Little Guy Keezer Build

[boasist]

So in an effort to remain modest I'm going forward with a 2-3 keg keezer. So far, so good. I've done the research and have broken ground on the unit.

I started with an insignia 5.0 that I paid nothing for. So off we go...

Moved on and started building the collar and lid. My calculations told me that a simple 2.8 collar would give me all of the headspace I needed for more kegs, primarily though to keep them in there when carbing or before swapping them out.

I then started outlining the holes in the lid for the tap towers. It'll be a U shaped style, with good insulation and airflow within to keep the temps tight.

Day 1 construction ended with starting to cut the wood for the tap towers. One side will extend down about 8" into the keezer (another good reason for the collar) to get the coldest air it can, I may even put a small bit of tubing on there to get the fan lower.

I'll be using the vantec tornado fans, which bring me back to my PC days. I remember I used to have 4 of these as case fans back when I was building my own PCs. Ignore those hole sizes, I started small and then increased them as you see above to be more precise with the sizes and dimensions in relation to their position on the lid.

Next up I'll finish the towers and I'd like to take that aluminum plate that I have and put it on top of the shanks and use that as a semi-cold chill plate for glasses. More to come on that.

 

[Pappers_]

Wow! Looking forward to seeing your progression! I've been thinking I may need to upgrade my beer serving situation.

 

[boasist]

All is still moving well after a long work week. A couple of hours tonight did well.

I started by redesigning the top plate which will also serve as my access point for serving the lines and such. Bonus here is that my taps will be about 2 inches higher as well, just in case I get a bigger glass!

I then just cut a new piece and screwed it all in place. Here is also a full shot showing a little more of the U shaped design I was going after. The long chute will hopefully pull slightly colder air and move it around the shanks.

Starting to put some foil tape over the insulation to cover the seams and hold it in place as well.

I went a little crazy...I will eventually wrap the top plate in the same reflektix I put on the grandfather. I wanted to create the air channels using the tape for now though.

Well that's it for today, I'm waiting on shorter shanks to arrive (anyone want to buy 4.5" shanks w/barbs?) and then I'll mount those and start on the top plate. I did order the magnets though, which I hope to use to hold the top plate in place during normal use.

 

[boasist]

Wow! Looking forward to seeing your progression! I've been thinking I may need to upgrade my beer serving situation.

Thank you good sir, and I'll keep an eye out for any updates!

 

[boasist]

Onward I go....

Mounted the taps, I used the 4.5" shanks here as that is what I originally purchased. But the barbs make it a bit too close for comfort with the 1" insulation. I could route it out and make it work, as I'd like to use the longer shanks to retain/absorb the cold more, but we shall see. I have some 3.5" shanks arriving tomorrow and I'll test it out.

I've started work on the final construction piece which is the top. This is also where I'll access the faucets for any servicing needs. I'm using some small disc magnets with about 13lbs of force per, I have five total plus one large 40lb pull magnet I can use to keep it all neat and tidy. Currently the top plate has the steel curing to it so I can't totally test it out.

I just need to build a top plate and do the finishing work to it, then I'll be set with phase 1 of construction, and I'll move on to wiring/tubing runs. Until next time....

 

[CamG]

Been silently following since the first post...
Looking good !

 

[boasist]

Back in action....just got a promotion at work, I feel bad leaving early!

So as you can see the 3.5" shanks will be too short after I add in the nut and the barb. So I'll have to stick with the 4.5 but I ordered some 1" spacers for the front of the shank, so i'll be good with no kinks in the hose.

I have the magnet system all worked out and it's working quite well. I just need to install the weatherstripping and all will be nice and tight. I did a test run today with the fan and freezer on, minimal airflow seeping through at the seams, so I hope that is alleviated with the weatherstripping.

I mounted the aluminum plates and in the test mentioned above the plates got nice and chilled, not frosty, but chilled. Should work great for picking up a cold glass each time. I polished it up with some 220 grit (finest I had) and built out the top trim plate. I just need to get the router out the trim out the interior to hug the plates, and route out the edges for a finished look. Then I'll run a full 2-3 day test with the freezer on, check for any issues, and if all is good, on to staining.

