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Keezers that don't require collars?

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jcaudill

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Location
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I'm looking for a keezer that will take 8 cornys, with no collar. It actually won't be used for dispensing - only for storing finished beer. I have the Danby 10.2 now but with the lid insulation it just won't work without a collar.

Thanks in advance!
 
thadius856 put together an awesome thread for just this kind of question, you'll find it here.

fwiw, I just finished building a keezer using the Frigidaire 13.0 cu ft LFCH13M2MW (also found as FFCH13M2MW) and it will hold 8 ball lock kegs without a collar...

Cheers!
 
I just stumbled upon it two seconds before you replied - but thank you for giving me a direct recommendation!
 
I don't suppose anyone has put together a list something like that for upright freezers and conical fermenters?
 
thadius856 put together an awesome thread for just this kind of question, you'll find it here.

fwiw, I just finished building a keezer using the Frigidaire 13.0 cu ft LFCH13M2MW (also found as FFCH13M2MW) and it will hold 8 ball lock kegs without a collar...

Cheers!

Just checking out the interior dimensions, is 8 a tight fit? I assume you have them like the diagram: 3 then 2 then 3?

Thanks!
 
Just checking out the interior dimensions, is 8 a tight fit? I assume you have them like the diagram: 3 then 2 then 3?

Thanks!

Well I'm glad you asked. I was going by the chart, but you inspired me to see if I could verify it. I have seven ball lock kegs in mine (six on the t-tower plus one waiting for its turn) and while it sure looked like there was enough room for the eighth keg, when I just now tried to fit one in that hole it was just the tiniest bit too tight to squeeze it all the way down (got it halfway down, but only because the two kegs alongside the hump were starting to lean over it).

So I'll have to pass the word along to thadius, 7 kegs without a collar...

Cheers!
 
Well I'm glad you asked. I was going by the chart, but you inspired me to see if I could verify it. I have seven ball lock kegs in mine (six on the t-tower plus one waiting for its turn) and while it sure looked like there was enough room for the eighth keg, when I just now tried to fit one in that hole it was just the tiniest bit too tight to squeeze it all the way down (got it halfway down, but only because the two kegs alongside the hump were starting to lean over it).

So I'll have to pass the word along to thadius, 7 kegs without a collar...

Cheers!

Hmm... what is the arrangement of the 7 kegs? I did go ahead and order this keezer prior to your reply hoping it'll work out! If I'm one keg short it isn't the end of the world. Thanks!
 
Three front, three back, one in the middle. If you look at the "no collar" top-down view the one that's missing is the middle one near the hump - but in fact either one in the middle will work, just not both.

It's sooo close to fitting that eighth keg I can see why the chart had 8, and I was also sure there was enough room, but it just won't happen with normal ball locks. I probably should have been more precise with my wording earlier that I hadn't actually put all eight in yet and was going by chart. Sorry about that...

Cheers!
 
Three front, three back, one in the middle. If you look at the "no collar" top-down view the one that's missing is the middle one near the hump - but in fact either one in the middle will work, just not both.

It's sooo close to fitting that eighth keg I can see why the chart had 8, and I was also sure there was enough room, but it just won't happen with normal ball locks. I probably should have been more precise with my wording earlier that I hadn't actually put all eight in yet and was going by chart. Sorry about that...

Cheers!

It's all good! Maybe I will find I have two slightly undersized balls locks. I will certainly report back when I get the freezer next week. I don't really need the hump for anything so maybe it will help. I can't really picture how only one in the middle works!
 
thadius856 put together an awesome thread for just this kind of question, you'll find it here.

fwiw, I just finished building a keezer using the Frigidaire 13.0 cu ft LFCH13M2MW (also found as FFCH13M2MW) and it will hold 8 ball lock kegs without a collar...

Cheers!

:)

Just checking out the interior dimensions, is 8 a tight fit? I assume you have them like the diagram: 3 then 2 then 3?

Thanks!

:mug:

Well I'm glad you asked. I was going by the chart, but you inspired me to see if I could verify it. I have seven ball lock kegs in mine (six on the t-tower plus one waiting for its turn) and while it sure looked like there was enough room for the eighth keg, when I just now tried to fit one in that hole it was just the tiniest bit too tight to squeeze it all the way down (got it halfway down, but only because the two kegs alongside the hump were starting to lean over it).

So I'll have to pass the word along to thadius, 7 kegs without a collar...

Cheers!

:(

Three front, three back, one in the middle. If you look at the "no collar" top-down view the one that's missing is the middle one near the hump - but in fact either one in the middle will work, just not both.

It's sooo close to fitting that eighth keg I can see why the chart had 8, and I was also sure there was enough room, but it just won't happen with normal ball locks. I probably should have been more precise with my wording earlier that I hadn't actually put all eight in yet and was going by chart. Sorry about that...

