8-10keg Keezer Build

[DirtyMcCurdy]

Right now, I've got a 4-tap converted refrigerator that I use as my kegerator. I can fit 5 kegs in it, but I only have 4 shanks/faucets on it at the moment.

I've got a lot of buddies who brew and I throw a lot of parties, so I figured it was time to upgrade. Plus, my brewing buddies drink so much of my beer they're willing to brew a batch to fill a keg for me from time to time.

Today, I bought a 23cuft freezer off of Craigslist for $150. It's got some surface rust on it, but it's gonna be nice and pretty when I'm done. I'll probably end up sanding it down and using some of the Rust Doctor stuff used in Joe C's Project Monsterator thread.

I've got a large nitrogen cylinder on order from eBay which should be arriving Thursday. The plan, for now, is 8 faucets (6x creamers + 2x stout faucets on nitrogen). I'm lucky enough to live within driving distance to both KegConnection's warehouse and Austin Homebrew so I'm going to save a ton on shipping. I've priced out all the equipment I'm going to need at both places and compared prices. Some stuff is cheaper at AHS and some is cheaper at KC. I'll run by AHS first and see what they can do for price-matching and then run down to KC to pick up the rest.

Without further adeau, here's my future keezer:

Closeup of surface rust on top
Outside with the lid closed
Outside with the lid open (and a corny keg sitting on the compressor hump)
Inside view with 9" construction paper circles -- You can see there that without using the compressor hump, it'll be insanely easy to fit 8 kegs inside. Depending on how large I go with my collar, I may end up using the compressor hump for storing a couple kegs so I have ready-carbed backfill kegs. We'll see.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

From the looks of it, you won't need a collar... I bet you could easily fit 12 kegs, if not 14, on the floor from the looks of the spacing between your construction paper circles, making the hump just a great place to place bottles, mugs, etc. Do a test fit with actual kegs, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Or if you plan on having the co2 and nitro tanks inside the freezer too, that still leaves you space for 10-12 kegs, so plenty to have carbing and aging for when you kick a keg.

Good luck!

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

I'm weighing my options here; I've got a bit of a hinge problem. The hinge springs are completely broken, so the lid must be held up by hand any time it's opened... and the hinges are really strange.

Here are some pictures of how the hinges look after I removed the inside of the lid and the insulation:

Top view
Outside view
Inside view
Top-inside view


Putting a collar on with these hinges is going to be a major PITA. I know I can go buy some industrial-strength freezer hinges, but I'd rather not drill into the back of the freezer and hit a coolant line.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[fuzzybee]

I'm interested in seeing what you do with the hinges - I have the same type hinges on my freezer, but I want to put a collar on it.

Is that a Kenmore? It looks very similar to my Craigslist find.

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

I'm interested in seeing what you do with the hinges - I have the same type hinges on my freezer, but I want to put a collar on it.

Is that a Kenmore? It looks very similar to my Craigslist find.

Yeah, it's a Kenmore.

 

[Fletch]

If you can get new hinges, that will work with that lid, this is what you do: Build your collar out of 2x if you want, or 1x plus rigid foam insulation. Then add a finish grade outer layer (cabinet quality veneer, stain grade ply, MDF, your choice) which you cut and inch or so taller than your base structure, to extend down the outside walls of the freezer. Whenl the box is done, you can set it with a bead of silicone caulk on the sealing edce of the freezer, and let it cure for a day. Then you can simply attach the new hinges to the back of your collar. I built my first collar that way, using just baltic birch cabinet ply and 2" rigid foam, worked fine.

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

I've thought about doing that; I'm either going to build a box on top of the lid in lieu of a collar, or remove the hinges altogether and build a box around the whole thing.and mount new hinges to that.


One other idea I was playing with was routing out some holes so I can use the existing hinges, but I'm not sure how well that's going to work. I might try it on some test-wood in the next couple of days and see what kind of luck I have with it.

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

This frame is what the keezer sits on. We mounted 6x casters that are rated for 300lbs each. The frame itself is made from 2x6's and 2x4s.

Here are a few closeups of the base:

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

This is the box that is going to house the faucets; it sits on top of the lid. It's insulated with one of those pads of foam insulation secured with liquid nails. I caulked all of the interior wood-on-wood seams, too.

Here are the sloppy cuts on the lid. That black stuff is just metal debris and bits of cutting-wheel that got chewed off. What you can't see in this picture is the wooden frame we built on the inside to reinforce the floppy sheet metal. The box on top is pretty heavy, and we didn't want the damned thing to fall apart on us.

Holes complete and mildly deburred -- sanded 'em down to hit them with another coat of paint.

The inside of the lid after we hit it with some insulation + liquid nails:

Decided to fill in the gaps here with "great stuff" foam insulation and then stick another pad on top of it with liquid nails -- that'll give the underside of the lid a nice clean look, and it'll be pretty well insulated.

Went a little crazy with the spray-in insulation + liquid nails, but better safe than sorry, right?

 

[Fletch]

I've thought about doing that; I'm either going to build a box on top of the lid in lieu of a collar, or remove the hinges altogether and build a box around the whole thing.and mount new hinges to that.

You can't box up the whole thing without leaving an air gap and installing muffin faans or the like for ventilation. Remember the whole outside skin is the condenser surface - the heat removed from inside the freezer has to be passed into the air outside.

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

You can't box up the whole thing without leaving an air gap and installing muffin faans or the like for ventilation. Remember the whole outside skin is the condenser surface - the heat removed from inside the freezer has to be passed into the air outside.

Yeah, I'm just going with paint for now -- I'll make it pretty later. I'm already about $1300-1500 into this project with all of the parts, fittings, tanks, etc. Right now, about all I can really afford to put on the outside is a few cans of Kilz primer and Rustoleum appliance paint.

 

[JGB]

Nice! :rockin:

I'm thinking about setting up something like this in my garage... the TX summer is coming and I need a place to ferment at a chilly 65F.

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

My phone can only record 60 seconds of video at a time, but I got a couple quick videos of the freezer and some of the components pre-assembly.

Video of the freezer:

Video of components:

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

All that's left is mounting the faucets and caulking around the front of the box! Should get that done tonight.

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

Got 6 faucets mounted.

 

[DirtyMcCurdy]

She's pretty well done at this point.

 

[diatonic]

Holy crap that's a lot of taps. Awesome.

 

[blue77]

Impressive