Converting the Frigidaire 7.2 cu ft Chest Freezer

[duckmanco]

thanks for all the tips everyone, looks like a pretreatment and a gel stain is the way to go, Minwax says the gel stain will stain metal and fiberglass, and if thats the case, it should be able to handle pine.

I'll post update pics as its done, which might not matter as we've seen tons of them done already, and all of them look amazing.

 

[Gritsak]

I used poplar and could not get a good stain using a brush. I had MUCH better results putting some on a rag, rubbing it in evenly, then wiping off. I tried conditioner and it didn't work for crap- made it worse actually. I'd try the rubbing method on a scrap piece before you spend $$ on conditioner.

 

[bob1852]

I used poplar and could not get a good stain using a brush. I had MUCH better results putting some on a rag, rubbing it in evenly, then wiping off. I tried conditioner and it didn't work for crap- made it worse actually. I'd try the rubbing method on a scrap piece before you spend $$ on conditioner.

Thanks for this post. I decided to go with poplar and was planning on just using a brush...

 

[Gritsak]

Thanks for this post. I decided to go with poplar and was planning on just using a brush...

No problem. The poplar stained really nicely i think. I posted pictures on page 7 of this thread. It looks much better in person than the pics, though.

 

[duckmanco]

Jota21 beat me to it, but as a woodworker, I know there are certain species that stain horribly. Such as pine (or spruce/hemlock), maple, cherry, poplar, and several others. You need to block the pores somewhat on these types of woods. You can use conditioner as mentioned or a thin wash coat of shellac. Also, using a gel stain works better than an oil stain. If it were me, I would sand it and start over. If it's too much of a pain, then I wouldn't worry about it.

Minwax's Gel Stain saved this project, hands down without a doubt. This stuff goes on (and odly has the consistency of) barely melted chocolate and flat out covers and doesn't run. I went with "hickory" which wet looks like ebony, but either way, it covered really well and I'm happy with it.

So, anyone attempting to build this out of pine, as I did with a standard pine 2x8 or 2x10, skip the regular stain and go with the Gel Stain. Thanks MW66

 

[mcubed45]

Can anyone give me the exact measurements of the collar they built? Haven't been able to find the fridge locally but sears will ship it to their store here in about a month. Wanted to get started on the collar in the mean time.

Also what is the minimum collar height necessary for mounting the hinges? I plan on having the collar attached to the body, not the lid. I will not be stacking kegs on the hump so I really only need enough height to mount my taps and the hinges onto the collar.

Without modfication the freezer already has enough height to house 1/6 kegs w/ Sankey couplers, correct?

Thanks to everyone for contributing such awesome info

 

[MW66]

Mine is 35 1/8" wide x 21 5/8" deep and its 8 7/8" tall. Mine is tall because I box framed the top. You can see it in my project thread. I will be complete this weekend and be able to show all of the rest of my pictures. I have a small round over (1/8") on the edges. So account for that. That is, if you make it perfectly square on the edges, it will probably hang over a little.

 

[mtbiker278]

I really want to dive into this project!!!

Not to beat a dead horse, but after much searching I'm getting mixed reviews that you can indeed fit 4 skinny ball-lock kegs on the floor. All of my kegs are the Pepsi style skinny ball-lock, and not the converted pin-lock. MW66 has the most recent build, can you confirm this?

A follow-up question is has anyone tried to dent in the compressor hump a tad to make 4 kegs fit instead of just trying to shove them in there? I would assume that the hump wouldn't have any refrigerant lines in it and would just be sheet metal plus insulation (could be wrong though). The only other thing I could think of is trying to make my round kegs square-ish.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[MW66]

I really want to dive into this project!!!

Not to beat a dead horse, but after much searching I'm getting mixed reviews that you can indeed fit 4 skinny ball-lock kegs on the floor. All of my kegs are the Pepsi style skinny ball-lock, and not the converted pin-lock. MW66 has the most recent build, can you confirm this?

A follow-up question is has anyone tried to dent in the compressor hump a tad to make 4 kegs fit instead of just trying to shove them in there? I would assume that the hump wouldn't have any refrigerant lines in it and would just be sheet metal plus insulation (could be wrong though). The only other thing I could think of is trying to make my round kegs square-ish.

