Finally going to build a keezer!

[Rob2010SS]

I think the wife and I are finally going to build ourselves a keezer. I haven't built one before and I don't know anyone who has one, so I have questions. One of the first things I need to do is build a list of parts needed and cost, just so the wife knows how much we're spending. I was going to do a 6 tap keezer but after I started seeing some of the prices, I dropped it to a 4 tap to save a bit of money. (I'm not against 6 taps. Actually, I still may switch back to 6 taps because it'll allow us room to expand our capacity). What I know that I want are the following...
- 4 or 6 tap keezer
- Tower style
- Wood frame all around
- Old school caster wheels on bottom, like this...
- Wood frame around the lid of the freezer with tile underneath the taps

I found a 4 tap keezer build blog which is what I'm wanting to follow (link). This is pretty much the exact look I want, minus the "skyline board" he has on top.

I have a list put together of items that I think I need. This list is incomplete as it DOESN'T include any wood, insulation, wheels, or anything else to build the outside of the keezer. This list, right now, is simply the stuff to get all of the gas and beer line connections made, I think. My question is am I missing anything? I only have 2 faucets listed because I already have 2 that I can use. Same with the kegs, I only have 2 listed because I already have 2.

1 Chest Freezer Insignia 10.2 cu/ft $250.00
1 Computer Fan 3" 120V AC Cooling Fan $19.00
2 Faucets Intertap Stainless with Flow Control $94.00
4 Faucet Shank 4.5" Faucet Shank $80.00
12 Gas Line 5/16" ID Blue Gas Line $19.00
8 Snap Clamps Reusable Snap Clamps for Gas Line $8.00
4 Beer Line 5ft 3/16" ID Vinyl Beer Hose $32.00
1 10lb CO2 10lb CO2 Tank $100.00
2 Corny Kegs Used Cornelius Kegs $120.00
1 CO2 Regulator CO2 Regulator $65.00
1 Secondary CO2 Reg 4 Way Secondary Regulator $138.00
1 Temp Controller Inkbird ITC-308 $35.00

One other question I have, for now, is the CO2 tank. Is a 10lb tank big enough for a 4 tap keezer or should I go bigger? A 20lb tank is only $20 more on www.morebeer.com....

Thanks for the advice.

 

[BeerBaron1985]

I have a 16 tap keezer, and a 5lb co2 and 20cu beergas tank serving 3 taps is perfect for serving pressures. Force carbing you need a 20lb co2 tank.

 

[TallDan]

One other question I have, for now, is the CO2 tank. Is a 10lb tank big enough for a 4 tap keezer or should I go bigger? A 20lb tank is only $20 more on www.morebeer.com....

Thanks for the advice.

I have a 16 tap keezer, and a 5lb co2 and 20cu beergas tank serving 3 taps is perfect for serving pressures. Force carbing you need a 20lb co2 tank.

Number of taps doesn't really change what size co2 tank you want. You could serve 100 taps with a 5lb tank. Bigger is definitely better from a "buying in bulk" perspective though: refills for 20lb tanks are often only ~1.5x the price of a 5lb refill, and you get 4x the gas.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Number of taps doesn't really change what size co2 tank you want. You could serve 100 taps with a 5lb tank. Bigger is definitely better from a "buying in bulk" perspective though: refills for 20lb tanks are often only ~1.5x the price of a 5lb refill, and you get 4x the gas.

20lb tank it is! I was kind of leaning towards that anyway. It's a pain making the 40 minute trek to Gurnee just to fill up CO2 tanks

 

[brew703]

I would scrap the vinyl tubing and go with EVA Barrier 4MM from More Beer. Get the John Guest or Duotight fightings to go with the tubing.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

A few comments:

Do yourself a favor and avoid the vinyl beer lines. Kegland EVA barrier are significantly better. Read through this thread for more details:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/accuflex-ultra-235-vs-kegland-eva-barrier.668944/

Check craigslist for used CO2 tanks. Most places just exchange tanks rather than filling them, so a brand new tank will only look good until it's empty. At that point you'd be exchanging it for an older one. (Having said that - maybe you have a local place that refills them). But also beware of the dimensions of the tank - you may be able to fit a 10lb tank on the hump, but a 20lb tank would need to be on the floor of the keezer. I saw a 20lb tank for $50 locally and almost bit the bullet, but I'm not sure that I want to take up space on the floor that's currently occupied by a keg.

Also check craigslist for kegs, or shop around various retailers. $60 for a used corny seems to be on the high end.

Depending on which types of beer you drink, you may not need a 4-way secondary regulator. If you mainly drink IPAs, Pale Ales, etc, and most beers will be the same psi, then the regulator may not be a worthwhile expense. You can just get a dual-regulator (which is great for force carbing) and a manifold to give the same psi to all other kegs.

