My first keezer!

[reed1099]

hey everyone. so I'm pretty new to brewing and kegging. I'm in the military and just got back from a deployment. i spent every day of my 4 month trip to the desert designing this keeper in my head. its almost done but I'm open to suggestions! just thought id share it with everyone. cheers!

 

[Gear101]

nice build..

 

[reed1099]

nice build..

Thank you. Built it in my dads garage on leave...I had no tools but a small skill saw, a drill, hand saw with miter box, and a hammer. Next project is building me a shop with some tools ASAP!

 

[Beer-lord]

First, thanks for your service!!!!
Second, I like the design. I have absolutely no creativity and am always impressed with what others can do.

 

[jro238]

Looks great...shows that you don't need a garage full of tools to build something really nice (although I'm sure it does make it faster )

Are you planning on staining the wood or just putting a clearcoat on it?

 

[Dan]

reed first off, thank you for your service! Your keezer build looks fantastic. Great job!

 

[reed1099]

Looks great...shows that you don't need a garage full of tools to build something really nice (although I'm sure it does make it faster )

Are you planning on staining the wood or just putting a clearcoat on it?

Yes dark red mahogany

 

[reed1099]

Thanks everyone!

 

[threeporks]

Schwing!

 

[Jester369]

Looks great so far!

 

[reed1099]

Looks great so far!

Thanks jester. I appreciate all your help.

 

[reed1099]

Got the countertop molding on. Gotta do the bottom skirt then it's tile time. It'd be nice if my faucets and shanks got in already!!

 

[reed1099]

Added the bottom molding skirt to hide the casters and upgraded the wheels. Too much weight for those plastic wheels, not to mention its dry still. once the kegs were full it would never have moved.

 

[bbentley40]

Looking great.. keep up the good work!

 

[reed1099]

Should I leave those front two panels lights or do it all the same dark color? Obviously the coffin will be dark too.

 

[kapbrew13]

Should I leave those front two panels lights or do it all the same dark color? Obviously the coffin will be dark too.

Contrast looks nice.

 

[milldoggy]

contrast looks nice.

+1

 

[H-Balm]

Super nice.

 

[reed1099]

She's almost there....

 

[kapbrew13]

Looking real good . And you only used basic hand tools? Crazyness

 

[reed1099]

Looking real good . And you only used basic hand tools? Crazyness

Yea the only "power tools" I have are a 18v ryobi drill and skill saw.....handsaw with a miter box for all the angles and stuff. A nail gun and miter chop saw would have done me wonders hah I think I'll invest in some tools here soon.

 

[kapbrew13]

Yea the only "power tools" I have are a 18v ryobi drill and skill saw.....handsaw with a miter box for all the angles and stuff. A nail gun and miter chop saw would have done me wonders hah I think I'll invest in some tools here soon.

Even better!! Me on the other hand will have to go to the newly open HarborFright and get more 1 time use power tools.

 

[kapbrew13]

Question. How did you attach the top piece to the top of the chest freezers lid? Just cant picture it for some reason. Thanks.

 

[reed1099]

Question. How did you attach the top piece to the top of the chest freezers lid? Just cant picture it for some reason. Thanks.

Are you referring to the whole tiled countertop or just the tap tower as I call it?

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thank you for your service.

Really, really nice build man! It looks fantastic. How are you cooling the coffin? Sorry if I missed it earlier in the thread. I have some suggestions that I did with my build if you need any help. Keep up the great work!

 

[reed1099]

Thank you for your service.

Really, really nice build man! It looks fantastic. How are you cooling the coffin? Sorry if I missed it earlier in the thread. I have some suggestions that I did with my build if you need any help. Keep up the great work!

I'm really not cooling the coffin actually. What I have is a hole just small enough for the beer lines and the lines go through a small tunnel of insulation to their chosen shank. Enough air goes from the freezer to the tiny tunnel of lines to keep them cool enough for a few hours after each pour. After sitting for any period of time after I just discard an ounce or two of the beer in the lines. If I'm pouring a full pint (or more ) the beer gets cold enough quickly to counteract the ounce of warm beer. I'm ok with the setup but I'd like to cool the whole coffin with some circulating fans in the near future. What do you recommend?

