need it on wheels (so you can pull it forward) to fully open the lid without striking the cabinets, and that's going to get you into the 42"+ tall range once you add in a basic 2x4 base with castors. I really think you'd be better off with wire shelving or something above it, but it's your choice. It'd be hard to get cornys in/out without being able to fully open the lid and let it rest in that position.

As for the doorway. If you're the homeowner, you'd be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to expand a doorway to 30". Most experienced DIYers could tear out the old door casing, remove the door, re-frame and enlargen the header, install a new door and casing, and have it functional in a day's work. Add another day or two to patch and paint drywall. Just an idea.
 
Edit: Updated for proper formatting.

Kenmore 7.2cf 18702


I bought this freezer a couple weeks ago and got 5 ball lock cornys this weekend. Still trying to locate a sixth, but I don't think it's going to fit. I will post back once I get one but I have tried turning them and I don't think it's going to work. I read the explanation in the FAQ about the 8 3/8" diameter but I guess mine aren't skewed enough for that haha.

Even if I can't fit 6 kegs, 5 taps with such a small freezer is awesome and I greatly appreciate all the work you've put into this thadius856!
 
Well, all of these measurements are given on my drawings and in the spec sheets I provide.

With all due respect, I did not see dimensions for units with the lids (and hinges) removed.

You won't get anything larger than an 8.8 cf model through a 27" doorway. At that point, you're looking at 41" in length.

Well... after much research I purchased a Whirlpool EH151FXTQ this week from Home Depot. I took delivery of it today.

I purchased this model because I thought it to be same as or very similar to the Maytag MQC1552TEW, which I covet for the small sized compressor hump it possesses.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/chest-freezer-specs-layouts-377518/index3.html#post4731064

I was not able to view this model prior to purchasing it. From what I understand, the Maytag model of this freezer is no longer produced. I deduced that that the Whirlpool model was either very similar to or identical to the Maytag model based on a comparison of dimensions and the fact that Whirlpool purchased Maytag.

Your online post of the specs of this model as well as the information from Home Depot lead me to believe it was 29 3/8" wide. I thought the hinges on these sort of refrigerators to be a bit less than 2" wide, making it about 27.5" wide with the lid removed. Too wide to fit through the door of our pantry.

Upon receipt, I measured the width of the freezer itself to be 27 inches ! It appears to me that the unit is 29 3/8" wide including the hinges and the fact the door handle protrudes a small distance from the front of the unit. When the lid is removed, the unit itself is almost exactly 27" wide.

I was able to easily place this unit in our pantry by simply removing the lid. There was about 1/8" of clearance on either side as it went through the doorway.

So apparently at least one freezer in the 15 cubic foot class will fit through a door a tiny bit larger than 27".

I took a picture of it going through the doorway. I'll post it someday when I have time.

Note that most kitchen countertop heights are usually 36-37" from top of working surface to flooring. The 8.8 cf model with no wheels or frame will come in at 34½" tall. However, with cabinets above it, you'll likely need it on wheels (so you can pull it forward) to fully open the lid without striking the cabinets, and that's going to get you into the 42"+ tall range once you add in a basic 2x4 base with castors. I really think you'd be better off with wire shelving or something above it, but it's your choice. It'd be hard to get cornys in/out without being able to fully open the lid and let it rest in that position.

I am a very capable fabricator. The pantry setup is entirely custom, including the wall cabinets that will be sitting above my kegerator. I'll gladly post how I end up arranging the room to make it work. Given the pantry has a 9 foot ceiling and the wall cabinets are 36" high, there is plenty of height to play with to make it work.

As for the doorway. If you're the homeowner, you'd be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to expand a doorway to 30". Most experienced DIYers could tear out the old door casing, remove the door, re-frame and enlargen the header, install a new door and casing, and have it functional in a day's work. Add another day or two to patch and paint drywall. Just an idea.

I just spent the last 9 weeks working full time with an employee renovating our house. We are presently in the painting stage, hoping to move into the house before the end of the month.

It is not nearly as easy to replace a door as you make it out to be.

First of all, if the house is somewhat aged or has unique styling, it can be very difficult to find a door that matches the rest of the doors in the house. This is doubly so if it is a stained door as not only do you have to match the look of the door, you also need to match the wood and the stain, both for the door and the casing. This can be very complicated.

Then you get to the wall/door framing itself. There are many issues here.

