Holiday 5 Cu.Ft. Chest Freezer

[BuffaloBrews]

Thinking about buying this project for my first keezer build. Wanted to check and see if anyone has used this and if it's a quality product. Also...how many ball lock kegs will fit with 5# Co2?

Thanks.
-Keezer New Jack

 

[optimatored]

Thinking about buying this project for my first keezer build. Wanted to check and see if anyone has used this and if it's a quality product. Also...how many ball lock kegs will fit with 5# Co2?

Thanks.
-Keezer New Jack

I have had my 5.0 Holiday since about 2009 and still works fine. I put a 2x4 collar on the top so I could fit an additional 3gal corny keg on the hump with the Co2 tank. Otherwise, only 2 5gal kegs will fit...

 

[ihearthops]

I have a 5.0cf GE freezer that I converted. If you put a 8" or larger collar on, you can fit a 3rd 5gal corny on the compressor hump. I used 1x8 for the collar on mine.

 

[BuffaloBrews]

I have had my 5.0 Holiday since about 2009 and still works fine. I put a 2x4 collar on the top so I could fit an additional 3gal corny keg on the hump with the Co2 tank. Otherwise, only 2 5gal kegs will fit...

Thanks for the responses, guys. If I were to knock the holiday collar up to a 2x8 or 2x10...would I then be able to fit a third 5gal ball lock keg on the hump with the Co2 tank?

Thanks!

 

[ihearthops]

Yep -- this is exaclty what I have done. Build at least an 8" collar (10" if you want to ensure a little extra room), and you'll be fine. I have 2 ball lock 5 gal cornie's in the lower, and 1 5 gal ball lock cornie on the hump in addition to my 5lb c02 tank -- clearance is perfect.

I'd measure everything up on your Holiday model just to be sure it will all fit as I described -- I know they vary slightly from make/model.

 

[BuffaloBrews]

Yep -- this is exaclty what I have done. Build at least an 8" collar (10" if you want to ensure a little extra room), and you'll be fine. I have 2 ball lock 5 gal cornie's in the lower, and 1 5 gal ball lock cornie on the hump in addition to my 5lb c02 tank -- clearance is perfect.

I'd measure everything up on your Holiday model just to be sure it will all fit as I described -- I know they vary slightly from make/model.

Greatly appreciated!

 

[txpete]

Howdy. This is my first post but I am also building my keezer from the same 5 cu ft Holiday. Picked it up from Lowes at 179.99 plus a 10% coupon and my 10 % military discount. I was measuring this morning to get the dimensions for for the collar and I came up with 20 5/16" x 28 3/8". Does this sound right? ( I am slightly hungover, so vision is askew)

 

[TonyR]

I have a 5cu holiday freezer, I can fit 2 5 gallon cornie's on the floor, a 3Gal and 5lb CO2 w/ 3 gauges on the hump. Its a bit of a tight fit, but it works out well. Just need to add a 3rd faucet to my draft tower!

 

[mxpx5678]

Anyone have pictures or dimensions of their build? I just picked up this freezer.

 

[txpete]

I finished my build using a 5.0 Holiday last week. Now, I might get ribbed for whats currently on tap (i.e. commercial brews vs homebrew). I have not had adequate time to homebrew due to the qualification process that the Navy has me undertaking. Now without further adieu, my build.

Painted the freezer with 4 layers of chalkboard paint on the front and used an appliance enamel (non-spray paint) on the sides and back. After drying I installed LED ribbon lighting.

I built essentially a collar frame out of plywood (1x8) and then built a a 3 sided frame out Cypress (1x9) that just fit right over the plywood frame.

Stained and polyed the cypress.

It has double hinges. I like this method as it allows the shanks to be moved out of the way. The cypress is attached with carriage screws and the 5" shanks.

I need to add some insulation around the sides but I haven't had the time.
Also it will fit 3 1/6th commercial kegs or 3 cornys. The keg that sits on the hump will need a low profile sankey for commercial kegs. Cornys fit great but it is a tight squeeze. Also the plastic kegs some of the craft breweries are using are wider then then the metal versions. This is why it looks so packed.

