Another Keezer build... Jester Rip-off

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Subscribed! And looking great.

I apologize for the sheer laziness, but I didn't have time to read the thread this morning. Are you planning on putting panelling or a base around the freezer, or are you merely going with a bar top and a base with casters on the bottom?

I just bought a 7.1 chest freezer last night and think I might steal your designs!!!!

 

[bmbigda]

Me2

I had to buy 2 oak boards from Lowes last week and I was kinda shocked by the price. If you arent in a rush, you might try shopping that around a bit.

If it's reasonably close to you, and you want to go to ikea, Downs and Reader in Stoughton MA is the place to go for any finished carpentry lumber.

 

[bmbigda]

I have the same chest freezer, and I can get 7 kegs like you estimate. You technically can get 8, but it's more trouble than it's worth.

 

[mtbiker278]

I will be putting some face-frame style cabinetry around the front of the keezer stained the same color as the wood trim on the lid. I just need to find the time to do so. I've had 4 weddings to go to this year, and another one this weekend. I'm starting to see why it took Jester so long to finish his build.

Take a look at his cause I'm likely going to do something similar. Face-framing with pocket holes securing everything. Firring strips to screw the large pieces together, and 1/2" rabbiting around the inside of the frame to hold a 1/4" sheet of oak plywood.

I still need to rig up all the plumbing, but I have three taps operational at the moment. I wired together two computer fans using 9V wall wort I had from some old portable house phones. One cools the coffin, the other blows air around in the freezer. They run constantly, and it definitely helps to keep the temps consistent.

 

[bmbigda]

I will be putting some face-frame style cabinetry around the front of the keezer stained the same color as the wood trim on the lid. I just need to find the time to do so. I've had 4 weddings to go to this year, and another one this weekend. I'm starting to see why it took Jester so long to finish his build.

Take a look at his cause I'm likely going to do something similar. Face-framing with pocket holes securing everything. Firring strips to screw the large pieces together, and 1/2" rabbiting around the inside of the frame to hold a 1/4" sheet of oak plywood.

I still need to rig up all the plumbing, but I have three taps operational at the moment. I wired together two computer fans using 9V wall wort I had from some old portable house phones. One cools the coffin, the other blows air around in the freezer. They run constantly, and it definitely helps to keep the temps consistent.

Like I said above, I have the same chest freezer and a very similar bar build (irish coffin, 4 facets). I keep saying I'm going to rig something up to cool the coffin, and your idea has me thinking.

Right now, and for the past year and a half, I've got nothing cooling the coffin whatsoever. Each facet is hooked up to 6 or 7 ft of beer line, and 8-10 inches of it sits in the warm coffin, the rest inside the freezer. This results in a small issue (as you are aware since you took the measures to avoid it)...your first pour of the day is half foam, then the lines cool down and the subsequent pours are fine.

my question for you is...does you computer fan method completely solve this problem? If it does I'm definitely going to start adding that feature to my bar.

 

[mtmeyer32]

Mine are just sitting on top with nothing adhering them to the lid. I liked Jester's idea of being able to replace them if needed.

I really liked the interchangeable tile idea as well, but being in a college apartment with 3 other guys I can almost guarantee that a lot of beer will be spilled on the tiles. The challenge for me is making it durable enough to with stand parties and good looking enough that a future SWMBO will let me keep it when I graduate in a year.

I am thinking of just sealing the plywood base and then laying the tiles in like you did. How do your backsplash tiles stay in place mtbiker?

Good luck with your build mtmeyer32!

Thanks, Hop! I think I might start a build thread here soon. I have been taking pics like crazy.

 

[mtbiker278]

I'm not sure the computer fans solved the foaming issues cause I'm running really short lines. However, it did seem to help a lot with keeping consistent temperatures, which can only help any foaming issues you might have. Ideally I'd have a duct going down to the bottom of the keezer to pull air for cooling the coffin, but I'll leave that until I add some longer lines.

the backsplash tiles are held in place by the drip tray on the bottom, and a smal piece of foam wedged between the tiles and the tap board. There's a 3/8" gap between the back of the tap board and the plywood coffin underlying structure. You can see if in some of the construction side shots. As for making the whole thing durable you could give the underlying wood a couple coats of polyurethane to seal everything before laying down the tiles. Considering this is a college keezer I would do at least 3 coats on everything. That way if you ever do get water stains you can simple buff or sand them out without going through the finish.