- When you widen the dooway, you'll need to patch the flooring in the door way to match the wider width of the new door.

-There are issues with having to move the stud and the jack stud on each side of the door. These studs generally run to the ceiling. To get at them, you are generally going to need to remove a bit of ceiling drywall and then you have a ceiling patch (and paint) as well as patching the walls on both sides of the door in and out of the room.

If the light switch is placed close to the doorway, it will need to be moved as well.

All this assumes that there is room for a larger door in the first place. Generally most doors are going to be larger than 27 inches to start with. Generally there is a reason that such a small door was used in the first place. This was the case with our pantry door.

We were not prepared to replace the entire door to get the freezer into our pantry. What we were prepared to do was remove the door, casings and door frame temporarily, move the freezer in and then replace them once it was in.

This plan was based on the advice of my employee who has been doing renovations for about 20 years. It is much, much simpler than framing in a new wider door and you'll probably gain 1.5" on each side of the door, temporarily transforming a 27" doorway into a 30 inch doorway.

Luckily we didn't have to resort to doing that.
 
I forgot to mention that the Whirlpool EH151FXTQ does have the small compressor hump. It appears to be the same layout as the Maytag 14.8, but I have not confirmed that yet. No interior light nor power indictor light though.

I really appreciate the work you put into organizing all this information. I would have never found my freezer were it not for the specs that you posted in this thread. :mug:
 
I bought this freezer a couple weeks ago and got 5 ball lock cornys this weekend. Still trying to locate a sixth, but I don't think it's going to fit. I will post back once I get one but I have tried turning them and I don't think it's going to work. I read the explanation in the FAQ about the 8 3/8" diameter but I guess mine aren't skewed enough for that haha.

Even if I can't fit 6 kegs, 5 taps with such a small freezer is awesome and I greatly appreciate all the work you've put into this thadius856!

This freezer will most definitely not fit 6 ball locks. I did manage to get them in there last night but that required me to JAM them in there really hard. I could barely get them out and I scuffed up the inside of the freezer and the top inner trim pretty bad in the process. I would hate to do that with full kegs, and every time one kicks. 5 and a CO2 tank should be a pretty comfortable fit.
 
I really appreciate the work you put into organizing all this information. I would have never found my freezer were it not for the specs that you posted in this thread. :mug:

Cool. Do post pics. The Maytag is still manufactured and available in most Home Depot locations, as well as on the website for ship to store. And if you find the time, I'd love measurements of it so I can add it, or confirmation that its an exact match. FWIW, I was also disappointed the Mayatg doesn't have a power LED too, but I don't miss the lid light.

As for the Kenmore, can you guys post measurements (interior LxW and hump size)? I redid the drawing and with what I have been provided, it still fits easily. Since the layouts work for every other model I could find, I think its got to be bad measurements of that model.
 
Do you think it would be possible to fit a 1/4 Tall keg in the Maytag 14.8cf MQC1552TEW if the CO2 is outside the freezer?
 
Just ordered the GE 7.0 cu. ft. Chest Freezer ( FCM7SUWW )
Home Despot has a great sale this weekend $168 plus tax. free delivery

Once it's delivered I'll provide measurements
 
Just ordered the GE 7.0 cu. ft. Chest Freezer ( FCM7SUWW )
Home Despot has a great sale this weekend $168 plus tax. free delivery

Once it's delivered I'll provide measurements

I've been thinking about picking up the same thing.
 
Hi All,

Sorry if I am stepping on anyone's toes here, but does anyone make these for sale? I have been thinking about doing this for quite some time and I just stumbled on this awesome forum today. I was thinking about buying some GE 5 and 7 cu ft models and filling them with everything needed except for the beer so it would be really simple for someone to switch from bottling to kegging. I figure that if I can buy in quantity that I could sell them for about what people could do getting parts. I would offer them in white or black (a little more as I would have to paint them). These would be without the collar with a tap tower and a drain for the grate that also would be stored in the keezer. Do you see any potential here or is someone else doing this?

The ones I see just seem too expensive...

Thanks,
 
For those with the GE 7.0 cuft freezer (the FCM7SUWW), do you have to shoe horn that fourth ball lock in or does it slide easily in place? I only have three empty ball locks but when I move one of them in the 4th's position, the compressor hump's in the way.

