BrewBeemer
Well-Known Member
Good to read Erik as yours set the bar (pun) the highest.
The 'Keezer' Project
- Thread starter Jester369
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
Ok...this is turning into an expensive hobby / pastime. Went from buying basic brewing supplies, to ordering enough stuff to build a two tap chest conversion...and now I am going to have to buy a bunch of lumber. I thank you all for the motivation....and quickly draining my wallet. 
I'll post build pics soon...getting the freezer tomorrow, and the rest of the parts are in the mail and arrive the 24th. Merry Christmas to me!
I'll post build pics soon...getting the freezer tomorrow, and the rest of the parts are in the mail and arrive the 24th. Merry Christmas to me!
OP
OP
Ok...this is turning into an expensive hobby / pastime. Went from buying basic brewing supplies, to ordering enough stuff to build a two tap chest conversion...and now I am going to have to buy a bunch of lumber. I thank you all for the motivation....and quickly draining my wallet.
Excellent! Glad I could help spend your money
Blue_Monkey
Well-Known Member
:rockin:
ibleedbrew
Active Member
one question- would you change/modify anything?
OP
OP
Two things I would change:
1) Use better wood. The poplar looks nice enough, but considering the total cost of the project I shouldn't have skimped.
2) Position the drip tray better. On mine, it's a little too far back. A glass sitting directly under the tap straddles the drip tray on mine.
Other than that, I really love mine.
1) Use better wood. The poplar looks nice enough, but considering the total cost of the project I shouldn't have skimped.
2) Position the drip tray better. On mine, it's a little too far back. A glass sitting directly under the tap straddles the drip tray on mine.
Other than that, I really love mine.
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Hoppopotomus
Cedar Hollow Brewing
I couldn't agree more!!!!! My wife bought me a deluxe home brewing kit about 5 months ago and I got the brewing bug immediately. Now I'm elbows deep in a 3-4 tap rustic keezer build (thanks again for the inspiration Erik!) and accumulating materials for a HERMS all grain brewing set up. My new found hobby is costing me a fortune as well! If only my wife knew exactly how much I am spending on this keezer build, she would not be pleased. Can't wait to start following your thread "mach9"....good luck!
If only my wife knew exactly how much I am spending on this keezer build, she would not be pleased. Can't wait to start following your thread "mach9"....good luck! Ok...this is turning into an expensive hobby / pastime. Went from buying basic brewing supplies, to ordering enough stuff to build a two tap chest conversion...and now I am going to have to buy a bunch of lumber. I thank you all for the motivation....and quickly draining my wallet.
Hey Jester not sure if you still follow this thead but thanks for the inspiration. Took what I could from your build and put in some pint glass holders and made it out of oak. All panels are Dado'ed in and are free floating. Never done anything like this in my life, just sick of sitting on the sidelines watching New Yankee Workshop on PBS and decided to make someting. Turns out ole' Norm A. isnt so full of Crap. Anyways thanks a lot for the idea.
PS Bugeater if your read this thanks for the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Beer recipe..makes my Keezer all that much more great when I can pull delicious pint to associate it with my hard work!!!
Chris
http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/...0151947011138_535246137_8694070_7620222_n.jpg
PS Bugeater if your read this thanks for the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Beer recipe..makes my Keezer all that much more great when I can pull delicious pint to associate it with my hard work!!!
Chris
http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/...0151947011138_535246137_8694070_7620222_n.jpg
OP
OP
Great work, Chris! That looks fantastic
BrewBeemer
Well-Known Member
I like the small footprint the keezer has plus the ratio of the overhang to keezer. Looks great your build it's added to my files as well the Jester build.
BTW I miss Norm, the "Rough Cut" replacement person needs to mellow out I hate watching his uptight show. I've noticed Norm has the shakes over the last couple years, I wish him well.
BTW I miss Norm, the "Rough Cut" replacement person needs to mellow out I hate watching his uptight show. I've noticed Norm has the shakes over the last couple years, I wish him well.
I've noticed that quite a few keezer designs use built-in chalkboards or areas sprayed with that chalk-board paint. It just seems to me that leaning over the counter to write on a vertical surface would be pretty tough. Has anyone used a chalk-board that looks built-in but can be removed for writing/cleaning?
Noshtero
Member
Hey all. Just letting you know I'm going to attempt to build this same keezer. I have the Sunbeam 7.2 that I believe Lilrascal used.
I have just about zero wood working skills, so I'll be cheating this by building a frame of whatever and then paneling it. I'm hoping I can get that to look nice.
