SHELVES- for Ferm Chamber / Kegerator/keezer etc?

[SanPancho]

so have my side by side fridge built out and running smooth. freezer and controllable ferm chamber working well, aside from a noisy fan.

but now i'm realizing its going to be much easier putting stuff in the ferm chamber side if i just bite the bullet and put in a small shelf at the bottom. there's a sort of sloping compressor hump at the back of the fridge and it makes it difficult to put more than one thing in there at a time.

so - i'm wondering if anyone has some good ideas or experience with getting stuff in there that's not going to rot or get super messy with spills and liquids. dont want to do plywood, or wood in general, particle board/osb/mdo, etc. as i dont want to watch it get nasty.

but if someone's used them successfully by coating, or wrapping or something like that then i'm all ears. otherwise plastics, metals, etc seem to be the logical choice.

anyone had sucess with shelf that fits the description?

 

[Broken Crow]

Years back I had to make a set of shelves for a small free bar-fridge for a friend.. I just got some old grills out of a stove and cut and braized them to the right size and shape, and for the finishing touch I got a tin of some epoxy-stuff from a hardware store (I don't remember what it's called) that's made for dipping and coating tool handles with like pliers or whatever...looked like it came with the fridge by the time I was done.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've seen many kegerators (and some keezers) with wooden shelf structures (1/4" or 1/2" plywood and a few 1x's or 2x's). You can paint it for better looks (and keep it that way) over time. Functionality remains the same, for years.

You can now get 1/4"-3/4" solid plastic/polymer sheeting. Or a length of plastic decking board.
Cut it anyway you want.

 

[SanPancho]

I've seen many kegerators (and some keezers) with wooden shelf structures (1/4" or 1/2" plywood and a few 1x's or 2x's). You can paint it for better looks (and keep it that way) over time. Functionality remains the same, for years.

You can now get 1/4"-3/4" solid plastic/polymer sheeting. Or a length of plastic decking board.
Cut it anyway you want.

that's what im trying to avoid. yes you can paint plywood, but it still gets nasty, even moldy. and the cut edge is the worst, even if you seal it or paint it with multiple coats. never had good luck with it, and seen too many nasty examples to want to go there.

the fridge shelving idea is okay, but im going to have a conical and likely kegs on it, so im not sure its going to work well for that in terms of tensile strength. too bendy, unless i find something really thick, which is a bit doubtful.

but-- you gave me a great idea. while plastic at 3/4 or 1" would work, it'd be too expensive. crazy where those prices have gone... but a nice piece of hardie board siding/trim seems perfect. they're pre-primed. its not fibrous so it wont suck up liquid when it spills. and the 5/4 trim board should be plenty stiff. just need to see if i can get a 10ft piece instead of having to buy a full 20ft board....

have some unistrut laying around, add a few 1/4" hex bolts turns them into solid edgers, and the hardie just sits on top. guess that means i even get a little storage area under the shelf!

 

[day_trippr]

It'll be interesting to see where this ends up.

fwiw, I've been running raw/untreated plywood platforms in my three fridges for years, two of them well over a decades, and the only cleanliness issues have been from spills. I've had up to six full kegs atop them, where stability is key, and I don't think one can easily find "plastic" substitutes with that kind of strength. If I cared that much I'd slap a couple of coats of 100% acrylic exterior paint on all sides...

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

@SanPancho
I've got four 20 litre kegs standing on the keg fridge metal shelf and it's fine for years, well over 160lb. Although the weight does go down!

If you are worried the legs of your conical are going to punch through the wire shelf why not put coasters under them?

 

[SanPancho]

im not worried that it'll fail or break or something. but it gets bouncy, even bends/sags eventually, but i dont wanna deal with that. and i'm looking for a solid surface, not grated. so i'd still need to buy some plywood, plastic, sheet metal, etc. to go on top.

ive used strut to make shelves before in a ferm chamber at our big brewery (nano sized batches, covid nonsense), but we had some sheet metal we used to "wrap" some 5/4 subfloor plywood we used as the shelf. the strut bolted on the sides for edgers. that was solid. we stacked 1/2bbl kegs on that ****er no problem.

but honestly, if i'd have thought about the 5/4 hardie trim boards i'd of done that. cut, cut, cut, cut, cut. done.

 

[odie]

My fridge I built an angled piece to deal with the sloping hump. Used pressure treated wood.

If I did it again I would maybe use a piece of that plastic fake decking wood or hardie plank siding/trim stuff.

 

[SanPancho]

My fridge I built an angled piece to deal with the sloping hump. Used pressure treated wood.

If I did it again I would maybe use a piece of that plastic fake decking wood or hardie plank siding/trim stuff.

i literally just brought home the hardie trim. it was 23 for the 4x, but i decided to get the 6x instead and it was 30 for the 12footer.

just gotta figure out how im gonna cut it, not sure if ive seen my old blade around anywhere lately......