Upright Keezer / Lager Chamber Build

[ryanhope]

Inspired by JonW's awesome upright keezer build I decided to ditch the chest style keezer I used to have and make my own upright keezer and lagering chamber.

I purchased this 20cf Frigidaire on craigslist for $100.

I only plan on running 3 taps right now but I am planning room for expansion down the road.

I took the door shelves off hoping I would see some wires from the door controller but I didn't. Because I am assuming the wires might go horizontally across the door I drilled the shank holes higher than the mid way point.

Here I am punching center marks for each of the shank positions. The drain tray I got is the 24" 8 faucet wall mount drain tray from Micromatic (but I purchased for a steal on ebay because of a minor scratch).

Test fitting the shanks and taps.

Bought a length of 1/8" flat steel bar and drilled some 1" holes for a more secure mounting of the back side shank bolts.

The money I am saving on collar lumber, hardware and stain I put into a bad ass secondary regulator.

JonW had a great idea using 90 degree tail pieces.

Test run. Hoses still need organization.

And the icing on the cake, the drain tray.

 

[JohnnyO]

Awesome set up!!

 

[ryanhope]

Awesome set up!!

Thanks, the drain tray just came. See pic in first post.

 

[adam01]

Have you considered the regulator on back wall ? That way you don't have all the co2 hoses
in your face. Only need the beer hoses running to the door.

Add a second shelf and you can put your fermenter in there too.

 

[ryanhope]

Have you considered the regulator on back wall ? That way you don't have all the co2 hoses
in your face. Only need the beer hoses running to the door.

Add a second shelf and you can put your fermenter in there too.

The hoses are probably going to be more integrated into the door once im done. I just wanted to get this thing plugged back in so I could go back to drinking my homebrew

 

[TBaGZ]

Never find deals like that on freezers down here. So I just bit the bullet and ordered a new chest from HD. :/

 

[ryanhope]

These Perlick Flow Control fauces are a pain the ass. They add more resistance than a normal faucet when wide open so its hard to calculate how much beer line to use to get desired pour rate when wide open.

 

[Grandpasbrewery]

Donyou plan to make it into a dual temp camber with a partition or just a single temp keggerator/lagering chamber?

 

[ryanhope]

Donyou plan to make it into a dual temp camber with a partition or just a single temp keggerator/lagering chamber?

I've been thinking about how I might do a dual zone setup. If I take advantage of the fact that heat rises and make some sort of internal chamber that utilizes the stock recirculation fan I can create an area that maintains ferm temps for lagers but I don't an exact plan yet. I have my keezer set to 5 C with a 2 degree swing so I only need a lager ferm chamber to be a few degrees warmer than ambient. The temp probe for my thermostat is submerged in its own water jar and is on the lower shelf with the kegs so... well see what happens.

 

[ryanhope]

Ditched the vinyl tubing and went back to the accuflex bev seal lines that I had in my old keezer. Don't know how people can drink beers out of vinyl hose, stuff tastes like ****.

 

[ryanhope]

Bought some dry-erase board from Homedepot and had it cut to the exact size I need to fit above my taps.

 

[ryanhope]

Rewired the compressor, circulation fan and interior light (including door switch).

Everything is working nicely!

 

[ryanhope]

Finally have some carboys laggering in this bad boy. I sure hope the shelf holds till I can figure out how to reinforce it or build something more sturdy.

 

[broadbill]

Finally have some carboys laggering in this bad boy. I sure hope the shelf holds till I can figure out how to reinforce it or build something more sturdy.

you seriously have 80 lbs of weight on one of those wire shelves!?!

 

[ryanhope]

you seriously have 80 lbs of weight on one of those wire shelves!?!

Yeah, the thicker bars that go from side to side aren't flexing at all, its only the bars that go front to back.

I am thinking that I can reinforce the middle with some aluminum angle bar. If I cut two pieces long enough to span between the front and back bar and then I could cut a third piece the width of the freezer that would go on top of the side angle bars and under the shelf. Think of a really wide H, |-----|

 

[Grandpasbrewery]

5gal or 6.5gal car boys?

 

[ApothecaryBrewing]

I would build a wooden platform... you are going to come home to a hosue full of partially lagered beer some day.

 

[ryanhope]

I would build a wooden platform... you are going to come home to a hosue full of partially lagered beer some day.

Yeah I've thought about the wood frame route but I don't like the space that is wasted in the corners. I've also been thinking about solutions that use slotted angle iron or conduit for the legs.

 

[ryanhope]

5gal or 6.5gal car boys?

They are 6 gallon plastic carboys.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Put a center support in there, from the middle of the sagging shelf, to the floor of the fridge.
Put a "foot" on each end, against the shelf and the floor.
A 1 inch piece of round or square tubing should do nicely.
The center support should not kill too much room, and it would work better than fore and aft bracing.

 

[Yesfan]

Can you tell me how many kegs you can hold on the bottom? What are the dimensions of your freezer (inside and out)? I just finished mine, a chest freezer, not too long ago and now I'm starting to regret buying it. I only have room for 3 kegs in mine.

 

[Spirk]

Can you tell me how many kegs you can hold on the bottom? What are the dimensions of your freezer (inside and out)?

I have the same exact freezer. I built a chest keezer that held 7 kegs + CO2 bottle and it wasn't enough. By my measurements, I should be able to fit 12 kegs in this freezer (6 on top, 6 on the bottom) if I take the shelves off the door like he did. JonW fit 11 kegs but he kept the shelves on the door. You can see in the picture that the back wall has a hump that comes forward a few inches. I split the depth measurements because of this.

OUTSIDE: 32" wide, 70" tall, 29" deep
INSIDE: 27" wide, 57" tall, 23.5 deep (top) 20 7/8" bottom

 

[Yesfan]

I think I may go the upright freezer route. My cousin has told me he would more than likely buy my current kegerator if I do. 3-4 kegs is enough for me, but I would like the room for extra kegs "on deck" or a carboy lagering. I like the idea of putting some of my bottled beers on the doorshelves too.

 

[ryanhope]

I like the idea of putting some of my bottled beers on the doorshelves too.

And hops and yeast

 

[ryanhope]

Just picked up some more taps!

 

[Yesfan]

And hops and yeast

Oh yeah. Got some hops and yeast in my (overstuffed) mini-fridge.



Cool looking taps.

 

[ryanhope]

I finally made a support for the shelf. I also moved around my regulators and removed the door shelves.

 

[Nwalesmith]

Awesome set up. Can you share the measurements of the stand and how you built it? Also can u fit kegs on the top shelf?