Quarantine Keezer Build

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Like many of you quarantine has allowed me a lot of time for brewing related activities that I've been putting off for far too long. After knocking out a few summer brews I decided it was time to upgrade from picnic taps and got to work on my keezer lid. Fair warning, my garage is a mess, so just pretend all the other stuff isn't there in the photos below.

I started with a plywood box the size I wanted the outside of the keezer lid to be.

20200405_143135.jpg


Added some 2x4 in key locations where I knew I wanted to be able to attach things (hinges, plywood, etc.). I made sure to orient the 2x4s so that they would align with my 1.5" insulation. Then I caulked all of the visible joints. My hope is that the caulk will help to make this pretty air tight.

20200407_173550.jpg


I cut my 1.5" insulation to size for all 4 sides of the lid, as well as the top. I glued the insulation in place, but looking back I probably didn't need to as you'll see in the next steps. Regardless, it made me feel better knowing the insulation isn't going anywhere. If you glue your insulation in place make sure to use insulation safe adhesive, otherwise it could deteriorate the insulation.

20200411_133933.jpg


After I had the insulation in place I added plywood to the inside of the lid everywhere except where the taps will ultimately go. This made the lid rather heavy, however I wanted the ability to attach items anywhere to the lid, and the plywood allowed me to do this. After the plywood was in place I went ahead and caulked all of the visible edges again for air tightness.

20200419_121628.jpg


I then drilled the holes for the taps. My design allows for 7 taps, but right now I only have 4 set up. My keezer is quite large and will hold 8 kegs if I move the CO2 to the hump. I drilled holes with a 7/8" holesaw after extensive research on here for the 1" vs. 7/8" debate. I can say, I'm glad I went with 7/8".

20200419_123034.jpg


20200419_123142.jpg


I gave everything a good sanding including the insulation. If you're careful the insulation will be just fine, it's pinned between two sheets of plywood. Then Iput 3 or 4 coats of a good quality mold and mildew resistant primer on the entire lid, inside and out. Followed by 4 coats of paint on the exterior of the lid only. While I don't hope to have any moisture problems, let's be honest they are inevitable. I'm hoping the mold/mildew resistant primer will help to deter anything on the lid, and I can manage wiping down the inside of the keezer every few months.

I installed the shanks and taps, and added eye hooks with velcro ties to the lid to control my beer lines. I came across a couple of things as I moved through these steps.
1. The threads on the shanks will tear apart your fingers if you try to spin the threaded end. Spin the non-threaded end as long as you can, then find something soft that you can put against the shank to knock it in. I used the plastic end of a variety screw driver (one where you can change the bits), and a rubber mallet. The 7/8" holes are tight, but that's what you want.
2. Don't worry about your taps being perfectly oriented. The entire assembly will spin at the end, so you can make slight adjustments once you get it in place.

My goal was to keep all of my beer line out of the way when the keezer lid was open, so I ran my 10' lines in an S shape around the lid. I mounted a fan to the lid that will run constantly (unless my humidity drops below 10%, but let's be honest, that won't happen). I also added a hook for my dehumidifier (Eva-dry), as well as a hook for my humidity sensor for my Inkbird. While highly unnecessary I like to know what the humidity level is in the keezer. I added weather stripping around the perimeter at the outside edge of the insulation and a vinyl decal to the outside then was ready to get this in place. I unscrewed the existing lid and used the same hinges and screws on my new lid without any issues. Once the lid was in place I mounted my CO2 manifold, and made sure everything was looked good.

20200530_195524.jpg


20200530_195529.jpg


I'm really happy with how everything turned out and can't wait for it to get to temp. I had the lid open to do so much of this work yesterday that it was a little warm, and I kegged a hefeweizen and had to swap out my CO2 tank this morning, so that's also bringing up the temp a little. Normally this stays around 38 degrees with no issues.

20200530_194301.jpg
 

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thats a beautiful build! what did you use to 'seal' the bottom of the lid to the top of the freezer body (in place of the magnetic strip that comes on the stock lid)? My keezer went tits up long ago and I'm working up the plans for a new one. I will likely use yours for quite a bit of inspiration if you dont mind!
 
thats a beautiful build! what did you use to 'seal' the bottom of the lid to the top of the freezer body (in place of the magnetic strip that comes on the stock lid)? My keezer went tits up long ago and I'm working up the plans for a new one. I will likely use yours for quite a bit of inspiration if you dont mind!

I used a self-adhesive weatherstrip seal. The weight of the lid keeps this compressed which prevents any air from getting in or out, even around the wires for my temperature controller.

This is what I went with - large gap.

Let me know if you have any more questions. I know I read countless builds with tons of different opinions before building mine.
 
Looks great! I especially dig that logo.

I vacillated on whether to put the taps in the lid or in a collar. I went the collar route. Not sure one is much better than the other though.

Thanks! I went back and forth for a long time on lid vs. collar and ultimately decided on collar because I wanted the ability to turn this back into a freezer if the need ever arose. As of right now I took 8 screws out of my original freezer lid and it's tucked away safely in the basement. I'd be shocked if I ever use it as a freezer again, but it wasn't that much extra work to do the lid.
 
did you use the original hinges to attach to lid? at first i didn't understand benefit of the sandwich approach until it came to attaching things like manifold now it makes total sense!
 
