Why are so many keezer faucets placed off center?

[dsaavedra]

I'm in the planning stages of building out my 7.2 cu. ft. keezer with a collar and 4 faucets, and I have noticed pretty consistently that many people put their faucets all the way to the left or all the way to the right side of their collar, and not in the center. What is the reasoning for this? Is it so they don't get in the way of lifting kegs in/out of the freezer?

I'm planning on having 3 kegs on the freezer floor (front left corner, back middle, and front right corner), and on the hump I am planning on having a keg in the back right corner and my CO2 tank in the front right corner. I would much, much rather have my faucets centered on the collar, but if that's going to be a huge pitfall then I guess I would like to know about it before I move forward with the build. Has anybody come up with a way of testing the fit of centered vs. off centered faucets?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Is it so they don't get in the way of lifting kegs in/out of the freezer?

Yes, this is exactly the reason. I put mine in the center, though, and have no regrets.

 

[dsaavedra]

Yes, this is exactly the reason. I put mine in the center, though, and have no regrets.

That's good to know. Out of curiosity, what is the size of your freezer and orientation of kegs inside it? Did you use 4" shanks?

 

[passedpawn]

I'm in the planning stages of building out my 7.2 cu. ft. keezer with a collar and 4 faucets, and I have noticed pretty consistently that many people put their faucets all the way to the left or all the way to the right side of their collar, and not in the center. What is the reasoning for this? Is it so they don't get in the way of lifting kegs in/out of the freezer?

I'm planning on having 3 kegs on the freezer floor (front left corner, back middle, and front right corner), and on the hump I am planning on having a keg in the back right corner and my CO2 tank in the front right corner. I would much, much rather have my faucets centered on the collar, but if that's going to be a huge pitfall then I guess I would like to know about it before I move forward with the build. Has anybody come up with a way of testing the fit of centered vs. off centered faucets?

I put my faucets over the hump. I can BARELY get 4 ball lock kegs into a 7.x cuft freezer, but if the shanks were sticking out in the middle, no way.

Try to get short shanks that are just big enough to get through your collar, or consider using an angle grinder to slice them down to size. Then put a right-angle adapter (do they exist?) on the end of the shank so the beer line doesn't stick out. That's what I would do if I were gonna put them in the middle.

 

[dsaavedra]

I put my faucets over the hump. I can BARELY get 4 ball lock kegs into a 7.x cuft freezer, but if the shanks were sticking out in the middle, no way.

Try to get short shanks that are just big enough to get through your collar, or consider using an angle grinder to slice them down to size. Then put a right-angle adapter (do they exist?) on the end of the shank so the beer line doesn't stick out. That's what I would do if I were gonna put them in the middle.

Yeah it is definitely a tight squeeze fitting 4 ball locks in this freezer but I've done it (with a 2.5 gal on the hump - same footprint as a 5 gal just shorter). It will probably be tight no matter where I put the faucets because my CO2 and regulator will also be on the hump closest to the front of the freezer. I was hoping that by putting the middle keg on the floor towards the back that would buy me some room for the shanks.

I am planning on getting the 4" Intertap brand shanks which come with right angle tailpieces already attached. The shanks will be going through 2x8" pine, plus a hardwood facade, plus foam insulation (though I guess I can cut the insulation around the shanks) so 4" seemed like an appropriate length.

 

[passedpawn]

Yeah it is definitely a tight squeeze fitting 4 ball locks in this freezer but I've done it (with a 2.5 gal on the hump - same footprint as a 5 gal just shorter). It will probably be tight no matter where I put the faucets because my CO2 and regulator will also be on the hump closest to the front of the freezer. I was hoping that by putting the middle keg on the floor towards the back that would buy me some room for the shanks.

I am planning on getting the 4" Intertap brand shanks which come with right angle tailpieces already attached. The shanks will be going through 2x8" pine, plus a hardwood facade, plus foam insulation (though I guess I can cut the insulation around the shanks) so 4" seemed like an appropriate length.

I would not buy shanks with the tailpiece integrated (and not detachable). If in the future you want to switch to john guest fittings, you'll need to change shanks. Ask me how I know this

 

[ClaudiusB]

I'm in the planning stages of building out my 7.2 cu. ft. keezer with a collar and 4 faucets, and I have noticed pretty consistently that many people put their faucets all the way to the left or all the way to the right side of their collar, and not in the center. What is the reasoning for this? Is it so they don't get in the way of lifting kegs in/out of the freezer?

I put my five taps in the center of my GE 7.x cu. ft freezer with no interference problems. One three gallon keg is on the hump. Squeezing in four kegs is hard because of the freezer dimensions.

 

[mongoose33]

I put my faucets over the hump. I can BARELY get 4 ball lock kegs into a 7.x cuft freezer, but if the shanks were sticking out in the middle, no way.

Try to get short shanks that are just big enough to get through your collar, or consider using an angle grinder to slice them down to size. Then put a right-angle adapter (do they exist?) on the end of the shank so the beer line doesn't stick out. That's what I would do if I were gonna put them in the middle.

They exist: https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tailpieceelbow14ss.htm

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I have my faucets on the opposite side from the hump; I have a couple Torpedo kegs, the squattier form-factor, and they will fit on the hump. If I had faucets there, well, that would be an issue. Probably couldn't get any on there.