I hope this is able to help you and any others that may need it.

 

[txpete]

P.S. I will be working making the temp controller fancier. But it will do for now.

 

[mxpx5678]

I finished my build using a 5.0 Holiday last week. Now, I might get ribbed for whats currently on tap (i.e. commercial brews vs homebrew). I have not had adequate time to homebrew due to the qualification process that the Navy has me undertaking. Now without further adieu, my build.

Painted the freezer with 4 layers of chalkboard paint on the front and used an appliance enamel (non-spray paint) on the sides and back. After drying I installed LED ribbon lighting.

I built essentially a collar frame out of plywood (1x8) and then built a a 3 sided frame out Cypress (1x9) that just fit right over the plywood frame.

Stained and polyed the cypress.

It has double hinges. I like this method as it allows the shanks to be moved out of the way. The cypress is attached with carriage screws and the 5" shanks.

I need to add some insulation around the sides but I haven't had the time.
Also it will fit 3 1/6th commercial kegs or 3 cornys. The keg that sits on the hump will need a low profile sankey for commercial kegs. Cornys fit great but it is a tight squeeze. Also the plastic kegs some of the craft breweries are using are wider then then the metal versions. This is why it looks so packed.

I hope this is able to help you and any others that may need it.

Looks Great! Makes me wish I was better at wood working. That is the part I am nervous about. I just have no clue on how to attach all the wood to the freezer and get it to be the right size and everything.

 

[joenads]

Nothing wrong with Holy City. I drink it quite (too) often.

 

[txpete]

The pilsner is quite delicious. I was originally picking up 1/6th keg of mamas lil yella pils but distributor ran out. I am thoroughly enjoying the Holy City though. The Blue Moon was my SWMBOs choice.

 

[geo1267]

I finished my build using a 5.0 Holiday last week. Now, I might get ribbed for whats currently on tap (i.e. commercial brews vs homebrew). I have not had adequate time to homebrew due to the qualification process that the Navy has me undertaking. Now without further adieu, my build.

Painted the freezer with 4 layers of chalkboard paint on the front and used an appliance enamel (non-spray paint) on the sides and back. After drying I installed LED ribbon lighting.

I built essentially a collar frame out of plywood (1x8) and then built a a 3 sided frame out Cypress (1x9) that just fit right over the plywood frame.

Stained and polyed the cypress.

It has double hinges. I like this method as it allows the shanks to be moved out of the way. The cypress is attached with carriage screws and the 5" shanks.

I need to add some insulation around the sides but I haven't had the time.
Also it will fit 3 1/6th commercial kegs or 3 cornys. The keg that sits on the hump will need a low profile sankey for commercial kegs. Cornys fit great but it is a tight squeeze. Also the plastic kegs some of the craft breweries are using are wider then then the metal versions. This is why it looks so packed.

I hope this is able to help you and any others that may need it.

I am in the process of a similar build with the same freezer. I had not considered the double hinge idea, but now I think I will go that way. What did you use for the hinges? I assume you kept the original freezer hinges for the bottom collar and got a second set for the lid attached to the collar. Did you drill new holes into the lid to fit the new hinges?

Thanks for any help

 

[nickel78]

txpete, what kind of thermostat is that you are using in the pictures?

 

[BrewDocND]

Awesome job. This is exactly what I want to do. Can't fit a larger chest freezer down my basement steps, so I'm limited to the 5 cu ft. Might get started on something similar tomorrow (i.e. buy the freezer)

 

[mjaquillard]

I have a 5cu holiday freezer, I can fit 2 5 gallon cornie's on the floor, a 3Gal and 5lb CO2 w/ 3 gauges on the hump. Its a bit of a tight fit, but it works out well. Just need to add a 3rd faucet to my draft tower!

Can you fit the 2 on the floor without adding a collar? Could a 6.5 gallon carboy fit down there?

Thanks!

 

[TonyR]

Yes, the 2 cornies fit on the floor without a collar. I'm sure the carboy would fit by itself, I doubt you'd get a single keg on the floor with it. A better cooler for fermenting would be the Vissani sold by Home Depot. Build info at https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/vissani-fermentation-chamber-290663/