3 Keezer Pre-Construction Questions

Hi there, I had a couple questions I thought people with more experience might be able to chime in on.

1. I am planning on using 2x6s for collar and would like to stain the completed collar before I attach it to the freezer. Should I leave the bottom part unstained to facilitate better adhesion to the freezer?

2. What can I use to properly plug extra tap holes? ( I only have 1 tap at the moment)

3. What type of paint would work best re-painting the white? exterior of my deep freezer?

 

I can answer the first qustion. I just posted my keezer, and I used the original seal. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/keezer-v1-9-a-383788/

Painting the out side I would us a scuff pad (red) don't need to make it bare metal. If you do just prime and scuff again. I us a high quality gloss finish for metal. Try your local paint supplier for a body shop.

 

Are you going to poly the wood too? I think glossy is better for adhesion. I highly recommend using a quality bathroom silicone caulk to attach the collar. It's very strong and fairly easy to remove if necessary.

Why drill them now? You can always add them later. It's pretty easy to drill the hole and your tap skirt will cover any marks you make with the drill.

Get appliance paint. You can find it an any hardware store.

 

If you don't mind a non uniform look when you drill your holes (I'm guessing they are 15/16"?) you can cut plugs out of the appropriate sized dowel to plug them. Fairly simple, but obviously grain and color and species of wood would not match.

 

1. I would highly recommend not sealing the bottom at all, but using a double-hinge system where you can lift the lid if you are just adjusting co2 pressure or are switching around disconnects, and then lifting both the collar and the lid for adding in new kegs or cleaning out the bottom. I first built a keezer for my friend and he didn't like the idea of a double hinge system, and now he regrets not doing it, especially whenever there's a spill in the bottom. I built a keezer and made a double hinge system, and I'm glad I did. Makes life a lot easier.

2. You can buy chrome plugs at HD or Lowe's. 1" plugs. They'll be in the fastener aisle. Just tell the person working that you have a 1" round hole that you would like temporarily covered over and they should show you what you need.

3. Do NOT use latex-based. Big mistake on my part. Get some oil-based stuff. The latex-based stuff is not nearly as durable.

 

If you have a buddy with a wood lathe have them make plugs with a larger diameter round part for the outside. (Think mushroom shape). It will look sharp in a contrasting wood colour until you install the next tap or taps. Use the outside showing round part the same diameter as your tap ring diameter (Think black plastic outside part ) Simply knock it out when ready to add a tap. If is too loose, use black electrician's tape to build it up if needed.

 

2. I would strongly discourage drilling holes for the shank(s) before you need them. I would recommend drilling only the holes you need for now, but lay it out such that you can add more later and still have it look good. I built my kegerator with an upright 'fridge that already had one hole drilled for a faucet. I laid out a few different patterns using masking tape, then put a piece of tape on the inside with the center to center measurement (If I remember correctly, I went 2.5" on center with 3 taps initially. I plan to someday expand to 5). When it's time to add a faucet, use blue painters tape in an "X" pattern in the area where you need to drill the hole, then you can mark the center, and drill the hole with minimal scarring of the finish. Also, when your pilot bit breaks through the collar, finish the hole from the opposite side to minimize tearout.

3. I used "Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy" from home depot. It came out really nice, especially considering I didn't do a very good job. 1 quart was enough for two coats on a standard size upright fridge, with some leftover. I used a 4" foam roller and applied the second coat perpendicular to the first. There were a few imperfections that I could have avoided and/or repaired, but it still looks nicer than my regular fridge. If I wanted a concourse quality finish, I would have done a wet sand or scuff between coats to fix the few runs and fisheyes that I got. As it is, I'm the only one who's ever noticed them.

 

thanks for the input guys, thats exactly what I needed. I gotta head off to lowes now to get some wood cut.