 

[PADave]

I put mine on the hump side. No kegs on the hump, so they are out of the way. It's your build, you can put them anywhere you like. Just keep them close so you don't have to buy a huge drip tray.

 

[dsaavedra]

I would not buy shanks with the tailpiece integrated (and not detachable). If in the future you want to switch to john guest fittings, you'll need to change shanks. Ask me how I know this

I'm not familiar with john guest fittings - what are these and why might I want to switch to them?

I put mine on the hump side. No kegs on the hump, so they are out of the way. It's your build, you can put them anywhere you like. Just keep them close so you don't have to buy a huge drip tray.

Oh yeah, the faucets will be install right next to each other, wherever they go, I guess I just wanted to see if there was some reason why it would be 100% impractical to install them in the center.

 

[LLBeanJ]

That's good to know. Out of curiosity, what is the size of your freezer and orientation of kegs inside it? Did you use 4" shanks?

I've got a 9.1 c.f. freezer, 7.5" collar with 4 kegs on the floor and one on the hump. 10 lb CO2 and 20 c.f. nitro tanks are inside, as well. John Guest fittings are for when you use Bev-Seal rigid lines, which I'm also running in my setup for the liquid side. In the picture below, I'm short a keg.

Edit: Swapped out the picture for a current one with all 5 kegs present. And, yes, I'm running 4" shanks on all 5 faucets.

 

[Konadog]

I'm not familiar with john guest fittings - what are these and why might I want to switch to them?

They look like this:

And another reason to put your taps to one side is so they aren't in the way when you load and unload your kegs.

 

[MaryB]

On my kegerator I went to left side because that is the side away from the wall. easier access basically... Plus the butter dish in the fridge door was in the way on the right(not a big deal, I used long shanks but why deal with an obstruction...)...

 

[gometz]

Simple solution: use an upright freezer

 

[Vintage Iron]

I put my five taps in the center of my GE 7.x cu. ft freezer with no interference problems. One three gallon keg is on the hump. Squeezing in four kegs is hard because of the freezer dimensions.
View attachment 557492

My inner OCD wants to know... Where did you get those hang tags you put on your kegs? Those are really sweet!

 

[ClaudiusB]

My inner OCD wants to know... Where did you get those hang tags you put on your kegs? Those are really sweet!

A friend of mine has a trophy place and makes all my tags, labels.

 

[MaryB]

If you don't mind using a stick on label I have a Brother label maker... those tags are similar to lockout tags used by people working on machinery. I could run a bunch of labels for $5 and mail them... 1/2 inch wide tape, white on clear or black on white. Peel and stick to the tag... I use them on a business card sized magnet to make labels for the taps!

 

[SEndorf]

I'm in the planning stages of building out my 7.2 cu. ft. keezer with a collar and 4 faucets, and I have noticed pretty consistently that many people put their faucets all the way to the left or all the way to the right side of their collar, and not in the center. What is the reasoning for this? Is it so they don't get in the way of lifting kegs in/out of the freezer?

Put your taps symmetrical in the middle. Because you will eventually move to 6. Trust me.. Don't worry about placement of kegs in / out .. That's what step stools are for...

 

[Jayjay1976]

Disclaimer, I'm aesthetically trained. From what I was taught, defaulting to symmetry is a crutch for the weak eye. Although asymmetry is splendid, it's also neigh impossible to make a case for vs. symmetry, which makes good argument for itself merely by being the default.

 

[Thorrak]

John Guest fittings are for when you use Bev-Seal rigid lines, which I'm also running in my setup for the liquid side.

What's the advantage to them (and Bev-Seal rigid lines, for that matter)

 

[mongoose33]

If you don't mind using a stick on label I have a Brother label maker... those tags are similar to lockout tags used by people working on machinery. I could run a bunch of labels for $5 and mail them... 1/2 inch wide tape, white on clear or black on white. Peel and stick to the tag... I use them on a business card sized magnet to make labels for the taps!

You can also use something like these luggage tags; I usually have these on my kegs. The reviews are so-so, but I'm not using them as luggage tags. They work great as keg labels.

 

[LLBeanJ]

What's the advantage to them (and Bev-Seal rigid lines, for that matter)

Bev-Seal tubing has a barrier liner on the ID to prevent plastic flavors from leaching into your beer, like you might get with normal PVC tubing. The downside to Bev-Seal is that it's a semi-rigid plastic tubing and it is difficult to fit it over the barbed fittings that we typically use for PVC tubing. The John Guest push-to-connect fittings do away with the need for barbed fittings and make Bev-Seal tubing a breeze to use.

 

[dsaavedra]

Thanks for explaining the John Guest fittings. They seem awful similar to the push-connect fittings on my RO filter (which also uses narrow rigid tubing). The good news is it looks like the tailpieces of the pre-assembled Intertap shanks are removable, so I should be able to switch later on down the road if I choose.

Put your taps symmetrical in the middle. Because you will eventually move to 6. Trust me.. Don't worry about placement of kegs in / out .. That's what step stools are for...

Do you have 6 kegs in a 7.x c.f. freezer?? How?? Also, how's your experience with getting kegs in/out with your centered taps?

 

[SEndorf]

Do you have 6 kegs in a 7.x c.f. freezer?? How?? Also, how's your experience with getting kegs in/out with your centered taps?

Sorry. I missed where you posted your freezer c.f.
I have a 14 c.f. and can fit 7 kegs.

I use a step stool to put kegs in and out, which makes my reach well above the taps.