On another note, for those using the stackable 2.5 gallon kegs from Adventures in Homebrewing, you're going to have to have a small collar as they are just high enough for the lid to not clear.

Can't wait to get this puppy converted!
 
Both of my GE 7.0cf FCM7SUWW's required shoe-horning. But not so much that it required me to cause a dent in the hump or anything.

If you want an easier fit, you'll need to rasp down the rubber on the molded portion of the kegs a little bit. It makes an incredible difference.
 
Both of my GE 7.0cf FCM7SUWW's required shoe-horning. But not so much that it required me to cause a dent in the hump or anything.

If you want an easier fit, you'll need to rasp down the rubber on the molded portion of the kegs a little bit. It makes an incredible difference.

Thanks, that makes me feel better. I'll give that a try. I wonder if you can just take the rubber off. I'm sure it isn't easy, but if just the bottoms are removed, how much easier it would be.
 
Noooo! Kegs have a round bottom. They'd fall over any time they weren't packed together inside the keezer. Like, say, when you're filling or washing them. Plus, you'll destroy any resale value if you ever want to get out of brewing.

The rasp is definitely the way to go. Take off 1/16" to 1/18" all the way around and it makes a huge difference. Look at the side of the keg... you can see where the rubber bulges outward. This is because of the process by which they add the vulcanized rubber. Other than manufacturing limitations, there's no good reason to keep it.
 
Noooo! Kegs have a round bottom. They'd fall over any time they weren't packed together inside the keezer. Like, say, when you're filling or washing them. Plus, you'll destroy any resale value if you ever want to get out of brewing.

The rasp is definitely the way to go. Take off 1/16" to 1/18" all the way around and it makes a huge difference. Look at the side of the keg... you can see where the rubber bulges outward. This is because of the process by which they add the vulcanized rubber. Other than manufacturing limitations, there's no good reason to keep it.


Ok, rasp it is. I gotta hit Home Depot later today anyways, so I'll pick up one.
 
For those with the GE 7.0 cuft freezer (the FCM7SUWW)

For those using the stackable 2.5 gallon kegs from Adventures in Homebrewing, you're going to have to have a small collar as they are just high enough for the lid to not clear.

Can't wait to get this puppy converted!

I am looking at using this freezer and the 2.5 gallon kegs. I am away from home for the week, do you k.ow if the freezer can hold 8 of these kegs? The add says they are 9 inches in diameter, and the pin lock kegs are 8 7/8 inches and 4 of these barely fit. I am hoping to not have to go to the 9 cu ft freezer.
 
I am looking at using this freezer and the 2.5 gallon kegs. I am away from home for the week, do you k.ow if the freezer can hold 8 of these kegs? The add says they are 9 inches in diameter, and the pin lock kegs are 8 7/8 inches and 4 of these barely fit. I am hoping to not have to go to the 9 cu ft freezer.

Yeah, it will hold 8 but you'll need a big collar as one stack will be on the hump. You can put 3 on the floor and one on the hump. I measured and took some pics. You'll need a 9" collar as a pair of 2.5s stacked is about 4 " taller than a standard corny.

20130630_220137_zpsda0442ab.jpg



If you can get away with just running a single on the hump, or 7 total, then all you would need is about an extra inch or two of space to clear the stacks on the floor.

20130630_215903_zps94e0267d.jpg


I only have two of those kegs (I have 4 more coming in August), but this should still give you an idea of the floor space they take up.

20130630_215847_zps50c05fe0.jpg


Hope this helps.
 
Yeah, it will hold 8 but you'll need a big collar as one stack will be on the hump. You can put 3 on the floor and one on the hump. I measured and took some pics. You'll need a 9" collar as a pair of 2.5s stacked is about 4 " taller than a standard corny.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much, now I have one of those really hard decisions.

At first a 9 inch collar doesn't seem bad, the taps and the drain trays could be easily mounted on the collar making it easy to fix them to the keezer. The problem is, I can't build a 9 inch collar, and I don't think I ever saw one that big. My saw can't miter a piece that big and making it out of two boards will just come out well, I am not that good with wood.

I brew in 2.5 gallon batches, as many as 6 at a time, so I don't think that 7 will be enough.

I'm considering the Frigidaire 8.8cf which I think I can hold 10 2.5 gallon kegs, or 8 and some stuff. All I can hope to do is convince the wife that its worth the extra $100.
 
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