 

[boasist]

Still making this happen. Had to slow down for some finish work on the router.

Took that trim piece from earlier and cleaned it up on the router and put a little radius on it for a good look. Came out quite nice. I also took some 2000 grit to the aluminum just for fun. It actually polished it up good, but the larger grits I had already used left their mark, but still a great finish.

It's all insulated and hooked up, I'm running it through a trial tonight to make sure nothing odd happens with the low temps. I still need to think of a good way to route the cables through the collar. I've seen some ideas here, and I'll eventually settle on one.

Final little twist I might add is a digital tap list. I know it's only two....but it's cool. So here we have a Rpi hooked up to a little 5" touchscreen. A little modding of the CSS and I have it all nice and displayed.

Tomorrow we'll see how the temp test goes and if all is well I'll stain it to finish the top.

 

[boasist]

So I got some stuff in the mail today, and I stained last night. I'm not quite sure why the spots where I filled in the screws are totally blank, probably really dry from the filler and I just need to spot stain them so it absorbs as I want. Originally I installed the shanks with the collars and the extensions...

I wanted a bit more of the shank in the keezer column to absorb the cold. So I removed the collars and BOOM! all is looking great now! I'm quite pleased it worked out so well.

So that's awesome and it makes me happy. I'm running another cold test, I had an old power supply with a built in timer from my days when I owned some turtles, I'm using that to control the fan in the keezer, it's on for 30 minutes every 90 minutes, which is just what I wanted. I didn't want to run the fan all of the time, and I didn't want to run it only when the keezer was on. So this works out.

Just running another cold test now, last time I had some condensation, so I put some stripping down and added some rubber grommets to the shank seals, we'll see how she does now.

Right now, I'm off to actually keg my first beer!

 

[mp5284]

Definitely liking the digital tap list!! Awesome idea! Would be pretty cool if there was a way to integrate something to tell you how much is left in each keg.

 

[boasist]

Definitely liking the digital tap list!! Awesome idea! Would be pretty cool if there was a way to integrate something to tell you how much is left in each keg.

Oh they totally do, check out raspberry pints. You'll be pleasantly surprised I'm sure.

 

[boasist]

OK, I need a little help, so I got the tile laid out, and I'm just 9 mosaics short! I have the tile, but if I don't have to cut it up for this I'd be pleased, although my patience might get the better of me.

My thought was to get a small 4x4 drip tray to fill the gaps, then I'd be good. Granted, two drip trays will cost me just as much as the piece of tile does, but that's beside the point! Here is the keezer as it stands...

And here is a drip tray I found, I figure I can just cut off the wall mount and trim the unit down in height to match the tile, then I'll be set.
http://ebrew.com/product1507.html

Any thoughts?

 

[imasickboy]

DIY drip trays: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30930

Or look at some cheapies here: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/2683/drip-trays.html

 

[boasist]

Thank you sir. I'm thinking I need to get back on the 3d printer wagon...

 

[boasist]

Big moves this weekend as I have tapped and served the first selections!

I rounded it out with some cool frosted glass tile I had, and after the delay with the tile layout, I did go out and get a 3d printer and solve my problem.

3D printed drip trays! Just found a suitable design on thingiverse and it was printing within an hour of purchase. It's a beautiful thing.

Here is a shot from the top of the mostly completed keezer. I need to work out a final resting place and trim/finish work.

I brewed up a stout yesterday and some friends were enjoying the cream ale and IPA on tap until the brew was finished and I joined them. The aluminum plate works great, keep the glasses cold (not frosty), so it just helps picking up a "tempered" glass to the beer we're about to enjoy.

 

[boasist]

It's been holding up great ever since that glorious first brew. I found out that with the slimline torpedo kegs I can get 4 in there, which is awesome, and I'm contemplating adding a third tap, possibly nitro, to the center.

I ordered some of the intertap faucets as I like all of the attachments, and I want to try the stout spout before I make the nitro investment.

Keep on pouring on...