GE 7 CF (FCM7SUWW) keezer conversion

[TomSD]

Tom quick question, how much of a PITA would this be if I were to move? I'm not sure how long I'm going to remain in my current living situation, and I wouldn't want to build this thing just for it to be a bitch to move. Granted I do have a pick-up truck, and I'm a fairly strapping young lad. The thing is probably what, around 100 pounds with casters? I just want to make sure that if I move, I can take this with me without much of a hassle.

Really it would be no harder than moving a chest freezer. If it was me I would remove the full kegs (easy) and remove the taps (also easy) then move the freezer on its own. With 4-5 full kegs and a CO2 tank that sucker would be really heavy though.

 

[tawkmis]

I've been thinking of doing a freezer chest conversion for a while and the GE7 sale at HD just caught my eye too. Finding this thread on converting the very product was a nice surprise. Good work.

I do have one question. Will a single standard 1/2 or 1/4 barrel fit inside (16-1/8" diameter)? It looks very close from your pics. HD was sold out of the freezers yesterday so I wasn't able to measure a model myself. My main setup would be corny kegs too but keeping commercial draft flowing between batches would be nice. Thanks,

 

[TomSD]

I have no problem getting sixths from the keg places around here and they are about the same size as a corny. As for fitting a 16 1/8" diameter keg in there... the inside is only 15 1/4" deep so it wouldn't happen.

 

[ebaynote]

Hey. I'm curious what you think is the best amount of holes to drill for the various wires/lines. Does this make sense: 1. Hole for temp controller going into junction box. 2. one for the fan, heat source and the two gas lines. Do you think this makes sense? Sorry to harp on this. Thanks for your patience.

 

[TomSD]

Hey. I'm curious what you think is the best amount of holes to drill for the various wires/lines. Does this make sense: 1. Hole for temp controller going into junction box. 2. one for the fan, heat source and the two gas lines. Do you think this makes sense? Sorry to harp on this. Thanks for your patience.

Heat source? Not sure what you mean on that one unless you are building a fermentation chamber.

As for the number of holes... I would do one for the wiring (like I did) and either foam it in or use something a bit less permanent if you think you will need change things out.

If your gas is on the outside I would run a bulkhead fitting and use a secondary regulator or manifold from there but that is just me.

As for harping on it... no worries. The more questions that get asked, and discussed, publicly in a thread like this the easier it is for the ones who build after us, lol.

 

[ebaynote]

The keezer is going in the garage so I figured I would need something (light bulb or something) to act as heat source on days it gets below set temperature. I'll have to look into the bulkhead fitting. Thanks again.

 

[tippetsnapper]

The keezer is going in the garage so I figured I would need something (light bulb or something) to act as heat source on days it gets below set temperature. I'll have to look into the bulkhead fitting. Thanks again.

That's where my keezer is and I was hoping the insulation would work from the outside-in as well. If the beer gets a little colder there are worse things in life. My garage itself is somewhat insulated so it typically doesn't get down to freezing temps. Just pour two beers and let the second one warm up as you enjoy the first!

 

[lotbfan]

Just got the same freezer on cl, no instructions, curious if you know what the little knock out port is on the back of the lid? It looks like if I was willing to make a few cuts in the bottom of the lid I may be able to run the gas line through that port. Don't want to start prying or cutting though before I know what it is for!

 

[TomSD]

I ignored it but there is nothing in the lid but solid foam insulation so you could safely cut into it I guess. Seems like a lot of work though.

 

[jcoxen]

"Tippetsnapper"??? Sounds like you fish like I do. Ain't it funny how the trees are always biting even when the fish aren't.

Which reminds me...it's Steelhead season!

 

[tippetsnapper]

"Tippetsnapper"??? Sounds like you fish like I do. Ain't it funny how the trees are always biting even when the fish aren't.

Which reminds me...it's Steelhead season!

I've caught my share of trees!! Still trying to figure a way to get some homebrew in my vest. Post some fish pics along with your keezer when its done.

 

[MirImage]

I just bought this freezer last night. Will probably be a bit before I can put a collar on it so I am very happy that the kegs fit without one. (HD for $168).