Thanks for the feedback!

I cannot fit four (4) on the floor. However, I can fit three (3) and my 15 lb. CO2 tank on the floor. Another keg has to go on the hump. You would need to make your collar tall enough to provide clearance to put one on the hump. I would NOT try to dent in the hump as it's not necessary if you make the collar tall enough. There is no way that I would try to make a round keg square-ish, that's just asking for trouble with sealing. I too have the skinny style Pepsi ball lock kegs. I hope that helps.

 

[Pittbrewer]

subscribed for reference on my own project about to start

 

[mtbiker278]

The square keg was more a sarcastic comment. I have no plans to beat on them as most of them already have enough dents. I think I might end up doing a similar build with the GE 7.0 freezer. I've seen a number of picutres where people got 4 kegs to fit, although it was tight. However, I think it would require a taller collar to fit kegs on the hump (10"). I'd like to have 4 on the floor for serving and one on the hump for carbing with some room for other stuff (bottles/hops/yeast).

There is a frigidaire 9.0ft freezer going for $267 at Lowes at the moment. The 7.2 is $249. Might be worth the extra money.

 

[Quaffer]

The square keg was more a sarcastic comment. I have no plans to beat on them as most of them already have enough dents. I think I might end up doing a similar build with the GE 7.0 freezer. I've seen a number of picutres where people got 4 kegs to fit, although it was tight. However, I think it would require a taller collar to fit kegs on the hump (10"). I'd like to have 4 on the floor for serving and one on the hump for carbing with some room for other stuff (bottles/hops/yeast).

There is a frigidaire 9.0ft freezer going for $267 at Lowes at the moment. The 7.2 is $249. Might be worth the extra money.

For the Frigidaire, there is a (slim) possibility of having two kegs on the hump with three on the floor. So far I have not seen a picture of a Frigidaire 7.2 with four on the floor. I'd love to see it if anybody has a picture.

 

[mtbiker278]

Well I'm probably going to do an upsized build then on the 9.0cuft frigidaire. Hopefully the wiring is similar between the two models.

 

[Quaffer]

Well I'm probably going to do an upsized build then on the 9.0cuft frigidaire. Hopefully the wiring is similar between the two models.

If you need more than four taps, yes that's what I would suggest. In the time I have had this kegerator there has been only once that all taps were in use and another keg was waiting for its turn. I am not a very prolific brewer I suppose, or is it that I drink a lot?

 

[tgriff00]

Very nice.

 

[kdebow]

Looks great!

 

[mtbiker278]

If you need more than four taps, yes that's what I would suggest. In the time I have had this kegerator there has been only once that all taps were in use and another keg was waiting for its turn. I am not a very prolific brewer I suppose, or is it that I drink a lot?

I'm not sure I see myself "Needing" more than four taps, but I would like the option to expand. I saw Jester's build of a 13 cuft freezer with 7 taps, and I was a little jealous. I usually brew on the weekends and typically have two on tap, but I would like to store more and have more variety. I also like the idea of rolling this thing out for parties instead of having the typical giant tub with ice for kegs. Too bad you can't really take it anywhere with you..... or can you? They have bar stool races, why not kegerator races!:rockin:

 

[Quaffer]

I'm not sure I see myself "Needing" more than four taps, but I would like the option to expand. I saw Jester's build of a 13 cuft freezer with 7 taps, and I was a little jealous. I usually brew on the weekends and typically have two on tap, but I would like to store more and have more variety. I also like the idea of rolling this thing out for parties instead of having the typical giant tub with ice for kegs. Too bad you can't really take it anywhere with you..... or can you? They have bar stool races, why not kegerator races!:rockin:

You can move it, but stairs are not fun. Best to keep it at home I think.

 

[pola0502ds]

Without reading the whole thread, i have a question. Just starting to get into kegging myself and converting a used freezer, what is the point of having a seperate high pressure manifold? Then the next question is, what does a manifold really do and why would you want them? I know it distributes the co2 to different locations but I thought you want more secondary regulators so you can adjust the pressure to each keg?