Like many of you quarantine has allowed me a lot of time for brewing related activities that I've been putting off for far too long. After knocking out a few summer brews I decided it was time to upgrade from picnic taps and got to work on my keezer lid. Fair warning, my garage is a mess, so just pretend all the other stuff isn't there in the photos below.

Nice build!

I started with a plywood box the size I wanted the outside of the keezer lid to be.

View attachment 682985

Added some 2x4 in key locations where I knew I wanted to be able to attach things (hinges, plywood, etc.). I made sure to orient the 2x4s so that they would align with my 1.5" insulation. Then I caulked all of the visible joints. My hope is that the caulk will help to make this pretty air tight.

View attachment 682986

I cut my 1.5" insulation to size for all 4 sides of the lid, as well as the top. I glued the insulation in place, but looking back I probably didn't need to as you'll see in the next steps. Regardless, it made me feel better knowing the insulation isn't going anywhere. If you glue your insulation in place make sure to use insulation safe adhesive, otherwise it could deteriorate the insulation.

View attachment 682988

After I had the insulation in place I added plywood to the inside of the lid everywhere except where the taps will ultimately go. This made the lid rather heavy, however I wanted the ability to attach items anywhere to the lid, and the plywood allowed me to do this. After the plywood was in place I went ahead and caulked all of the visible edges again for air tightness.

View attachment 682989

I then drilled the holes for the taps. My design allows for 7 taps, but right now I only have 4 set up. My keezer is quite large and will hold 8 kegs if I move the CO2 to the hump. I drilled holes with a 7/8" holesaw after extensive research on here for the 1" vs. 7/8" debate. I can say, I'm glad I went with 7/8".

View attachment 682990

View attachment 682991

I gave everything a good sanding including the insulation. If you're careful the insulation will be just fine, it's pinned between two sheets of plywood. Then Iput 3 or 4 coats of a good quality mold and mildew resistant primer on the entire lid, inside and out. Followed by 4 coats of paint on the exterior of the lid only. While I don't hope to have any moisture problems, let's be honest they are inevitable. I'm hoping the mold/mildew resistant primer will help to deter anything on the lid, and I can manage wiping down the inside of the keezer every few months.

I installed the shanks and taps, and added eye hooks with velcro ties to the lid to control my beer lines. I came across a couple of things as I moved through these steps.
1. The threads on the shanks will tear apart your fingers if you try to spin the threaded end. Spin the non-threaded end as long as you can, then find something soft that you can put against the shank to knock it in. I used the plastic end of a variety screw driver (one where you can change the bits), and a rubber mallet. The 7/8" holes are tight, but that's what you want.
2. Don't worry about your taps being perfectly oriented. The entire assembly will spin at the end, so you can make slight adjustments once you get it in place.

My goal was to keep all of my beer line out of the way when the keezer lid was open, so I ran my 10' lines in an S shape around the lid. I mounted a fan to the lid that will run constantly (unless my humidity drops below 10%, but let's be honest, that won't happen). I also added a hook for my dehumidifier (Eva-dry), as well as a hook for my humidity sensor for my Inkbird. While highly unnecessary I like to know what the humidity level is in the keezer. I added weather stripping around the perimeter at the outside edge of the insulation and a vinyl decal to the outside then was ready to get this in place. I unscrewed the existing lid and used the same hinges and screws on my new lid without any issues. Once the lid was in place I mounted my CO2 manifold, and made sure everything was looked good.

View attachment 682994

View attachment 682996

I'm really happy with how everything turned out and can't wait for it to get to temp. I had the lid open to do so much of this work yesterday that it was a little warm, and I kegged a hefeweizen and had to swap out my CO2 tank this morning, so that's also bringing up the temp a little. Normally this stays around 38 degrees with no issues.

View attachment 682998
 
Great job! I'm researching/designing my first keezer and have a question regarding the beer lines. Although I love the neatness and how you've managed to keep them tucked out of the way, I've read somewhere its best to keep the majority of your lines lower in the unit as the air is cooler vs near the top. What is your experience with this and do you get foamy first pours?
Also - what kind of paint did you user for the lid? Love how it hides the end grain of the plywood!
 
Great job! I'm researching/designing my first keezer and have a question regarding the beer lines. Although I love the neatness and how you've managed to keep them tucked out of the way, I've read somewhere its best to keep the majority of your lines lower in the unit as the air is cooler vs near the top. What is your experience with this and do you get foamy first pours?
Also - what kind of paint did you user for the lid? Love how it hides the end grain of the plywood!

Thanks! During my research I found similar feedback, however I also saw a number of people saying there was very little temperature difference between the top and bottom of their keezers with fans. I went for it, and I'm happy to say that I do not have any issues with foamy pours, and love that the lines and everything are out of the way.

As for the paint, I did 3 or 4 coats of Zinnser Bulls Eye 123 primer, followed by 3 coats of the blue Behr interior paint on the outside of the lid. I happened to have both of these already from painting my house, so it was just what was on hand.

Good luck on your build, and feel free to reach out with any other questions!
 
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