so you built a keezer...

[sputnam]

I want to build a 4 tap keezer and I would like some input from those that have built one.
briefly describe your keezer (size, kegs it holds, tap location)

then tell me if there is anything you would do differently or any feature you would like to add/remove.

I ask this because I've read that taps on the top make it difficult to open the lid and taps in a collar are subject to getting bumped, among other various difficulties. So, what do you recommend?

 

[DanH]

Mine holds six kegs easily plus a 20# co2 tank in the hump. I have 2x6 collar where I mounted the taps.

The change that I would definitely make is to hinge the collar to lift up with the lid. That solves your easily-bumped problem as well as your holy-crap-full-kegs-are-heavy problem. It's a very easy thing to if as well. I hinged the collar on one of my keezer style ferm chambers and it's definitely the way to go.

Also, I wouldn't go cheap on the faucets; just take everyone's word for it and go Perlick.


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[n2fooz]

Mine is a 4 tap using a Danby 7cu. ft.
It fits 4 ball lock Corny kegs and a 5 lb tank but I had to add a 3/4" spacer to the top and reposition the hinges.



https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/jester-ripped-off-again-my-keezer-475452/

 

[buddman]

Mine holds five kegs (w/ a 9 in collar). Have separate regulators for each line so that I can set/modify my carbonation based on style of beer. Went with Perlick faucets. With two on the hump, I can still fit my 5lb CO2 tank in the keezer. I have it mounted on wheels so that I can roll it our to the patio. Have the 7 cu.ft GE freezer from HD. Since my keezer is in my garage, I put the drip tray on a piano hing so that it folds down when not in use. I can't think of anything that I'd change at this point. Good luck on your build.

 

[sputnam]

those sure are beautiful and I like the idea of the taps in the collar attached to the lid. That may be the way to go.

another poster somewhere said he had to destroy his keezer due to the fact that the compressor went bad and no one would work on it because the wood was attached. Is that an issue with these?

 

[sputnam]

Mine is a 4 tap using a Danby 7cu. ft.
It fits 4 ball lock Corny kegs and a 5 lb tank but I had to add a 3/4" spacer to the top and reposition the hinges.



https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/jester-ripped-off-again-my-keezer-475452/

i assume you can slide this away from the wall to lift the lid? Any issues?

 

[n2fooz]

i assume you can slide this away from the wall to lift the lid? Any issues?

Correct. The skirt is not attached, it just slides out of the way.

 

[Dubchedford]

Mine holds six kegs easily plus a 20# co2 tank in the hump. I have 2x6 collar where I mounted the taps.

The change that I would definitely make is to hinge the collar to lift up with the lid. That solves your easily-bumped problem as well as your holy-crap-full-kegs-are-heavy problem. It's a very easy thing to if as well. I hinged the collar on one of my keezer style ferm chambers and it's definitely the way to go.

Also, I wouldn't go cheap on the faucets; just take everyone's word for it and go Perlick.


Sent from my iPhone using the sweet Home Brew app, cuz I'm a ****** and I need everyone to know that I have an iPhone as if everyone else in the world doesn't have one.

I second his statement. My keezer works great, but its a pain to load kegs into it. I usually just rack from secondary directly into an empty keg in the keezer. If my collar hinged up with my lid it would be much easier. Not only for weight, but it also gets all the lines out of your way.

 

[tdbc2011]

I have a 14 cubic ft freezer with a 2x4 collar. It fits five pin lock kegs, a 20 lb CO2, and a 10lb nitrogen bottle. The top is heavy but not to bad to lift. I have had it for over 2 years and just ordered struts last week. It is on wheels but I can get the kegs in and out without moving it.

 

[sputnam]

badazz too

 

[paperairplane]

I have a 6.8 with a 2*8 collar. I can fit 4 pin locks. I did 3 taps on the right side. I have no issues with bumping it. Lifting kegs over the collar makes you a big strong man. (I'm an out of shape almost 40 5'8") Not an issue. On a do over, I would hold out longer for a bigger freezer - I can cold crash, but only with 3 kegs in keezer. Gas and regulator on outside, doesn't bother me. I would like more regulators.

 

[yohoe]

I built a 4 tap keezer as shown in the picture. I wish I would have weighted the collar down after I glued it...I've heard it before but forgot when I actually executed. The collar left a gap and found a leak (used dry ice to check for leaks), which I filled with silicone on the outside and spray foam on the inside. A leak at the front left and right sides also developed and had to place latches to hold it down tight.



I have a 5# aluminum tank but it is too light for my double primary regulator and is leaning against the side wall. I bought a cage but if I did it again, I'd buy a steel tank.


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[DrunkleJon]

I did the GE 7 cu ft freezer w/ a stc 1000 and a 1X8 collar. 3 taps, though I am thinking of adding another as once I moved the co2 out side I can fit 5 in there no problem. I did discover that I am unable to fit a commercial 1/2 keg in there which made me sad. Then again I can always transfer a commercial beer into cornies or sixtels or even tall 1/4s (I have been given the tail end of a couple kegs before). The other modification I made was to upgrade my regulator to a dual body so that I have a gas line I can use for a different pressure, or one gas port so I can have a keg carbonating while the others are serving.

