Chest Freezer Specs and Layouts

I know how you feel. If it were me, I would go with the bigger Frigidaire. Problem solved. You haven't bought it yet, so what's another $100?

I wish the GE was big enough to run 4 stacked pairs of small kegs, but since I already have mine I'm just going to run with it. I'll build a big enough collar to cover 3 pairs of stacked kegs and just run with the 7th on the hump.

I am trying to figure ou the best freezer for my keezer and I don't understand teh second post spread sheer. the columns in question are, Ball Lock/ Ball Lock(with hump)/Pin Lock/Ball Lock(with hump). Is the last column, Ball Lock(with hump) really Pin Lock(with hump)? I will be using the 2.5 gallon kegs and they are closer to the Pin lock size.

raymadigan said:

I am trying to figure ou the best freezer for my keezer and I don't understand teh second post spread sheer. the columns in question are, Ball Lock/ Ball Lock(with hump)/Pin Lock/Ball Lock(with hump). Is the last column, Ball Lock(with hump) really Pin Lock(with hump)? I will be using the 2.5 gallon kegs and they are closer to the Pin lock size.

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Yes, I think it's a typo and should be "pin locks w/ hump". The GE (for example would hold three pin locks in the floor, or 4 pin locks if you build a collar and put the 4th on the hump.

I just referenced the CAD drawings when looking for mine.

im doing this on my phone while on vacation so I can't see the drawings very well, the pictures are just a little small. Thanks for your help.

It looks like I will have near matching freezers in my garage. I use the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft Chest Freezer as my fermentation chamber, and I will use the 8.8 to hold all of my kegs. This will be an awesome arrangement. I brew 4 short term brews and two long term brews so I have 4 new brews every 6 weeks. I don't mind the brewing part, it does about as much time to brew a 2.5 gallon batch as it does a 5 gallon batch, but I am so tired of the bottling. With the 8.8 I can have 8 kegs in the main section and one over the hump just to carbonate without a faucet.

Has anyone tried this with the GE 7cu "d" series? I've got a GE FCM7Dblah that never seems to have more than about 25% of its space filled and considering doing naughty things to it while the wife's out of town one weekend.

D series holds one less keg on the floor because the hump is wiser. Its a cost saving corner that Sams Club cut.

They have the same dimensions otherwise tho, so it has the same capacity if you don't mind that extra one on the hump.

As for a 9" collar... why not?

You don't need to miter the collar. It adds no strength or functionality, unless you have a very extensive clamping setup to clamp it. But if you can't miter that, then you probably don't have the clamps to glue it anyway. 9" boards can be mitered on any 10" miter saw that bevels (99%+) with a simple flip of the board.

The collar on my 15 cu ft is 2x10 with a 1x12 facade. Looks just fine. That lets me fit a full 20# CO2 on the hump, and I'm glad I did it.

If the pictures are too small, just click them. They'll enlarge.

If you're going to flip the board on a miter saw, you need to set up a stop block, it's impossible to line up the cuts exactly right by eye. Another option is to use a circular saw and a straight edge (saw board).

I have a 10" collar with no miter cuts on it. Just screwed the corners together and ran silicone caulk over the joints. It may not look as fancy as some I've seen on here but it sits in my living room and nobody has ever said it looks terrible and it does a wonderful job.

hoghead said:

I have a 10" collar with no miter cuts on it. Just screwed the corners together and ran silicone caulk over the joints. It may not look as fancy as some I've seen on here but it sits in my living room and nobody has ever said it looks terrible and it does a wonderful job.

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Could you add a photo of it, I'm about a week from pulling the trigger and stil haven't decided what I am going to do.

I am considering changing things up a little. I currently ferment in the Frigidaire 8.8 cu ft chest freezer with the 3 gallon better bottles. It is the perfect size, I can brew 6 different brews at the same time. The problem is I have way more beer then I can drink and I have never had more then 4 beers fermenting at any one time.

