7.2 cu ft Igloo Keezer...

[cantrell00]

Hello all. Been lurking awhile. Major beer fan. Not into home brewing (yet!) but have always wanted to have my own tap in my man cave.

Anyway. Nothing ground breaking but proud of it nonetheless.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Hello all. Been lurking awhile. Major beer fan. Not into home brewing (yet!) but have always wanted to have my own tap in my man cave.

Anyway. Nothing ground breaking but proud of it nonetheless.

Awesome!

 

[firerat]

Hello all. Been lurking awhile. Major beer fan. Not into home brewing (yet!) but have always wanted to have my own tap in my man cave.

Anyway. Nothing ground breaking but proud of it nonetheless.

Cool.

So you want to build a keezer then?

 

[twistr25]

Yeah, was there supposed to be a picture here??

 

[cantrell00]

Sorry guys.... Computer puked right after I created the first post....

Anyway.. It was built with a 2X4 collar, with a 1/2 poplar & 1/4 oak lamination around the outside. I also trimmed the ID of the collar with a 3/4" aluminum angle. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out...

Here you go...

2 X 4 collar w/ 3/4" styro lining...

After painting..

3/4" Alum trim installed...

Gluing the exterior trim lamination..

While that was setting up, I placed the weather stripping to the bottom of the collar. This worked really well. Air tight seal.

Fit testing the trim...

Gluing/clamping to the collar..

I then countersunk and screwed it down with stainless screws. This was really more for style than anything. I wanted something to accent the faucets without being too loud. The screws really weren't necessary though..

Fit test on the freezer once complete..

Final sanding/prep and spray with Minwax Satin Poly. I left the finish natural. The pine/polar & oak compliment one another nicely.

Marking off the holes for the faucets...

One of the two taps in. Had to wait on the second, CO2 tank, temp controller, etc.. They arrived last night..

Close up of the taps & collar..

 

[Stealthcruiser]

I dig it!

 

[cantrell00]

One question for the experts.... On the Johnson Temp Controller, how do you typically set the temp & the variance for when to shut off/on?

37 with a +/- of 4 degrees?

What has worked best?

 

[twistr25]

One question for the experts.... On the Johnson Temp Controller, how do you typically set the temp & the variance for when to shut off/on?

37 with a +/- of 4 degrees?

What has worked best?

Might be better with a tighter delta. I don't have a Johnson, but my stc1000 works to get back to the original set point before turning off. The further from the set point the longer it'll need to run to get back to it. Mine's only set to +/- 0.5 degree

 

[cantrell00]

Might be better with a tighter delta. I don't have a Johnson, but my stc1000 works to get back to the original set point before turning off. The further from the set point the longer it'll need to run to get back to it. Mine's only set to +/- 0.5 degree

I see. Does that cause the compressor to power up & down often? That was my only concern but I have zero experience with this controller.

 

[twistr25]

Again I don't have the Johnson controller, but mine is a much simpler version, so I'd be surprised if yours doesn't have the same capabilities. I can also set mine to have a up to 10 minute delay between compressor runs, regardless of the temp. So that would be the other thing to set.

 

[cantrell00]

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

 

[twistr25]

One another thing, which may be obvious, but make sure to put your temp probe in a liquid or gel medium. It'll help regulate the temperature much better.

 

[cantrell00]

One another thing, which may be obvious, but make sure to put your temp probe in a liquid or gel medium. It'll help regulate the temperature much better.

I saw that on another site somewhere & have....

I turned things on last night & set the temp 37 +/- 4 degrees. It turns off at 37. Turns back on at 41. Takes a fairly long time to warm up 4 degrees too.

Is 37 too cold?

Pick up my first keg tonight. Palmetto Espresso Porter. Charleston SC.

 

[twistr25]

I think some do it even colder. Suppose it may depend on preferences. Mine takes a while to even warm that half degree, it was moreso the amount of time it takes to get back down to that 37 degree mark I was trying to avoid. Especially if you have a liquid medium which will take longer to regulate.

 

[cantrell00]

Ok. Thanks...

I will do some trial & error with it this weekend. I tend to agree with you that all things being equal, minimizing the temp fluctuations is probably the best approach..

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Pick up my first keg tonight. Palmetto Espresso Porter. Charleston SC.[/QUOTE]



South End Brewing Company?

 

[cantrell00]

http://www.palmettobrewingco.com

 

[cantrell00]

The keg of Porter didn't come in so I picked up a keg of Carolina Copperline Amber Ale, Chapel Hill NC. Not the best I have ever had but certainly not bad.

Surprised at how well the tap went. A little foam on the first glass. Very little on every glass thereafter.

Keezer is set at 35, +/- 1 degree now.