My $30 Craigslist Freezer - A Love Story

[fermentednonsense]

Amazon has the STC-1000 for about the same price as ebay.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...s&field-keywords=stc-1000&rh=i:aps,k:stc-1000

 

[Punity]

Update: ordered my kegging gear getting a couple cornies for free and am now cutting all my holes and getting my insulation ready.

 

[thatfatbastard]

**New Pictures**

So... Let me bring you up to speed.

I had sanded the lid and got it fitting in to the collar when we left off.

Today, I taped up the lid and shot it with some Rustoleum appliance paint. It looked pretty good after one coat, but after the second coat you can definitely tell that it came out of a spray can. Not that it looks horrible, but the overspray is a dead giveaway.

On to better news. Earlier this week I spoke with Todd at Kegconnection.com and ordered some of the pieces that I will need to have the keezer up and operational (but not complete) by next weekend. So tomorrow I should have a new regulator, thermostat and three sets of disconnects. For the party we are throwing I am just going to be using cobra taps, I may not even put the collar on for next weekend.

Also, yesterday I received a package from McMaster Carr with 20 tap handle inserts and a package from Amazon with my dehumidifier. Things are coming together.

I have two beers in primary right now, and they should be finished fermenting in the next day or so. I will be dry hopping one and letting the other be. I will probably only dry hop for 4 or 5 days, so that I have plenty of time for the kegs to force carb. I'm hoping that the beers don't taste too green. This is the quickest I've turned a batch. I usually let them sit in primary for 3 or 4 weeks. These will only be a week and a half or so.

 

[Punity]

Looks good man. Im painting mine today. I had to rip off the insulation under the lid to get it to fit with the new insualtion on the collar. But thats ok i hit it stainless looking spray paint matches the foil look on the new insulation

 

[wilserbrewer]

**New Pictures**

. For the party we are throwing I am just going to be using cobra taps, I may not even put the collar on for next weekend.

Sure this works fine...just toss a blanket or sleeping bag over the top of the keezer when you are chilling the kegs a few days in advance of the party, once cold they will stay cold, but plan ahead...it takes a while to chill large volumes...IME days not hours.

 

[thatfatbastard]

Looks good man. Im painting mine today. I had to rip off the insulation under the lid to get it to fit with the new insualtion on the collar. But thats ok i hit it stainless looking spray paint matches the foil look on the new insulation

Cool, I hope you have better luck than I did. I definitely looks better than it did, but not necessarily as good as it could. Below is what the chrome looks like with the tape off.

I think what I might do is either pick up a quart of paint and use my spray gun or repaint it with the chalkboard paint. Either way I am going to wait until after next weekend to do that.

Or hell, who knows, I might just leave it the way it is.

If the weather is good tomorrow, and it is supposed to be, I'm going to paint the chest.

 

[thatfatbastard]

Sure this works fine...just toss a blanket or sleeping bag over the top of the keezer when you are chilling the kegs a few days in advance of the party, once cold they will stay cold, but plan ahead...it takes a while to chill large volumes...IME days not hours.

I hope to get it starting to cool this weekend.

 

[Punity]

Cool, I hope you have better luck than I did. I definitely looks better than it did, but not necessarily as good as it could. Below is what the chrome looks like with the tape off.

I think what I might do is either pick up a quart of paint and use my spray gun or repaint it with the chalkboard paint. Either way I am going to wait until after next weekend to do that.

Or hell, who knows, I might just leave it the way it is.

If the weather is good tomorrow, and it is supposed to be, I'm going to paint the chest.

