Need Advice for Keg Lid Leak

[twmessmer]

Ok I made the collar for my keezer and the Kegs fit in the freezer fine, but when I put the disconnects on the lid sits up about 1/2" above the edge. The third keg is sitting on the shelf in the freezer and I really wanted my keezer to hold 3 kegs. I am trying to figure out how to fix this problem without making a whole new collar.

I would appreciate any ideas.

Thanks

 

[brewing_wookie]

I am not a kegger yet, so I dont know what type of connections are available, but can you get a 90 degree elbow type of connection?
And if you hadnt stained the wood and drilled it for taps, I would say just get a little larger lumber.

 

[day_trippr]

Ball lock QDs unfortunately all seem to project a good 1/2" above the rubber handles - even the pricey SS disconnects have the same height as the best plastic versions. No gain there.

I'm thinking shimming the collar and moving the hinges might be the least painful way to go. You could carve out the lid I suppose, but that's not how I'd cope...

Cheers!

 

[microbusbrewery]

A spacer constructed of wood is one solution. It'll take a little work to get it to look good so it blends in well. What kind of kegs are you using...ball lock or pin lock? If ball lock, a pin lock might fit. They're slightly shorter and larger in circumference than ball locks. You can also convert the posts to ball lock fittings. Except for some 3 gallon ones, I have all ball locks. Maybe someone with pin locks can post the actual height.

 

[jwalkermed]

if you are currently using true ball locks you could try to get a converted pin lock which are a few inches shorter and would probably sit on the hump.

 

[twmessmer]

I have all ball locks unfortunately. I was thinking of putting some kind seal on the wood like what's on the fridge door to maybe give it a little more space.

 

[Shawn_Brewin]

I think it might make it look sloppy if you try to shim or build it up with anything. you did a nice job on the collar, i am sure whatever quick fix you find it will just hurt the look of your finished product... i think Jwalkermed had the right idea for a quick fix, try to get a pin lock and convert it but short of that you might need to make a new Collar.

 

[actech]

Its probably the hump one doing it. Mine the same 2x8 collar with 2x10 dressing. Adventures in Homebrewing sells a shorter ball lock keg. Well they list it. Not been in stock for awhile. I am hoping they get some, special keg for da hump and I could have 3.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Loose-HandleBottom-5-Gallon-Low-Profile-Ball-Lock-Keg-wLid-_p_4998.html

 

[heckabrew]

I only have pin locks so I don't know how tall the regular ball lock QD's are but I did find these that look shorter than the plastic ones:
http://www.chicompany.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=376_1_3_7&products_id=3341

 

[twmessmer]

Does anyone think I could add a some kind or rectangular piece of plastic to the top of the collar and paint it black?

 

[day_trippr]

I only have pin locks so I don't know how tall the regular ball lock QD's are but I did find these that look shorter than the plastic ones:
http://www.chicompany.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=376_1_3_7&products_id=3341

Very good - that's 5/8" shorter than the plastic QDs - and the SS QD I've seen on other sites (Morebeer et al)...

Cheers!

 

[brewing_wookie]

I wouldn't add another piece, it already looks good. But i would get a wider piece of lumber and redo it. Since you did a good job once, you can do it agian and in the long run, you will be happy with it.

 

[heckabrew]

Does anyone think I could add a some kind or rectangular piece of plastic to the top of the collar and paint it black?

what about some sort of hardwood trim? I'm not sure if would be wide enough for the sealing surface but it would look pretty neat compared to a piece of plastic.

 

[BNC04]

What does the interior lid look like? Is it only this one keg hitting it?

I'd look at slightly modifying the inside lid before anything else. Cheap and easy and nobody will see it unless the keezer gets opened up.

My freezer lid had all kinds of bumps and things formed into it which lowered deep into the body of the freezer so I removed it all ( kind of a pain, but an option)

Brett

 

[BNC04]

On a previous Keezer build, I did add a trim piece for decorative purposes and to match the trip around the top of the lid which you cant see in this picture. This was done as a part of the original build , glued, scraped, sanded and made as one unit , adding it after your collar is built I think would not look as finished.

Brett

 

[twmessmer]

What does the interior lid look like? Is it only this one keg hitting it?

I'd look at slightly modifying the inside lid before anything else. Cheap and easy and nobody will see it unless the keezer gets opened up.

My freezer lid had all kinds of bumps and things formed into it which lowered deep into the body of the freezer so I removed it all ( kind of a pain, but an option)

Brett

The inside of the lid goes down about an inch into the keezer. That is what is hitting my keg. I didn't know u could take that off. Any suggestions on how to take it off

 

[BNC04]

I just used a utility knife, it cuts pretty easily. BUT- There will be foam under it for insulation. It would probably be easier to just modify the area that is hitting. Getting all the foam out and rebuilding the lid was tedious, messy and not much fun at all.

What I did on mine may be overkill for your issue.

I found another pic of my early keezer build and you can see where I notched the inside of the lid because it was hitting the shanks. Something like this may work for your issue

 

[twmessmer]

What does the interior lid look like? Is it only this one keg hitting it?

I'd look at slightly modifying the inside lid before anything else. Cheap and easy and nobody will see it unless the keezer gets opened up.

My freezer lid had all kinds of bumps and things formed into it which lowered deep into the body of the freezer so I removed it all ( kind of a pain, but an option)

Brett

The inside of the lid goes down about an inch into the keezer. That is what is hitting my keg. I didn't know u could take that off. Any suggestions on how to take it off

 

[day_trippr]

On both of the chest freezers I've converted into keezers, the lid liner is held in place by the gasket, which is loaded with plastic pop fasteners, and one screw in each corner. Fold back the gasket and I bet you see how it works...

Cheers!

 

[jrstaples1]

Maybe look up the cost of a replacement seal for your model and double up the seal. Not sure if it would be cost prohibitive or how it would look.

 

[day_trippr]

Because of the way they're formed, there really isn't a good way to double up a chest freezer oem lid gasket.
And putting something else between the original gasket and the lid could be tricky because the gasket holds the lid liner with a certain length pop fastener that won't stretch a half inch.

And of course, the lid hinges need to be moved by that apparent 1/2" of interference, because otherwise the whole mess will be squished right back to the current elevation along the hinge edge...

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

Cut the hump down?

 

[brew_ny]

Cut the hump down?

or beat it down with a rubber mallet ?

 

[actech]

Cut the hump down?

Compressor, Refrigerant lines, electrical Not an option really

 

[Paps]

Um....pardon me here if this isn't an option for you but........
Have you considered using a 3 gallon keg on the hump area instead of the normal 5 gallon variety?

 

[IslandLizard]

Compressor, Refrigerant lines, electrical Not an option really

Actually the hump doesn't have any of those embedded, but some maybe close, so one needs to be careful when cutting and seal it up again. Yes it's work.

Just saying this since there maybe some useful space between the compressor housing and the "bottom" of the hump that can be reclaimed. OP only needs to gain 1/2" or so.

 

[actech]

Ok I made the collar for my keezer and the Kegs fit in the freezer fine, but when I put the disconnects on the lid sits up about 1/2" above the edge. The third keg is sitting on the shelf in the freezer and I really wanted my keezer to hold 3 kegs. I am trying to figure out how to fix this problem without making a whole new collar.

I would appreciate any ideas.

Thanks

What did you come up with?

 

[twmessmer]

I ended up cutting a hole in the lid insulation. It doesn't look pretty but it works. Thanks for all the great ideas guys.

 

[brittney81895]

What did you decide to do? I would have built up the collar and added decorative molding to cover the addition.