Thanks for the thread cannot wait to fill this thing!

 

[jcoxen]

Well, the freezer is ordered. Won't be delivered until almost Christmas but it is ordered. Got in just under the wire on the HD sale.

Now to start planning how I want it to look and what I want to put in it. Like MirImage it'll probably be a bit before I put a collar on it but that just gives me more time to figure out exactly what I want to do.

 

[munche]

I used this thread as a basis and built a similar system using a Holiday 7.1cf freezer.

came out alright:

 

[Lennie]

My wonderful wife is getting this freezer for me for Christmas. Lowes has these for $189 all the time and you can find a 10% off coupon online so its $170 and that includes delivery to the house. Seems like about as good a deal as anyone is reporting.

I don't think I'm going to start off with a collar, although this thread has me tempted. My intention is to use this for two serving kegs (with picnic taps) and a bucket fermentor in the bottom and bottles on the compressor shelf. I hope those fit, the ale pail is 12" diameter. This will allow me to turn my other fridge into a lager chamber, it holds two kegs.

And to quote Navin Johnson, thats all I need.

Question, without a circulating fan what happens? Moisture and mold issues? Can't I just put the kegs up in a rack then leave the drain plug open and circumvent some of that? I'll probably install one but was just wondering. I'm going to tape the thermocouple to the fermentor so it should be stable enough and the kegs will likely be a few degrees cooler than the ferm temp, at least during the peak of fermentation.

 

[jcoxen]

Cold air sinks, just like water. If you open the drain all the cold air is going to drain out and the compressor is going to run almost constantly.

 

[Lennie]

Gotcha, will find a suitable fan.

I stopped by Lowes and looked at the floor model, these things weigh next to nothing empty. I do like the idea of putting it on wheels though.

 

[TomSD]

Gotcha, will find a suitable fan.

I stopped by Lowes and looked at the floor model, these things weigh next to nothing empty. I do like the idea of putting it on wheels though.

The wheels are for when it is full... it's a heavy mother then. Also, if you have a collar on it, you need room to open it up when you want to get inside. That means either keeping it well away from the wall or being able to pull it out from the wall. That is where the casters come in handy. For me even more so since it is tucked behind a water cooler so has to come over and out before I can get into it.

 

[RobVT3]

Figured I'd go ahead and resurface this thread since I'm planning to build a keezer very similar to this one. I missed out on the HD sale but I do get a discount on GE products through my job (Home Builder). I can buy it for $159 so I'm still in good shape. I'll start a new thread to show my progress, but I imagine it will take a couple months before I complete it. I'm sure I'll become extra motivated to get it done sooner if I have to bottle again between now and the time it's complete.

 

[RobVT3]

Sorry for the double post. How much head space do you have between the keg on the shelf and the top. Are you fairly certain a 2x8 won't provide the clearace?

Thanks,
-Rob

 

[tippetsnapper]

2 x 8 would clear just fine, be careful how heavy you get for those hinges. Before I got my collar built, I had the kegs in there connected with picnic taps and I could shut the lid. I think most of the builds on this thread used 1 x 10, not that its the only way.

 

[Egbert]

I see a bunch of the guys adding the collars to the lid. I would think it would be better to add the collars to the body so the hinge doesn't have the extra weight.

Anybody do it this way?

 

[specialized]

I wouldn't worry too much about the hinges. Check out some of the beefier builds, where people tile and build coffin boxes on top of their lids. They usually don't mod the hinges at all and they're just fine.

 

[anycrew]

I'm in the process of building my keezer using 1x10 lumber. I just wanted to let everyone know who might be doing this build that my measurement for the side panels was 18 3/4" vs the 19".
The distance between the plastic tabs was 20.25" - .75"x 2(thickness of the wood)=18.75"
Otherwise great and informative thread. thanks to the OP

 

[RobVT3]

I see a bunch of the guys adding the collars to the lid. I would think it would be better to add the collars to the body so the hinge doesn't have the extra weight.

Anybody do it this way?

