Quan's Keezer Build

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Quan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2010
Messages
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Location
Bellingham, WA
My turn to build a Keezer! I know, I know... another Keezer... I figure if you are sick of looking at them... then you wouldn't be clicking on this thread. :D

If you can't tell or don't know of him, I got my inspiration from Jester. I know it looks pretty much like a rip off but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

His build can be found here

So... let's get started. I bought a Magic Chef 7.2 chest freezer off Craigslist for 75 bucks. They don't sell them anymore at Home Depot, but they have the best footprint for the buck in my opinion.

MCCF7WBX-6001.jpg


I modeled it in a CAD program called Inventor by Autodesk.
3dModel.jpg


The doors open to the control panel! This is where I mount my regulators and Love Temperature Controller.
3dModel2.jpg


The back panel is "hidden" here so you can see inside to the PVC cooling tower...
3dModel3.jpg


This is what I've built so far...
photo.jpg


I am really bad at remembering to take pictures so this is the only picture I've taken along the way... sorry.

I will build a set of casters and build wood around the freezer itself to match the top (Even though it is not in the 3D model). I also plan on putting a circulation fan that circulates air in the freezer and also draws air into the insulated PVC tower to cool the beer lines simultaneously. I can't decide what color to stain the wood... I'm thinking a dark red stain to go with the black. Any suggestions?

Thanks to ALL who have posted their ideas, methods, suggestions on this site. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without all your help!
 
Thanks to ALL who have posted their ideas, methods, suggestions on this site. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without all your help!

Your host requires permissions for attachments. Probably a login. Not showing the pics here. At least not for me.
 
Keep the updates and photos coming, I love them. I have a 7.2 chest freezer that is in waiting to become a keezer. So I have been reading all the keezer posts to get some inspiration. I keep going back and forth between a collar and a tower. The tower build would be easier and a more efficient use of space, but the collar is cheaper. As soon as I sell my fishing boat I will have the room in my garage to build it, and the money too.
 
Keep the updates and photos coming, I love them. I have a 7.2 chest freezer that is in waiting to become a keezer. So I have been reading all the keezer posts to get some inspiration. I keep going back and forth between a collar and a tower. The tower build would be easier and a more efficient use of space, but the collar is cheaper. As soon as I sell my fishing boat I will have the room in my garage to build it, and the money too.

GR:

Before I started on this project, I did a tower for a small Danby Refrigerator.
Kegerator.jpg


I noticed you mentioned a tower would be more expensive... Well, if you don't have the faucets and stuff on hand... that whole tower setup shown (Came with Perlick Faucets, Shanks, Beer Line, and Disconnects) was $160. Shanks + Faucets themselves will cost you $about $100, Beer line and Disconnects are another $15. So really, the tower is only 45 bucks... buying solid wood ain't the cheapest thing. I know 1x6x6' Oak is 19 bucks a board where I'm from. Another consideration with the tower, though... with a keezer, you have to have space to open the lid without ramming the tower into the wall behind it.

As for selling the fishing boat... why!? I love brewing beer, but I love fishing even more... I would never sell my fishing boat! =P
 
Quan, is that a Danby mini fridge? What model? I found a DCR412W on craigslist for $75 and I'm wondering if it's worth getting to convert to a kegerator or if I should wait until I can find a better model. Downsides are the freezer on the top and its white...Also not sure if I can fit 2 corny kegs and a 5lb CO2 tank inside.

Good luck with the keezer...keep the photos coming. The CAD designs look sick!
 
Yeah, it's a Danby DAR440BL. I had to do the door mod (Take off the shelving and replace it with a polycarbonate sheet) and it still only barely fits 2 ball locks and a 5lb CO2 tank on the back shelf. What I saw for on my search for a mini-fridge is that any one that had a top freezer would not work for a kegerator. This particular model of Danby has the cooling element as a big plate on the back side and no top freezer.

Here's the CO2 on the back hump... 3 regulators bodies fit in there.


Here's it is with 2 kegs in it...
 
I don't forsee any problems that I wouldn't have with beer lines anyway. The way I designed it... all beer and CO2 lines will run down through the lid close to the lid's fulcrum to minimize movement during opening and closing of the lid.
 
Here is the tile and trim after I laid those in. I actually attached both tiles and trim using Liquid Nails to save on weight and to provide a bit of flexibility in the bond since this would be used as a lid. The white strips are masking tape to keep everything in place since the tiles tended to slide on top of the liquid nails.

KeezerTop2.jpg


Here is the tower stained.

KeezerTower.jpg



Got most of the trim and edging on, tile grouted, and got my first coat of stain on.

KeezerTop3small.jpg
 
I ended up moving some stuff around because even though I had a 3D model, I still had some very approximate dimensions on lots of things. Also, some of my concepts ended up changing.

Anyway, here are some updates:

Here it is with 2 coats of Polyurethane and the holes for the regulator hoses and temperature controller. The picture makes it look much more red than it really is. I have a piece of crap camera... but it's better than the phone pictures I've been taking...
DSCN2050.jpg


The whole PVC cooling tower pipe thing got canned after I rerouted all the hoses to go back through the regulator panel wall. I rerouted them because I decided to have solid granite inside the control box and I didn't want to try to drill through granite. So what took its place was a big foam tower insert! The insert is meant to be able to take on and off in case I want to change beer and CO2 lines. It is also where the fan is housed to keep the tower cool as well as keep air circulating in the Keezer. It is basically made of foam panels and foil insulation tape.
DSCN2030.jpg


Here is the back side of the tower insert showing the fan.
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DSCN2039.jpg


Here I have the fan inlet panel installed.
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Here is a bottom view of the foam insert. The "top" slit is the fan inlet... it draws air in from the keezer... the "bottom" slit is the fan exhaust which the cold air will blow back into the keezer. It's also where all the CO2 and beer lines will go down into the Keezer. My hopes are that not only will this keep the lines/shanks cool, but it will also help with circulation within the keezer.
DSCN2042.jpg


Here is the insert installed. I have "access panels" on this thing so I can route hoses and replace the fan if needed. The panels are basically foam panels with the foil insulation tape as a hinge.
DSCN2046.jpg


I included this picture because it shows the two hinges I will use for my doors. They are monster european style hinges with about a million different movements on it to make it open the way I want and still be concealed. They are right beneath the faucets and disconnects.
DSCN2052.jpg


Anyway... that's it for now. I will probably put another coat of polyurethane on tonight and start assembling the regulator panel, temperature controller, and doors!
 
Nice build Quan! I'm thinking of going with something similar but with a smaller freezer. Can still fit 4 kegs but is 26" square. Had to build a collar to hold the kegs and right now on casters it's somewhere between 42-46" tall. I'd like to have a coffin box like yours but it's a tough call with the height and somewhat small top. What are the dimensions of your tap box?
 
What are the dimensions of your tap box?

Thanks, 14thstreet!

Off the top of my head, I believe the footprint is 21" x 14". If not, I know it's somewhere close to that. The biggest reason it has to be that big is because I wanted the regulator panel. I bet you could get away with a much smaller box if you didn't do that.
 
So the keezer is finally functional. I still have some more trim to do around the edges of the countertop and I still have to enclose the rest of the keezer in wood. I also haven't polyurethaned the control panel doors in these pictures... but they're on their second coat right now.

Sorry, it's back to the crappy cell phone pictures for this post... not that my 10 year old camera was much better...

KeezerFunctional.jpg


KeezerTower-1.jpg


Here is a picture of the control panel with the doors open.

ControlPanel.jpg


Here's a picture with the lid open with 4 kegs inside.

KeezerOpen.jpg


That's it for now...
 

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