Moving kegs in and out of keezer without issues

[xCSx]

Is there some secret to moving your kegs in and out of your keezer without pulling on the gas/beer lines of your other kegs and playing musical chairs?

Any tips for tight squeezes?

 

[beernutz]

I put two sets of hinges on my keezer so I can lift just the lid or lift the entire collar when I need to get to a keg that's blocked by something.

 

[hvjackson]

No. It's a PITA. My first keezer I just decided I was going to have 1 or 2 fewer kegs in there than I thought would fit. My current (2nd) keezer build I bought a freezer much larger than I needed so I wouldn't have to worry about it.

With careful placement of the lines and maybe some zipties & cable staples you may be able to organize the tangled mess a bit. But it's never going to be pretty.

 

[pigroaster]

I put my beer lines in coils so they store under and beside my manifold which is on top of the compressor and the lines from the coil go to the various kegs. No problems here.

 

[xCSx]

while studying my keezer today, something I noticed is that the placement of your gas distributor manifold is very important, I have mine towards the middle of the back of the collar, I think I need to move it to the right side where the hump is, that way I don't have multiple kegs in the way.

 

[Yesfan]

while studying my keezer today, something I noticed is that the placement of your gas distributor manifold is very important, I have mine towards the middle of the back of the collar, I think I need to move it to the right side where the hump is, that way I don't have multiple kegs in the way.

That's good info. I plan on redoing my lid, so I'll be sure to plan for this.


Thanks for the tidbit.

 

[beernutz]

while studying my keezer today, something I noticed is that the placement of your gas distributor manifold is very important, I have mine towards the middle of the back of the collar, I think I need to move it to the right side where the hump is, that way I don't have multiple kegs in the way.

I did the same with my manifold, putting it over the hump.

If I could get a do-over on my keezer build I think I'd put my 4 taps on the left side of the collar over the compressor hump rather than the right side. If I'd done that I don't think I would have had to install the dual hinges as I think every keg would be accessible through just the lid.

 

[eric19312]

I have my manifold loosely attached to rear wall of collar. Not screwed down tight. I can easily move it out of the way to get at the kegs in back. The kegs in front are a bit harder as the shanks get in the way so yes I play musical chairs. Moving that stuff over the hump sounds like a good idea but then the space over the hump would be lost. Now It is useful for bottled beer, yeast, hop extract etc. Not sure I would give up that space for the convenience of not playing musical chairs with the kegs once in a while.

I am using the GE 7cf chest freezer that I bought because a thread on here said I could barely get 4 ball locks on the floor. Thread was right it is a tight squeeze. In retrospect a larger freezer might have been a better choice.

 

[Yesfan]

I did the same with my manifold, putting it over the hump.

If I could get a do-over on my keezer build I think I'd put my 4 taps on the left side of the collar over the compressor hump rather than the right side. If I'd done that I don't think I would have had to install the dual hinges as I think every keg would be accessible through just the lid.

I put my taps (T tower) on the left and have a split fold top, but my hump is to the right in my keezer. For me, since the space for the hump is cramped, I use one of the freezer's baskets above the hump to hold bottles. This way the other side has plenty of space for my kegs. The space under the basket is perfect for stashing a 2.5G keg out of the way.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

All my lines are coiled up on top of the kegs with a velcro tie. When I need to move kegs around I just disconnect the ball lock fittings and flop them outside the keezer. For me the critical placement is the taps. Wish I had gotten shorter shanks and 90 degree tailpieces. When I am swapping out my kegs, the one that is going to kick next goes on the hump, which is the only one that I can remove without juggling the entire freezer.

 

[b-boy]

I have 12-15 ft beer lines. I just disconnect the QDs on my beer lines and drop them into an empty bucket next to the keezer. That catches any runoff. Then I do the same for the gas lines. I add/remove kegs, hook it all back up, and stuff it all back in. It is a pain.

 

[xCSx]

The struggles!

Thanks all

 

[pigroaster]

The rewards!!!

 

[mongoose33]

The humanity!

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I have 12-15 ft beer lines. I just disconnect the QDs on my beer lines and drop them into an empty bucket next to the keezer. That catches any runoff. Then I do the same for the gas lines. I add/remove kegs, hook it all back up, and stuff it all back in. It is a pain.

f I understand correctly, you have QDs on the end of the hoses that connect to the manifold(gas) or tap(beer). Correct? what style do you use and how resistant are they to leaks? My hoses are camped directly to the manifolds and I always fear they will tear if I'm not careful. Perhaps its time for an upgrade?