I'm thinking of making my keezer with this freezer. The issue is that to get my system to work the inside with has to be 16" wide and most 7 cu ft freezers are only 15"wide. I saw the Idylis 7 cu ft Chest Freezer, and it looks like it might be able to work for my fermentor or Keezer, has anyone had any experience with it? I will go and measure it this morning.

raymadigan said:

Could you add a photo of it, I'm about a week from pulling the trigger and stil haven't decided what I am going to do.

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Not the one you asked for but...

9.25" collar with 11.25" facade, no miters. Wanted an earthy brown collar, but the wife insisted on white board paint and marker. Left room to expand to 10 taps... wish I'd squeezed the handles to fit a straight dozen.

Tape covers the holes where I hadn't added taps yet.

My Kenmore 19.7 and your specs are very useful when planning my beer tasting parties!

Thad, I hate to turn you into my project engineer, but you're so well versed in this already...
I got a GE FCM7Dxx and I'm really digging this guy
http://www.bvrgelements.com/product...ioned-Steel/?gclid=COThiJ7NqLgCFSgV7AodVGEAVQ

If I collar it with a 2x6 (5.5inches) can I get 3 pins on the floor, 2 on the hump and still fit the co2? I see people squeezing balls on the hump and it seems like pins would fit there better.

I'm actually planning to cover it all up and go coffin style with a nice façade around it, so I'm not digging the 9" collar idea.

Someone should throw me a "like" for saying "balls on the hump" without posting a dirty picture.

hbrookie said:

I see people squeezing balls on the hump and it seems like pins would fit there better.

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"pins"?

BeerGrylls said:

"pins"?

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Pin Lock kegs. Pin locks are 4 inches shorter but a half an inch bigger around.

Couldn't tell you if it would fit. Posting from my cell after all day travelling. If I can find a few minutes this busy weekend, I'll look at the drawings here.

hbrookie said:

Pin Lock kegs. Pin locks are 4 inches shorter but a half an inch bigger around.

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It was a subtle joke. Too subtle, apparently. I was insinuating that 'pins' is a typo in his sentence.

I'm hoping someone can help me here. The mfg is being completely useless. My company is moving to a new building and my manager offered me a 21 cuft Kenmore chest freezer or a 5 cuft chest freezer. I can fit 3 kegs in the small one, and a crazy amount in the big one. My real problem comes in the temp control. The small one is easy since I can just use a temp controller. However, for the big one there is a digital control on the lid. Does anyone know if the digital control will maintain the set temp if unplugged and plugged back in? Will repeated power cycles from a temp controller damage the digital controls? Or did I get lucky and I can set the digital control to refrigerator temps?
Any help you guys might be able to provide would be appreciated.

I would start a new thread for that. The only problem I see is that the digital thermostat might have a built in compressor delay already, so you'll need to plan accordingly. But otherwise it shouldn't be any different from an analog thermostat.

That was something I hadn't considered. I think this is getting too complicated I think I'll just stick with the also free smaller one. I figured I can get 3 kegs in there with a collar (which I wanted to do anyway). I'm not planning on owning more than 4 or 5 kegs anyway. 3 in the keezer and 1 or 2 aging.

Calman, I wouldn't worry about any built in delay. Any delay it has won't be that long. Even it resets the temp every on/off cycle, as long as it's reset to "cold enough" it won't matter (and it should be calling for at least 32 degrees - it's a freezer). The only concern that I'd have would be that you could burn out the controls. Depending on how it's set up, that could mean "always on" or "always off". If it defaults to on, you're good. The secondary controller you install will take care of it. If it's off, you have a really big doorstop full of beer.

hbrookie said:

Calman, I wouldn't worry about any built in delay. Any delay it has won't be that long. Even it resets the temp every on/off cycle, as long as it's reset to "cold enough" it won't matter (and it should be calling for at least 32 degrees - it's a freezer). The only concern that I'd have would be that you could burn out the controls. Depending on how it's set up, that could mean "always on" or "always off". If it defaults to on, you're good. The secondary controller you install will take care of it. If it's off, you have a really big doorstop full of beer.

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Freezers are typically built to fail into the "on" position.

