Sizing your Chest Freezer for Corny Kegs

[EdWort]

We get lots of questions on what will fit in a chest freezer for kegs, so I thought I would post some pics of various chest freezers with my corny template in the bottom. It's pretty easy to make. Put your corny keg on a piece of cardboard, trace around it, cut it out, then use that to make as many as you need.

Also, a few members have sent me pics of their freezers, so I am opening this thread up for members to post pictures of their freezer full of corny kegs. Please include the make and model number. Pictures only please, and only after searching to make sure a picture of your model is not already posted. I will be cleaning this thread regularly to delete any posts that do not contain a picture of a freezer with corny kegs.

Ok, here we go. Smallest to Largest.

GE 5.0 cu. ft. at Sam's Club for $151.73

I put some templates on the compressor hump because if you built a big enough collar, you could accommodate more kegs.



Holiday 5.0 cu. ft. at Lowe's for $188

ColoradoXJ13 has this Holiday Chest freezer and has 3 kegs and a 5# CO2 bottle in it.



Magic Chef 5.5 cu. ft. at Home Depot for $199

Holiday 6.8 cu. ft. at Lowes for $218

Mustangfreak reports in that he can fit 4 kegs in this 6.8 cu. ft. freezer plus a 12 pack of Newcastle. Here's his pic.

It seems that my cardboard circles may be off by a fraction of an inch which can make the difference of a keg. I will be checking each one against a corny keg to verify and trim where needed to prevent missing.

Hopefully this is still helpful from a visual standpoint. I'll update the pics soon.

 

[EdWort]

GE 7.0 cu. ft. at Sam's for $186.56

Magic Chef 7.2 cu. ft. at Home Depot for $219

Whirlpool 8.9 cu. ft. at Lowes for $298

Whirlpool 14.8 cu. ft. at Lowes for $398

 

[EdWort]

GE 14.8 cu. ft at Home Depot for $449

This is it so far, but I will add more as I get around to some appliance stores in the next couple of weeks. I'm leaving this thread closed and making it a sticky for reference information as it grows to be a pictorial database for chest freezers.

 

[The Pale Horse]

I haven't started kegging yet, but I have a "dorm fridge" that I was thinking about converting into a kegerator, so I was wondering what the diameter of your circles are considering I don't have corny kegs yet? That way I can get an idea on whether or not I want to convert the fridge

TIA

 

[mnadamn]

If people start posting their own setups, I think it would be a good idea to add a model number and the yearly energy usage. I found an Excel File that on the final spreadsheet has a list of freezers and refridgerators between 1979 and 1992.

I have an Armana C15B that I got off of craigslist for free. As you can see it fits 8 corny's easily without a collar. With one, it should hold 2 more... Along the lines of energy usage, this pulls 846kwh a year. I know this isnt too good, but the starting price was right.

I was wondering what the diameter of your circles are considering I don't have corny kegs yet? TIA

This image should help

 

[homebrewer_99]

Mine resembles the GE 14.8 CF setup.

Nice thread Ed.

 

[balto charlie]

Hey Ed I have the 7cu ft GE(sams club). I can fit 4. I'll supply a pix if needed. It is really tight. You have to remove the wire cage on the right. It pulls up easily. Might be able to get a 5th if you go w/ a 8" collar but I didn't try. 4 was enough for me. Charlie

 

[jcdillin]

I know the holiday chest freezer is already posted but I figured pictures with kegs would say more.

Holiday 5.0cf Chest Freezer from Lowes $188.00 as of the time of this writing

3 Kegs fit no problems with the 5Lbs CO2 tank, if tall enough collar was built it could fit 4 with the CO2 tank outside the freezer. Still have room to put bottles on the hump and around the kegs.

 

[bsay]

I also have the 5.0 cu. ft. from Lowes. Here's a pictures with 3 kegs, 5# CO2, and bottles down below.

(I know it's a duplicate, just wanted a pic of this model with 3 kegs in it, nothing against jcdillin's pic, which shows the hump quite nicely, as well as another option for configuration!)

 

[humann_brewing]

Hey Ed I have the 7cu ft GE(sams club). I can fit 4. I'll supply a pix if needed. It is really tight. You have to remove the wire cage on the right. It pulls up easily. Might be able to get a 5th if you go w/ a 8" collar but I didn't try. 4 was enough for me. Charlie

I have the opportunity to pick up a used one of these and am wondering what you think. You say you can fit 4 corny kegs in there, but it's tight. I may do some fermenting in mine as well for lagers. Could you fit 3 cornys and a carboy? There is not really enough room for 2 temperatures it seems.