Haha i just put the primer down waiting to dry before hitting with chalkboard. I was trying to tape off the edges and seams make it look nice but the satisfaction said eff it i like it all black haha so i just primed the whole thing

 

[UKFreak]

Dude! Spray cans can and do work if you make a couple of adjustments. (I am new to brewing but been restoring old card for years!) If your surface ain't slick, the paint wont be no matter what you do to it. Take the time to get all the dents out (or fill them in). Use a good epoxy primer if you can. Most importantly (and this may salvage your current project) you have to put several coats on, color sand with a really super-fine grit (800 or more) then recoat and use an even finer sandpaper or even use a buffer and a extra fine compound. The trick is to build up enough coats to be able to sand without penetrating the finish down to the surface. A nice clearcoat also helps. The problem with spray cans is that the spray is somewhat inconsistent, so you have to build it up enough to level it out. Ya want 1st class, ya gotta spend the time! Most freezers have a rough, veined finish. That's why I went with the vinyl wrap over stock white. I had a UV laminate added to it for about an extra $50 to protect against the sun and weather (my kegger is on the covered deck next to the pool) and it works like a dream. Good luck and, more importantly, HAVE FUN!

 

[UKFreak]

Ya just HAD to do it, didn't ya! Now I'm already thinking about changin my 2 into a bar-like array with about a dozen or s omhome brews.....my wife's gonna hate you.......LOL

 

[thatfatbastard]

Amazon has the STC-1000 for about the same price as ebay.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...s&field-keywords=stc-1000&rh=i:aps,k:stc-1000

I don't know how I missed your comment earlier, but thanks. I had checked Amazon and thought all they had were the 220V models. I just checked again and found a 110V model. Oh well, I'll pick one up some time for another project.

 

[thatfatbastard]

Dude! Spray cans can and do work if you make a couple of adjustments. (I am new to brewing but been restoring old card for years!) If your surface ain't slick, the paint wont be no matter what you do to it. Take the time to get all the dents out (or fill them in). Use a good epoxy primer if you can. Most importantly (and this may salvage your current project) you have to put several coats on, color sand with a really super-fine grit (800 or more) then recoat and use an even finer sandpaper or even use a buffer and a extra fine compound. The trick is to build up enough coats to be able to sand without penetrating the finish down to the surface. A nice clearcoat also helps. The problem with spray cans is that the spray is somewhat inconsistent, so you have to build it up enough to level it out. Ya want 1st class, ya gotta spend the time! Most freezers have a rough, veined finish. That's why I went with the vinyl wrap over stock white. I had a UV laminate added to it for about an extra $50 to protect against the sun and weather (my kegger is on the covered deck next to the pool) and it works like a dream. Good luck and, more importantly, HAVE FUN!

I knew a car guy was going to pipe up. Yeah, I've done it with a car, but I'm just not sure I really want to put that much effort in to a '68 Whirlpool.

 

[thatfatbastard]

Haha i just put the primer down waiting to dry before hitting with chalkboard. I was trying to tape off the edges and seams make it look nice but the satisfaction said eff it i like it all black haha so i just primed the whole thing

You definitely need to post some update pics.

 

[thatfatbastard]

Ya just HAD to do it, didn't ya! Now I'm already thinking about changin my 2 into a bar-like array with about a dozen or s omhome brews.....my wife's gonna hate you.......LOL

Do it!

 

[thatfatbastard]

Update: ordered my kegging gear getting a couple cornies for free and am now cutting all my holes and getting my insulation ready.

Free cornies are the best.

 

[beaksnbeer]

Ya just HAD to do it, didn't ya! Now I'm already thinking about changin my 2 into a bar-like array with about a dozen or s omhome brews.....my wife's gonna hate you.......LOL

Do it come to the DARK SIDE......WE HAVE MORE BEER!

 

[Punity]

I will post some pics up tomorrow. Primers drying and i.have to cut a hole for the temp control box. Just got my sump fan in today and gonna mount that up as well.

 

[thatfatbastard]

New Pics!

I did a bunch of work today on my keezer project, including painting the main chest. I also put some paint on the collar. I was thinking that I wouldn't need to have the collar on for the party next weekend, but last night I realized I was going to need it on so that I could mount my secondary regulators.

I'm waiting on the UPS truck for my new primary regulator, disconnects and thermostat. I also still need to do a bit more painting on the collar. At some point today I need to clean two kegs, transfer one of my beers in the fermenter into secondary to dry hop and transfer the other in to a keg. Hopefully I will be able to move the keezer in to the kitchen tomorrow and get everything put together and cooling.