I have just about zero wood working skills, so I'll be cheating this by building a frame of whatever and then paneling it. I'm hoping I can get that to look nice.
OP
OP
Don't know if anyone is still following this thread, but I am hoping to add a very cool feature to the Keezer soon. Build pix to follow, of course...
cruelkix
Well-Known Member
Don't know if anyone is still following this thread, but I am hoping to add a very cool feature to the Keezer soon. Build pix to follow, of course...
If this is friggin awesome I really hope you made it easy for me to incorporate into my bar
I am eargerly awaiting pics!
Motorized top?
If this is friggin awesome I really hope you made it easy for me to incorporate into my bar
I am eargerly awaiting pics!
Motorized top?
I agree. Hope this isn't going to cost me MORE money!!
EarthBound
Well-Known Member
Don't know if anyone is still following this thread, but I am hoping to add a very cool feature to the Keezer soon. Build pix to follow, of course...
*gasp!*
Any chance of letting us know what it might be?
Looking forward to the pix, for sure!
Hoppopotomus
Cedar Hollow Brewing
So what's the "cool feature" and how much is it going to cost? Let me know before I wrap mine up the rest of the way. I'm 95% done with my keezer build (posted updated pics last night on my thread), so let me know if it's something that I may want to incorporate before I finish this thing off. Honestly, if I spend anymore on this keezer build (time or money), my wife is really going to get pi$$ed. I've seen by your pics how much your wife supports your keezer project.....mine, not so much! I think that she would rather torch it than pose for a pic while hugging it. Let me know Erik!
Honestly, if I spend anymore on this keezer build (time or money), my wife is really going to get pi$$ed. I've seen by your pics how much your wife supports your keezer project.....mine, not so much! I think that she would rather torch it than pose for a pic while hugging it. Let me know Erik!
I just researched the idea of a coffin style keezer and what is there to say....holy crap man this thing is awesome. I can't wait to see what this cool new feature is.
77bawls
Well-Known Member
Don't know if anyone is still following this thread, but I am hoping to add a very cool feature to the Keezer soon. Build pix to follow, of course...
I just bought a 7 cubic foot freezer today, and I come across this thread. I never wanted to do a collar, but I was thinking about the towers. Now I'm thinking about a coffin.
AnthonyB
Member
For us very, very amateur carpenters out here, can you detail a little more about how you constructed the panels? I was looking at another build that used yours as an inspiration (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-keezer-build-176752/) but it was some very intense wood working with routing, joint-fits, etc. Your build seems a little easier but I can't quite see enough detail in the pictures to figure out how thick the panels were, what sizes the stock were, etc.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
OP
OP
I'll have to go back and take a look - I don't even remember anymore just exactly how I did them. It's going to take me a couple days (not going to be home much today or tomorrow) but I'll pop the cabinet open and snap some clarifying photos. I do know it was pretty easy construction.
Hoppopotomus
Cedar Hollow Brewing
So what's the cool new feature?!?!? We're waiting.....
A little update on my keezer build....I screwed up! I thought that the grout color that we chose would work for both the dark slate on the bar floor and the travertine on the backsplash of the bar and the keezer. We were wrong....the grout that we chose didn't work well (pictures on my thread). I proceeded to chisel out all of the tile and grout on the keezer and will be re-tiling and grouting with a more neutral "bone" color grout tomorrow. What a pain in the a$$! I have 3 kegs ready to go in my cold storage and I'm still dicking around with the tile on this thing. Hopps gettin' thristy!
A little update on my keezer build....I screwed up!
I thought that the grout color that we chose would work for both the dark slate on the bar floor and the travertine on the backsplash of the bar and the keezer. We were wrong....the grout that we chose didn't work well (pictures on my thread). I proceeded to chisel out all of the tile and grout on the keezer and will be re-tiling and grouting with a more neutral "bone" color grout tomorrow. What a pain in the a$$! I have 3 kegs ready to go in my cold storage and I'm still dicking around with the tile on this thing. Hopps gettin' thristy!
OP
OP
Sorry - gonna have to wait a liiiitle bit longer. I have to take some measurements and whatnot before I order the bits and pieces to do the job. Don't worry, if you like the idea you should be able to easily retrofit it - after all, that's what I'm doing to mine!
Sorry about the tile fiasco - but better to get it right than have to look at something every day and wish it were different!
Sorry about the tile fiasco - but better to get it right than have to look at something every day and wish it were different!
