My Fancy Keezer Build

[Booker78]

So you know those projects that you begin with full intentions of being a simple, quick project but then somewhere, somehow its becomes much more than you originally thought. Yeah, this is one of those projects for me!

I picked up a Insignia 7.0cf chest freezer at Best Buy when they were on super sale back during their 4th of July sale. My initial plan began with just wanting to build a collar and be done with it. I starting looking around on the internet for general ideas... this is where everything changed. I got the general build from a YouTube video by Regular Dude's Garage.

The collar was built by two 1x8 pine board boxes that were set into one another, capped and then injected with expandable foam. The collar is set on some neoprene weatherstripping that has adhesive on one side.

I picked up some 1/2" plywood to be used for a surrounding 3 sided shell. The back is still open. I made a caster base so the whole unit could be wheeled wherever I want it to go. This will be placed in my office, but I can easy bring it out to our living area during get-togethers. I picked up about 4 pallets and cut each board down to a 3" width at various lengths. Once the body was finished I drilled through the collar to handle 4 taps. I then attached the pallet wood to the plywood shell with glue and pin nails. I did the same for the lid, but chose to do a herringbone pattern at the top.

I mounted a 4-way manifold and a fan that came with an AC plug-in I got off of Amazon. To control the temperature, I installed a Johnson Controller. Most of the gas and beer connections are made with John Guest fittings.

Here's the final product. I'm pretty pleased with it overall. I think if I were to change anything, it would be to have a 4" or 6" collar, as the wheels and 1x3 caps added to the height. It's not crazy big, but it is a little taller than I would like. Now time to fill 'er up!!!!

 

[Booker78]

 

[Numsquat]

Very nice work, I really like the looks of this. I have a not-real old deep freeze I've been using to carb/hold kegs that my plan is to convert to a keezer at some point. It is a little beat up (dents. scratches) but something like this would cover up those blemishes. I could see using some reclaimed wood instead of the pallet wood also.

Question: did you do anything to the pallet wood or keep it rough?

 

[Konadog]

Nice wood work!

Question: Your beer line from the keg to the tap doesn't look very long, do you have foaming issues?

 

[Booker78]

Question: did you do anything to the pallet wood or keep it rough?

Thank you! The shell project would be perfect for what you described. What I like about it so much is that there is not one thing on this build that sacrifices the integrity of the freezer itself. It's just a cover and can be taken off without any damage.

I prepared the pallet wood by lightly pressure washing each board on both sides and shaving both sides straight to a consistent width with a table saw(I chose 3" based on the widths of the original boards). I wanted the rough look with varying thicknesses of board and shades. After assembled I coated all of the pallet wood with a flat poly coating for durability.

 

[Booker78]

Question: Your beer line from the keg to the tap doesn't look very long, do you have foaming issues?

Thank you! I used a little over 10' of 3/8" poly tubing. The coil of the rest of the tubing is hiding behind the keg. No foaming issues at all.

 

[Newbie332]

Wow, looks awesome. Congrats.

 

[MX1]

Tell us about the drip tray

 

[BirdmanBrewingCo]

Looks great!

 

[BrunDog]

Beautiful work. Curious though... are the condenser coils run around the box surface like many upright freezers, or is there a vent/fan to exhaust the heat? If the latter, there should be no issue, but otherwise you may affect performance and prematurely wear out the cooling system.

 

[Booker78]

Tell us about the drip tray

It is just a a 24" x 4" rubber bar mat I bought off of amazon, with a plywood base and strips of pallet wood as a surround. I screwed it onto the shell of the keezer. It has been holding very well and the rubber mat holds all of the drips and spills. I can just lift the mat and wash it when needed.

 

[Booker78]

Beautiful work. Curious though... are the condenser coils run around the box surface like many upright freezers, or is there a vent/fan to exhaust the heat? If the latter, there should be no issue, but otherwise you may affect performance and prematurely wear out the cooling system.

Thank you!!! There is a vent on the side of the freezer that I cut out of the shell. The condenser fan then blows directly out of the cut out. I used the original grate, painted it and screwed it in the shell. It functions just like the original freezer and I haven't noticed a lot of excess heat. I can easy add a fan in that area to extract more heat if needed.

 

[thejuanald]

I really like this idea. Quick question, how is the plywood shell attached to the lid and 3 sides of the freezer?

 

[rlynge]

I am really interested in this last question. I am a bit confused on how the shell is attached to the lid. It looks like Regular Dude's Garage build a lip on the front however I don't see how you can create a seal with that lip under the lid.

 

[Konadog]

This is what I used to seal my collar to the Kezer.

Item # 66789 Model # 02352
M-D 30-ft x 1-1/4-in Gray Camper Seal PVC Foam Marine/Automotive Weatherstrip