 

[Punity]

few update pics hit the keezer with two coats of chalkboard paint drying the second right now.

Pic of my free keg and the blower ill be using to move air.

 

[Punity]

One mire

 

[UKFreak]

Yeah, exactly. That's why I went with the vinyl wrap. Didn't cost me much more than paint supplies and was one HELL of a lot faster! And you can do almost ANYTHING with vinyl. I've even used it on cars a few times when what I wanted to too intricate (or time consuming) for airbrushing!

 

[UKFreak]

Looks great, dude! I think I'd still hit it with a topcoat, if for no other reason to keep dust from attaching to it. That satin type finish tends to attract dust and pollen. BTW: if you wanna add some graphics you can still do vinyl. By picking them up and installing yourself (really easy to do) you can save serious money. Now...I still gotta sell the whole multi-keg thing to the ole lady.....thanks, bro! LOL

 

[thatfatbastard]

I ran it by her and my wife shot down the vinyl idea. I think that she wants it to be either black or skinned with wood.

She actually helped me bring it in to the house this afternoon. My parts came in and I started putting it together.

I got the regulators all hooked up and everything was looking great. Got the thermostat installed no problem. I attached the lid and there were problems. There was a gap in weatherstripping in the right front, so I looked around back and the back right corner of the collar was separated. I guess I'll be making another trip to Lowes for a brace - but not tonight.

Here's a link to a small album

 

[Punity]

Looks sweet man really nicely put together

 

[UKFreak]

I'm trackin with ya Bro! Gotta keep the other half happy! Looking great, though! I like the satin type finishes. I'm workin on a 79 Ford monster truck that I'm thinking satin paint and green metal flake old-school flame. Old hot rods look really nice in satin paint, and I'm thinkin so will an old-school kegger.......dammit, got me thinkin again.......we gotta stop talkin! LMAO!

 

[thatfatbastard]

few update pics hit the keezer with two coats of chalkboard paint drying the second right now.

Pic of my free keg and the blower ill be using to move air.

Lookin' good keezer buddy!

 

[thatfatbastard]

I'm trackin with ya Bro! Gotta keep the other half happy! Looking great, though! I like the satin type finishes. I'm workin on a 79 Ford monster truck that I'm thinking satin paint and green metal flake old-school flame. Old hot rods look really nice in satin paint, and I'm thinkin so will an old-school kegger.......dammit, got me thinkin again.......we gotta stop talkin! LMAO!

A house I used to own came with one of the old '50s Kelvinator refrigerators down in the basement. I wanted to keep that thing when we moved, but it weighed a ton. Would've made an awesome kegerator.

 

[UKFreak]

A house I used to own came with one of the old '50s Kelvinator refrigerators down in the basement. I wanted to keep that thing when we moved, but it weighed a ton. Would've made an awesome kegerator.

Yeah, I got snookered on ebay. Bought an old refer that had been converted. Guy was supposed to be a commercial refridge servie tech and said he had "rewired, reinsulated, and upgraded the system to the modern refridgerant"... Lied is ass off. The thing wouldnt work more than a day or two. finally got a partial settlement out if him through PayPal (still lost a couple hundred bucks), THEN had a local guy look at it who told me if he'd truly modernized it, would have had to replace the compressor (not done). Started to just junk it, but thinkin I may just go ahead and fix it up (and do it right), just because the thing looks really cool!

 

[thatfatbastard]

Well, I just rebuilt the collar and plugged it back in. We'll see how it goes this time. I think I'm going to have to put some washers on the hinges to act as spacers. It's pinching the freezer gasket in a couple of places and I don't want to have to readjust it each time I open the lid.

I also put some black electrical tape on the outside of the gasket (the gasket was white and really stood out when the lid was closed) to hide it. When I compete the collar and put the 1x6 oak facing on it you shouldn't be able to see the gasket at all.

 

[thatfatbastard]

A quick pic of it in place and running: