If I start another Keezer thread, will I be banned on my first post?

[tomlerner]

Hi. SWMBO is encouraging me to build the keezer of my dreams. Part of me knows this is an attempt to divert my attention from her recent infatuation with Amazon Prime - there are days we get multiple UPS deliveries - but I've decided to take the high husband road and overlook these (for this billing cycle anyway) and allow her encouragement to inspire this build, seeing as I have five gallons of Kolsch and five of a Hoppy Red fermenting away that I really don't want to bottle.

Soooo. I ordered a 14.8 cu ft maytag chest freezer that will show up on Monday. I joined this site to get some help and haven't slept in three days reading everyone's keezer build posts.

I'm thinking about canceling and getting a 7.0 cu ft instead. I probably won't have more than 4 beers on tap this year and if I do, I'm thinking it might be better to have two 7 cu ft keezers instead of one 14.8. Then I could keep the other one at a different temp and actually lager. I'm planning an Oktoberfest brew next so I'll need a ferm chamber anyway.

I love the 7's for the portability (bring it out for a block party) and if I ever made it part of the inside of the house it's a much more acceptable size. But the 14s would give so much more room for growing and running cables. Space isn't an issue for me in this house as I have an extra "car" space in the garage for my brewery, but of course it could be an issue in the next.

Anyone else struggle with the 7 vs 14 and what did you do? (current home depot prices are $200 for the 7 and $400 for the 14.8 so not much difference in $/cu ft)

 

[DanH]

Definitely the bigger the better. Maybe you have four faucets but your "on deck" beers could be carb'ing up in there. ...or lagering (?)

I always thought four would be enough for me. Then I added a nitro. Now I could probably add a couple more faucets.

But as for the title; no... Definitely post the build.


Sent from my iPhone using the sweet Home Brew app, cuz I'm a ****** and I need everyone to know that I have an iPhone as if everyone else in the world doesn't have one.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I've got a 5 that has 3 taps. 14 seems huge for me. Eventually I'll get a 7 and use the 5 as a ferm chamber. Right now I'm using the 5 for both(at different times obviously). I can also fit the 5 in the suv fairly easy.


I don't think this has any relevance to your post though... Doh!

 

[tomlerner]

I'm utterly clueless on how to quote a single line of your message (new to this), but NITRO, yes, that is reason enough for extra space. So maybe a 14.8 with the collar and a really basic 7 without a collar or taps for lagering and possibly building out down the road.

The other nice thing about the 14 is extra spillover room from the beer fridge. With trades and beerhauls I get from my travels I occasionally run out of room in my dorm style fridge. The 14er would also be a good place to age some of the rare brews I snag from local Denver breweries.

I suppose I could add a homemade soda tap for the kids and a ginger beer for mixed drinks. Damn, it's pretty easy to go down this road.....

 

[RazorUK]

Haha! I have a 7 that I never converted...currently using it as overflow for our freezer.

I fell in love with this one though and changed my plans... I just got a freezer for $125 on Craigslist to start the build.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/upright-keezer-8-taps-11-kegs-371438/

 

[DrunkleJon]

Just a warning (I have two 7's). If you should think that you may ever want to put a commercial 1/2 keg in your keezer, the 7 is about an inch too shallow (front to back) and a 1/2 kegs will not fit. I can get 5 cornies in there pretty easy (with collar) but am planning on upgrading and making my current keezer into a second fermenting(or lagering) chamber. I think I am going to go for an upright on the next one to increase my current 3 tap count and provide more space for carbonation/conditioning.

 

[fmr_army]

Go for the big one.

Not only will your hobby expand, but it's a great place to use as overflow from your regular frig. My wife is much happier now with my keezer than when I originally bought it: I keep her white wine in there; defrost a turkey; hold an extra costco pizza in escrow and stockpile cold foods for upcoming events. We've also held casseroles for friends who were having parties.

In the 14 footer, I currently have 5 kegs (three taps going), a 20# CO2 canister (that is going to move out of the box soon), a milkcrate of assorted beer, and several bags of groceries for an upcoming vacation. I built a collar and dolly, although I only use the dolly for moving a little bit - I'd rather go to the taps than bring the taps to me.

One thing that I would change: I bought a manifold, and I wish I had a row of secondary pressure guages instead. As it is, all my beers have to be at the same pressure, which isn't ideal (workable, but not ideal) when you're serving/storing an IPA, a wheat, a porter and an ESB.

 

[DrunkleJon]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/chest-freezer-specs-layouts-377518/

That is all I have to say. Think about what you are wanting to put in it (size, type,and number of kegs), if you are going to cold condition, force carbonate backup kegs, etc and if you want to perhaps expand it in the future. When going to bigger ticket items its often better to buy once and buy for what you are going to want down the road (we say that kegs are addictive for a reason). Especially if going for new. SPec out the freezer you want and go with it.

 

[strambo]

My house is crap for space so I just made a 3 tap out of a 5cf in the dining room. In your case, I'd keep the 14 and use the extra space for lagering and storing bottled and kegged beers waiting to be tapped. Add new taps at your leisure.


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[tomlerner]

Thanks for all the input guys. I ordered the 14.8 cu ft and thought about switching a couple times but she arrived today and is happily sitting in the garage on the back wall waiting to be used.

I scored 4 used ball-lock kegs today for $240 - seemed to be a good price and no complaints on their shape. I was a little surprised how much I ended up spending on the CO2 tank, manifolds, temp controller, and regulator (about $400 total for that stuff) so I'm holding off on the faucets and collar for a few paychecks. Picnic taps for my first two batches!

I'm definitely glad I went for the bigger. Looking forward to having 3-4 brews on tap, another carbonating, a ginger beer to splash in my whiskey, sparkling lemonade for the kids, and might get a mead going later this year.

To your health!

tom

 

[tomlerner]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/chest-freezer-specs-layouts-377518/

That is all I have to say. Think about what you are wanting to put in it (size, type,and number of kegs), if you are going to cold condition, force carbonate backup kegs, etc and if you want to perhaps expand it in the future. When going to bigger ticket items its often better to buy once and buy for what you are going to want down the road (we say that kegs are addictive for a reason). Especially if going for new. SPec out the freezer you want and go with it.

this was EXTREMELY helpful, thank you!