MONSTER keezer!

[Jah]

Ok I need some help from anyone that is mechanically inclined. I have a massive ceramic tower that will be mounted on top of the keezer. Since it is so heavy and fragile I dont think its a very good idea to to open the lid like the deep freeze is intended. I have thrown around a few ideas. Possibly taking off the hinges off and putting the lid on a swivel. I know this might seem crazy but i have also tossed around the idea of hooking up an actuator either hydraulic or pneumatic to raise the lid. How kick ass would that be. Here in lies the problem. I have no mechanical skill. I can creatively think of ways to do things but lack in the execution. Let the ideas start flowing!

 

[rdwj]

I think it was Brewpastor that build one with a whole new top. His has an elevated back that held the taps instead of the tower, but you could folow the same logic. Basically, build a new counter as a lid. Place a hinged access panel on both sides of the tower. That way, you'll have access to the whole cooler, but won't have to move the tower during loading.

 

[Jah]

Good idea. The only problem is I am building a bar around the deep freeze and I am doing the bar top in burl veneer with a clear epoxy over that. I really dont want to have seems running through the bar top ( for asthetic reasons). Swmbo is only letting me do this project because I promised it would look classy when it was done.

 

[mmb]

Good idea. The only problem is I am building a bar around the deep freeze and I am doing the bar top in burl veneer with a clear epoxy over that. I really dont want to have seems running through the bar top ( for asthetic reasons). Swmbo is only letting me do this project because I promised it would look classy when it was done.

Looks like you will be building a cold box under the bar to chill your kegs then.

Dude has one in his bar that I'm going to be replicating in mine this summer. We both bought plans from http://www.bar-gear.com/. I'll be building the straight bar.

 

[Rhys79]

Ok, I'm slightly confused. If the bar is being built around the keezer, is there going to be a gap in the bar counter where the keezer is at, or will the counter be going over the top of the keezer?

If there's going to be a gap in the counter for the keezer, I would think it would look better with the seams for the split lid like rdwj suggested done in the counter material than the top of the keezer in a big gap in the bar counter. You'd need to add a couple extra hinges.

Move them to the sides and have the swing out toward the sides so they lay flat when open, kinda like the counter passthroughs you get at places with full surround bar. I don't think you'd get much classier than that without going to an under bar fridge that has side open doors so as to have an uninterrupted counter.

Maybe a bit much if you're not particularly mechanically inclined though, as it would require fairly exacting measurements and some finish carpentry skills.

Just my $.02 :rockin:

These hinges would work nicely and look good for the doors as part of the countertop. If you have them swing open to the side and lay flat on the adjacent bar area, you could cut the other side to a 45deg angle along with the sides of the center part with the tower on it so that they mate nicely with nearly no gap. If everything is built properly, the seems would be negligable when it's closed.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I know exactly the type of tower you're talking about. They are made for immovable countertops.

I wouldn't even think about mounting one on a keezer. Save it for a built-in bar.

 

[pcrawford]

What about cutting the freezer top in half or 1/4. then mounting the tower on the half that you never lift up.

 

[david_42]

Another alternative (which I'm fairly certain someone has done here) is to build the bar higher than the freezer & put the freezer on rollers. A connector would be run from the bar's underside to a hole in the freezer top. There would need to be enough slack in the hoses to allow the freezer to roll out. Plus you would need enough space around the freezer for air circulation & heat removal.

 

[Jah]

Ok, I'm slightly confused. If the bar is being built around the keezer, is there going to be a gap in the bar counter where the keezer is at, or will the counter be going over the top of the keezer?

If there's going to be a gap in the counter for the keezer, I would think it would look better with the seams for the split lid like rdwj suggested done in the counter material than the top of the keezer in a big gap in the bar counter. You'd need to add a couple extra hinges.

Move them to the sides and have the swing out toward the sides so they lay flat when open, kinda like the counter passthroughs you get at places with full surround bar. I don't think you'd get much classier than that without going to an under bar fridge that has side open doors so as to have an uninterrupted counter.

Maybe a bit much if you're not particularly mechanically inclined though, as it would require fairly exacting measurements and some finish carpentry skills.

Just my $.02 :rockin:

These hinges would work nicely and look good for the doors as part of the countertop. If you have them swing open to the side and lay flat on the adjacent bar area, you could cut the other side to a 45deg angle along with the sides of the center part with the tower on it so that they mate nicely with nearly no gap. If everything is built properly, the seems would be negligable when it's closed.

