Upright Keezer, 8 taps, 11 kegs

[krazydave]

I'm in the process of building one of these and wanted to provide a pic with it full of pin-locks (well, 10 pin locks and one ball lock at least).
I beveled the inside corners of the rear 2x2 support legs so that the kegs would fit all the way into the corners. But even with that, it still slightly hits the shelf bars on the lower three shelves, so I removed them.
It's not that big of a deal breaker to me though as I'm considering using that surface to mount all of my secondary regulators anyway. Plus, the shelves don't really even fit a 12oz. bottle. So they have very little use for beer storage for me. Yeast, maybe...

The freezer I scored from a friend who was moving and not taking it with them. The price was perfect, at free! (Well, I'm sure I'll be brewing them a couple kegs worth for their new housewarming party at least)
This will be replacing my 4 tap kegerator that I made from a top freezer/bottom fridge. It will have one stout tap and 7 regular faucets. I am having a struggle trying to source three more matching Perlick 525SS faucets to match the four I already have (damn my OCD!). So if anyone has any sources, I'd love to hear them!

Fortunately, this freezer came at a perfect time as the chest freezer that was holding all of those kegs is struggling to keep cold anymore.

 

[JonW]

I'm in the process of building one of these and wanted to provide a pic with it full of pin-locks (well, 10 pin locks and one ball lock at least).

Great setup! The question of how many pin locks has come up several times and now we have an answer. :rockin: I like how you actually have more room above the kegs for dealing with the disconnects.

Post a pic when complete.

 

[BrunDog]

Hey JonW,

I have an upright I am about to put taps on the door in. Do you think it would be possible to put the taps behind a drink shelf? In other words, if you had drilled your holes a little higher, so that the hoses ended up inside the channel created by the plastic molded drink shelf? I am pressing on mine and there doesn't seem to be anything inside (insulation, etc.). I think I can fit 6 taps worth in there, but of course I have no way to see inside without cutting the plastic.

Thoughts? TIA!

-BD

 

[JonW]

I looked at doing that, but with 8 there was just no way. Some shelves are thicker than others, so you may be OK with 6 taps. It is completely open inside that space. Obviously, the length of your shanks are going to come into play as well as where you route the hoses coming out of the shelf area. The side wall of the shelf ends up flush with the inside walls of the freezer, so you'll still have to come out towards the front at some point. On mine, some shelves have a little more vertical space than others, so I ended up doing the shanks at the top of one of the taller shelf areas. That still leaves me plenty of room on that shelf for storing my taster glasses that are not as tall.

 

[BrunDog]

Ok thanks. Glad you considered this and didn't think I was crazy! I agree with the shelf becoming flush, so the hoses would need to drop out of there. I think I would need elbow tailpieces, but my 4" shanks should be good.

I will give it another look. It may not be worth the headache of working blind here, but I think it would make for a cleaner inside.

Another ?: I live in FL where it's hot and humid. My freezer (well, fridge now) is in my garage. I assume the stainless shanks and taps are going to conduct heat into the fridge, meaning they will be cold and likely develop condensation. I know it's drier where you live, but do you expect this to be correct, and will it be an issue over time? I know the freezer will have to work harder as a result. Would I be better insulating the taps so they conduct less heat into the freezer?

-BD

 

[passedpawn]

Another ?: I live in FL where it's hot and humid. My freezer (well, fridge now) is in my garage. I assume the stainless shanks and taps are going to conduct heat into the fridge, meaning they will be cold and likely develop condensation. I know it's drier where you live, but do you expect this to be correct, and will it be an issue over time? I know the freezer will have to work harder as a result. Would I be better insulating the taps so they conduct less heat into the freezer?

-BD

I have four SS taps outside (back patio). I'm in Clearwater. If you insulate the shank on the inside of the freezer, they won't get sweaty unless you are pouring beers, in which case they will get cold and sweat a little.

I have 3 fridges running in this heat. Here's some data I've gotten using a Kill-a-Watt meter. This should help you.

My 7.2cuft keezer costs about $1.50 / month to run. I measured that in July. Considering it's in that blistering 90+ humidity all the time, that's pretty good.

I have another chest freezer in the garage that uses almost the exact same power, even though it's a 15cuft. It's only for fermenting though, no taps or collar.

I have an upright side-by-side refrigerator in my garage that I use as a normal fridge. It's costing me about $9.50 per month. I think it's a lot more power because it's an upright, and because it's running a freezer (at freezing temps), which probably uses a lot more juice to maintain. Further, normal fridges blow air around to get the cold air from the freezer side to the fridge side. Chest freezers don't have fans. The moving air in the upright probably causes more heat entry at the seals etc.

 

[BrunDog]

Thanks, that helps. I think I would try to shield off the shanks as you stated. I know the shanks should be cold for best beeresults, but I'm not running a bar, so it'll do!

-BD

 

[Carlscan26]

Thanks, that helps. I think I would try to shield off the shanks as you stated. I know the shanks should be cold for best beeresults, but I'm not running a bar, so it'll do!

