New to kegging.... back into engineering!

[JoshInWV]

So I have a Frigidaire chest freezer that has been sitting up down in my basement holding all of my bottles of beer and hops /yeast for a few years. The inside of the freezer was starting to rust, so I decided to clean it out. When I took the top off of it, I got hit with an epiphany. I have way too many bottles of beer and empties in storage to continue to keep botting beer. I've been wanting to keg for a while, and never got around to building or buying a home kegging system. I always thought it was too difficult. I did decide to

Wood working runs deep in my family, so I decided to have a go at this... keezer build. It will hold 6 - 5 gallon kegs, my CO2 tank, and a 3 gallon keg (for a total of 7 kegs of beer).

I have questions, but will hold them to the end. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, especially respectful criticism. I've not attached my beer lines yet but I did test fit the top of the keezer and it's nice.

6" x 1 1/2" pine boards, 1" green foam, 1/8" furniture grade plywood for the top, and gorilla glue for the top. I also used a pocket hole jig to attach the boards. I used gorilla glued attach the top plywood to the pine frame and the foam boards to the frame.

After the top was built, I took 2" aluminized tape, and covered the entire underside of the frame. I also added some weatherstripping and tacked it in place as well once the adhesive was set.

The freezer itself was in good condition but did need some TLC. Rust patches had formed on the inside so I had to clean that up, sand it down a bit, and recoat the interior with white appliance epoxy. Then to give it a little bit more of a change, I coated the outside of it with black appliance epoxy, and highlighted the vent for the compressor with my favorite color... yellow.

Next I added an air movement system so that it will cut down on moisture and cold / hot spots in the keezer. This was fun to figure out. There is no need to glue the PVC pipe together because you are just moving air. I had to get out of the fluid dynamics mindset for this.....

With this being done, the keezer base is complete and ready to go. So I turned my attention back to the top, since that needs the most work and is the most important part of the build. Especially since I tossed the top of the freezer. I didn't like the color of the original boards, so I decided to stain and poly the top, while also slightly rounding out the edges of the top to give it a nice finished and less squared off look.

If you look close at the top, you can see along the upper edges there looks to be some damage, the truth is, since it was plywood, and was cut with a rip saw blade, it did break off small patches of the top layer of wood (which the stain and poly made look really awesome)

4 coats of poly and 4 beer taps later, I was test fitting the top. It looked fantastic in the light. It just glistens!

I had a 4 way tap gas block that I mounted to the center support of the lid. and while I liked it, this was the point I started to think why the hell not.... So I decided to over engineer and add things, and expand (or this could have been done in 1 weekend).

I said screw it and bought another 3 tap gas distribution block, and I had a spare 1/4" NPT brass nipple in my supply from other things I've worked on. I thread taped both ends and linked them together, which created a 7 gas distribution block. They are shaped in the perfect way that I used some spare cut off scraps to attach them. I also mounted them in a way that they will hang straight down from the center of the keezer when the lid is closed, which minimizes hoses laying around and reduces the opportunity of a pinched or knicked gas line. (Plus it looks cleaner).

 

[JoshInWV]

Speaking of unsightly lines, I wanted to keep everything inside of the keezer, and wanted some hidden compartments (my favoite part of this build). I had some 12" hinges on hand, which I cut them in half with a hacksaw and cut a few pieces of foam that would fit the openings. I grabbed 6 screws for each hinge (total of 24 screws), and pre-attached the screws into the foam. Once I removed them, I mixed up some 2 part epoxy, put some into the screwholes, and on the backs of the hinges, attached them to the foam, and .... Bob's your Uncle!

The other panel was cut in a key pattern. It had to lineup and take into account the gas distribution block. Same thing I did on the above side (the hinge) was applied to the other side. Internally I mounted the temp controller, a 12v 5A power supply, a 5A fuse. I also mounted and added the digital temperature gauge and the variable speed controller for the fan in the foam as well.

At this point is where I am at now. My 1/4" beer lines arrived today, but I think I mis-sized them. I'm re-evaluating my choice in line sizes since using this line length calculator: http://beersmith.com/blog/2011/07/14/keg-line-length-balancing-the-science-of-draft-beer/. Once that happens, I need to brew a batch, and pressure test my system. I have yet to cut the holes in the foam doors for both the beer lines and air flow.

 

[rmajor55]

Looking good, love the yellow vent cover.

 

[Konadog]

Nice build, but you might run into problems with your first pours due to the way your taps are in the hidden section. If you plan to put your beer lines in there also, you need a way to keep them cold to avoid the same issue.

 

[JoshInWV]

Interesting that you said that. I have cut holes in the foam to have air flow and take care of the heat / cold zones. I wonder if I need to add more 2" holes than these. I figure the main beer lines will go through the 4" holes in the center of the doors. I plan on routing the temp sensor to inside of the "doors" so I can get the temperature of the warmest portion of the internals. If I need more air flow, I will definitely cut more holes in the doors as long as the structural integrity holds.

The part that I am struggling with is the beer lines. Since I have yet to ever keg anything, this is all new. I have 1/4" ID vinyl lines. My keg to tap height is just shy of 9", for my calculations, its telling me: @6 PSI, I need ~20 feet of beer line? That seems.... excessive and wrong.

 

[Konadog]

You may end up putting in a fan to draw air into that area, and push it out thru the other holes. If you can't keep the lines as cold as the kegs, you end up with foamy fist pours (temp is only one of the variables, but it's a big one).

What beer line calculator are you using, it doesn't sound to far off, Just guessing I would say between 12' to 17' depending on type of beer, shank size........ etc.

I think this is the line calculator that most people here have used:
http://www.mikesoltys.com/2012/09/17/determining-proper-hose-length-for-your-kegerator/

 

[JoshInWV]

That's the one I used just recently. I was introduced to it on some youtube channel I was watching, looked at it, and bookmarked it. Man it made things simple, just plug the numbers in and go. I am starting to rethink / regret going with 1/4" lines, but too late now at this point.

 

[JoshInWV]

Here is what the finished keezer build looks like:

,
Does anyone know if it would be smart to use a 1/4" to 3/16" adapter for the lines? My ball locks and taps are all 1/4" (and the taps do not have an interchangeable back end to change out the size of the line). There is a huge length between 3/16" and 1/4". Without having to purchase 7 new taps, or machining them to hold, could I use an adapter or would that be a mistake?

 

[day_trippr]

With few exceptions it's not hard to stretch beer line and gas line over 1/4" barbs (an exception would be Bev Seal Ultra Series 235 in its 0.2" ID form, which can be a beyotch if ill equipped for the task). I'd go with whatever 3/16" ID line suits your fancy and be prepared to warm up the ends to stretch over your barbs...

Cheers!

 

[JoshInWV]

thanks for the advice! Saved me some headache and coinage!