Keezer Collar v. Tower

So.... I just got my chest freezer. Am I the only one who thinks that the tower looks WAY better than the collar? It seems like everyone is going with the collar, but I just don't think it looks all that great!

Is there something logistical that makes the collar that much better? I'm fine with cutting holes...

some people like the way a tower looks, some people like the collar. i, personally, prefer the collar look.

however, there are also plenty of chest freezers where a collar is necessary to get a few more inches of height so that the cornies will fit inside, especially if you want to fit more cornies in by putting them on the compressor hump.

Collar is also a bit cheaper...

Berserker_Brew said:

however, there are also plenty of chest freezers where a collar is necessary to get a few more inches of height so that the cornies will fit inside, especially if you want to fit more cornies in by putting them on the compressor hump.

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This.

I figure it would take me multiple tries to get the collar right though, lol....

The lines in a tower often warm up between pours, resulting in a big glass of foam unless you figure out a way to cool the lines in the tower. There are a few ways to do it, all more trouble than making a collar IMO.

In addition, with a Tower you may have to be constantly moving the keezer so you're not hitting the wall with it and so you can completely open the lid.

But honestly, it's personal preference...

Ok - thanks.

Basically:

Opening the keezer will be an issue.
Cooling of the tower is an issue (which I think I've figured out).
Towers look awesome

For me, I don't have the tools to make a professional looking collar, but I do have a drill and a hole cutting bit. Considering I'm likely not going to have more than 2 corny kegs in this thing (the nature of my job + law school prevent me from brewing more than that), I'm not too concerned about space. End result: Tower it is!

Thanks so much for the prompt and awesome input!

I am in the process of converting a 5 cf chest freezer that I have had for several years . I went with a collar

1. Because I wanted to fit a keg on the compressor hump . 3 instead of 2

2. If I find a larger one I can take the collar off and sell the one I have without a hole in the lid

I am going to post the build next week finishing it up this weekend

It sounds like you'd really prefer a tower, but if you find cost prohibitive and are interested in making a collar, I think I did it in a way that required very few tools and I made a step-by-step. See link in sig below.

I originally had a tower on top of my keezer. It was a PITA, always in the way. Also, no one has mentioned that the sheet metal on these chest freezers lids is actually pretty thin so if you mount it right on top of the door it will be wobbly as hell. I went with a collar on my new freezer. I like it much better and it adds two kegs to the freezer capacity.

Coastarine - that does look reasonably simple, and looks pretty decent, though you're right, I'd rather have the tower for aesthetic reasons.

Koravos- how's life in MA? I'm originally from Shrewsbury.

Sky7 said:

Coastarine - that does look reasonably simple, and looks pretty decent, though you're right, I'd rather have the tower for aesthetic reasons.

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You are not wrong. Tower's just look cooler.

I prefer the collar mostly because I have the freezer in my kitchen and I wanted to use the top as a work surface. A tower would be in the way too much. I also wanted to avoid drilling holes in the lid so that the freezer could be returned to it's original configuration if desired.

For asthetics - see Jester's build here -

You don't destroy the freezer by drilling a hole in the top of it. Plus, the ability to be able to remove a collar and sell the freezer to help off set the cost of a bigger one is nice.

Also, a lot of people jam a kreezer in the corner. When you have a tower on the top of it you can't open it up without pulling the thing off the wall.

I've never had a problem with the lines in the tower being warm - I even ditched the plans to add a cooling fan. The amount of fluid in the 1-2 feet of 3/16 beer line is so little that unless you are pulling an ounce or two for sampling, you never even notice it. That's been my experience, anyway - YMMV

I can't make a decision between these two paths either, and I thought rather than starting my own thread, I could add to this one. My bias is towards the tower option, mainly because I have a carpet floor and see the added spill buffer that a tower option provides. So far I have seen the following posted as potential advantages/disadvantages for going the tower route. If I missed any, please add them. I left out the aesthetic argument, because that is really a personal preference (I've seen ugly/awesome version of both).

Disadvantages of a tower:

• Potentially in the way - I do not know the average height of a tower, but I put a paper towel holder on the middle of my freezer lid and lifted it to see how far it would open before it hit the back wall, and there was plenty of room for me to open my freezer and access the lines. To remove or add a corny would require moving the keezer away from the wall.
• More expensive - the costs seem negligible to me. There are good deals on towers, even those with Perlick 525SS faucets.
• Beer temperature control - The lines in the tower are hard to keep cold. Is this true?
• Causing damage to the utility of the freezer - The keezer could be resold as a kegerator rather than as a used freezer, so this argument seems more theoretical than practical, unless you really want to be able to have it for personal use as a freezer at some point in the future. Many of the nice collar builds would never allow Humpty Dumpty to be put back together again easily with the painting and lid modifications, etc.
• Potentially unstable (lid is a poor foundation) - I would be interested in hearing from people who have gone the tower route on this one.
• More work needed (to route holes for temperature sensor, fan electrical, cooling the tower, etc.) - Would like to hear more from tower users on this one as well, because a big appeal of the tower option to me is that it seems like less work than a collar.

Advantages of a tower:

• More protection against spills - One advantage to me for the tower is not having to have a formal drip tray. The lid will stop rogue drips and foam-overs from hitting the floor (glasses are not always immediately over the drip tray when foam-overs occur), and a proper bar towel under the tower would do just fine. The price of the drip tray could be applied towards offsetting the cost of the tower.
• Taps are at a more comfortable height - This could be negligible with taller collars. I don't see much of an advantage here.
• No collar build required - This could save a lot of time and materials. Assuming the freezer fits the required amount of cornys without a collar (if you're considering a tower, this would be assumed), a collar doesn't add additional taps, it just adds dead air space to cool.
• Most towers come semi-assembled - Faucets, shanks, nipples, beer lines, etc. do not need to be purchased separately. This seems to bring the costs of the two options very close to one another.

Please feel free to add or clarify where needed. Thanks.