When I build out my basement bar though I think I am going to upgrade to a larger freezer (maybe an upright) so I can fit more kegs for dispensing and conditioning as well and take up less space.

 

[billybryson54]

I don't have any pics on my phone so I'll have to update that part later, but my keezer is an 8ish cf chest freezer that for lack of better terms, is another Jester clone. coffin style keezer with 4 taps. Three are perlicks, one is a stout tap. I can comfortably fit 4 ball locks and a beergas cylinder in the main compartment, and on the hump I can just narrowly squeeze in a 5 lb co2 and a 3 gallon keg. Inside I have a dual secondary regulator for different pressures. There's no collar on my keezer(didn't want or need it) I just had the lower surround come up even with the bottom of the keezers original lid. I then glued on a piece of MDF to the lid, trimmed it out with 1x4 oak, and added granite tiles. This combo makes this lid VERY heavy but I wanted that because I didn't want to worry about air leaks and it works, I have had absolutely none.

Two upgrades that I have completed since I built the keezer, are two things I should have done from the beginning; First, I ditched the 5 lb tank in favor of a 50 lb tank run outside. The 50 has the primary regulator set at 20 lbs, then runs to a 4 way manifold that I can use to carbonate room-temp kegs waiting their turn, or purge carboys if I choose. From the manifold the line runs behind the keezer through the lid, and to my secondary regulator. The second upgrade was adding a drain to my drip tray. I had a post about this earlier on but I forgot about completing it until now, actually...anyway, my drip tray drains through a line that's run through my lid and into a 5 gallon bucket that has about a half gallon of starsan in it to cutback on mold. I'll take some pictures tonight and show mine off. Lol


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[FuzzeWuzze]

I have a 7.1cu Haier you can get at most Costco's for around $175 and they work great.

I have successfully packed it to capacity

4x 5 Gallon Ball Locks
1x 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock
1x 5# CO2 tank
1x Dual CO2 regulator
1x Eva Dry 500

To fit in i have to position the regulator in such a way that it lays with the dials facing down and they fit perfectly between the holes created by the kegs...its a very tight squeeze but it all fits. The 2.5 gallon and 5# tank sit on the hump. The Eva-Dry 500 sits on the bottom in the front left corner, there is a large hole created by the configuration of the kegs in this corner. No collar required(this is a coffin keezer if you cant tell from the picture)

 

[pf3352]

I'm not sure how much this will help you but it shows how I lift my lid to drop in kegs. I have 4 taps outside and 2 inside. Lots of pictures from start to finish.. I copied link.

http://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/attachm...rete-keezer-build-img_20140205_112527_932.jpg


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/koncrete-keezer-build-456112/

 

[LandoLincoln]

Collars or towers can work just fine. Whichever one looks better to you is the one you should go with. Unless you have a situation where you can't really move the keezer away from the wall, in which case you should definitely go with a collar-type keezer.

I built a keezer for my friend that could hold 5 kegs in the floor of the keezer, with a collar instead of a tower. I built the collar extra tall so that if he ever wanted to put two more kegs on the hump, he'd be able to. But he didn't want a dual hinge system and he didn't want the collar and lid to flip upwards, so I just attached the original freezer hinges to the lid onto the collar. Whenever he had a spill in the bottom it was a big pain to clean, since the collar and freezer were so high. Lifting kegs into and out of the thing wasn't that fun either. We later modified it with a dual hinge system (original hinges for the lid, some gate hinges for the collar and lid) and that was a big improvement.

Peruse the keezer picture threads and find one that looks really cool and build off of that.

 

[sputnam]

thanks for all the input. everyone's keezers look great. I hope the one i build can be someone's inspiration someday.

 

[jeff13]

Went the route of buying big to grow. Havn't seen any upright freezers in the thread yet. Very easy to move kegs and beer in and out. I will built a sturdy support for a second level and left room for more faucets. Definitely look into the upright option if you don't want to build a case for your keezer.

 

[Yesfan]

Best advice I can give is to go read the "show us your kegerator" thread in the kegging section. (LINK) Lots of great pictures and info in that thread.

Another thing I would add is, whether you go chest or upright, buy a little bigger than you plan. I have a 4 tap keezer but mine will only hold three 5 gallon kegs and a single 2.5 on the hump. I regret not getting a bigger freezer.


And I'll (twenty)second the Perlick recommendation. Good luck!

 

[rekoob]

I got a small chest freezer (about 25"x25") off CL and put a 2x8 collar on it. The hump is in a single corner and without the collar thee kegs (any type 5 gal) fit. I wanted to use the hump so I put the collar on. Now four kegs of any type 5 gal fit inside. I have 20lbs tank on outside with manifold on inside. Also added a 120vac fan in a corner to move air when it's on. Only three taps on it right now but plenty of room to add a fourth.


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[billybryson54]

View attachment 201742View attachment 201743
Went the route of buying big to grow. Havn't seen any upright freezers in the thread yet. Very easy to move kegs and beer in and out. I will built a sturdy support for a second level and left room for more faucets. Definitely look into the upright option if you don't want to build a case for your keezer.

That's pretty sweet. I use an upright freezer as a fermentation chamber with an STC-1000 and lasko heater for the same reason. Totally easy to load/unload.


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