 

[balto charlie]

I have the opportunity to pick up a used one of these and am wondering what you think. You say you can fit 4 corny kegs in there, but it's tight. I may do some fermenting in mine as well for lagers. Could you fit 3 cornys and a carboy? There is not really enough room for 2 temperatures it seems.

Hey Human being: Here are the measurements:
ID 32"X15"(it was a slightly smaller than this measurement)
Hump size: 7.5"(wide)
Distance from side wall to 3rd keg 13"
size of carboy: this varies but I measured my largest(6.5 gallons) and it was 13" wide X 27" high(w/ bubbler).
height of hump: 8"
Distance from top of hump to lid: 19"
The hump size is crucial because the carboy will sit on the hump. You will have to extend the width of the hump to be as large as the carboy bottom, another 4".
Bottom line: width will be very tight but doable and height will require a large collar, either 8-10". All of my measurements were hard to take due the crowded keezer. I did the best I could.
here is what it looks like(my first picture on this site). Charlie

 

[humann_brewing]

Hey Human being: Here are the measurements:
ID 32"X15"(it was a slightly smaller than this measurement)
Hump size: 7.5"(wide)
Distance from side wall to 3rd keg 13"
size of carboy: this varies but I measured my largest(6.5 gallons) and it was 13" wide X 27" high(w/ bubbler).
height of hump: 8"
Distance from top of hump to lid: 19"
The hump size is crucial because the carboy will sit on the hump. You will have to extend the width of the hump to be as large as the carboy bottom, another 4".
Bottom line: width will be very tight but doable and height will require a large collar, either 8-10". All of my measurements were hard to take due the crowded keezer. I did the best I could.
here is what it looks like(my first picture on this site). Charlie

Thanks Charlie, great info and looks like you have it crammed in there very nicely. Great work, it looks very nice!

 

[artbrewer]

i have the same freezer, but i will be using a tower tap system. do you think i will need to build a collar for this system?

 

[balto charlie]

i have the same freezer, but i will be using a tower tap system. do you think i will need to build a collar for this system?

I know nothing about tap tower sizing requirements BUT I used this freezer w/out the collar for 7months. I used picnic taps inside the keezer.There was barely any headroom for coiled hoses. It did work though.

 

[alohanole]

The Holiday 5.3 cubic ft chest freezer is now $178 at Lowe's. I may just have to pull the trigger!

 

[hokster]

Does anyone have experience with using the Kenmore 7.2 cu freezer as a keezer? I saw that Sears has it on sale for $199, and since I was already looking at the Magic Chef 7.2 (which is $15-20 or so more), which apparently holds 4 (without the hump), I was just curious as to if the Kenmore holds the same. It seems that the Kenmore is 3/4" less deep, so maybe that's fatal to holding 2 kegs in a row...

 

[PT934]

Kenmore 8.8cf chest freezer will fit 7 ball lock cornies with a collar (4 on bottom & 3 on hump). Scored one on black friday for $259 delivered. Finally got it all set up last week w/ Ranco controller & 7 taps. Works very well.

 

[chortly]

Is it just my machine, or are some of Ed's pics missing?

 

[chumprock]

Not seeing them either. Same happened with his brewhut thread but I figgered it was just my work proxy taunting me.

 

[fightguy]

Are any of these freezers okay for fermenting a 6.5 gallon carboy in?

 

[chefmike]

EdWort said he is changing servers... I am eagerly awaiting the return of all the pictures myself, as I am catching up on a lot of threads I missed.

I have a magic chef 10 cubic foot freezer that I got at a Home Depot Clearance center for $177 last year (edit after I rechecked what I paid). The stock rotates, but it is worth checking to see if there is one in your area. Here in Atlanta, it is down at Austell Rd and the East/West Connector in Austell. Some great deals, especially on appliances.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I just picked up this Magic Chef 7.2 cu. ft. chest freezer and it will not hold 6 kegs as shown in the pic in the second post of this thread. It will hold 3 in the lower area and one on the shelf but you'll need about a 5" tall collar to put a regular 5-gal. corny with QDs on the shelf.

I wanted it to be able to hold 6 but...it was $40 and driven by an old lady on Sunday so it was still a good deal.

 

[GreenMan]

Frigidaire 14.8 cu ft freezer can hold 6 kegs and a betterbottle or 8 kegs with plenty of room for bottles and co2 tanks.



Hump not shown on the left side also.

 

[DeadDoc]

EdWort said he is changing servers... I am eagerly awaiting the return of all the pictures myself, as I am catching up on a lot of threads I missed.

