DOwnsides of Tall Collars?

[Skarekrough]

So I've started my keezer project and building the collar for it.

I had a bunch of 1 x 11 wood around and decided I would try to make a collar out of it. It's taller than I really need by about 7 inches but figured I would at least try it.

Its come out pretty well so far but I'm wondering if there is any negative aspect to doing a tall collar. It appears to be taller than most of the ones I have seen built on here.

I don't really need the space but, as I stated, I had the wood on hand.

 

[lustreking]

The main downside that I can think of is that you'll have to lift the full kegs higher to put them in the freezer.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Yep. the higher it is the harder to load. And none of us are getting younger.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Assuming the collar is attached to the base and not the lid. M collar was attached to the lid when I had one to avoid adding space to lift over. Added weight to the lid but no biggy. Why not cut the lumber down to the size you need?

 

[billtzk]

Well, you could attach the collar to the lid instead of to the freezer, so you wouldn't have to lift the kegs that high. But it'll be heavy, so you might need to upgrade the spring hinges on your freezer. My collar is only 3/4 inch thick 1x6 oak, and it's heavy enough as it is. Mine is also double hinged so I can lift just the keezer lid by itself, or lift the lid and the collar together. The only time I lift the collar is to move kegs in and out.

If your keezer is in a place where you wouldn't mind attaching a pulley to a ceiling joist over it, you could use that to aid in lifting the kegs in and out over your 11 inch collar.

But really, 11 inches is way more than you need for a collar. Six inches works great for most freezers and has a nice clean proportional look. Eight inches will do the trick for a shallow freezer, and also maintains a nice proportional profile. Eleven inched, IMO, will look odd.

If you have a table saw, you could rip that wood down to 6 inches or 8 inches. I think you'd be much happier with the weight and appearance.

If you have a bunch of manifolds and/or bulky secondary regulators, an 8 inch collar will make it easier to find mounting space for them.

 

[0110x011]

you might run into issues with a temp difference between the beer in your kegs and the beer in your lines. If the faucets are too high it puts the lines too far from the walls of the freezer, which is where your refrigeration is coming from. If you don't pull a beer frequently enough and the beer in the lines gets warmer than the beer in the kegs, the beer in the lines will come out as foam, which you'll have to discard before you can pull off a good beer. This is the same issue people with converted fridges run into a lot, due to temp stratification.

 

[shroomzofdoom]

you might run into issues with a temp difference between the beer in your kegs and the beer in your lines. If the faucets are too high it puts the lines too far from the walls of the freezer, which is where your refrigeration is coming from. If you don't pull a beer frequently enough and the beer in the lines gets warmer than the beer in the kegs, the beer in the lines will come out as foam, which you'll have to discard before you can pull off a good beer. This is the same issue people with converted fridges run into a lot, due to temp stratification.

This is a great point. Though I've found that high quality PC fans can break up temp stratification quite easily (check link in my sig). I use just one at around 80cfm to cool my coffin and to break up the temp variations top to bottom. Then again, a fan running may be a downside...so...


-You probably have to install a fan
-Lifting over the collar



Be sure to insulate your collar if you build a tall one! But it sounds like you really don't need it, so rip it or use smaller lumber. I am all for keeping the interior space as small as possible.

 

[Skarekrough]

The general concensus seems to be that 11 inches is way too big.

And while I do own a table saw I have faith in its ability to do two things; try and take off one of my fingers every chance it gets and make uneven cuts. Yes, this is what happens when you buy cheap tools. I learned this the hard way....

I'll head to Home Depot and pick up some new cuts of wood this afternoon.

Can anyone tell me what the height of the big washer on the faucet taps is? In light of my first concern that had me make this post, my concern now is putting together something that's too small!

And again, thank you all for the insights and sanity check!

 

[shroomzofdoom]

Can anyone tell me what the height of the big washer on the faucet taps is? In light of my first concern that had me make this post, my concern now is putting together something that's too small!

I think you mean the (usually) black plastic washer around the tap? Mine is 2 1/4".

 

[TomSD]

Pretty much all of the points have been hit but, as mentioned, they can be minimized. I have a large 10" collar and love it. With insulation and a fan there is no problem with temp variances and with the collar hinged it is out of my way when I'm moving kegs around.

I prefer a taller one too so that my tap handles are below the top of the keezer. Less chance of snagging one that way IMHO.

 

[kmat123]

I have a 10" collar on my 7.0 cu ft. GE keezer and haven't had any problems. I also have mine on a dual hinge so that I can simply open just the lid ot tilt back the collar itself. This is particularly handy when loading in new kegs since it gets all the lines out of the way. I don't have a fan in mine and haven't run into any problems with foaming.