My Keezer Adventure

[jchawk]

Hey guys just thought I would share my adventures in Keezer building. I tracked down a used Holiday freezer that would hold 4 corny kegs. I finally got all the draft equipment, kegs and so on together and thought I would start my build...

Well last night I got the bright idea to drill through the freezer front. I got 4 holes drilled through the front... Then I went to drill the back and on the first attempt I heard a crunch and then a hissing noise.

Well lone behold I hit a coolant line and I let all the magic coolant out of the chest freezer.

I will post some pictures tonight so others can learn from my mistake. Luckily this was a used freezer that I only paid $70 bucks for... I'm planning on purchasing a brand new freezer from Lowes this weekend that is slightly larger as I found the holiday freezer to be a little bit of a squeeze for 4 kegs.

I'm definitely going to go the collar route to avoid this type of issue in the future.

If anyone has a 10% off lowes coupon code and doesn't mind parting with it... Shoot me a code via private message.

Thanks all. Always an adventure.

 

[Hang Glider]

Perhaps a bit more reading here might have saved you that pain - there have been many threads relating to this very issue.

Some folks opt for a collar, some for a tower on top - (there are no coolant lines in the lid) but never through the wall.

Lots of good build threads here with lots of collar choices, experiences, that may help you. Read on, and Welcome to HBT!

 

[jchawk]

Yup, pretty much always the case. In a hurry and should have read a little further. Live and learn. At least I didn't spill any beer and that's all that matters I suppose. hehe

 

[jchawk]

So this is what you don't want to do when building a keezer.

 

[jchawk]

Here is a picture of the collar I'm building aka the right way to build a keezer. It's assembled, sanded and the wood putty is drying. Up next I'll paint.

 

[jchawk]

One thing to note is I offset the inner board so it fits snugly in the lip of the freezer. I was able to accommodate for the lumber not being perfectly square by adjusting my inner boards. I'm thinking about applying a bead of caulking once I have it in its final resting place but I'm not sure this is required. Thoughts anyone?

 

[jchawk]

My freezer is a Frigidaire 8.8 Cu. Ft. Chest Freezer -- Model #: LFFC09M5HW. It easily holds four cornies and a 20 pound CO2 tank. I think I can fit another on the hump but need to confirm.

 

[jchawk]

Primed and applied the first coat of paint. I hope to finish up the second coat tonight. I will try and post a photo.

 

[Hang Glider]

I'm thinking about applying a bead of caulking once I have it in its final resting place but I'm not sure this is required. Thoughts anyone?

Bead of silicone caulk is a good idea - assuming the lid opens/closes on this collar, you want the top surface good and flat, to allow the seal on the lid to do its job. And the collar should be sealed to the freezer.

Air infiltration will add moisture to the inside, which you will be constantly fighting.

 

[jchawk]

Thanks Glider thats what I was thinking. I was thinking of making a double bead which should act like a gasket to seal her up.

 

[jchawk]

Painted the CO2 tanks I Found on Craigslist.

 

[jchawk]

Finished! Only 1 keg in so far but the other three fit. I'll post a picture of the drip tray shelf I built as soon as its painted.

 

[jchawk]

Here's it completed with the drip tray.

 

[beninan]

Did you already part ways with that Holiday freezer? If not, you could cut out one of the end walls, since it's useless not, and get an old mini-fridge. Remove the door from the mini-fridge and position it in front of the end wall that was cut out of the Holiday freezer, to make yourself a top-loading fermentation chamber.

 

[CGVT]

Did you already part ways with that Holiday freezer? If not, you could cut out one of the end walls, since it's useless not, and get an old mini-fridge. Remove the door from the mini-fridge and position it in front of the end wall that was cut out of the Holiday freezer, to make yourself a top-loading fermentation chamber.

That is probably not worth the effort because you can only get one bucket in it and a carboy with an airlock won't fit without a collar.

You can probably get an old refridgerator for next to nothing on craigslist to use for a chamber.

I have a small freezer that would have held four kegs (with two staggered on the hump) with a collar that quit working before I built it into a keezer.

I am using it for a fermentation chamber now with a pan of ice to keep the temperature down and I have my kegs in my fermentation fridge. Not having enough room to have two or more batches going at the same time sucks...

 

[jchawk]

Yea I already trashed it... I bought another freezer on craigslist for 40 bucks to do controlled fermentation storage. If you're in a large metro city you can find all kinds of cheap stuff on there. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[jchawk]

Here's a couple of pictures of the drip tray up close. I super glued the rare earth magnets to the back. Those came from 3 hard drives. Three sets seem to hold this securely, no wobbling or drifting downwards.