Keezer placement - garage or basement?

[dandw12786]

So I'm getting ready to build my keezer, and I'm fighting with where to place it in the house, looking for some help. My options are garage or basement utility room.

The issue with the basement utility room is that I really don't want to be walking down two flights of stairs every time I want to pull a pint. But it'll fit, and I won't have to deal with the temp swings of the garage. Plus, it'd be in the room that I do fermentation in, so I could do all of my racking and stuff in the same room and not have to lug kegs around. But sending guests down to the basement to get a beer and having them walk around my fermenters and stuff could be kind of annoying.

However, I'd really like it in the garage, and that's why I'm posting this. The garage is on the main level, so I'd just walk out a door and be able to get to the keezer quickly. The problem here is weather. I'm in the midwest, and it can get up around 100 in the summer (not a major issue with keeping things cold, though) and waaaay below zero in the winter (this is the problem). I had a beer fridge out there, and 360 days a year it's fine, but every year we get at least one cold snap where it can be well below zero for almost a week. For a few days, it's not an issue, but the extended cold weather drops the temp down in the garage enough to where I've had some slushy 7 or 8%ers in the beer fridge. I worry about beer lines and faucets freezing and such.

Anyone else in an area where it can get this cold? Anything I can do to the keezer to keep the lines from freezing up? I'd hate to have to put this thing in the basement because of one week of weather a year, but the possible outcome of that one week of weather is such a pain that I'm not sure I have another option. Just wondering if some of you keep a keezer in your garage in incredibly cold weather, and what you do (if anything) to keep everything from freezing up in the cold.

 

[Konadog]

I would still go for the garage. If your worried about it freezing in the cold months, you could put a heat pad on the bottom and have the setpoint at 32 so it won't go below freezing.

 

[dandw12786]

I would still go for the garage. If your worried about it freezing in the cold months, you could put a heat pad on the bottom and have the setpoint at 32 so it won't go below freezing.

That could work. My temp controller has both heat and cool relays, so that's a pretty good idea. You think just a plain heating pad you'd get for like sore muscles and stuff, or is there something better designed for this purpose?

 

[doug293cz]

That could work. My temp controller has both heat and cool relays, so that's a pretty good idea. You think just a plain heating pad you'd get for like sore muscles and stuff, or is there something better designed for this purpose?

I use a couple of these stuck to the side (they have adhesive backing) of my fermentation freezer. I prefer the wall placement since you don't have to worry about damaging the heating pads by placing heavy things on them.

Brew on

 

[dandw12786]

Awesome, thank you!

 

[mongoose33]

You might also consider these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZXOP1C/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

They're 21 watts and only $16 apiece. I have one I use for wrapping around a fermenter to help keep it at temp or to warm it up for a rest at the end of fermentation.

You could gang together 3 of them for 63 watts, which should be more than enough for keeping a freezer above freezing inside.

 

[2eyejack]

I use a couple of these stuck to the side (they have adhesive backing) of my fermentation freezer. I prefer the wall placement since you don't have to worry about damaging the heating pads by placing heavy things on them.

I can second the use of this heater. I also use it in my fermentation freezer and have no problems with it heating the space (7 cf) and the fermenting liquid (though in a warmer climate). I started with one like mongoose33 linked, and it worked fine, it's cheaper and also a larger size, but I prefer the placement on the wall and no worries about leaks and standing liquid around the pad. Bottomline is either should work for your situation.

 

[eric19312]

Ceramic reptile heater works great. Lasts forever, nice even heat. Also make sure to put a computer fan in the keeper to keep the air in there moving. Made a huge difference in my keeper experience.

 

[dandw12786]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! Definitely alleviated my worry about beer lines freezing, so looks like this bad boy is going in the garage. Thanks!

 

[Jtk78]

Ceramic reptile heater works great. Lasts forever, nice even heat. Also make sure to put a computer fan in the keeper to keep the air in there moving. Made a huge difference in my keeper experience.

This is exactly how I did it works like a charm

 

[NitrogenWidget]

My kegerator is a big stainless bev-air with 4 taps.
but I have picnic taps for other stuff because I can put like 10 kegs in the thing.
I keep it on my back porch.
In the winter I unplug it and move my kegs to the basement and hook up the picnic taps.
My basement is not finished and used for storage.
It also has stone walls and temps are usually high 30's to low 40's in the winter so i just keep them at the bottom of the stairs.

it works until about mid April.
Then stuff gets foamy.

 

[dandw12786]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00080G0BK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Stumbled on this suggestion in another thread and thought this would work well and the cord would be small enough to run under the seal on the keezer lid. Figured I'd just have the fan run all the time, and since this is adjustable I'd be able to just run it on it's lowest setting. This look pretty good?

 

[dandw12786]

My kegerator is a big stainless bev-air with 4 taps.
but I have picnic taps for other stuff because I can put like 10 kegs in the thing.
I keep it on my back porch.
In the winter I unplug it and move my kegs to the basement and hook up the picnic taps.
My basement is not finished and used for storage.
It also has stone walls and temps are usually high 30's to low 40's in the winter so i just keep them at the bottom of the stairs.

it works until about mid April.
Then stuff gets foamy.

Well, I only have a pretty small utility room in the basement, and it's nowhere near that cold ever, haha. But man, it'd be really nice to keep this thing on my covered deck in the summer. Maybe some day...

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Well, I only have a pretty small utility room in the basement, and it's nowhere near that cold ever, haha. But man, it'd be really nice to keep this thing on my covered deck in the summer. Maybe some day...

It's nice having it out there since i try to spend my time outside in the summer.

 

[ITV]

I would be more concerned with the temp rating of your keezer. Exceeding the temp rating (high or low) can reduce the life of the keezer.

You can always build a man cave in your basement.

 

[dandw12786]

I would be more concerned with the temp rating of your keezer. Exceeding the temp rating (high or low) can reduce the life of the keezer.

You can always build a man cave in your basement.

You mean in terms of the ambient temp? It was in the garage anyway when we were using it as an actual freezer, and our new upright freezer we replaced this with is in the garage too, I'm really not too worried about it. I'm aware that this isn't the best environment for any appliance as they're designed for indoor use, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Plenty of people around here put their freezers or beer fridges in the garage. It's not good for them, definitely hard on the compressor and such, but it works just fine, just may have to find a craigslist fridge a year or two sooner than you want to.

And the man cave is a no-go. It would literally be in a utility room in the basement that's only used for storage and isn't that big. My man cave is in the garage.

Upside to the thing dying early is that by the time it croaks, I'll know if I need to upgrade to a four tap keezer instead of the two tap!

 

[ITV]

I stand corrected, the manual for my keezer (Kenwood) states that they do not recommend any compressor heaters for temps below 32 Deg. F. I was thinking of refrigerators having an issue below freezing temps. They do not recommend temps above 110 Deg F, however we do not use keezers for freezing ice cream, my temp is set for 38 Deg.

Enjoy your new keezer!

 

[mongoose33]

Upside to the thing dying early is that by the time it croaks, I'll know if I need to upgrade to a four tap keezer instead of the two tap!

Let me help you with that now: you will.