Hope this helps!

 

[mtbiker278]

Hey Everyone!

I'm moving into the final part of the Keezer construction. I have all my plumbing supplies ordered for the 5 taps thanks to KegConnection. I had previously ordered a 2 keg kit from them, and I wanted to re-use the same gas and beverage hose. I also picked up a 5 outlet gas manifold.

My next plan is to get the bottom fans mounted into the dolly along with the 1/4"ply to direct the airflow. Not really looking forward to this since it'll involve removing the lid completely. After that and all the plumbing is in place I'll start on the face framing for the outside skirt.

I've already made some 6 batches of beer these past weeks, so if all goes as planned I'll have a completely full keezer to show-off around thanksgiving. Wish me luck!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Good luck....can't wait to see the keezer in all it's glory! What is the first pint you pull off of this masterpiece going to be?

 

[mtbiker278]

Well technically I've already had a soft launch to get things operational. But the first official pint on the grand opening will likely be my DFH 60min IPA clone modified from Yooper's recipe.

One thing I've been noticing though is I get a lot of condensation forming inside the keezer. I'm not sure if it's just from the lid being open, or if moisture is seeping in from the coffin. Either way I'm toweling out a puddle every time I've been opening the lid to check on something. It has been rather humid lately, and the keezer only has one full keg in it at the moment. Anyone else experience this?

 

[mtbiker278]

Finally got around to building the skirt. I recommend planning out your construction well. I mitered the corners to get a better look, but it was a pain to assemble without having a gap. However, it's pretty similar to Jester's build where it has firring strip connecting the sides to the front.

With one coat of Stain

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Sweet......looks fantastic, keep the progress and pics coming!

 

[astewart]

Right now I still open the lid and dispense via picnic tap. It would be nice to have a set up that looks as good as yours in the future.

The heat exchange for these freezers/keezers is through the walls. Does the skirt addition give any problems with operation?

 

[mtbiker278]

I'll have fans blowing air from the bottom through the inside of the skirt and blowing the hot air out of the top where there's a gap between the lid and the skirt. I will say I wouldn't put a skirt on without some sort of active air circulation.

 

[astewart]

I thought you were putting insulation in the space. If you have a gap on the bottom, sides and top I suppose convection would take care of the air exchange. Is the back covered as well or is it covered on three sides?

 

[mtbiker278]

Just three sides, and no insulation on the inside, just an air gap. I suppose convection would work, but i'd rather not take the chance of overheating things. Fans are cheap for the most part, new chest freezers aren't so much.

 

[astewart]

Do you have the fans on the same circuit so they kick in when the temp control turns the freezer on?

 

[mtbiker278]

right now they are wired on a separate power supply and run constantly. I might switch that if I ever change my temp controller to a 2-stage controller. Currently I'm just running a johnson digital temp controller plugged into just the freezer.

 

[mtbiker278]

Here it is in all it's glory. I hope it can live up to the Jester model! Enjoy!

Pardon the not quite in focus shots. My EVO was all I had at the momentous completion!

 

[kklowell]

Very nice!

 

[Im_Lars]

It turned out great. Good job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bigbeergeek]

I'd drink beer out of it.

 

[KUbrew]

Great build! Looks like flawless construction, I'm very impressed. Are you still having condensation problems? I've got a similar unit and I think the fans blowing air into the coffin is bringing in moist air from the outside down into the freezer. I've tried several things but nothing seemed to help during the summer months, not as bad this winter though.