 

[TallDan]

20lb tank it is! I was kind of leaning towards that anyway. It's a pain making the 40 minute trek to Gurnee just to fill up CO2 tanks

Hah! Didn't notice that I was posting to someone who is local(ish). American Gasses used to be a 5 minute drive for me when I lived in Gurnee, now it's about 30 minutes.

EDIT: give them a call before you buy a tank online, i didn't get my tanks from them, but IIRC, their prices are pretty reasonable.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I would scrap the vinyl tubing and go with EVA Barrier 4MM from More Beer. Get the John Guest or Duotight fightings to go with the tubing.

Thanks! I'll look into that tubing and the fittings. The duotight fittings are pretty nice. That's what's on my RO system. I hadn't thought about using them here. I wasn't sure how they connected up to the posts on the kegs but just looked it up. Pretty simple!

A few comments:

Do yourself a favor and avoid the vinyl beer lines. Kegland EVA barrier are significantly better. Read through this thread for more details:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/accuflex-ultra-235-vs-kegland-eva-barrier.668944/

@brew703 recommended this also. I'll check into it! Thanks.

A few comments:

Check craigslist for used CO2 tanks. Most places just exchange tanks rather than filling them, so a brand new tank will only look good until it's empty. At that point you'd be exchanging it for an older one. (Having said that - maybe you have a local place that refills them). But also beware of the dimensions of the tank - you may be able to fit a 10lb tank on the hump, but a 20lb tank would need to be on the floor of the keezer. I saw a 20lb tank for $50 locally and almost bit the bullet, but I'm not sure that I want to take up space on the floor that's currently occupied by a keg.

The LHBS that I use is about a 40 minute drive for me (not so local..) - Growmasters. They fill tanks there so I always get my original tank back.

That's a good point about the dimensions of the tank. The freezer I'm looking at is a 10 cu ft and if I only go 4 taps, I should be able to have that tank on the floor of the freezer. I'm not sure if I go 6 taps if it'll fit is the only thing.

A few comments:

Also check craigslist for kegs, or shop around various retailers. $60 for a used corny seems to be on the high end.

Depending on which types of beer you drink, you may not need a 4-way secondary regulator. If you mainly drink IPAs, Pale Ales, etc, and most beers will be the same psi, then the regulator may not be a worthwhile expense. You can just get a dual-regulator (which is great for force carbing) and a manifold to give the same psi to all other kegs.

$60 is what they cost on morebeer and actually, they're even more at my LHBS ($69.95)! But I'll take that piece of advice and see what I can find.

A majority of what we drink right now is the ipas, pale ales, sours, etc. However, that's more to do with my wife not liking stouts, porters, barleywines, belgians, etc. than anything else. My hope with building this is to be able to do more of a variety, so I think I'd still like to be able to control each keg.

Hah! Didn't notice that I was posting to someone who is local(ish). American Gasses used to be a 5 minute drive for me when I lived in Gurnee, now it's about 30 minutes.

EDIT: give them a call before you buy a tank online, i didn't get my tanks from them, but IIRC, their prices are pretty reasonable.

Thanks for the advice! I'll have to look into that American Gasses. Right now, I just use Growmasters to fill everything up.

 

[TallDan]

Thanks for the advice! I'll have to look into that American Gasses. Right now, I just use Growmasters to fill everything up.

Growmasters and Perfect both get their CO2 from American Gasses. Last I checked with either of them, they won't fill 20lb tanks though, so I go to American Gasses directly. I was last there in August, and swapped both my 5lb and 20lb at the same time and happen to have the receipt nearby. The 5lb was $17.45 and the 20lb was $24.45.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Growmasters and Perfect both get their CO2 from American Gasses. Last I checked with either of them, they won't fill 20lb tanks though, so I go to American Gasses directly. I was last there in August, and swapped both my 5lb and 20lb at the same time and happen to have the receipt nearby. The 5lb was $17.45 and the 20lb was $24.45.

That's pretty reasonable pricing actually! I'll write that down for future use!

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I just finished replacing all of the beer and gas lines in my humble brewery with EVAbarrier 4mm ID and 5mm ID, respectively, and am as pleased as can be. For the beer lines I'm running 6 foot lengths for 11 psi, a 9 footer for 18 psi - and a 6 footer for my stout faucet on 35 psi beer gas where restriction isn't wanted. I'm getting roughly 9 seconds for a 12 ounce pour, and they're perfect. No stale flavors after sitting in the line overnight (and there's way less beer in the line to begin with). So, I'd say a basic rule of thumb is 0.5 feet per PSI.

There are three brands of PTC fittings available and because I run flow meters with 3/8" BSP threads I had to use all three brands: John Guest, Duotight, and DMfit. The last one had the 3/8" BSPP to 8mm OD needed to get in and out of the flow meters to the 8mm OD tubing. Duotight doesn't have that fitting, and hardly anyone carries metric John Guest fittings in the USA because JG has a $150 minimum order and Americans are metric-impaired

Cheers!