-BD

Just to clarify - the side that will sweat will be outside the freezer not the section inside the freezer.

 

[BrunDog]

Yes, understand that condensation forms on cold surfaces. Like my current glass of Lemon Lime wheat!

-BD

 

[igotworts]

Can someone direct me to the 90 degree tail pieces?- cant find them on any homebrew websites.

Cant wait to get this going!

Cheers.

 

[KKHolidaze]

I think I remember reading they were BrewersHardware or custom from Bobby_M

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/sstubecustom.htm

 

[crane]

Can someone direct me to the 90 degree tail pieces?- cant find them on any homebrew websites.

Cant wait to get this going!

Cheers.

http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/hoses/nutswashers/benttailpiece/index.shtml

 

[GriffinsRoost]

Can someone direct me to the 90 degree tail pieces?- cant find them on any homebrew websites.

Cant wait to get this going!

Cheers.

Brew International sells them as well. I have read that their shipping and service can be a bit iffy. I took a chance and ordered quite a few parts from them and had no issue.

http://www.brewinternational.com/tail-piece-3-16-90-degree-bend-beer-line/

 

[passedpawn]

I would suggest to use John Guest fittings on the end of the shank, instead of barbed tail pieces like that. I wish I had done that (my damned shanks have welded barbed tails ugh).

There are John Guest fittings that are 1/2" BSP on one side to screw right onto your shank, and quick disconnect tubing on the other side. So nice, especially for anyone trying to use stiff beer line (e.g., Bev Seal).

Anyway, for anybody looking to outfit a keezer, maybe do a quick search on here for John Guest and you'll see some really clean installations.

 

[JonW]

Unless the John Guest fittings have a right angle built into them, they'll likely make your stiff lines stick into the keg area too much. The right angle tail pieces keep everything very tidy.

 

[passedpawn]

Unless the John Guest fittings have a right angle built into them, they'll likely make your stiff lines stick into the keg area too much. The right angle tail pieces keep everything very tidy.

True, but you could just put a right angle piece on there.

So, maybe they are not for everybody. They are for me though

 

[igotworts]

http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/hoses/nutswashers/benttailpiece/index.shtml

thx- full order complete for the build.

 

[GriffinsRoost]

Has anyone done this build using a bank of secondary regulators instead of a manifold?

I was planning to use the 20cu ft freezer and install 6 taps. One would be dedicated to soda, which needs to be at a higher PSI than beer, I would also like the flexibility of having different beers at their appropriate carbonation level instead of having everything the same.

My idea was to have the secondary regulators installed on a board hanging on the underside of the shelf support so they could be easily accessed. It would be installed as far forward as possible in order to leave room for a couple of kegs behind it that would be carbonating.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this approach?

 

[JonW]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this approach?

No reason why it won't work, it's just going to cramp your bottom shelf area.

 

[krazydave]

Funds permitting (I still have to acquire all of the extra parts I need to upgrade from my 4 tap kegerator), I'm planning on putting at least eight secondaries in for the kegs.
However, after test fitting them, they would be pretty tight to fit on the keg shelf anywhere without compromising keg space.
My plan is to see if I can get them on the door - a row above and below the taps. I'm honestly pretty close to just removing the door shelves as they're almost worthless anyway. Only a couple of them will hold 12oz. bottles and when you're working with kegs and bump the door, half of those want to fall out on you.

I currently only have five secondaries available for the build and am waiting on the funds to get all of the additional parts that I need. At this point, I'm just limping it along with a 5lb co2 tank inside to have some extra keg storage.

 

[GriffinsRoost]

My plan is to see if I can get them on the door - a row above and below the taps. I'm honestly pretty close to just removing the door shelves as they're almost worthless anyway. Only a couple of them will hold 12oz. bottles and when you're working with kegs and bump the door, half of those want to fall out on you.

I was considering removing shelves as well, but using the extra space to instead mount the board with the secondaries to the front of the shelf instead of on the door. Assuming that removing the shelves would add enough room to allow for that.

I am trying to avoid removing the shelves so that I can use them for glassware.

 

[krazydave]

These pics should help.
Ball lock is on the left, pin on the right.
My shelf is dead center top to bottom in the freezer.
You can see why I think the door would be a better place for them...

Also for reference, the silver regulator is a primary, the black is a secondary.

 

[Frazeart]

I have an 8 tap 11 keg build that I did with the assistance of this lovely thread, but I too desire the ability to do secondary regulation. The ones through morebeer and other online outlets seemed pricey... as much as 55 bucks a piece.

I was at harbor freight yesterday and noticed this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/125-psi-air-flow-regulator-with-gauge-68219-8127.html

8 bucks. Any sage advice from the forum as to why this might not solve this problem?

 

[crane]

I have an 8 tap 11 keg build that I did with the assistance of this lovely thread, but I too desire the ability to do secondary regulation. The ones through morebeer and other online outlets seemed pricey... as much as 55 bucks a piece.

I was at harbor freight yesterday and noticed this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/125-psi-air-flow-regulator-with-gauge-68219-8127.html

8 bucks. Any sage advice from the forum as to why this might not solve this problem?

