My keezer build

I picked up a Holiday chest freezer from Lowe's, the 5 cubic feet model. This will be big enough to hold 3 cornie kegs and the CO2 tank, or possibly 4 cornies if you mount the CO2 outside. Here it is brand new.



First, I took the lid off.



For the inner collar, I measured the freezer and cut 2x6 pine and secured it together using angle brackets and wood screws.



Here is the inner collar on the freezer.



For the outer collar, I got some 1x8 red oak. This stuff is expensive ($25 for 6 feet of 1x8) but it is beautiful. I only put the oak on the front and the sides, no need for it on the back. I used my father-in-laws miter saw to cut the ends at a 45 degree angle.



I clamped the oak to the pine inner collar where I wanted it and drilled for 1/4" holes on each side for the bolts. I used 1/4-20x3" brass bolts with nuts and washers to secure the oak to the pine inner collar.




Here is the freezer now with the collar on. I still need to drill the holes in the front for the faucets, stain the collar and caulk the gaps with silicone. All of the hard work is done though!



I also am thinking about possibly painting the freezer itself black. I think it would look a hell of a lot nicer than white. Someone on here posted a thread of their same freezer that they painted red, so it's do-able. I haven't decided for sure yet. The stain I am using is a red mahogany, so I think black would look really nice with it.

I will post more pics when it is done! Sorry if these pics aren't that great. I took them with my phone in my dark basement so they aren't the best.

this freezer is great. I can fit 4 ball locks and a 2.5# tank of CO2.

I am just concerned with the choice you made for the collar size. 2x6 might not be enough if you want to put a keg on the hump. Are you using ball lock or pin lock kegs ?

Ball lock. I have 27" on the hump, should be plenty.

I have the same freezer, are you sure 2x6 is tall enough? I measured mine and found even 2x8s weren't tall enough, I went with a 1x10

blackbear219 said:

Ball lock. I have 27" on the hump, should be plenty.

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I hope you are right! With the disconnect on top, and the fact that the lid takes half an inch of the height (I think, since I do not use it), it might be tight.

For the paint, I am still very happy with the brand I chose. It was rustoleum "painter's touch" paint. You have a better selection than the regular black or white you get with appliance spray/paint.

scottland said:

I have the same freezer, are you sure 2x6 is tall enough? I measured mine and found even 2x8s weren't tall enough, I went with a 1x10

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That is curious. I just measured mine again to make sure I'm not crazy, lol. I have 27 1/2" on the hump, which should be plenty for a ball lock. Giving 1/2 inch for the cover I still have over an inch of clearance there on a ball lock with hoses attached as a ball lock with hoses measures 25 3/4".

I just bought my freezer new this past Thursday, I wonder if they've changed something in the later batches? Sounds like they must have.

Thanks for the advice on the paint! Can't wait to get this thing completely wrapped up!

Yes it is possible that they are making the hump smaller now!

My keezer is 19.25" from the hump to the top. Subtract 1/2" for the lid that stick down. I used a 1x10 which is 9.25" high giving me 28" clearance. They must be making the Humps lower now. A 2x6 would have given me 24" from the hump

Almost done!

After my last pics, I kinda slacked off on the picture taking. I didn't take any pics of the staining/polyurethane process.

I filled all the gaps on the inside of the collar with a caulking gun and silicone.


Weatherstripping where the inner collar meets the freezer.


I mounted the temp controller on the back using the old lid/hinge holes.


It has 3 kegs and my co2 tank in it cooling/carbonating right now. Just waiting for my taps to arrive, which should be tomorrow. You can see my 3 tap holes front and center. Very excited! And no, we don't use the electric heater behind it...I'll be taking that down soon so the freezer can go further back. I'll post another pic when the taps are on and it's 100% done!

Any chance you could grab a model# and interior dimensions for this freezer? I think I measured this one at Home Depot and didn't think 3 would be possible without a really tall collar. Might have to reconsider it.

It is a LCM050LC. It is full right now so it's hard to measure but measuring from the inner lip it is about 15x23 and 28 inches deep and 21 inches deep on the hump. With the 2x6 collar (and weather stripping), I got about 28 inches on the hump with collar. With hoses attached, my corny on the hump has almost no clearance, but it doesn't touch. Very close fit, but it fits.

The thing I still can't figure out is that some other guys on this forum have the same model # and their hump is taller, so measure carefully. I don't know if there are two types of the same model with different compressors or what the deal is.

You could always get a pin lock keg and convert it to ball lock posts, they are shorter. They are also wider but my 3 ball locks have plenty of wiggle room between them so the extra 1/2" diameter wouldn't be a problem I don't think.

Awesome! I'll have to verify the measurements at the Lowes nearby to see if they have the lower profile hump. So you're running 2 ball locks on the floor and one on the hump with the co2? Do you think you could fit a better bottle on the hump with the CO2 outside? Ideally I want something I can crash cool fermentors in before kegging.

Keezer looks awesome. Jealous yours is built, and more jealous that its filled.

buckeye2011 said:

Awesome! I'll have to verify the measurements at the Lowes nearby to see if they have the lower profile hump. So you're running 2 ball locks on the floor and one on the hump with the co2? Do you think you could fit a better bottle on the hump with the CO2 outside? Ideally I want something I can crash cool fermentors in before kegging.

Keezer looks awesome. Jealous yours is built, and more jealous that its filled.

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Yep, two cornies on the floor with a 20oz soda bottle of water that my temp probe is in. 3rd corny, co2 tank and a muffin fan on the hump.

Hmm, it would be close putting a better bottle on the hump. A quick google tells me that a 6 gallon better bottle is 20 inches tall so height would be fine. However, it is 12 inches wide so it might run into your kegs.

I think your best bet at getting it to fit would be to put the better bottle and co2 on the floor and then 2 kegs on the hump.