 

[mtbiker278]

Thanks for the comments! Best remedy I've found is leaving a towel in the bottom to soak up the condensation. I'll change the towel out every so often with a dry one. Other than that I don't really see much else that can be done

 

[KUbrew]

That's what i've resorted to as well. I think this summer I might buy a small dehumidifier and see if it helps.

 

[bigbeergeek]

I've been using scrap cardboard in the bottom of mine...

 

[mtbiker278]

thought about that but I've seen too many cases of mold in a cold room/refrigerator when cardboard has been used. If anything I might pick up a big jar of desiccant from work and place that into the keezer.

 

[ferd36]

I am building a keezer and am going through ordering all the parts. Where did you order the drip tray from? Everyone I find is either super expensive or has a plastic insert. I am looking for a stainless steel flush mount with drain.

 

[Tat2nBrew]

I am building a keezer and am going through ordering all the parts. Where did you order the drip tray from? Everyone I find is either super expensive or has a plastic insert. I am looking for a stainless steel flush mount with drain.

I ordered mine through Keg Connection but it wasn't cheap.

 

[mtbiker278]

The one I got was through Beverage Factory. At 36" all stainless you're looking at $100+. Not sure how much the drain adds on. Basically there aren't any cheap large driptrays anywhere.

 

[BigLuke]

I am building a keezer and am going through ordering all the parts. Where did you order the drip tray from? Everyone I find is either super expensive or has a plastic insert. I am looking for a stainless steel flush mount with drain.

This Amazon.com: Beer Drip Tray 24" Stainless Steel Surface Mount Drain Tray, with Drain: Kitchen & Dining is the one that I went with and couldn't be happier. I flush mounted it by routering out the base plywood and adding tile around it. It is only 24" but it is all stainless. You can go 36" but the insert is plastic i think.

Mine can be seen here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-shameless-jester-rip-off-keezer-build-279003/

 

[jgs13]

Do you have to move the keezer to open the lid? How do you keep the coffin from hitting the wall? I'm trying to decide if I want to go with a coffin build or just a simple collar and that is one of my concerns.

 

[mtbiker278]

yeah you have to pull the keezer out from the wall to open the lid. Fully loaded it can be a bit difficult by yourself (wishing I went with ball bearing casters), but I only have to move it maybe a foot and 1/2 away from the wall. You could build the lid such that the coffin was more centered on the lid instead of pushed back. I like having the extra counter space.

 

[jgs13]

Yeah I thought about casters too. I may do that either way I go. I got a good deal on a 12.8 cf chest so when that is full moving won't be an option. Your wood work looks great, thanks for the post.

 

[mtbiker278]

Posting up a better picture since the last couple were kind of blurry and dark.

 

[coroboto]

I believe I have this correct.... you removed the lid so you do not have to route your lines through the lid?

Currently I have a freezer that will fit four plus corny kegs, four kegs, four taps (barb and spigot) a four way Co2 splitter, a Co2 tank and all my lines...and a four spigot tower. The freezer is top load.

I have seen this style keezer and another style keezer that just puts a foot extension between base and lid with spigots in the extension.

what should I do? any suggestions? I really want to make this a SIMPLE project that I can improve upon later.

I guess I just cut a hole in the lid of my freezer to feed my supply lines through it?

Please advise....I hate making waste.

 

[mtbiker278]

The simplest thing would be to make a collar for your chest freezer. No need to cut into the lid then, and you can always upgrade to a coffin keezer later. Do some more searching on here. There are literally hundreds of builds in the DIY section.

 

[rwagner23]

I'm tagging this for reference. Gonna start building my in January or sometime after then.

 

[troubled_dog]

Sweet build! As I was looking though the build I noticed you were from Frederick! I grew up in Frederick! I hope when I get around to building a kegger it turns out this good. Great build.

 

[killjoy08]

For your dolly, the simple 4 2x6's with a piece of plywood, did that hold the weight of everything needed? I have a 15 cu ft freezer and have seen some beefed up dolly's with several 2x4's running support and to as simple as yours. I was looking at running two 2x4's horizontally as an upper and lower, and several 2x4's running vertically, but wasn't sure if that was overkill?