Turning a Hotpoint Freezer into a Keezer

Backstory: My grandfather was moving and wanted to get rid of the freezer. I got a call about it and jumped all over it (free is free right??). I forgot what the freezer looked like and how old it was until I went to figure out how to get it out of the house... it looks like this

I hurried up and loaded into the truck and got it into the garage since I needed to cool a few kegs and got the controller setup quickly. Then I threw the kegs in and figured I'd work out the rest of the design later.

I wanted to do a chrome tower through the lid, but I'm concerned because it looks like there wouldn't be enough room with the commercial connection to do this build without a collar of some type. I'm now thinking of building a collar and wrapping it in either chrome or ss to try and keep it looking like a classic. I'd really love any suggestions/tips/pointers and I'm totally using all the builds on here as inspiration.

waffle418 said:

[...]I wanted to do a chrome tower through the lid, but I'm concerned because it looks like there wouldn't be enough room with the commercial connection to do this build without a collar of some type.[...]

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"It looks like"?

You have the sanke sitting there coupled up already. Were you able to fully close the lid or not?

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

"It looks like"?

You have the sanke sitting there coupled up already. Were you able to fully close the lid or not?

Cheers!

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Yeah, but just barely. I'm worried that I have no where to run any tubing without a collar. I don't know how snug other people's are and I'm trying to gauge that. Honestly, if I keep it without a collar, the compressor hump is so tall it can't even hold the 5# CO2 tank.

How about using one of these? Or these?

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

How about using one of these? Or these?

Cheers!

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Definitely a possibility... I started talking with SWMBO about a collar v. tower and she doesn't want me drilling through the top in case one day we convert it back to a freezer... so it looks like a collar wrapped with chrome vinyl sheeting. I hope to start this soon and plan on giving lots of updates.

Appreciate the links day trippr, but she made a compelling argument about cutting holes being fairly irreversible.

waffle418 said:

[...]Appreciate the links day trippr, but she made a compelling argument about cutting holes being fairly irreversible.

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No problem, it's tough to work around a spouse's compelling argument

That said, if that freezer has many miles on it, trying to "future proof" it might not be worth the effort...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

No problem, it's tough to work around a spouse's compelling argument

That said, if that freezer has many miles on it, trying to "future proof" it might not be worth the effort...

Cheers!

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I argued the same point until "the look" appeared. Then it was yes ma'am and collar it is!

I picked up 1x8 for the collar... I'm hoping its enough as the lid weighed about 30#. I keep seeing all of the collars with different thickness wood and I want to put about 1-1/4" of Rigid insulation on the inside without giving up space. I'm also planning on doing a dual lid (where the whole collar lifts up and then just the lid) so I need to grab another set of latches and a new gasket for both as it looks like the original one has gotten so bad, its no longer sealing. Hope to start cutting the wood and the insulation today!

Any update on this project? That's a nice looking freezer, curious to see how the collar turned out.

ZacAtakke said:

Any update on this project? That's a nice looking freezer, curious to see how the collar turned out.

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Actually, yes. I have the system up and running. But I've been dragging my feet on getting it skinned or cleaned up.



Here it is with the 1x8 in place. The original design was going to be to connect the lid directly to the collar, but after talking to the SWMBO, I went with reusing the existing hinges to connect the collar to the body. I'm chasing a leak in the CO2 lines tonight, found an adapter which will let me take all the line out of the keezer and dunk into a tub of water while adding pressure so I can safely find the leak. After that's found and I have the lines reassembled, I'll throw a few more pictures on and when I get the collar vinyled, I'll post that as well!

I also pre-drilled the wood for the last 3 taps (going with a 6 tap system) and the latches are in place until I can figure a permanent solution to the lid not wanting to sit flush on the collar.

Looks nice. Will that fit six kegs? It's hard to tell with the previous pic of the inside. Gotta say I'm jealous, would love to have that much beer on tap, sadly I can only afford one set up right now.

Why won't the lid sit flush? Is it the gasket or the wood?

waffle418 said:

I argued the same point until "the look" appeared. Then it was yes ma'am and collar it is!

I picked up 1x8 for the collar... I'm hoping its enough as the lid weighed about 30#. I keep seeing all of the collars with different thickness wood and I want to put about 1-1/4" of Rigid insulation on the inside without giving up space. I'm also planning on doing a dual lid (where the whole collar lifts up and then just the lid) so I need to grab another set of latches and a new gasket for both as it looks like the original one has gotten so bad, its no longer sealing. Hope to start cutting the wood and the insulation today!

Click to expand...

Now wait just a gosh darn minute! Your grandfather gave you a freezer and your wife says you can't drill a hole in it? When it comes to property, women have their own perspective. This is the way women think: what's mine is mine and what's yours is ours

I'm just messin with ya brother. My wife used to be that way too when we were first married. We're at 24 yrs now and I almost never get yelled at anymore for my purchases. They do eventually lighten up

ZacAtakke said:

Looks nice. Will that fit six kegs? It's hard to tell with the previous pic of the inside. Gotta say I'm jealous, would love to have that much beer on tap, sadly I can only afford one set up right now.

Why won't the lid sit flush? Is it the gasket or the wood?

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I haven't fully measured it, but I know that I have enough room for at least 3 more, probably more like 5 . I'm not 100% why it wont sit flush, but after talking to my grandfather, he told me it was odd how its sealed the whole time, so it may be the freezer itself.