Keezer. Towers or collar

[cervid]

I originally had planned to just do a collar, but my kids could mess with the faucets pretty easily and there is just no other place to put it in our basement for the foreseeable future.

So, now I'm thinking about re installing the lid backwards and adding two towers to make it much more difficult for an accidental faucet pull and I can still back it up to a wall and access it.

What setup do you guys/gals prefer?

 

[Witchdoctor]

Can you just turn it around instead of changing lid? I did 3 towers on a 5.0 cubic foot keezer. I was lucky the backside was flat and side vent was able to face towards wife's baker rack. It's nice that it doesn't need to be moved from wall to open lid.

 

[cervid]

I'm not sure yet. I just don't remember, I looked at some many and home depot price matched Sam's Club and delivered for free since it wasn't in stock. My recollection is if I turned it around the vent would be right up against my file cabinet, whereas if it were the other way it would vent into the open. I don't mind reversing the lid really.

How big of a hole did you cut for your towers? I've seen people do a bunch of stuff, but I kinda figured with a big enough hole the lines would stay plenty cold.

 

[pabloj13]

I originally had planned to just do a collar, but my kids could mess with the faucets pretty easily and there is just no other place to put it in our basement for the foreseeable future.

So, now I'm thinking about re installing the lid backwards and adding two towers to make it much more difficult for an accidental faucet pull and I can still back it up to a wall and access it.

What setup do you guys/gals prefer?

I love my collar. You could always just pop the beer lines off when not in use.

 

[cervid]

I thought about that, but I usually have at least one beer when I get home from work, so that would be a daily thing.

 

[mng8r]

I wonder if the keg faucet locks would work in this instance.

 

[cervid]

That's what I'll do, great suggestion. I've never worked at a bar, I've never seen those! Even with the towers it wouldn't have been 100% safe. They could still get up there with effort. They are all toddlers. This would save money on the towers and keep the lid from drilling if I decided to repurpose it later.

Thanks a ton!

 

[pelipen]

I have a three tap tower. I made a new lid out of wood so I could bolt the tower down snug. Zero wobble. I also made it a bit taller to make room for the CO2 tank on the hump.
I had to put it in a corner to be able to open the lid. I've been thinking about making a hinged design to flip the tower forward before opening the lid, but don't have the time.
For those reasons, I'd probably do collar mounted taps next time.

 

[cervid]

I'm not sure why Perl makes a faucet lock that won't fit their 525 and 575 faucets.. Makes no sense.. I'll figure something out..

 

[pabloj13]

I thought about that, but I usually have at least one beer when I get home from work, so that would be a daily thing.

Yeah that would get old. The locks seem like a pain too.

 

[mng8r]

The PDF version of the Perlick catalog shows that the 308-40B lock should work with the 525, but not with the flow control version.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

The PDF version of the Perlick catalog shows that the 308-40B lock should work with the 525, but not with the flow control version.

I have these locks (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EH2RK0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 ) and they work on my Perlick 525S faucets. Problem is that they are ungodly expensive. The locks cost me more than the faucets for farts sake.

I have two kegerators each with three tap towers. Works for me but I think I would prefer a keezer with collar for a couple of reasons.

First, I'd love to be able to keep my CO2 tank outside of the cooler to make it easier to check levels and be able to get a true read from the gauges. There's really no easy way for me to do that.

Second, with tap towers you need a mechanism to keep the towers at the same temperature as the kegs. You can use a fan for this, but that's one more obstruction in the cooler.

If it were me, I'd go with the taps in the collar and tell your kids that every time they touch them a bunny rabbit dies. Of course then you have to deal with them screaming while you kill a warren's worth of rabbits every Friday night.

 

[Doed]

I've thought about this but so far haven't done it. I have a collar on my keezer. This idea would be a little more difficult with a tower.

What about building a wood box to cover the faucets? Possibly sit on lid of the keezer but come down over the faucets, maybe a hinge at the back that you could flip the "box" up on top of the keezer to access the faucets? You could put a regular pad lock on the box. Yes it might get a little tedious too but if you are any kind of wood worker you should be able to construct something that is far cheaper than those faucet locks.

 

[cervid]

.

 

[paperairplane]

I was also thinking of a little lock box - kind of like offices use to tamper proof a thermostat.

 

[Beer_Eugenics]

What about a coffin keezer with a door with a lock covering all the taps.

 

[b-boy]

I just turn off my CO2 when I don't want my kids to mess around with my taps. Worse case is about half a glass spilled into the drip tray.

I vote for collar.

 

[cervid]

Well, I'm going to need a collar to fit 4 kegs anyway. Also, in order for my wife to let me have this thing in any kind of main living area when we move I'm going to need to make a coffin for it. I'm just going to build the collar I need to max out the kegs and keep picnic taps in it until I move I think.

I'm spending the money I would on the faucets now on the modular manifold I want and have individual regulators on each so all 4 kegs can have different pressures. I'll figure out the faucets later this year I think.