robbyg
Well-Known Member
After much planning and three part-time weekends worth of work, my keezer/kegerator is complete!
The base of the kegerator is a white 7.2 Cu. Ft. E-Wave chest freezer (an E-Wave is a rebranded Magic Chef, which can hold 6 corny kegs) that I got used off Craigslist for $100. I'd originally planned to go with a new, black freezer, but I figured any money I could save on the freezer would allow me to buy upgrades elsewhere.
And two cans of black enamel spray paint later, and the $100 freezer was the right color.
The collar is made of 1x10 pine, with pine molding around the top -- it hides the white seal and just plain looks cool. I have 4 Perlick PERL faucets installed now, but they're arranged such that I could add two more (one on either side) over the 19" drip tray below.
I installed a Love digital temperature controller in the collar, which is providing power to an outlet on the back of the collar. Then I just plugged the kegerator directly into that -- no muss, no fuss.
Inside (I'll hopefully post pics later) I have a 6-way CO2 manifold; I figure with four taps, I can afford to spend a week carbing kegs at serving pressure.
I didn't really remember to take any process shots, so I can't do much of a how-to here. But let me just say that there are TONS of write-ups here which served both as inspiration and instruction. Here's a list of some of the posts I referred to regularly during the planning process:
My Keezer Build for Dummies
Converting the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft Chest Freezer
Found the 'Magic' in 'Magic Chef' - keezer progress, questions
Love Temp Controller Series TS wiring diagram (2008+)
And I would of course be willing to answer any questions that anyone has about tackling this sort of project. And let me just say: you can build a kegerator. I am not a woodworker. I am not an electrician. I am a web developer. I've never completed a 'real' woodworking project in my life. But I could do this, and so can you.
The base of the kegerator is a white 7.2 Cu. Ft. E-Wave chest freezer (an E-Wave is a rebranded Magic Chef, which can hold 6 corny kegs) that I got used off Craigslist for $100. I'd originally planned to go with a new, black freezer, but I figured any money I could save on the freezer would allow me to buy upgrades elsewhere.
And two cans of black enamel spray paint later, and the $100 freezer was the right color.The collar is made of 1x10 pine, with pine molding around the top -- it hides the white seal and just plain looks cool. I have 4 Perlick PERL faucets installed now, but they're arranged such that I could add two more (one on either side) over the 19" drip tray below.
I installed a Love digital temperature controller in the collar, which is providing power to an outlet on the back of the collar. Then I just plugged the kegerator directly into that -- no muss, no fuss.
Inside (I'll hopefully post pics later) I have a 6-way CO2 manifold; I figure with four taps, I can afford to spend a week carbing kegs at serving pressure.
I didn't really remember to take any process shots, so I can't do much of a how-to here.
But let me just say that there are TONS of write-ups here which served both as inspiration and instruction. Here's a list of some of the posts I referred to regularly during the planning process:My Keezer Build for Dummies
Converting the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft Chest Freezer
Found the 'Magic' in 'Magic Chef' - keezer progress, questions
Love Temp Controller Series TS wiring diagram (2008+)
And I would of course be willing to answer any questions that anyone has about tackling this sort of project. And let me just say: you can build a kegerator. I am not a woodworker. I am not an electrician. I am a web developer. I've never completed a 'real' woodworking project in my life. But I could do this, and so can you.
