Upright Keezer, 8 taps, 11 kegs

[JonW]

very nice and man that is cheap when you get that freezer for $200.

Looks great!

Thank you. I got mine for $200 and a friend got his for $250. If you just watch Craigslist for a couple weeks, they're out there.

 

[Brew-ta-sauraus]

Question for you where is the cold plate on this freezer? Is it on the back wall? I have only researched chest freezers ( I have two). Would love the smaller footprint for my garage. Do all the upright freezers this size have basically the same layout as yours does? Awsome build by the way you did a great job keeping it clean looking!

 

[Brew-ta-sauraus]

One more question for you how did you get your brewery name on your corney's? Is that a sticker?

 

[JonW]

Question for you where is the cold plate on this freezer? Is it on the back wall? I have only researched chest freezers ( I have two). Would love the smaller footprint for my garage. Do all the upright freezers this size have basically the same layout as yours does? Awsome build by the way you did a great job keeping it clean looking!

Yes, most of the upright frost-free freezers are pretty much the same. The chiller coil is in the back wall with a recirculation fan in there. It pulls in air from the bottom vent and outputs cold air from the top.

One more question for you how did you get your brewery name on your corney's? Is that a sticker?

I have a vinyl cutter that I make the stickers with.

 

[barrooze]

I have an unhealthy amount of keezer envy. Love the tap handles.

 

[slakwhere]

Question for you where is the cold plate on this freezer? Is it on the back wall? I have only researched chest freezers ( I have two). Would love the smaller footprint for my garage. Do all the upright freezers this size have basically the same layout as yours does? Awsome build by the way you did a great job keeping it clean looking!

older stand up freezers have coolant running through some/all of the shelves. make sure that the shelves you need removed are removable if buying used.

 

[Zorin]

I had been contemplating making a kezzer for quite some time and was looking at making a chest freezer setup until came across your build. This is a great DYI project I just couldn't pass up. I was able to find the Kennmore version of this freezer for only 120 buck on CL and inside looks exactly like your freezer, execpt the Kennmore fridge has adjustable/removable door shelves.

Thanks for the great post.
Zorin

 

[Monkey55]

...

.....

I think I just fell in love..


Oh... btw.. I see that you're in HB.. Can I go and hang out in your garage???

E

 

[Junkster]

Nicely done indeed!!!! I'd like to make similar tap handles, but I don't have the balls....

 

[mavantix]

Jon,

Which neon markers are you using on that black dry erase? I've been through two different sets of markers on mine and they don't show up worth a crap on the black board.

 

[JonW]

They are called "Expo Neon" markers. My kids picked them up for me. Probably either at Michael's, Staples or Office Depot.

 

[HungusBrews]

Hey Jon, Really inspired by this upright keezer build. A couple of questions if you don't mind:

-Why do you have two CO2 lines and one mix coming into the keezer? You have an 8-way manifold for CO2 and and a 2-way for Mix but what is the extra line for? Beer Gun? Soda? Just curious.

-In my chest keezer I have three secondary gauges for providing different Vols of CO2. Would you have any recommendations on how to work those gauges into this design? I would think if you only put 4 kegs in the bottom row you could fit a bank of regulators on the lower left wall.

-Seems you could have 10 taps pouring out of this thing. Would you think two rows of 5 taps would work?

P.S. Been using the 462 for over a year now to control ferm temps. Just wired up my HLT burner with a solenoid and HSI. Using a HERMS coil in there and it works perfectly Loving the built in ignition control. Working on a stand build similar to yours too. =)

Thanks!!

 

[JonW]

-Why do you have two CO2 lines and one mix coming into the keezer? You have an 8-way manifold for CO2 and and a 2-way for Mix but what is the extra line for? Beer Gun? Soda? Just curious.

I use the extra line for several things. Mostly to force carb at a different pressure, or if I needed to serve at a different pressure. Just added flexibility...

-In my chest keezer I have three secondary gauges for providing different Vols of CO2. Would you have any recommendations on how to work those gauges into this design? I would think if you only put 4 kegs in the bottom row you could fit a bank of regulators on the lower left wall.

If you do a wood frame shelf support, you could probaby mount the regulators vertically to one of the front legs. I personally like them outside of the fridge.

-Seems you could have 10 taps pouring out of this thing. Would you think two rows of 5 taps would work?

Sure, 5 per row would work. You need to put them through the wall where the inside shelf has a flat spot for mounting though. If you use the position I used for one row, that will put your second row about 12" above the first (or below if you wanted to go that direction). I've now found that going to 8 taps that I'm keeping some beers on longer than I would like. Just not going through enough beer consistently.

 

[HungusBrews]

Thanks Jon! I guess more taps isn't always better.

 

[JonW]

This message was received via PM, but I'm posting the response here for others.

Jon,

I absolutely love this build and I am going to copy it almost exactly. I bought the newer version of this freezer and am unsure about where I can drill the holes for the CO2 lines. It looks like yours are just above the part that sticks out at the bottom on the right (as you are facing from the door. Do you think I can drill in the same place?

I would think you could drill there, but not having seen your freezer, I really can't say.

