Keezer + Mother Sizing

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

Hi Guys,

First time poster here: I am a scientist comfortable with wiring and almost any DIY project. I am new to brewing for about a year, although I have wanted to brew for over 4 years, and living overseas in Aachen Germany prevented that (while it did enable fine beer consumption).

I started off going all-in to all-grain and kegging and currently have two corny kegs on picnic taps in the beer fridge in the garage. I am finishing up a 9 month reno on the house and want to get my keezer/fermentation chamber built before it warms up here (I live in Golden CO).

I plan to build something like the 'mother of all fermentation chillers' http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/The-Mother-of-All-Fermentation-Chillers

I want to have 6 corny kegs ontap, and I need room for some of the duct-work for the ferm chamber chilling in the keezer as well. I dont want my keezer to be bigger than needed, as once it's said and done it's going to be a big item and I can't have the wife-unit resenting my brew hobby. FYI I assume I will be building a collar and putting kegs on the hump of the keezer.

I was thinking the GE 8.8 CF freezer would work, but I can't find a store near me that actually has one on display, so I can't do the cardboard cutout setup and double check. I have checked this forum https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sizing-your-chest-freezer-corny-kegs-75449/#post790572 but searched 8.8 and dont see anything.

I just wanted to poll users and see if they think this freezer will fit my needs, or do I need to go even bigger? I welcome and input and advice!

Cheers,
Steve

 

[jbaysurfer]

Hi Guys,

First time poster here: I am a scientist comfortable with wiring and almost any DIY project. I am new to brewing for about a year, although I have wanted to brew for over 4 years, and living overseas in Aachen Germany prevented that (while it did enable fine beer consumption).

I started off going all-in to all-grain and kegging and currently have two corny kegs on picnic taps in the beer fridge in the garage. I am finishing up a 9 month reno on the house and want to get my keezer/fermentation chamber built before it warms up here (I live in Golden CO).

I plan to build something like the 'mother of all fermentation chillers' http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/The-Mother-of-All-Fermentation-Chillers

I want to have 6 corny kegs ontap, and I need room for some of the duct-work for the ferm chamber chilling in the keezer as well. I dont want my keezer to be bigger than needed, as once it's said and done it's going to be a big item and I can't have the wife-unit resenting my brew hobby. FYI I assume I will be building a collar and putting kegs on the hump of the keezer.

I was thinking the GE 8.8 CF freezer would work, but I can't find a store near me that actually has one on display, so I can't do the cardboard cutout setup and double check. I have checked this forum https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sizing-your-chest-freezer-corny-kegs-75449/#post790572 but searched 8.8 and dont see anything.

I just wanted to poll users and see if they think this freezer will fit my needs, or do I need to go even bigger? I welcome and input and advice!

Cheers,
Steve

There's a 8.7 cu' model on that thread that probably gives you a rough idea of the dimensions. In all likelihood though, the one you're looking at has a compressor bump that goes the whole way across, not like the 8.7' example. So yeah. You'll need to build a collar. Collars that big can be problematic fwiw, and my personal advice is to look at the next size up. I know space is an issue for you swmbo, but building a collar that large on something gives it the aesthetics of something much more massive so a smaller collar on a bigger chest freezer might be roughly the same "psychological" impact.

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

Thanks for info.

FYI with the mother I plan to put ontop of the freezer, I figured size of the collar is a moot point!

Also as background I am a woodworker and plan to build a frame around the entire unit so I can move it between my garage (in the house), and my workshop (right off the patio) between winter and summer. This will end taking weight off the collar. I will face the frame to look like cabinets, with cabinet plywood and cabinet doors for the ferm-chamber uppers.

 

[jbaysurfer]

^ sounds like it's gonna be tricked! Wish I had the time or skills to do the same, but alas...this hobby is all consuming. Brewing tonight!

 

[pannell77]

enjoy the build process