Building My Coffin (Keezer)

[J2W2]

After a couple years on my wish list, I finally built my keezer. I started in mid-November, and spent about three months completing it. Initially I was planning on a basic build featuring a wood collar with taps through it. Then I came across a coffin keezer in this forum, and my entire build changed. I need to give a big thank-you to Jester and all the others who laid the groundwork for me.

Because of size constraints, I couldn’t use anything too large, but I wanted something that would hold five pin lock kegs. I settled on the Kenmore 12912, a 9 cubic foot freezer.



Five empty pin locks barely fit in this freezer (three on the floor and two on the hump), which I knew would never work with full kegs. I decided to build a false bottom to level the floor with the compressor hump. I added a collar made with two pieces of 1” stock on the outside, 1.5” rigid insulation in the middle, and another piece of 1” stock on the inside. The outside piece on the sides and front is wider than the others, so it extends over the outside of the freezer to hold it in place. Both pieces on the back extend over the freezer, and are attached to it with machine screws into the existing hinge holes.



My keezer sits on carpet, so I didn’t want wheels under it. I built a base out of ½” particle board, used 1”x2” stock to create air ducts, and four AC Infinity AI-MPF120A fans for cooling. They are silent but move a good amount of air. I glued a piece of hardboard on the bottom of the base, so that the entire build slides on the carpet when I need to move it.



I wanted a design that let me access the freezer without having to move it. I removed the freezer top and replaced it with a two-piece top, made out of 1.5” rigid insulation, with ¼” plywood on top and hardboard on the bottom. I pushed the tower back as far as possible, for good access to the freezer. The back part of the top has a fan to cool the tower, and a hole for the beer lines. The piece of 2” square dowel on the back helps support the tower. The two pieces of cord on the main top section let me easily lift it.



I built the tower out of oak. The tower base is two pieces of ½” plywood, which attaches to the back of the collar with ¼” bolts. The top is made out of two sheets of ½” particle board, glued together. The cutout in the top sheet of particle board recesses the drip tray.



To insulate the tower, I used more of the 1.5” rigid insulation. The insulation has an inverted U shaped channel, for air circulation. I used a Dremel to shave out the bottom channels to fit the 3” holes in the top, for good air flow.



This is the tower, upside down, with the base removed and the insulation installed. At this point I’ve installed my shanks and beer lines. The small cutout in the back of the foam is so I can access two of the ¼” bolts that hold the tower on. Just one of several adjustments I had to make as I went.



Here’s a view from behind, with the freezer sitting on the cooling base, the gas lines in place, and the controller installed. I later moved the controller so that it faces straight up; that allows me to access it without having to move the keezer.



Inside, showing the back of the collar with the beer lines and three-way splitters. I have a 10lb CO2 tank with a dual regulator, so each splitter can have a different pressure. The center gas line is for my Nitrogen tank. Both tanks are located outside the keezer.



Here's the setup with three kegs installed. I have a fan on the inside to circulate air. The small white object is a remote temperature and humidity sensor. This view really shows how much of the freezer is accessible.

 

[J2W2]

The enclosure is a three-sided cabinet, built out of oak plywood, trimmed with oak corner bead and ¼”x2” oak trim. I ripped 2x4s into 2x2s to support it, and used cabinet magnets to hold it in place on the sides of the freezer. The cabinet has a ½” gap around the collar to allow air flow from the base. It sits on the floor and has carpet glides on the 2x2s so I can slide it away if I need to.



Here is the completed tower with the lid and cabinet in place. The particle board lid has been sealed and trimmed with oak. The tower has four Perlick 650ss faucets, and a stout faucet.



The finished product. The lid is covered with 13” porcelain tile, which are dry-fit on a layer of closed-cell floor underlayment. The oak trim around the tower and drip tray are also dry-fit. The lid could probably be removed with the tile in place, but it is very heavy. By dry fitting everything, I can remove the tile and easily lift the lid off to access the freezer. The tower has a 13”x20” tile recessed into the oak on the top and sides.



Here’s the entire keezer, with the lights on. It has a strip of LED lights under the tower trim, and a second strip under the lid trim. They are kind of hard to see with the camera flash.



It was hard to get a focused picture, without the flash, that really showed the lighting. This was the best one I could get.



A final shot, showing a closer view of the lid and tower.

 

[user 40839]

Nicely done! Love the idea of the cabinet magnets, didn't think they'd be strong enough to hold securely!

 

[J2W2]

Love the idea of the cabinet magnets, didn't think they'd be strong enough to hold securely!

They are called High Rise Heavy Duty, from Home Depot. If you look at the picture, each one has eight little magnets in it. I actually set them back a hair, so they don't actually touch the freezer, and they still pull right to it when they get close.

 

[user 40839]

They are called High Rise Heavy Duty, from Home Depot. If you look at the picture, each one has eight little magnets in it. I actually set them back a hair, so they don't actually touch the freezer, and they still pull right to it when they get close.

Excellently done. How many did you end up using?

Also the lights... love me the lights. Almost did some LED lighting in mine, but ended up not bothering - which I regret. Guess I could go back and do it, although will be parting with her soon, sniff!

 

[J2W2]

Excellently done. How many did you end up using?

I only have four, two on each side, near the back. You can't really see it in the front, but I have a 2x4 with a 2x2 glued to it to support the corners. I thought I'd measured everything out to give it a little gap, but it fits tight. So there's no problem holding that section in place.

I'd thought about making each piece separate, to make it easy to get out of the way if I take it off, but I couldn't come up with a good way to do that and put the corner trim on that I used. If I'd gone with the wide trim I see on a lot of builds (1x3s or 4s I'm guessing), I could have probably done something with dowels to hold each piece together, used more magnets to hold each piece in place, and still been able to break it down if need be. Maybe for Keezer Build II.

Also the lights... love me the lights. Almost did some LED lighting in mine, but ended up not bothering - which I regret. Guess I could go back and do it, although will be parting with her soon, sniff!

Yeah, I had just read your post when I was putting mine out. It's a beautiful build - I'd be looking hard for a place to keep her. Since you're building a new office, maybe it can double as a stand-up desk! Or maybe you can find a friend willing to "baby sit" her for a few years, in exchange for some beer.

 

[user 40839]

Yeah, I had just read your post when I was putting mine out. It's a beautiful build - I'd be looking hard for a place to keep her. Since you're building a new office, maybe it can double as a stand-up desk! Or maybe you can find a friend willing to "baby sit" her for a few years, in exchange for some beer.

Hah there's just no room at the inn. The irony is that I had a second keezer in the garage when I was brewing at full output with four taps that I sold to a buddy last year for next to nothing, since he was desperate to get away from bottling, and had helped me with building a deck. Nothing anywhere near as fancy as mine, but would have done the job perfectly for the plan I have rolling around in my head. If I'd kept it, I know he's have given the Queen a home at least temporarily, if not permanently. Oh well. Looking at the skyrocketed cost of components, think she'll be getting dismantled in the coming weeks, since I'd need to sell her for quite a bit to cover the cost of replacing her!

My situation aside though, great build again. REALLY dig the concept of the magnets, I'm kinda disgusted I never thought of that myself!!