WC87
Well-Known Member
Props to Quaffer for the inspiration...
My original converted chest freezer kegerator was slowly dying, but it managed to get me thru this past March before deciding it wasn't cooling past 50F anymore. Plus, it was ugly - hey, I used it from Day 1 as a brewer and never had to bottle, so it still has a fond place in my heart.
I decided it was time to upgrade. My criteria - had to have room for at least 4 cornys with faucets, and had to be small enough to move it inside - my old kegerator was 15.5 cuft and stayed in my garage - and needed to somewhat blend in with my existing appliances.
I found a white 7.2 cuft Frigidaire on CL for $50, only 3 years old, but had rust on the lid in some places. Not ideal, but with a collar added I could possibly house 5 corny kegs (3 on the floor + CO2, with 2 on the hump) so I made the purchase.
First, I sanded off all the paint and rust and then taped and painted it to match my kitchen appliances with black appliance paint.
Doesn't look too bad. This was my first and hopefully only experience with appliance paint - man that stuff gets everywhere!
Mounting the collar - I used a 2x8 piece of pine from Lowe's.
Next, I wanted to stain it and coat it with urethane to protect it. I found a stain at Lowe's in a cabernet color by Zinsser (thanks again Quaffer) but I'm calling it maroon. 3 coats of stain plus 3 coats of urethane.
I used 1/2" heavy duty black weatherstripping to place between the collar and freezer to help seal the collar. I used 4 right angle strong ties with small sheet metal screws to attach it to the freezer; this was the only permanent change to the freezer besides the paint. Now, the plumbing. I decided on 3 faucets initially with room to the left for 2 more, and got everything I needed from www.kegconnection.com, including a new 15# CO2 bottle I decided to leave inside the kegerator. As you can see, 4 cornies and the CO2 bottle fit very nicely. I can also fit a 5th corny on the hump, but it's pretty tight.
Let's move it inside and plug it in. Hey, it works!
I mounted the drip tray using welding magnets as others on HBT have done, and it's easily removable for cleaning. And I added some Aggie bling to it...
I painted the top with Chalkboard paint, so I could write stuff on top, such as what beers are on tap. My first couple of coats over the appliance paint were by spray can, however I decided it would look better to roll it on. Rolling provided a much smoother and even surface.
So, there you go. It's been in action for 7 months and going strong! The only other things I still might do is switch out the white lid gasket for a black one, and possibly add some insulating foam board like Quaffer did in his build, but honestly with full kegs the temp seems to hold just fine. I used a basic analog Johnson Controller as my temp regulator, and the bulb sits inside the keezer in an old contact lens solution bottle filled with gel from a cold pack. Seems to work fine.
My original converted chest freezer kegerator was slowly dying, but it managed to get me thru this past March before deciding it wasn't cooling past 50F anymore. Plus, it was ugly - hey, I used it from Day 1 as a brewer and never had to bottle, so it still has a fond place in my heart.
I decided it was time to upgrade. My criteria - had to have room for at least 4 cornys with faucets, and had to be small enough to move it inside - my old kegerator was 15.5 cuft and stayed in my garage - and needed to somewhat blend in with my existing appliances.
I found a white 7.2 cuft Frigidaire on CL for $50, only 3 years old, but had rust on the lid in some places. Not ideal, but with a collar added I could possibly house 5 corny kegs (3 on the floor + CO2, with 2 on the hump) so I made the purchase.
First, I sanded off all the paint and rust and then taped and painted it to match my kitchen appliances with black appliance paint.
Doesn't look too bad. This was my first and hopefully only experience with appliance paint - man that stuff gets everywhere!
Mounting the collar - I used a 2x8 piece of pine from Lowe's.
Next, I wanted to stain it and coat it with urethane to protect it. I found a stain at Lowe's in a cabernet color by Zinsser (thanks again Quaffer) but I'm calling it maroon. 3 coats of stain plus 3 coats of urethane.
I used 1/2" heavy duty black weatherstripping to place between the collar and freezer to help seal the collar. I used 4 right angle strong ties with small sheet metal screws to attach it to the freezer; this was the only permanent change to the freezer besides the paint. Now, the plumbing. I decided on 3 faucets initially with room to the left for 2 more, and got everything I needed from www.kegconnection.com, including a new 15# CO2 bottle I decided to leave inside the kegerator. As you can see, 4 cornies and the CO2 bottle fit very nicely. I can also fit a 5th corny on the hump, but it's pretty tight.
Let's move it inside and plug it in. Hey, it works!
I mounted the drip tray using welding magnets as others on HBT have done, and it's easily removable for cleaning. And I added some Aggie bling to it...
I painted the top with Chalkboard paint, so I could write stuff on top, such as what beers are on tap. My first couple of coats over the appliance paint were by spray can, however I decided it would look better to roll it on. Rolling provided a much smoother and even surface.
So, there you go. It's been in action for 7 months and going strong! The only other things I still might do is switch out the white lid gasket for a black one, and possibly add some insulating foam board like Quaffer did in his build, but honestly with full kegs the temp seems to hold just fine. I used a basic analog Johnson Controller as my temp regulator, and the bulb sits inside the keezer in an old contact lens solution bottle filled with gel from a cold pack. Seems to work fine.