If you go back through this thread you will see this question came up several times. The OP stated that having the collar attached to the base allowed all the fittings, fan, hoses to be lifted out of the way when you need to get inside to change kegs, maintenance, etc. He was concerned about damaging some of those parts when trying to place full corney's as well.

 

[RobVT3]

2 x 8 would clear just fine, be careful how heavy you get for those hinges. Before I got my collar built, I had the kegs in there connected with picnic taps and I could shut the lid. I think most of the builds on this thread used 1 x 10, not that its the only way.

I actually meant to say 1 x 8. My question had more to do with the keg on the shelf having clearance. Any thoughts? How high is the shelf from the bottom?

 

[TomSD]

I actually meant to say 1 x 8. My question had more to do with the keg on the shelf having clearance. Any thoughts? How high is the shelf from the bottom?

A keg on the shelf with an 8" collar would be VERY close. So close I decided it wasn't worth it and went with a 10" collar. Even remeasuring it now I'm not comfortable saying that one would fit on the hump.

You could easily do it however if you wanted to take the time to strip and reinsulate the lid. There is a significant bulge in the lid that will get you the space you need if you take the time to carve it all out and resurface it with something.

If you go back through this thread you will see this question came up several times. The OP stated that having the collar attached to the base allowed all the fittings, fan, hoses to be lifted out of the way when you need to get inside to change kegs, maintenance, etc. He was concerned about damaging some of those parts when trying to place full corney's as well.

This is correct. To me it is more important to get all the hardware and hoses out of the way than anything else. The way everything is mounted inside my collar I doubt I could get cornies in if I didn't lift the collar out of the way, lol.

As for the hinges they are incredibly over engineered. I am more worried about snapping the wood off than the hinges failing. If it was 2" wood I don't think it would be a problem but 1" wood, minus shrinkage, is pretty darn thin. Not slinging the top open though goes a long way to preserving the integrity.

I'm in the process of building my keezer using 1x10 lumber. I just wanted to let everyone know who might be doing this build that my measurement for the side panels was 18 3/4" vs the 19".
The distance between the plastic tabs was 20.25" - .75"x 2(thickness of the wood)=18.75"
Otherwise great and informative thread. thanks to the OP

Yeah I just snipped those tabs off. I like the front and back being even with the lid, but that is just me. A second with a sharp utility knife and they come off clean if you go that route.

Thanks for the updated measurements though for those that don't want to deal with the tabs!

 

[RobVT3]

I see a bunch of the guys adding the collars to the lid. I would think it would be better to add the collars to the body so the hinge doesn't have the extra weight.

Anybody do it this way?

Or you could do it this way...

He purchased extra hinges from the freezer manufacturer. What would be really cool is if he made the lock on the front functional...

Edited to add second image...

 

[lotbfan]

Here is the blower I used...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O8AZ8K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
and the hose...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00280CXAA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
and the transformer...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QFLWAG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

If you have an old cell phone charger or similar that would work but I wanted to play with the speed so got the variable output one. I ended up settling on 3.5v which is trivial power wise and does a great job.

Just finished my TomSD style keezer (it really is shamefull, it is almost an exact copy) and as I go to order the bilge blower, hose, and transformer, I just wanted to check and make sure that you still like the performance you are getting out of it now, or if you would have gone another direction.

Thanks again for a great thread!

 

[TomSD]

The fan puts out a mean hum at the higher settings. Being a bilge blower I doubt it was ever designed to be silent though. Running at the lowest setting of 3v it is pretty quiet but can still be heard. Any higher and it is easy to identify anywhere in the house. My house is awful quiet though so take that for what it is worth.

The only time I run it at higher than 3v though is when I put in a fresh keg that needs to be cooled down. That much thermal mass can take some work to cool down so I figure the more circulation during that process the better.

The sound is mostly vibration so I am thinking of getting some rubber spacers and mounting them on the bolts I used to see if they deaden it some. It isn't enough to make me turn off the fan or replace it but it is an annoyance you should know about. You know learn from the experience of others and all, lol.

And as for a TomSD style keezer... I stole all my ideas from many other threads so mine is nothing original, lol. I did want to put as much of it in one place as I could though so I appreciate the positive feedback!