Hoppopotomus
Cedar Hollow Brewing
Thanks! My keezer should be 100% completed tomorrow! Just need to seal the stone and grout. I had to knife another cedar trim piece to bump out the facing of the coffin where the taps mount due to a clearance issue with the tap handles. The piece of ponderosa pine that I used for the top overhang a little too far, so although my taps were able to close fully with the cheap black handles, I may have gotten into trouble with other tap handles. I'll be posting pics of the final product on my thread this weekend....hopefully with pics of my first 3 drafts to come out of it.
How's your progress with your secret upgrade?
How's your progress with your secret upgrade?
Sorry - gonna have to wait a liiiitle bit longer. I have to take some measurements and whatnot before I order the bits and pieces to do the job. Don't worry, if you like the idea you should be able to easily retrofit it - after all, that's what I'm doing to mine!
Sorry about the tile fiasco - but better to get it right than have to look at something every day and wish it were different!
I am still in the process of brewing my first batch of home brew using a kit. I am so inspired by this thread, that I am ready to start kegging and building a keezer.
Jester, thank you for the inspiration! Would you my sending me the SketchUp files that you used as a starting point?
Jester, thank you for the inspiration! Would you my sending me the SketchUp files that you used as a starting point?
Jester,
First, well done of course. Now for the leeching of info.
Regarding the ducting and removal of heat from the outside of the freezer. Do you think that leaving the bottom open around the outside edge with 1" spacers would still cause heat build up or is a fan needed?
First, well done of course. Now for the leeching of info.
Regarding the ducting and removal of heat from the outside of the freezer. Do you think that leaving the bottom open around the outside edge with 1" spacers would still cause heat build up or is a fan needed?
Hoppopotomus
Cedar Hollow Brewing
Hey Jester.....a little sneak peak of my final keezer build. I can finally join the ranks to those that have followed in your footsteps for so long. Many, many more pics. on my thread when you get a chance. Thanks buddy!
Wow Hoppopotomus man that looks great....I love that large wood...it would look great in a log cabin or a rustic house...or better yet it woulr really look great anywhere. How close is the back of the Love controller to the freezer inside? I dont know if you saw my build a few pages back but I just didnt have the clearance to have my Love controller in the front or the side so I just mounted mine in the back at where the port for the compressor is at...that worked out well beacuse it gave extra space for all the wiring.
Has anybody else ever really had a problem with heat being able to dissiapate from the freezer when encased in the wood paneling? On my Keezer that I just built, I have about 2 inch clearance around the freezer with a completely open back and and the lid has space for any heat to vent out the top. I also took a large paddle bit and drilled several holes around the edge of the bottom frame to promote airflow. I dont have any fans or any other ventilation only relying on natural convection to circulate the air up through the encased area. I have my Love controller set to 40 degrees. I stuck a temp probe in the space between the freezer and the panel and it was only like 1 to 2 degrees above ambient temp on the outside of the Keezer.
I have a Holiday 7 Cu. Ft. Chest Freezer from Lowes in my build and maybe I just got lucky but seems like heat dissipation really isnt that great of a concern. I was dreading trying to attempt Jesters fan assembly that he planned for his. Maybe its the 1/4 panels that are dissipating it well enough...maybe the freezer is small enough to get away with it...who knows.
My point is maybe for everyone who is building a Keezer, leave yourself the option to add on a powered venting system but maybe see if you can get away with not having to mechanically vent.
Has anybody else ever really had a problem with heat being able to dissiapate from the freezer when encased in the wood paneling? On my Keezer that I just built, I have about 2 inch clearance around the freezer with a completely open back and and the lid has space for any heat to vent out the top. I also took a large paddle bit and drilled several holes around the edge of the bottom frame to promote airflow. I dont have any fans or any other ventilation only relying on natural convection to circulate the air up through the encased area. I have my Love controller set to 40 degrees. I stuck a temp probe in the space between the freezer and the panel and it was only like 1 to 2 degrees above ambient temp on the outside of the Keezer.
I have a Holiday 7 Cu. Ft. Chest Freezer from Lowes in my build and maybe I just got lucky but seems like heat dissipation really isnt that great of a concern. I was dreading trying to attempt Jesters fan assembly that he planned for his. Maybe its the 1/4 panels that are dissipating it well enough...maybe the freezer is small enough to get away with it...who knows.
My point is maybe for everyone who is building a Keezer, leave yourself the option to add on a powered venting system but maybe see if you can get away with not having to mechanically vent.
