New Keezer Build

A few weeks ago I finally got around to purchasing a kegging/tap system. So I've been thinking about what I want my keezer to look like and after several weeks of planning and browsing these forums I finally went out to home depot today and bought all the supplies necessary to make my keezer.

I scoured craigslist for a chest freezer, but didn't turn up any results, so I'm getting a new one delivered in a couple days.

I've attached the Google SketchUp plan.

I'll outline some of the details in later posts to try and hit my 25 so the image will show up properly. (edit: maybe they do already?)

You can kind of see above that the coffin is going to be open. I've thought long and hard about the cooling, and I've rigged the following together:

Measurements are inner diameter.
3/16" Beer line (inside of a)
1/2" cooling line (inside of)
1/2" insulation (inside of a)
1 1/2" chrome pipe

Between the chrome pipe and the beer shanks will be a hollow Styrofoam box into which the cooling tubes will outlet. Two pipes will have a fan attached to the end sucking air through. This should cause a vacuum so they should be pulling cool air through the other two pipes.

There's glass tile as the base on the inside of the coffin, and I also plan to do some lighting around the top (yes, the entire thing was mostly inspired by Jester's keezer)

Unfortunately two of the four taps are going to be empty for the time being. First of all, I just don't consume that much beer (what a shame) but also, it's expensive!

Any advice or criticisms would be well received.

Cheers!

I've attached pictures of some rough sketches I did for the pipe cooling system. They're side/top cutaway views, and I hope they make sense.

I also uploaded a picture with the different pipes and how they fit within one another. the chrome pipe ended up being actually 1 1/2". The insulation was thicker than i had assumed. Also, the top view shows arrows for three tubes going in and one out, but I figured it makes more sense to even that to two and two.

Ok, I've finally received all supplies I need, now it's onto building! I got the beer line in the mail and the outer diameter is way bigger than I had anticipated, but it seems like it should fit within the insulation, without the cooling tube, and it should work fine. After many tests with a fan system pulling air through the insulation tube is doesn't seem like it'll leak any air.

Mid-build, some crappy cell phone pics. I'm pretty proud of it so far!

Looking good! The combo coffin/tower is an interesting idea. I look forward to seeing more progress.

Some final pictures (still need to get the skirt on it.)

I haven't poured a pint yet, mostly because I haven't found a place to fill up my CO2 tank, but hopefully that'll happen soon.

I took me forever to figure out how to wire the temperature control, and I'm still not exactly sure if I did it right. Anyway, the air seems to be pulling up into the coffin alright. Not as strong as I really want since I'm just using two computer fans, but hopefully it'll work to keep the beer cold enough coming out of the tap. I'll update once I get my first pull.

Cheers!

that is a pretty cool and unique way to mount the taps. i like it.

pretty sharp - make sure you post this to the "show us your kegerator" page. This is a unique idea.

Nice! Congrats on your build, it looks awesome. I hope to join your ranks on the "show us your kegerator" thread this weekend. Putting the finishing touches on mine tonight as well as sanitizing the beer lines. I have 3 kegs that have been carbing for about a week, but I had them at 30 psi for the first 30 hrs. Hopefully they are carbed for tomorrow and I can not only add my keezer pics to the thread, but also my first 3 pulls off of it. Again, great work and I hope your keezer brings you many years of enjoyment!

Freakin awsome! Glass storage under the taps......killer!

Cheers

Where did you get the drip tray??? Is that a "real" drip tray or something re-purposed??

The drip try was bought through Beverage factory: http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/driptray/surface/DT-5530-ND.shtml. It was quite expensive, but I feel like it was definitely worth it for the end result.

I still have yet to get beer in this! I've had some sitting in kegs for a while, but my first attempt at rigging up the temperature controller failed, so I just bought an easier one (plug in one side and out the other.) Waiting for it to arrive is killing me!

Three words for you... "Can I have?"

Did you paint it with chalkboard paint or is it just a Black Freezer?

Great build! I used the same tiles (Home Depot Special) on my collar as well. It gives a real clean look.

It's actually just standard black interior paint. I put a bunch of coats on. Doesn't seem like I'll have any problems unless i really scratch at it.

I like the glass tile on the collar too. I've noticed a few people use them. Its a reasonably cheap way to get a classy look, I think.

What is the spacing between the taps? And how deep is the inside of the coffin???