It's much more beneficial for the motor to run for a day or two before somebody notices, rather than to turn off and let hundreds or thousands of dollars of food thaw/melt.

Either way, why not just use an external controller? No wiring necessary.

Hey Thadius there should be some kind of prize for all the fantastic work you did here. Any one building a keezer should have to see this thread before they start.

'Like' button is enough for me.

Still making these drawings and layouts, if I'm provided measurements.

Just tebuilt my computer into a real monster. Should be way more pleasant to use AutoCAD now.

Anyone else using the Frigidaire 14.9? I can only get 7 ball locks in.

Erik, it sounds like you have pin lock kegs that have been converted to ball lock. Pin locks are 4 inches shorter but 1/2 inch bigger around. That 1/2 inch makes all the difference in the world. Based on thads drawings, you could probably squeeze 1 more in there if the basket guides aren't getting in the way.

So if I am reading this right a 7 3/4 collar is minimum collar height to put a ball lock on the hump of the GE 7cuft. Does that leave enough room for the connections and lines?

Nope--all of my kegs are original ball locks. I removed the basket edging as well, but still no dice. I even tried using different kegs, thinking maybe one of my kegs was deformed in some way. Do you have the same freezer, hbrookie? Are you able to fit 9?

Not gonna fit.

Does anyone know of a 7 CuFt freezer that can still fit a 1/2bbl? Looks like you can no longer find the FF07C3AW1 for sale. I wouldn't mind being able to throw a 1/2bbl in every once in a while. Thank you.

TBaGZ said:

So if I am reading this right a 7 3/4 collar is minimum collar height to put a ball lock on the hump of the GE 7cuft. Does that leave enough room for the connections and lines?

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It includes 1" for disconnects and hoses.

Both of my GE 7.0's have 1x10 collars (9.25") and fit just fine with kegs on the hump.

Black_Z28 said:

Does anyone know of a 7 CuFt freezer that can still fit a 1/2bbl? Looks like you can no longer find the FF07C3AW1 for sale. I wouldn't mind being able to throw a 1/2bbl in every once in a while. Thank you.

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Sorry, don't think this exists.

Many great brews come in 1/4 slim bbl and 1/6 bbl.

BevMo.com and Totalwine.com can give you a rough idea of which ones do.

erikrocks said:

View attachment 137938

Not gonna fit.

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Looks tight. There's a good chance that you can get 9 in there still.

I find that my cornys aren't actually round, but slightly oval. The short way across the lid seems to be smaller than the other way. That is, if you have the lid facing you with the bail at the bottom and you're above it, they're skinnier from left-to-right than top-to-bottom.

Have you checked for bulge at the foot/heel of the keg? Most kegs bulge here slightly from the rubber vulcanizing mold, and you can get a surprising amount of space back my shaving 1/16" off with a rasp.

thadius856 said:

Sorry, don't think this exists.

Many great brews come in 1/4 slim bbl and 1/6 bbl.

BevMo.com and Totalwine.com can give you a rough idea of which ones do.

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Yeah, I was looking more for a BMC beer for parties and what not.

OOOOOOHHHH well.

Black_Z28 said:

Yeah, I was looking more for a BMC beer for parties and what not.

OOOOOOHHHH well.

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I'd have to imagine that lifting a full 1/2 bbl keg into a keezer, especially if there's a collar, would be highly unpleasant.

Hi All,

I'm prepping to use just a small 5cuft freezer for 3 kegs. Wifey wont let me have any more kegs, I suppose I don't NEED to have that much beet on tap. But who actually NEEDS beer at all But I digress. I actually measured the freezer and modeled it in solidworks. I then modeled a pin lock keg with a ball lock height, then added a bit for connectors. I was able to easily see that with a 10" collar (2x10's) I can fit 3 kegs of any style plus my gas line. Since the 2x10's are actually 1.5" thick, it will be set back from the inside wall of the freezer to have clearance for a manifold. If you want to put a keg on the hump, I highly suggest a 10" collar.

I got an analogue controller for my new keezer. Does anyone know if its ok to put the controller in the keezer or do I need to have the controller outside with a hole in the collar for the temp probe?