barhoc11
Well-Known Member
Both HD and Walmart have 7.0 cu ft GE freezers for $159. HD includes free shipping (haven't checked Walmart.com).
Great thread, getting wonderful ideas on how to do my build.
A question for someone who has done their builds. I am considering using "white wood" from HD for the collar. If I do this, the max width is 1x8 which is 3/4"x7 1/4" actual. From reading earlier posts, this might be extremely tight if I wanted to put a corny on the hump. Would it be possible for someone to do an actual measurement? I have mostly ball-lock but I could use a pin-lock on the collar (as they aren't as tall)? I am only considering this route to minimize project time, eliminate any change that could mess up the warranty. I am planning on putting this in my kitchen so I can avoid that long walk to the basement where my old ugly converted refrigerator sits.
Thanks to all for some awesome looking builds in this thread.
Oh, one other thing. On the subject of fitting a half-barrel, there is a plan B. When I had my first batch of home-brew ready in the keg, I already had a half empty 1/4 barrel (pony style) in my converted fridge with no room for the keg. So, I simply did a keg-to-keg transfer from the pony keg to an empty corny. (No air exposure.) You simply rig up from your bev out on the sanke keg a line which goes to a qd which is connected to the bev line of the target empty corny. Then apply co2 to the sanke and when it's pressure is higher than the target corny, the beer will start to transfer. Then vent the pressure on the target once in a while and you can do the transfer. So, while not perfect, you can use this method to transfer a 1/2 barrel to 3 5-gallon corny kegs. The extra 1/2 gallon you just drink while you are doing the transfer
I used a 2x8 for my collar and I can say that fitting the 5th keg on the hump is possible BUT it is a very tight fit. I want to say that when I tried this it was about an 1/8th of an inch too tall so that the lid would not close entirely. A simple way to get around this if you know about it before building your keezer is to either make a bigger collar or get thicker rubber for your weatherstripping.
I plan to get around this by sanding off some of the rubber from one of my kegs bottoms to get it to fit or by getting a low profile ball lock keg or getting a converted pin lock.
The 5# regulator fits with no problem on the hump but I like to let my other kegs hold it up since there is a lot of empty areas between the kegs due to having them staggered. I am using the space above the hump for the basket that comes with the freezer for bottles and below that I keep my washed yeast on the actual hump.
I am hoping I can keep my setup as it is with 4 kegs on the floor but I can see that changing as I get more into AG. Here is a link to mine so you can see what I mean... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/show-us-your-kegerator-29053/index310.html#post3418986