I have a magic chef 10 cubic foot freezer that I got at a Home Depot Clearance center for $177 last year (edit after I rechecked what I paid). The stock rotates, but it is worth checking to see if there is one in your area. Here in Atlanta, it is down at Austell Rd and the East/West Connector in Austell. Some great deals, especially on appliances.

Hmm i forgot that was there.... I have been looking on CL. There is an aplliance Smart in Marietta that has up to 9cf for I think it was $229 or so. 7's and that for $129.

 

[BierMuncher]

GE 7.0 cu. ft. at Sam's for $186.56

Whirlpool 8.9 cu. ft. at Lowes for $298

Whirlpool 14.8 cu. ft. at Lowes for $398

For what it's worth, i used to have the 8.9 and then upgraded to the 14.8. It can actually hold 9 cornies (snugly) if you're willing to remove those runners they install to hold the plastic baskets (which I was more than willing to do).

 

[hokster]

SpanishCastleAle:

Really? I can get 4 reasonably easily into the non-compressor area of my MagicChef 7.2. I'm sure you're right about needing a huge collar to fit cornies on the hump, though; I figure I'll just keep the CO2 tank/bottles there.

 

[chumprock]

I just purchased the Magic Chef 7.2 last week.
Fits 4 easy peasy, and 2 more on the hump with a collar. Really, there is no reason you could have to not build a collar. For the space and energy use, the 7.2 is great, AND it can hold 6!

Are you certain you have the 7.2 and not the 5.5 or something? Mine is laid out exactly like the pic on page 1.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I dunno what to say then...I can't get the kegs to fit front-to-back...I have to stagger them and then I can only fit 3 on the floor...then I could stagger another on the step. It's def not the 5.5. It's the 7.2 Magic Chef sold at Home Depot (the lady said she got it at Home Depot about 2 years ago).

Are all 5 gallon corny kegs the same diameter? I only have two and they are pretty much identical...pin locks. I bought them used about 11 years ago.

I'll try to remember to take a pic and post it.

 

[remilard]

Pin locks are wider than ball locks.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Pin locks are wider than ball locks.

Thanks remilard. Extremely pertinent info in a 'Sizing Your Chest Freezer for Corny Kegs' thread imo.

Soon as I left the house I told myself I should have brought a keg. But I saw a picture on the internet! Assumption fail.

I wonder if I could fit one pin lock and one ball lock front-to-back? I really wanted to be able to have 4 kegs on tap plus two conditioning.

 

[kgahan]

I also have the 5.0 cu. ft. from Lowes. Here's a pictures with 3 kegs, 5# CO2, and bottles down below.

(I know it's a duplicate, just wanted a pic of this model with 3 kegs in it, nothing against jcdillin's pic, which shows the hump quite nicely, as well as another option for configuration!)

Hi all, I am about to embark on a keezer build. I bought 2 cornies plus a 10# steel CO2 tank plus regulator on craigslist for $100. I would like to fit 3 kegs in the smallest freezer possible with room for tank. Just like jcdillins and the above setup.

The Holiday freezer looks perfect and cheap but the Lowes site says it is 27" deep. I was hoping to have it sit under a counter in our small kitchen and that would make it stick out some - kind of annoying. Is it really that deep?

Also, my CO2 tank is 23 inches tall. Will it fit on the hump?

For now, I plan on just keeping the picnic faucets coiled in the freezer but in the future maybe a tower or do a collar thingy like this guy:

CHEST FREEZER Vs. KEG-O-RATOR - Keg Beer Dispensing Discussion Forum - Kegerator

If I go the above route is there a simple way to shut the beer lines off at or near the faucets so that the kids (toddlers) aren't dispensing beer on the floor? I am thinking about the kind of hardware you see under the sink or even those things you see on IV tubes.

Lastly, do you think I could just replace the lid with a piece of butcher block countertop from IKEA. I have a big piece leftover when I replaced the counters in the kitchen. I would maybe protect the underside with some laminate and add weatherstripping. The countertop is close to 2" thick and heavy. Would the hinge support it when open?

Thanks for any help!

Kate

 

[TexasStu]

Hi all, I am about to embark on a keezer build. I bought 2 cornies plus a 10# steel CO2 tank plus regulator on craigslist for $100. I would like to fit 3 kegs in the smallest freezer possible with room for tank. Just like jcdillins and the above setup.

For now, until you build a collar so you can move your tank outside the freezer (IF I were you) I would just do 2 cornies and the tank inside the freezer. After all, you only have 2 cornies (so far), right?

...Also, my CO2 tank is 23 inches tall. Will it fit on the hump?

