Keezer question

[Gigemags05]

I've read through as many keezer threads as I can find, and I have a question.

If I am building a cabinet around my freezer, is it imperative to leave room from the wall of the freezer to the cabinet?

Also, if it is necessary for space between the freezer wall and the cabinet, do I have to put some sort of extra fan assembly in to blow air between the freezer and the cabinet wall?

If I don't need to put a fan, how much space is acceptable for proper ventilation? Does it need to be the same on all three sides? I was planning on leaving the back open and also putting a vent for the compressor that matches where it currently is.

I will be using either 1/4" or 3/8" oak plywood for the cabinet.

 

[Gigemags05]

Anyone?

 

[Hammy71]

Depends on the brand of freezer. Does it dissapate heat through its wall or is there a fan blowing from the compressor? There is a couple of builds on here that describe what you can and can't do with different brands.

 

[Jersh]

Take my advice with a grain of salt. I built a beautiful custom keezer and fully encased it in a cabinet. Just this morning I had to tear it all apart and haul it to the dump because the freezer was shot and couldn’t be repaired. I started with a 10 year old freezer, so it may have died simply due to age. However I suspect my cabinet had something to do with it. I used thin (~1/8&#8221 tongue and groove pine planking to encase the freezer. I built a collar with 2x8’s around the top and used 2x4’s for a base to attach castors to. I nailed the planking to the collar and base, however there was a piece of plastic that was around the outer lip of the freezer (it was a continuous piece that connected to the inner lining of the freezer) and this kept the planking from sitting flush against the side of the freezer. I would guess that there was less than 1/8” gap between the planking and freezer. The planking would definitely get warm while the compressor was running, however I suspect that it caused some issues with heat dissipation. I only had 2 sides that were encased, I kept the rear open and also had a 1 foot empty space on one side that I used to store the CO2 tank. The back and the side not covered with the planking would get MUCH warmer than the 2 sides that were covered in planking.
There are several things I will do differently with my next keezer build. I still plan on encasing it, however I plan on leaving a 4” gap around the side and front (I’ll build in space to store the tank again and the back will be open). I am also going to build in several small fans to move air through the 4” gap. They will be wired into the temp controller so they’ll only run when the compressor is running. Finally, I will not attach ANYTHING to the actual freezer. On my first build I used adhesive to attach the collar to the top of the freezer and then put the lid on top of the collar and built a ‘bar top’ on top of the lid. To access the inside of the freezer I simply had to roll the keezer away from the wall and open the lid. I had a 5 tap Irish Coffin box that was heavy enough the lid would stay open without any support. I had to tear the entire thing apart because the freezer was glued in to the cabinet. My next build will have be made so that the freezer can be removed without having to demo the entire thing.
Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. I can also post some photos to this thread if you want to see what I’m talking about.

 

[Slipgate]

I see no technical reason not to put the cabinet right up next to and touching the keezer on all sides except the exhaust side. The walls of the freezer are insulated and designed to keep the cold in the freezer. They are not a heat dissipation zone. Adding more insulation in the form of a cabinet should do nothing but help it. The back of the keezer where the coils are needs airflow but this is where the heat removed from the keezer is vented.

 

[Hammy71]

I see no technical reason not to put the cabinet right up next to and touching the keezer on all sides except the exhaust side. The walls of the freezer are insulated and designed to keep the cold in the freezer. They are not a heat dissipation zone. Adding more insulation in the form of a cabinet should do nothing but help it. The back of the keezer where the coils are needs airflow but this is where the heat removed from the keezer is vented.

I dunno, the front of mine can get pretty hot to the touch.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I see no technical reason not to put the cabinet right up next to and touching the keezer on all sides except the exhaust side. The walls of the freezer are insulated and designed to keep the cold in the freezer. They are not a heat dissipation zone. Adding more insulation in the form of a cabinet should do nothing but help it. The back of the keezer where the coils are needs airflow but this is where the heat removed from the keezer is vented.

Most chest freezers use the external sheet metal for cooling and don't have coils in the rear IME.

 

[Gigemags05]

Thanks for the advice.

My freezer never does get hot to the touch. In fact, its usually quite cool. I think I will still leave some room between the cabinet and the freezer. Might even wire a fan into it, but I'm not real sure on the schematics of that.