Keezer Questions - Where to start

[Verio]

So, I've got an older chest freezer in my garage that isn't really getting used. I just got my Christmas bonus from work, and I'm interested in buying a few Kegs. I'm getting really tired of bottles quickly.

Where do I start? Is there a "How to" for dumbies?

Thanks a lot guys (and gals)!

 

[mkirkland]

Buy a temp controller first off!

 

[Ben_Persitz]

So, I've got an older chest freezer in my garage that isn't really getting used. I just got my Christmas bonus from work, and I'm interested in buying a few Kegs. I'm getting really tired of bottles quickly.

Where do I start? Is there a "How to" for dumbies?

Thanks a lot guys (and gals)!

I made a keezer out of an old fridge with two tools. An adjustable combo wrench, and a drill with a 7/8" wood bit.

Chest freezer is a different story since you'll have a tower, not a front mounted shank/faucet. But you'll need at the very least:

Tower with faucet or faucets, digital temperature controller ($60-$70 online), beer line.

There are plenty of threads on keezer conversions. Do a search!

Good luck!

All I did was a drill the hole

 

[kegtoe]

look at builds by Jester, Brewpastor (and me Kegtoe - check my signature). Use the google search for keezer - you'll ger collars, towers, and coffins.

Or use this as inspiration (its in the sticky on this DIY sub thread):
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/show-us-your-kegerator-29053/

 

[kegtoe]

Figure out what you want to do, (what style) make a drawing or have a pic of someone elses for inspiration. But i agree with Kirkland, you are going to need a temp controller at somepoint.

 

[WAORGANY]

Take your time, read the threads there are many...once you figure out the style you want then you can get more help from there. Yes you need a temp controler, turns on or off the freezer to maintain correct temps, you also want to buy the best faucets you can afford....ie one word PERLICK!!! any thing less than them and you will be doing it over later. I went with the collar design for easy of removing kegs and co2, not to mention it doesn't ruin the freezer. I put mine on wheels so it is easy to move. Check my gallery or post for more pics, mine is my avatar pic. All the best keep us posted.

 

[RichmonS]

I would start by answering a couple of questions.

Do you know how many kegs you want on tap/how many kegs can your freezer holds?
Do you know if you want a tower or a collar with taps?

Purchase a keg system from a vendor (mine was through keg connection)
I went with picnic taps instead of per licks until I determine if i want a collar or a tower.

 

[Verio]

I would start by answering a couple of questions.

Do you know how many kegs you want on tap/how many kegs can your freezer holds?
Do you know if you want a tower or a collar with taps?

Purchase a keg system from a vendor (mine was through keg connection)
I went with picnic taps instead of per licks until I determine if i want a collar or a tower.

I want to have three kegs on tap, and I'm thinking a collar. I've already talked to SWMBO and she said she doesn't care if I do the full convert or use picnic taps for now.

Heck, I don't even have any kegs yet, because there would be no purpose without a way to chill them.

 

[WAORGANY]

I want to have three kegs on tap, and I'm thinking a collar. I've already talked to SWMBO and she said she doesn't care if I do the full convert or use picnic taps for now.

Heck, I don't even have any kegs yet, because there would be no purpose without a way to chill them.

Get Perlicks then you won't be sorry..also add as many kegs as you can..I have 8 and yes that is not enough I need more to have on hand to replace those that run dry....

 

[msa8967]

What size is your freezer? I also agree to figure out how many taps you want. I built a keezer last fall from a used freezer and used a wood collar to hold the faucets instead of buying picnic taps.

I decided to attach a wood skirt at the bottom of the collar that would allow the wood frame to have solid contact with the freezer but I could easily install the whole collar w/o using any adhesive. I put some weather stripping on the bottom of the collar to reduce any air flow. You can then fasten the lid of the freezer to the top of the collar. I found many people doing this idea and what is nice is you can easily restore this back to a chest freezer in case you want to move to a larger or small size keezer.

I used 2x8 lumber for the collar and 1x4 for the skirt. Took about an hour to build. I may end up making a nice one out of oak if we ever move this indoors but it works well for now.

 

[Verio]

Ok, so I have decided on everything I want to do, I just don't know exactly all the parts that I need to purchase.

I want three taps, which means I need three kegs. Does this setup work, for what I want? http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=503

Other than building the collar, and setting up my fridge, what other items do I need to dispense the beer?

Thanks

 

[msa8967]

Other than building the collar, and setting up my fridge, what other items do I need to dispense the beer?

If you are going the kegerator route (using a fridge) then you are ready to go ,but if you are going to build a keezer (using a chest freezer with a raised collar) then you will need to get a temperature control device. I bought mine from kegconnection along with the keg supplies and felt like I had good service.

Thus, if you want a kegerator fridge you do not need a collar.

 

[Verio]

Other than building the collar, and setting up my fridge, what other items do I need to dispense the beer?

If you are going the kegerator route (using a fridge) then you are ready to go ,but if you are going to build a keezer (using a chest freezer with a raised collar) then you will need to get a temperature control device. I bought mine from kegconnection along with the keg supplies and felt like I had good service.

Thus, if you want a kegerator fridge you do not need a collar.

Yeah, I mistyped that. I'm using a Chest freezer.

 

[msa8967]

Then you will definitely need a temp control device so that your kezer does not go below 32 F. You might also want to think about some type of drip tray or pan to catch the small drip off of the faucet heads. I have my keezer in my garage so I just have two long rectangular buckets.

 

[Verio]

Question about the wood for the collar -

Is 1x8 too thin? The 1" diameter? I found some really nice Red Oak today, but it's only 1 inch thick.

