coffin keezer lid strategy?

[taylor310]

I'm still on the fence about a collar vs coffin keezer. This is going into a theater room so the more professional looking he better. I'm not that talented in woodworking or things like this, but I think it'd be a good learning experience. Anyway to the question...

I have a Kenmore 14.8 cu ft freezer and the inner liner on the lid has a light and this very strange curvature to it. I am not sure what the best plan of attack would be for it. Maybe just take the liner and insulation out and attach some kind of rigid insulation to the inside of the outer lid? The curve also limits space inside the keezer. It restricts what kegs can go where. Taking the liner out would give me another couple of inches at the middle of it, if I took the co2 out and put it into the cabinet I woudknt even need to mother with the collar. Another option would be a small collar and just keep the liner/ insulation intact. I'm curious how other people attackes the lids on a larger chest freezer that has this built in light and curvature to it.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I just put a cheap collar on my black kenmore 8.8cf freezer. I got tired of opening it to use picnic taps to dispense beer. I am planning on building a coffin down the road and I was just waiting. I built the collar out of 2x8 boards with mitered corners. Works well. I am planning on completely removing the lid and building a wooden bar top with automotive gas lifters to hold it open. And then the standard fancy led accent lighting and copper backsplash behind the drip tray. My lid is super flimsy and not worth messing around with. When I built the collar I punched a small hole in the back that a gas line barely fits through. It hooks up to my 6-way distributer just fine. That was I can keep the co2 outside. I use 5# and 10# tanks for the keezer. The larger 20# tank is on carbonation duty and will be permanently moved to the bright tanks soon. Just need to build those.

I should note that the 2x8's give me a 7" collar. I can fit (5) 5-gallon ball lock kegs on the bottom and 2 more on the hump with this setup. This way I can run 4-taps with backups on deck for the kegs ready to kick. The curvy part inside the lid is fairly soft and deforms pretty easy if you have a slight interference giving way to the keg or co2.