It is going to be a keezer/bar. all i am really doing is completely inclosing the deep freeze to make it look like a normal bar. it is a 15 cf freezer so other than airspace the overall structure wont be much larger than the initial freezer i started with.

I know exactly the type of tower you're talking about. They are made for immovable countertops.

I wouldn't even think about mounting one on a keezer. Save it for a built-in bar.

It practically is going to be a built in bar. Due to its size its not going to be that easy to move around. It will look and function like a normal bar. it will just happen to have a 15 cf deep freeze built in.

 

[Jah]

I was really hoping someone would push me towards putting actuators on the lid so it would raise it self up at the push of a button. i know this is absurdly nonpractical but it would be so so bad ass. my buddy builds custom cabinets so he will be doing most of the woodwork. we just cant seem to figure out a effective yet creative way to get inside the freezer.

 

[pjj2ba]

What about cutting the freezer top in half or 1/4. then mounting the tower on the half that you never lift up.

Like this

This is my "portable" beer serving cart made out of an unused propane grill base. The back liftable part is wide enough to fit a carboy in as I also use this as a fermentation chiller. Either for serving or fermenting it is chilled with ice. Rather than make a whole new lid, if it were me, I'd take a circular saw and cut the lid 1/3 to 2/3 (front to back). Clamp down a good saw guide. I'd actually probably take a 1 1/2" strip out and face the cut surface with some 3/4' wood. Fasten the front 1/3 down permanently and mount the tower on that. Or you could just build a whole new top

 

[pjj2ba]

Or mount it on an immovable bar top and run some chilled beer lines to a remote (could be right next to it) keezer. As others said, make it so the keezer can be pulled out. I did this with my upright fridge

Actually to the left of this, under the main part of the bar is a dresser that I can slide in and out. Half the drawers are filled with beer stuff, the other half with tablecloths - some consessions had to be made.

 

[morrighu]

I don't think you're going to have enough clearance for the freezer to function properly. My husband found out about that the hard way. He shoved our fridge up against the wall (it requires 1 1/2 rear clearance) and his favorite ice cream melted, ending up in a big puddle in the bottom of the freezer.

Mor.

 

[Jah]

if it helps here is a simple illustration of what i am hoping to accomplish.

 

[mmb]

Looks interesting, but are you trying to save money by using an existing freezer or are you doing this for the "cool" factor?

If you're trying to save money by using the existing hardware, you may be spending more time, effort and money than it would be to use something else for your cold box.

If it's for cool factor, it will be pretty nifty to actuate the bartop.

 

[pjj2ba]

You could have the top simply rest on top of the freezer (with some guide pins to hold it in place) and then rig up 4 cables and pulleys such that you can lift the lid straight up. Just make you put some kind of limiting device on it so you don't smash your tower into the ceiling.

 

[Jah]

Looks interesting, but are you trying to save money by using an existing freezer or are you doing this for the "cool" factor?

If you're trying to save money by using the existing hardware, you may be spending more time, effort and money than it would be to use something else for your cold box.

If it's for cool factor, it will be pretty nifty to actuate the bartop.

i have already gone above and beyond the point of cost efficiency. i think it would be effective as well as cool.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I plan on building my bar this summer and using a chest freezer for kegerator. My plan is to have a basic chest freezer kegerator and instead of a collar have my lines run out the top of the freezer up through my bar top a couple inches away to my tower on my bar. Then have the chest freezer on wheels to be able to roll it out to load and unload kegs. only question I'm having with this approach is having slack in the lines to pull the fridge out to load and unload while leaving the 2nd tap hooked up since they will most likely not cash at the same time. I'm thinking having the lines go through grommets that I can pull slack out of when removing freezer and push back into then sliding under bar..

Maybe you could do something like this? Go from this for a solution?

 

[nathan]

for a built in counter, you could look at smaller fridges/freezers that will open from the front.

The doors would be behind the bar and out of site, or you could cover them with paneling so they looked nice. Build a cubby hole or cabinet spot next to it for your CO2 tank, regulator, etc., and run in one gas line and put a manifold inside the freezer.

Set up a small computer fan or two and keep some space around the appliance so you can keep it running well.