 

[pola0502ds]

You mentioned in the begining of this thread that you were "crash cooling" a car boy, I never heard that term before, what does that mean?

 

[Quaffer]

Without reading the whole thread, i have a question. Just starting to get into kegging myself and converting a used freezer, what is the point of having a seperate high pressure manifold? Then the next question is, what does a manifold really do and why would you want them? I know it distributes the co2 to different locations but I thought you want more secondary regulators so you can adjust the pressure to each keg?

The point of having manifolds is that you do not have to have a secondary regulator for every keg. I use the higher pressure regulator to speed up initial carbonation in a new keg, while I use the low pressure to maintain carbonation. This way I can have a mixture of new and old kegs at the same time.

 

[Quaffer]

You mentioned in the begining of this thread that you were "crash cooling" a car boy, I never heard that term before, what does that mean?

It helps the yeast to settle on the bottom if we cool the carboy at the end of fermentation. The point is to have less suspended yeast when transferring to a keg.

Now I find it to be more trouble than it is worth to lift a full carboy into the kegerator. Lifting out the carboy stirs up some yeast again. If I had a stand-up fridge I would use it.

 

[pola0502ds]

Just trying to understand this because i think I know how your system works and I'm trying to do the same.

You have a Primary regulator that is attached to a high pressure regulator correct? It's not 2 primarys or a primary and a secondary?

The tubing going off your high pressure regulator, is it high pressure rated?

So since you used a manifold, you don't have the option to set your beers at different pressures, correct? Has this become a problem for you? I have wondered if it is really worth having a different regulator for each keg for this purpose.

 

[Quaffer]

Just trying to understand this because i think I know how your system works and I'm trying to do the same.

You have a Primary regulator that is attached to a high pressure regulator correct? It's not 2 primarys or a primary and a secondary?

The tubing going off your high pressure regulator, is it high pressure rated?

So since you used a manifold, you don't have the option to set your beers at different pressures, correct? Has this become a problem for you? I have wondered if it is really worth having a different regulator for each keg for this purpose.

I see what the confusion is. What I really have are two low pressure manifolds, where one is lower pressure than the other. The "not-so-low" pressure one I set to 35 or 40 PSI for initial carbonation. The "low" pressure one is set to 12 - 14 PSI. If I make pop for the kids I set the pressure to 25 PSI after initial carbonation.

This picture shows the real high pressure gauge on the left side. It has a pressure around 800 PSI and it is mostly determined by the bottle temperature. The other two gauges show the pressure in the two low pressure regulators. One is set to a little higher pressure than the other.

I have not found it to be a problem not being able to regulate each keg individually.A bigger problem is to know when to stop initial carbonation. To play it safe and slow I could set a new keg on 12 PSI and wait a week or more for it to carbonate, but I am usually a bit impatient and want it quicker than that.

 

[pola0502ds]

Thanks for answering my questions. So, both of your regulators, are they both the same exact type but you just set them at different levels and call one high pressure and one low pressure?

What your also saying is, it's not a must have feature (this high and low regulator) to carbonate beer and for this keezer build?

 

[Quaffer]

Thanks for answering my questions. So, both of your regulators, are they both the same exact type but you just set them at different levels and call one high pressure and one low pressure?

What your also saying is, it's not a must have feature (this high and low regulator) to carbonate beer and for this keezer build?

Correct on both accounts.

 

[KCBigDog]

I ordered that exact freezer, and am 110% sure that mine will not turn out that nice. Nice work! I'm totally jealous.

 

[pola0502ds]

Is the red gas line hose the best? My local home brew shop sold me the clear..

 

[Rick500]

In my experience, although I do use the red line from my cylinder to my secondary regulators (because it came with the regs), gas line brand is not critical for the relatively short runs that are typical for a home kegerator.

 

[Quaffer]

Is the red gas line hose the best? My local home brew shop sold me the clear..

Red helps me to not be confused about what hose I am holding. I doubt there is a performance difference. If it does not burst or slip off the barbs it should be OK, clear or red.