It's range goes up to 125psi, for the regulator and more for the gauge. Given the fact that a few psi can make a fairly significant change in carbonation, I think it would be difficult to dial in the exact pressure you are going for. Given that, it kind of defeats the purpose of having all those secondary regulators if you only have something like +/- 3-5psi accuracy. Now you could swap out the gauge for one that has a smaller range like 0-30psi, but you are kind of polishing a turd at that point cause a new gauge will probably be as much or more than the $8 regulator.

 

[krazydave]

So I've only had my freezer plugged in and set at 38 for maybe three weeks, and already, my evaporator cooler and back wall of my freezer was a solid block of ice and hardly letting any airflow though to cool the freezer.

I did disconnect the defrost heater when I first got it, but after spending the last 45 minutes pulling kegs and defrosting the cooling fins with a heat gun, I just reconnected the heater and am letting it go through a couple of defrost cycles.

This seemed to start becoming an issue when I added four kegs that were fresh from the carboy at around 68 degrees. The length of time that it ran to get those cold froze the back wall, so I only assumed that the coils were solid ice as well. Plus I noticed that the air flow coming from the top of the freezer was only a small percentage of what it was when I first plugged it in.

This could just be a perfect storm of the high humidity that we've been having lately in So Cal, plus the fact that I still haven't got the taps through the door yet, making me open it if I want anything from the kegs inside.

Either way, I figured I'd post and let everyone know what I'm experiencing.
Since I'm not fermenting in this, I don't think the temporary rise of internal temperature is really going to have long enough to change the temperature of that much liquid mass and even if it did, I can't see it affecting much.

If I notice different though, I'll report back with that info.

 

[JonW]

This could just be a perfect storm of the high humidity that we've been having lately in So Cal

I think this is the culprit right here as I just had the issue also. I've never had problems before, but a week or two ago during the high heat and humidity mine ran for an extended period and iced up. I don't have as many kegs in mine as I usually do, so I think that contributed to less temperature stability. I was also in and out of mine a lot because I was storing some food products in there temporarily. I'm going to change the logic in my BCS so that I can set some maximum run times and build in some defrost time if it hits the max run time.

 

[Huaco]

Has anyone done this build using a bank of secondary regulators instead of a manifold?

I was planning to use the 20cu ft freezer and install 6 taps. One would be dedicated to soda, which needs to be at a higher PSI than beer, I would also like the flexibility of having different beers at their appropriate carbonation level instead of having everything the same.

My idea was to have the secondary regulators installed on a board hanging on the underside of the shelf support so they could be easily accessed. It would be installed as far forward as possible in order to leave room for a couple of kegs behind it that would be carbonating.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this approach?

I just hauled a 19.5 cu. ft. home yesterday... Not a bad CL find at all. $25 and it RUNS GREAT! They just wanted it gone.

I have already built a 6 place regulator block. I plan on having 5 taps. The 6th place will be used for carbonating kegs. I'll run a hose off it, over to my manifold I had been using. I found some 150 psi regulators somewhere really cheap. (Maybe Harbor Freight?) I wanted gauges with a more useful range so I found some on eBay for cheap! They are 0-30 psi gauges. I connected it all with brass nipples and output from each with a check-valve ball valve as you would see on a distribution manifold.

I have no idea how many kegs will fit yet, as I haven't loaded kegs into it.

 

[BrunDog]

Hey JonW,

Planning on doing mine soon... similar freezer. You pit your tabs above the third door shelf (from the top). Any reason you could't put the above the top shelf? I realize that is a longer/higher run for the bottom kegs, but shouldn't be too much of an issue. Any thoughts?

-BD

 

[JonW]

Hey JonW,

Planning on doing mine soon... similar freezer. You pit your tabs above the third door shelf (from the top). Any reason you could't put the above the top shelf? I realize that is a longer/higher run for the bottom kegs, but shouldn't be too much of an issue. Any thoughts?

-BD

I didn't want the taps too high as it would prevent the kids from fetching me a beer!

All kidding aside, there were several reasons I went at the level I did. I had already planned on having a menu board on the door, so I wanted that at eye level. Additionally, I liked having the hoses close to the center of the door so that it made routing easier. Lastly, my wife would have been mad if I put them too high! :cross:

 

[GriffinsRoost]

I have already built a 6 place regulator block. I plan on having 5 taps. The 6th place will be used for carbonating kegs.

This is basically what I had in mind as well, only I was going to have 7 regulators. 6 for faucets and 1 for carbonating.

I have most of my parts, minus regulators and freezer. I do have a 20.2 cu ft upright I am currently using for fermenting, so I can test fit some things.

I was considering 2 groups of 6 regulators, then a separate single regulator with a Y for carbonating, all mounted to a piece of plywood on the front left of the stand. I think that if the regulators are arranged properly, they would fit in between the shelves when the door is closed, which would keep me from having to remove the shelves, then the kegs could be in fit behind plywood. I am going to have to play around with a little more to see if it would work out.