I'm midway through my coffin keezer build, and I'm having some troubles coming up with a clean way to tube up my cylinders and CO2 lines. I apologize in advance for the long post!
Overview of design:
-7.9 cu ft kenmore freezer
-Coffin box on top, top entry (will be using spring loaded latches to press lid on to weatherstripping)
-Recessed drip tray
-Tile on top, surrounded by trim
-Base/Skirt has been designed, but not yet built. It will feature an additional 6" of space on either side of the freezer to accommodate my control box (nestled on one side), and my 5lb CO2 cylinder (on the opposite side). I will have a set of triple secondary regulators controlling the pressure to the three taps, which will be located immediately above the mounting bracket for the cylinder.
What I'm hoping to get from you experienced folks is a way to cleanly tube my CO2 lines. In my experience, they are VERY stiff (maybe that's because they've been cold previously?), and don't take very nice to bends. The idea is to have them travel up the 2x4 on the back corner of the skirt, cross along the plywood top of the freezer lid, and then into the center of the coffin box. I intend to use strain reliefs at the entry point, clustered in a triangle.
Right now, I'm thinking of using a plastic elbow fitting (barbed with SST Worm gears?) immediately following the strain relief to drop the lines to the plywood on the keezer lid. A second elbow will help run the lines to the edge of the frame, and a third elbow will route the lines vertically towards the secondary regulators. This would minimize the movement of the lines when opening the keezer, with the exception of the lines found inside the coffin and freezer.
My concern with this design is that I'm introducing additional leak points of CO2 inside my home. Has anyone tried to do something similar, and can share their experience?
Additionally - do people have opinions on the number of channels for the tap/CO2 lines inside the coffin? I will be using a DC fan to suck air into the chamber from the freezer below via a 3" PVC tube (3.5" OD) channel. My thought was to have all of the beer lines and CO2 lines down the other channel opposite to the intake, as this forces the fresh air to pass past them. I toyed with the thought of having all CO2/Beer lines travel down a central channel, and have the fresh air circulating in a 'C' pattern, but I thought this may result in stagnant air in the central channel.
Any recommendations are welcome
I'm in the home stretch of the lid/coffin (i.e. the functional part), and I want to wrap this up ASAP so I can get the two beers in my basement carbing up!
J
Overview of design:
-7.9 cu ft kenmore freezer
-Coffin box on top, top entry (will be using spring loaded latches to press lid on to weatherstripping)
-Recessed drip tray
-Tile on top, surrounded by trim
-Base/Skirt has been designed, but not yet built. It will feature an additional 6" of space on either side of the freezer to accommodate my control box (nestled on one side), and my 5lb CO2 cylinder (on the opposite side). I will have a set of triple secondary regulators controlling the pressure to the three taps, which will be located immediately above the mounting bracket for the cylinder.
What I'm hoping to get from you experienced folks is a way to cleanly tube my CO2 lines. In my experience, they are VERY stiff (maybe that's because they've been cold previously?), and don't take very nice to bends. The idea is to have them travel up the 2x4 on the back corner of the skirt, cross along the plywood top of the freezer lid, and then into the center of the coffin box. I intend to use strain reliefs at the entry point, clustered in a triangle.
Right now, I'm thinking of using a plastic elbow fitting (barbed with SST Worm gears?) immediately following the strain relief to drop the lines to the plywood on the keezer lid. A second elbow will help run the lines to the edge of the frame, and a third elbow will route the lines vertically towards the secondary regulators. This would minimize the movement of the lines when opening the keezer, with the exception of the lines found inside the coffin and freezer.
My concern with this design is that I'm introducing additional leak points of CO2 inside my home. Has anyone tried to do something similar, and can share their experience?
Additionally - do people have opinions on the number of channels for the tap/CO2 lines inside the coffin? I will be using a DC fan to suck air into the chamber from the freezer below via a 3" PVC tube (3.5" OD) channel. My thought was to have all of the beer lines and CO2 lines down the other channel opposite to the intake, as this forces the fresh air to pass past them. I toyed with the thought of having all CO2/Beer lines travel down a central channel, and have the fresh air circulating in a 'C' pattern, but I thought this may result in stagnant air in the central channel.
Any recommendations are welcome
I'm in the home stretch of the lid/coffin (i.e. the functional part), and I want to wrap this up ASAP so I can get the two beers in my basement carbing up!J