How wide should I be looking at? 2x6 or 2x8?

I priced everything out today at the Depot... purchasing everything next Friday when the bonus comes in.

 

[msa8967]

I don't know if 1x8 will be too thin. It may depend on how you plan to attach it to your freezer top. If you like the idea of 2x8 then make the outer part of the frame from this oak and then add interior support with pine or some other softwood thus doubling the thickness for more support.

 

[Verio]

I don't know if 1x8 will be too thin. It may depend on how you plan to attach it to your freezer top. If you like the idea of 2x8 then make the outer part of the frame from this oak and then add interior support with pine or some other softwood thus doubling the thickness for more support.

Well I'm not terribly concerned about the support, since it will only be supporting the lid. I'm going to attack the collar to the freezer, and have the lid just open. I don't mind lifting the kegs over the collar.

 

[Catt22]

IMO, 2 x 4 material would be the best choice. I see no advantage in making the collar taller and it would only make it that much more difficult to lift the kegs into the freezer. The 1 x oak should also work OK. The most important thing is that the collar be true to line so that it rests uniformly on the freezer and seal well with the lid. I built my collar using 2 x 6 pine and if I were to do it over I would use 2 x 4's in order to lower the overall height. Not a big deal though.

FYI, wood is a relatively poor insulator. Hardwood is worse than soft wood in this respect. I recently added 3/4" rigid foam insulation to my collar and from what I can tell it has reduced the power consumption by about 40%. I tracked the power usage before and after with one of the Kill-a-Watt meter gizmos. I was expecting an improvement, but I was astonished that the difference would be that great.

 

[Verio]

IMO, 2 x 4 material would be the best choice. I see no advantage in making the collar taller and it would only make it that much more difficult to lift the kegs into the freezer. The 1 x oak should also work OK. The most important thing is that the collar be true to line so that it rests uniformly on the freezer and seal well with the lid. I built my collar using 2 x 6 pine and if I were to do it over I would use 2 x 4's in order to lower the overall height. Not a big deal though.

FYI, wood is a relatively poor insulator. Hardwood is worse than soft wood in this respect. I recently added 3/4" rigid foam insulation to my collar and from what I can tell it has reduced the power consumption by about 40%. I tracked the power usage before and after with one of the Kill-a-Watt meter gizmos. I was expecting an improvement, but I was astonished that the difference would be that great.

Thanks for the advice. I had already factored in using 1/4" foam insulation, since that's the only type carried at the Depot and Lowes down here. I'll look into some thicker stuff though.

 

[Verio]

IMO, 2 x 4 material would be the best choice. I see no advantage in making the collar taller and it would only make it that much more difficult to lift the kegs into the freezer. The 1 x oak should also work OK. The most important thing is that the collar be true to line so that it rests uniformly on the freezer and seal well with the lid. I built my collar using 2 x 6 pine and if I were to do it over I would use 2 x 4's in order to lower the overall height. Not a big deal though.

FYI, wood is a relatively poor insulator. Hardwood is worse than soft wood in this respect. I recently added 3/4" rigid foam insulation to my collar and from what I can tell it has reduced the power consumption by about 40%. I tracked the power usage before and after with one of the Kill-a-Watt meter gizmos. I was expecting an improvement, but I was astonished that the difference would be that great.

Thanks for the advice. I had already factored in using 1/4" foam insulation, since that's the only type carried at the Depot and Lowes down here. I'll look into some thicker stuff though.

 

[Catt22]

Thanks for the advice. I had already factored in using 1/4" foam insulation, since that's the only type carried at the Depot and Lowes down here. I'll look into some thicker stuff though.

I bought a pack of 3/4" rigid foam insulation. It is 16" x 48" and IIRC the 6 pack of the stuff was only about $6 or so. Very cheap and will pay for itself in short order. The insulation is the plain stuff without the foil backing. I used 3M 77 spray adhesive to attach it.

Here's Catt's hot tip of the day. I bought one of these multi tool things awhile back when they were on sale at Harbor Frieght:

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/multifunction-tools/multifunction-power-tool-67256.html

I used the half round saw blade attachment to cut the foam. This worked unbelievably well and produced an exceptionally clean, smooth and precise cut. I used a piece of 1 x material as a straight edge to follow I think I only paid $17.99 for the tool when it was on sale.

 

[kegtoe]

bought this same tool from HF. Threw it away during the first month of use. I ind thier stuff cheap and unreliable. The set screw kept working its way out all the time and i'd loose oscilation. Bought the dremel version for $100 and i love it

Im glag yours works for you.

I bought a pack of 3/4" rigid foam insulation. It is 16" x 48" and IIRC the 6 pack of the stuff was only about $6 or so. Very cheap and will pay for itself in short order. The insulation is the plain stuff without the foil backing. I used 3M 77 spray adhesive to attach it.

Here's Catt's hot tip of the day. I bought one of these multi tool things awhile back when they were on sale at Harbor Frieght:

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/multifunction-tools/multifunction-power-tool-67256.html

I used the half round saw blade attachment to cut the foam. This worked unbelievably well and produced an exceptionally clean, smooth and precise cut. I used a piece of 1 x material as a straight edge to follow I think I only paid $17.99 for the tool when it was on sale.

 

[Catt22]

bought this same tool from HF. Threw it away during the first month of use. I ind thier stuff cheap and unreliable. The set screw kept working its way out all the time and i'd loose oscilation. Bought the dremel version for $100 and i love it

Im glag yours works for you.

I've had zero problems with the one I have and I've given it some very heavy use over the past few months.