My Sears 14.8. Nothing fancy, but functional!

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

RocketBrewer

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
607
Reaction score
219
Location
Garden Valley, CA
Here's a couple pics of my Kenmore 14.8 cf. I built it a couple years ago, but unfortunately my build pics were lost when my old phone died. It's certainly not as impressive as some of the amazing builds I've seen here but maybe someone can get some ideas from something I've done here.

I found that a 2X4 collar was plenty (just need room to put the shanks and gas through). I have a three body secondary regulator with one feeding a 4 way manifold for standard serving pressure. The other two can be used to carb or set for lower/higher serving pressures. I insulated the inside of the collar with foam insulation board from HD. I covered that with PVC carefully dissected from a piece of 2X6 PVC fence rail and siliconed in place. I think it turned out pretty nice and gives a finished look that is easy to clean. I control it with an external STC-1000+ controller with the TC in a water bottle to keep it from cycling on/off too frequently. I used silicone to attach a computer fan in the corner to help keep the temperature from stratifying. I also use two eva-dry units to keep the condensation down (that way I still have one inside while the other is drying out). It is built on a rolling base with 1X6 painted skirting to hide the base. A towel bar mounted on the end that doubles as a handle to pull it by. I like to get 1/2 barrel kegs from local breweries and this allows me to be able to roll it under my chain hoist to lift and lower the kegs. I used two painted wood bookshelf brackets from HD, attached with silicone to support the drip tray. A couple strips of velcro keeps it in place. Velcro also holds the cap catcher in place. I still need to make a quick disconnect for my CO2 line to make it easier to move. I plan to use an adapter to attach a ball-lock connection on the outside (an idea I stole from someone here on HBT, sorry I cant remember who).

Things I would recommend anyone use on a Keezer build...

1)Use all stainless shanks and taps if you can, they are worth it. That chrome isn't disappearing, you're drinking it.
2)Use 1/4" MFL connections on all hoses (gas and beer) if you can (sooo much easier to clean or change hoses when needed).
3)Seal the bottom seam around the inside of the Freezer with silicone before you use it (I wish I had learned this BEFORE I had a keg leak!)

Keezer.jpg


Keezer2.jpg
 
I like this a lot. The posts I see on here from people building bar quality keezers are really nice, but they can be intimidating. I could see myself tackling a project like this.

Thanks for the post!
 
I started this as Phase 1 with the intentions of going full-blown down the road but I'm not sure I'll ever do Phase 2 since this resides in my garage/man cave. It's pretty easy to care for now, if I surround it with nice wood and such it becomes more susceptible to damage from liquids or greasy hands. I've thought about getting it wrapped in Raiders theme, but that's a little embarrassing for this year. Maybe I'll label it with my home brewery name if I ever get a logo created.
 
I love the bottom skirt. What wheels you use and how did they attach? I have same one and would love to get it rolling.

Inside pvc looks great too.
 
I built the rolling frame from 2X4 and 2X6 lumber. I built the 2X4 box frame based on making the approximately 1X6 skirting flush with the edges of the freezer when attached. There is no skirting on the back side to make it easier to remove if needed. Then I attached 2X6's (front to back) flat across the inside of the box under where the foot pads of the freezer would sit. The wheels were from Harbor Freight (sorry I don't remember the size), 2 fixed and 2 swivel. Be sure to get ones large enough, these are very heavy when full of beer. I mounted the casters under the 2X6's so they sit almost directly under the freezer foot pads. Be sure to mount the swiveling ones so that they can rotate all the way around inside the box frame. I believe that I positioned the freezer on the base before I installed the skirting so I could fasten the skirt right up to the bottom edge of the freezer.I don't recall if I had to rip the skirting down to size, or if it just worked out right. I also used a small bead of white silicone between the freezer and skirt to keep any beer running down the front from getting between them. Hopefully this picture of the back will help you make sense of my rambling explination. You can see where the 2X4's are attached at the ends and where the 2X6's are attached a little inboard of that.

Good luck with yours!

Keezer_Base.jpg
 
Back
Top