Nope!
Your CO2 tank is the same height as a cornie (5 gal.) keg. (see pic of keg sizes on page 1 of this thread).

For now, I plan on just keeping the picnic faucets coiled in the freezer but in the future maybe a tower or do a collar thingy like this guy:

CHEST FREEZER Vs. KEG-O-RATOR - Keg Beer Dispensing Discussion Forum - Kegerator

If I go the above route is there a simple way to shut the beer lines off at or near the faucets so that the kids (toddlers) aren't dispensing beer on the floor? I am thinking about the kind of hardware you see under the sink or even those things you see on IV tubes.

They make 'tap locks' you could buy (Examples HERE and they are not cheap but some of the designs are pretty ingenious). You could also install a shutoff valve just inside the collar of each tap but you might have a foamy couple of ounces on your first pour of the evening (after each time you turn it back on).

Lastly, do you think I could just replace the lid with a piece of butcher block countertop from IKEA. I have a big piece leftover when I replaced the counters in the kitchen. I would maybe protect the underside with some laminate and add weatherstripping. The countertop is close to 2" thick and heavy. Would the hinge support it when open?

Thanks for any help!

Kate

You might have to use a stick to hold it up (barring some counter-weight DIY project?) but I can't answer whether it will hold cold or not. Although, I'd probably add a thin (waterproof) layer of foam-type insulation (IF it were me). I would be tempted to keep the lid intact (even if raising it with a collar) and rig up something to unitize the butcherblock to the lid?

I would think using a fridge and some kind of tower setup (set back on the counter) would be what you are looking for. Something to have an uninterrupted countertop with loading/unloading from the front (rather than top). YMMV!

 

[enderwig]

For what it's worth, i used to have the 8.9 and then upgraded to the 14.8. It can actually hold 9 cornies (snugly) if you're willing to remove those runners they install to hold the plastic baskets (which I was more than willing to do).

View attachment 9454

I'm looking at buying the 8.9 and was wondering if you know if 10 pound tank will fit inside with 5 cornys or only a 5 pounder?

 

[BierMuncher]

I'm looking at buying the 8.9 and was wondering if you know if 10 pound tank will fit inside with 5 cornys or only a 5 pounder?

I'm pretty sure a 10# tank will fit on the compressor hump if you install a collar.

 

[RBChallenger]

Anyone have any idea how many ball locks this would hold? I am looking to do 5-6 cornies with a 10# tank (do ireally need a 10# tank to run all 5 or can I get away with a 5#?). Any help would be greatly appreciated as it would appear to be a pretty good deal I can get on it. Thanks!!!

 

[TexasStu]

I have the Kenmore 8.8 (?) freezer, installed a 10" collar and can easily fit a 20# CO2 tank on the hump, 4 cornies in the 'hole' with room for bottles.
I'll take some pics in a few days and post one here. A work in progress but I'm coming up to a stopping point that will illustrate what I want to illustrate. Still awaiting a few shank->beerline parts before I drill the collar and install the drip tray.

 

[McKBrew]

I just picked up the kenmore 8.8 this weekend. It's narrow, so you are only going to get 4 kegs on the main part. I'm guessing that with a collar and a shelf extending off the hump you could get about 6 in there. I'm mounting my CO2 on the outside so that I can use the hump for beer storage and a conditioning place for at least 1-2 kegs.

 

[TexasStu]

Yes, it's rather skinny. Plenty of height with a tall enough collar but not sure wide enough for 2 (on hump) without some extension (or at least a safety harness? ).

​

Plenty of room for a 20# CO2 tank with triple regulators with a 10" collar! As well as twenty 24oz. bottles without stacking/cramming.
The lower collar keeps the 10" collar and R4 sheathing solid (1"x4" on sides and in back and 8" on front to support the 19.5" stainless drain tray). Long shanks are a pain but will refrigerate through the insulation (at least that is the plan!)
Had to splice in a couple feet of a power cord to the lid but pretty simple with a few wire nuts.
It's a work in progress so excuse the extra picnic taps, etc.
The 5"x7" pic holders on the lid will be for labelling faucets.

 

[JBooze]

I'm new to brewing and hope to keg some day. My question is, won't the beer freeze if you are keeping it in a freezer?

 

[TexasStu]

If you do not use a temperature controller, yes.
You plug the freezer into a temperature controller, pug the controller into the outlet and put the thermocouple in the freezer. The freezer then will only come on when the temp. gets to what you set (20-80 degrees I believe?) and it will cool down 3-4 degrees then the freezer will turn off I have mine set for 39F.
Check out the Kegging FAQs!