Replacing chest freezer lid?

[scrub0bk]

So i've been doing some research on creating a keezer with a 7.0 chest freezer. How hard would it be to just replace the lid with a wooden one that way i dont have to drill through the actual lid.

Anyone know how hard that would be? Also how would i go about adding a seal like the original lid has, would i just take it off an use it you think?

appreciate any input!

 

[mbobhat]

Most of the builds I've seen you don't have to drill through the lid. You just use the same holes mounted and then unscrew the part attached to the bottom freezer, then just reattach that to your wooden collar. If you don't wanna use caulking or anything to reuse the lid later then you can put weatherstripping between everything which you could remove later. Point is you want your lid to be lightweight, and the springs in the back are already designed for the lid weight, so why not use what you have?

 

[scrub0bk]

Well with coffin on the top, don't most drill through the lid to get the lines in the coffin? or do they go out the back of the collar and then up to the coffin?

 

[Arglesnaf]

For me there is no problem removing the lid, my freezer works without it. The only added considerations are insulation and whether or not you need to jumper something once you removed the wiring harness. My freezer had a 6 wire harness, temperature alarms and a light, but it turns out it nothing in the harness is necessary for it to run.

This may be true of most \ all freezers, but my sample size is my one 8.8 cft kenmore.

 

[seckert]

the type of Keezer you are describing would require you to drill holes in the top of the lid. mbobhat is describing a keezer with a collar on it, then you just drill holes in the front and insert faucets there. they are different styles and it just depends on what you want.

 

[scrub0bk]

the type of Keezer you are describing would require you to drill holes in the top of the lid. mbobhat is describing a keezer with a collar on it, then you just drill holes in the front and insert faucets there. they are different styles and it just depends on what you want.

Yeah thats what i figured. I think im going to look into replacing the freezer lid and drilling through it so that it can have the coffin style without drilling through the lid. Unless i can find a cheap chest freezer i dont mind destroying

 

[satph]

The lid on my freezer is basically insulation with the outer skin. The advantage is that it's light. As long as the hinges you use can handle the weight, I don't see why you couldn't make your own top out of wood. I'd attach some foam insulation to the underside of the wood and use some weatherstripping in place of the original seal.

 

[scrub0bk]

The lid on my freezer is basically insulation with the outer skin. The advantage is that it's light. As long as the hinges you use can handle the weight, I don't see why you couldn't make your own top out of wood. I'd attach some foam insulation to the underside of the wood and use some weatherstripping in place of the original seal.

Yeah that would be my plan, insulate it and weather strip

 

[seckert]

I don't know why you are going through all of this though. do you plan on only having this keezer for a short while? if you are going to make it, I am betting the lid will get thrown away later on down the road since it will be some extra crap laying around your house. most of us put enough time and money into our keezers that once it becomes a keezer it stays a keezer. I would also say look on CL for used freezers. they are plentiful and way cheaper than a new one unless you can find some crazy deal somewhere.

 

[pelipen]

I did it, and it works fine. I used 1x4 poplar for the sides, and osb for the top since it's dimensionally stable. Everything glued and screwed. It was a prototype, so I covered it in black canvas... still there two years later.

For insulation I used two layers of pink foam you get at home depot. Cuts easily with a sharp knife and straight edge. For the seal I used the fattest weather stripping I could find.

This allowed me to bolt a tower to the top rock solid.
The hinges have zero problem with the weight. It lifts easily and stays up with no fear of falling.