Cheers!

That's a shame. It looked good on paper.

Might be easier with new kegs vs used kegs, since they're oh-so-slightly rounder and narrower (lacking the rubber boots).

If you ordered from HD, you can always say you don't like the... uhhh... hinges or paint color or something for free returns. You have to schlep it back to the store, unless maybe you order a larger replacement first.

My 15 cu ft fits 10 ball locks without collar. I threw a collar on (a big one!) so I could fit 20# of CO2 on the hump. I have the Maytag in my sig, btw.
 
It's all good! Maybe I will find I have two slightly undersized balls locks. I will certainly report back when I get the freezer next week. I don't really need the hump for anything so maybe it will help. I can't really picture how only one in the middle works!

I clipped this from thadius' layout diagram. Either one of the red kegs will fit, but not both...

Cheers!

13cf_keezer_layout.jpg
 
Oh ok I see why that can happen now. Gotcha! I will let you know if I have the same results.
 
My kegs are all "classics", so maybe thadius is right that with modern ball locks (and rubberless, I presume) you might get that 8th keg in there. It really was close...

Cheers!
 
Well I certainly do not have modern kegs haha. Maybe they aren't ancient but I don't have brand new kind of money sitting around!
 
Confirmed the findings of day_trippr - and in my case it isn't even close. I took some measurements for my corny's, and it seems I have a mix of 8.25" and 8.5" diameter kegs. So that probably explains it. I can get 7 on the floor, probably can put CO2 on the floor and then 2 x 2.5 gallon ball locks on the hump with room to spare for misc stuff. So IMHO I would revise to 7 W/O collar.

day_trippr: How are you running the probe in for the controller? Just resting the lid on the probe cord or?
 
[...]day_trippr: How are you running the probe in for the controller? Just resting the lid on the probe cord or?

The gasket is compliant enough to let you get away with just draping it over the edge of the chassis, though you might have to add some length to the probe wire. Alternative, my old keezer (rest in peace) used an external controller and I ran the probe wire through a connector mounted at the back edge of the lid, in parallel with the gas lines.

The new keezer (long may it live!) - being a dispensing appliance - has a lot more going on than just keeping beer cold, so as I had to tear it down to implement a lot of stuff anyway I allowed my inner engineer to go a bit nutty ;)


I mounted an MH1210 controller in the front edge of the lid, then brought the temperature sensor connection through the liner with a dangling 2.1mm socket (on the right end of the lid - I'll replace that with the fixed 2.1mm/5.5mm receptacle I didn't have on hand at the time when I get a chance). The probe wire was way too short to make the trip from controller to kegs anyway, hence the socket - but that'll also allow easy replacement of the probe should it ever fail (I have two spares on hand).

I ran two CO2 feeds through MFL bulkheads and a four wire control/DC power cable through a DIN socket, all located on the back edge of the lid, in parallel with the original AC feed to the lid lamp (I use that to power the MH1210 guts as well). The control lines run through the MH1210 relay and the 12V/GND lines go to a liner-mounted 2.5mm/5.5mm socket (on the left side of the lid) for the tower cooler, stirring fan and a fan that drives air into my little Eva-Dry 500 drier on the keezer floor (which I found a year ago doesn't do crap unless air is pushed into it).

Finally, I fabricated a system power controller and mounted it in the back of the dolly (recessed to allow near-flush positioning against the wall). It has a regulated 12V/2A power supply (not the unregulated POS wall wart shown in the bench testing pic) with a control switch and status indicator, a 30A relay controlled by the MH1210 to switch the compressor, and a Leviton duplex outlet split for the switched compressor side and the always-on AC feed for the lid lamp/MH1210. The relay circuit preempted the need to run a pair of big fat 14 gauge cables in and out of the keezer to the MH1210 - which now only has to switch a low current 12V circuit to the 30A relay coil. I'm hoping that will add to the longevity of the MH1210. We'll see.

The last pic shows the works inside the lid. The two sleepers are hard points for the primary gas distributor at one end and for (future) secondary regs at the other end. There's also an inch thick 12"x28" piece of wood under the foam that the tower and drip tray bolt into. The wood bits and rigid foam are all epoxied to the lid and stiffened it up like you wouldn't believe, as the stock lid just has a batt of fiberglass tossed in and was so flimsy with the liner removed I could lift a corner up three inches without the other three corners moving at all.

It all ended up working perfectly, with awesome pours (there's 72 feet of Bevlex-200 in there) Couldn't be more pleased with the result.

Hope this might provide some ideas :)

Cheers! :mug:

new_keezer_54_sm.jpg


new_keezer_55_sm.jpg


new_keezer_11_sm.jpg


new_keezer_58_sm.jpg


new_keezer_48_sm.jpg
 
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