Can I just run the tubing through without the 90 deg stainless pieces?

The use of the SS tubing was two-fold. First was to have a hard-line through the freezer wall so that there wouldn't be any problems with the line getting cut, kinked, etc. The second goal was to have the 90 degree bend which significantly minimizes the required space between the freezer and the wall.

Is it better to drill the holes for the shanks from the inside or outside?

Holes were drilled from both the inside and the outside. I first drilled a pilot hole all the way through, then I drilled the larger holes from both sides. I used a drill guide to make sure I was drilling perpendicular to the surface.

Any tips on drilling the pool balls to fit the tappers?

Thanks a lot. I can't wait to get started.

Jeff

I bought the balls pre-drilled off of ebay.

Post pics when you're done. I'd love to see it.

 

[jeffcosgrove]

I removed the shroud at the bottom and took a picture. Am I right in assuming all of the coils are contained right here and I can drill anywhere above the shroud?

http://s526.beta.photobucket.com/user/jeffcosgrove1/media/WP_000295.jpg.html

<a href="http://s526.beta.photobucket.com/user/jeffcosgrove1/media/WP_000295.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc342/jeffcosgrove1/WP_000295.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo WP_000295.jpg"/></a>

 

[JonW]

I removed the shroud at the bottom and took a picture. Am I right in assuming all of the coils are contained right here and I can drill anywhere above the shroud?

Maybe... possibly. Without inspecting the unit, I can't tell you for sure where you can drill. You'll need to figure that out. Usually though, the back wall above the coils is pretty safe.

 

[jeffcosgrove]

After I removed the shroud and checked where all the lines are going I turned on the freezer and am fairly confident that the hot side coils are only in the sides of the freezer so drilling through the back on this model should be fine. I'll post how it turns out. I used this one:

http://www.sears.com/kenmore-elite-...p-04628099000P?prdNo=9&blockNo=9&blockType=G9

One more question Jon. Where did you find the 90 deg tail pieces in stainless?

Thanks.

 

[JonW]

One more question Jon. Where did you find the 90 deg tail pieces in stainless?

Thanks.

The 90 degree SS tail pieces were from kegworks and the 90 degree SS tubing going thru the back wall was from Brewers Hardware.

 

[HopVol]

Thats really nice. Love the pool ball tap handles.

 

[mjohnson]

What did you use for the shelf supports?

Lovey build.

 

[JonW]

What did you use for the shelf supports?

Lovey build.

From post #1....."I also added a 2x2 wood frame to support the freezer shelf."

 

[slarkin712]

Jon, did you use the existing thermostat or override it with a temperature controller? I didn't see anything in your pics.

 

[JonW]

Jon, did you use the existing thermostat or override it with a temperature controller? I didn't see anything in your pics.

I placed a jumper on the built-in thermostat to make it run continuously and then have it plugged into an outlet controlled by my BCS. There are obvious benefits to an external temp controller, but the one downside is that the inside light only works if the external controller is currently chilling. Not a biggie, but I've thought about wiring the light on it's own circuit.

 

[Garrett]

What a great build, I need to come over for a pour (I live in Huntington Beach too!). We can do a beer swap!

 

[Minjin]

How do you clean the lines with all of them bundled so nicely?
Great job by the way!

 

[JonW]

What a great build, I need to come over for a pour (I live in Huntington Beach too!). We can do a beer swap!

When I do brew days, it's usually an open invite for others to attend. You might want to check out Brewcommune.com - the club I'm in. What end of town you at?

How do you clean the lines with all of them bundled so nicely? Great job by the way!

I periodically mix up BLC and put it in a keg to run through the lines for cleaning.

 

[Garrett]

When I do brew days, it's usually an open invite for others to attend. You might want to check out Brewcommune.com - the club I'm in. What end of town you at?

Cool! Let me know. Im in north HB, springdale and edinger.

 

[JonW]

Cool! Let me know. Im in north HB, springdale and edinger.

You're very close. I'm just off Bolsa Chica. Brewing this Sunday from 9:00 AM until ???? (doing two 10g batches). PM me if you're interested in coming by. Yeah, I know it's Easter, but I didn't know that when I scheduled the brew day.

 

[ryanhope]

Awesome work here! I just picked up a Kenmore freezer on CL for $100 and am going to build a new keezer inspired by yours. I have a few questions if you dont mind:

From post #1....."I also added a 2x2 wood frame to support the freezer shelf."

I can't see the back of this shelf so I am assuming that this shelf is essentially a 2 legged table where the two legs are what is visible in the front and the back it supported by the hump in the back?

I periodically mix up BLC and put it in a keg to run through the lines for cleaning.

What kind of beverage line did you use. I currently have accuflex barrier line in my existing keezer and I think it would be too stiff for a project like this.

I placed a jumper on the built-in thermostat to make it run continuously and then have it plugged into an outlet controlled by my BCS. There are obvious benefits to an external temp controller, but the one downside is that the inside light only works if the external controller is currently chilling. Not a biggie, but I've thought about wiring the light on it's own circuit.

Did you ever modify your wiring to solve the light issue? Did you bypass the defrost heater? I take it the recirculation fan still works?