 

[kapbrew13]

Are you referring to the whole tiled countertop or just the tap tower as I call it?

Whole tiled countertop. If I use bolts, won't they leave a hump for tiling?

 

[reed1099]

Whole tiled countertop. If I use bolts, won't they leave a hump for tiling?

I used button head bolts right through the top down. Then I added a sheet of 1/4 plywood and cut out the holes where the bolts are to countersink them. I needed the 1/4" ply anyway to make my tiles come level with the molding do it worked out perfect.

 

[reed1099]

Final coat of stain. 2825204 coats of clear and she'll be done! Oh, and I'd my shanks and faucets ever get here.

Keg cowboy has great deals but shipping and customer service are horrible!!!!

 

[Kirch3333]

Looks fantastic!

 

[JohnnySardonic]

Awesome build. If this is your first keezer I can only imagine your next one... EBay money!

The DIY section of HBT is becoming my favorite. I have NO woodworking skills, but watching you guys build beautiful pieces of art (and yes, keezers like this are art) inspires me to no ends. If only cutting wood wasnt dangerous to myself and others, I would use posts like this to build my own.

 

[reed1099]

Awesome build. If this is your first keezer I can only imagine your next one... EBay money!

The DIY section of HBT is becoming my favorite. I have NO woodworking skills, but watching you guys build beautiful pieces of art (and yes, keezers like this are art) inspires me to no ends. If only cutting wood wasnt dangerous to myself and others, I would use posts like this to build my own.

Thank you. If you ever give it a try everyone on here is more then helpful to give you any and all info you need, myself included. I couldn't have done it without the help (And design ideas) of others on here.

And iv already considers the "eBay money." I'd definitely build these and sell them if people were interested. I had fun doing it.

 

[kapbrew13]

I used button head bolts right through the top down. Then I added a sheet of 1/4 plywood and cut out the holes where the bolts are to countersink them. I needed the 1/4" ply anyway to make my tiles come level with the molding do it worked out perfect.

thanks. And that looks great!!

 

[kapbrew13]

Thank you. If you ever give it a try everyone on here is more then helpful to give you any and all info you need, myself included. I couldn't have done it without the help (And design ideas) of others on here.

And iv already considers the "eBay money." I'd definitely build these and sell them if people were interested. I had fun doing it.

Just a thought. Maybe make shells that people can put together quickly and pop in their own chest freezer. Next thing you know, it'll be manufactured in china and sold in every Walmart.

 

[carlisle_bob]

I'm really not cooling the coffin actually. What I have is a hole just small enough for the beer lines and the lines go through a small tunnel of insulation to their chosen shank. Enough air goes from the freezer to the tiny tunnel of lines to keep them cool enough for a few hours after each pour. After sitting for any period of time after I just discard an ounce or two of the beer in the lines. If I'm pouring a full pint (or more ) the beer gets cold enough quickly to counteract the ounce of warm beer. I'm ok with the setup but I'd like to cool the whole coffin with some circulating fans in the near future. What do you recommend?

Hi

The best way to cool the tower is to blow air up into it from the freezer. A couple of computer fans will do the trick. The downside is that you (may) cool the faucet shanks and faucets. They then have moisture condense on them and it drips on the face of the tower. That can make for trouble with the finish just below where the shanks come through the tower. Yes I do have empirical data to back this up ....

Bob

 

[reed1099]

Complete! Finally

 

[carlisle_bob]

Hi

Very nice looking.

Does the lid stay open by it's self?

Bob

 

[reed1099]

Hi

Very nice looking.

Does the lid stay open by it's self?

Bob

No it has a prop up stick like a car hood. I'm gonna add some pistons to assist it because it's pretty heavy.

 

[reed1099]

 

[kapbrew13]

Awesome!!! But -1 for , is that a Boston team banner? Lol

All done by hand tools. +10