Freezer Envelop

[1BigFishWithFly]

 

[1BigFishWithFly]

Oops. Sorry. I wasn't ready to send and don't know how to delete.

 

[balrog]

Still. Very nice.

 

[1BigFishWithFly]

Huh. It worked! Ok. Here is my question. I used casters as I plan on having the keezer on a hardwood floor and it seemed the right way to go. The casters raised it higher than I wanted and so I decided to uses a 2x2 collar. Unanticipated consequence - lid won't screw into collar. I will try to drill though hinge to match up with existing holes however, if I miss what is the freezer made of at the top? Will self tapping screws hold the hinge?
Ps. The lid will be capped and won't look like this when it is finished.
Thanks for your help.

 

[day_trippr]

On the two keezers I've built, the section of the rear lid edge was reinforced where the hinges attached.
If I had to guess they used 12 gauge steel spot welded to the inside of the lid.

As long as your screws go through those reinforced areas you should be ok...

Cheers!

 

[balrog]

Sorry @1bigfishwithfly, I went and grabbed your pic cuz I wanted to see and then I uploaded it to post my reply.

 

[1BigFishWithFly]

Thanks Day Tripper. I didn't remove the hinge from the lid so it was the freezer chest I was inquiring about if you have that info.

 

[day_trippr]

There must be some significant reinforcement at the cabinet hinge mounts considering how deep the original screw bosses are, but I would be extremely cautious about messing with that area lest you hit the refrigerant loop and end up with a write-off.

Could you make a template for the oem mounting holes and use that to drill your lid cover?

Cheers!

[edit] Ah, light dawns over Marble Head - you want to drill a fresh set of holes above the originals.
High risk, I think - I don't know that there'd be thick metal higher up in the cabinet, nor if there'd be tubing there...

 

[IslandLizard]

Looks great!

There's no good way to mount those hinges in a different place. Although there's a good chance there are no refrigerator lines in the area right above the old hinge mounting holes, you'd never know for sure, and it would likely need some reinforcement too.

It is possible to (epoxy) cement 2 reinforcement strips (2-3" wide, 6-8" long, 1/8-1/4" thick) on the outside then mount the hinges to those with very short, threaded, flat ended bolts that only go into the strips and don't penetrate the outer freezer shell at all.

How about simply lying the lid on top of the collar, using no hinges at all? Mount a few pins or wooden blocks for registration, so it stays in place.

I am wondering, in your build, how is the freezer cooling itself? The outer shell is the heat sink.

 

[1BigFishWithFly]

IslandLizard - there is a 3/4 spacing between cabinet sides and front. The rear is open. I purchased an external Ink Bird thermostat and an interior fan. Collar will be caulked and covered with rigid insulation. I hope that alleviates what you refer to as heat sink. What do you think?

 

[IslandLizard]

IslandLizard - there is a 3/4 spacing between cabinet sides and front. The rear is open. I purchased an external Ink Bird thermostat and an interior fan. Collar will be caulked and covered with rigid insulation. I hope that alleviates what you refer to as heat sink. What do you think?

That's a pretty narrow space, and since the top is sealed, upward convection is nil and there's a lot of heat trapped in there, that will kill your keezer's cooling efficiency. I'm always astonished how hot the sides get, even when used as a keezer at 46F.

Maybe you can blow some some forced air into the gap at one end to get the air moving? Like an old hairdryer or so, set to cold air, or a few computer fans, at least during the freezer's duty cycle, ideally some time afterward too (delay switch).

 

[1BigFishWithFly]

I had no idea about the 'heat sink' concern. I should have the keezer up and running by mid-next week and I will monitor it closely. If necessary I will add a fan as you suggest. Thanks.