Keezer Project

[Bones]

Picked this unit up on craigslist recently and this is what I got. A small ~24"x~36" chest freezer, rigged up thermostat, 5# CO2 tank/reg, sanke coupler, tower, faucet and tray.



I removed some Bud stickers, tower, faucet and tray immediately as I have no use for them and they hamper the door opening. Filled the holes with silicone and kegged a batch of British bitter.

Finished...... For now. I already had a 10# CO2 tank and it will be outside the keezer (still have 5# bottle for parties away from home). Should be able to fit 4 soda kegs in there with the shelf to the left for cans/bottles. It's sitting on a cart I made to move it around. Also want to get a thin sheet of aluminum for the inside of the door to cover the huge hole from the tower as well as a sheet of stainless for the top.

Waiting on a 4 way CO2 manifold, more ball locks and tubing. Doubt I install faucets out the front yet. I have 2 already but want to lock it simple and cheaply since there are teen kids present now. I need to make a lot of beer to keep this full! Anyone brewing an all grain batch I would love to get involved in that eventually over extract. I have a lot of equipment, but not enough to make that jump just yet.

Any constructive criticism I am all ears. Happy Holidays

[whitedj]

I just did something similar to this, here are a couple things I did.

You want to keep that keezer collar and CO2 lines going outside as air tight as possible to avoid condensation. I used some EDPM (I think foam would work too) weatherstripping from the local hardware store. Some people also used silicones to the glue the collar to the base of the keezer.

I placed a desiccant into the keezer. There are many options in the gun safe section of sporting good store, OR go to michaels and get some bulk silica gel (used for drying flowers) and put it in some kind of bag (I used a flour sack, could use others as long as moisture can penetrate). remember to regularly throw this stuff in the oven to dry it out.

Where the collar is located there will be a significant temperature rise. Placement of the thermocouple is critical. ( I froze all my kegs by placing the thermocouple too high in the keezer) I threw a 120mm fan in there to get some airflow. Not too sure whether this has actually helped or not, but some air flow makes me feel better.

also, I threw some styrofoam insulation on the inside of the collar since I had some laying around, anyway.

[Bones]

Thanks, I glued the collar down to the freezer. The thermostat is different than the plug and play models like Johnson Controls. The previous owner hardwired it in, there is no probe just a dial to adjust temp.

Once it gets warmer (it's in the garage) I will see if it's sealed good enough and deal with those issues then. I like the rigid foam insulation idea.

[Bones]

Instead of painting or staining my wood spacer and make it look nicer than the rest of the keezer itself I opted to place some of my license plates i have gathered. Will glue some magnets on the rest of my plates I procure and fill it up

[Bones]

Considering selling/trading this to get a larger freezer so I can lager. If anyone is interested let me know. I have not figured out a price yet.

[Bones]

Any ideas for a lock on a keezer? Just to offer some "hey I shouldn't get into that" for the kids

[JimPotts]

Does it need to look nice?  If not, just mount a hasp and padlock it.  If you want to be complete, you could add some ball-valves on the faucet lines, which is probably cheaper than buying faucet locks.
-Jim On Jul 9, 2013 9:15 PM, "Bones" <brew-equipment@crbeernuts.org (brew-equipment@crbeernuts.org)> wrote:

Any ideas for a lock on a keezer? Just to offer some "hey I shouldn't get into that" for the kids

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

[Bones]

There is still random bottles of wine and beer we want to keep out of sight also. A hasp is the easiest solution even if its not the most solid since the wood frame isn't terribly secure.

I guess I'm going for more of a visual security than anything. Great kids, but we all know peer pressure when other kids are around.

[Bones]

Selling the keezer and wanting an upright.

Anyone have experience with a commercial unit that can hold temps as low as -40 and as high as 60

Found these two and am seriously interested if if can fit 4 cornies. Hoping to go look at the one in Lisbon tomorrow.

http://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/app/4147545430.html

http://quadcities.craigslist.org/app/4171346464.html

[brianhall1024]

On 11/15/2013 7:37 AM, Bones wrote:

Selling the keezer and wanting an upright.

Anyone have experience with a commercial unit that can hold temps as low as -40 and as high as 60

Found these two and am seriously interested if if can fit 4 cornies. Hoping to go look at the one in Lisbon tomorrow.

http://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/app/4147545430.html

http://quadcities.craigslist.org/app/4171346464.html

so is a keezer better than a fridge for a keg? I am making plans to convert a fridge, but i also have a deep freeze that could be converted as well. I never gave the freezer a second thought about it, because i thought it would be too cold for the beer. I would love to hear thoughts on the subject!

Thanks!

BH (Brian Hall)

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

[Bones]

Install a temp controller to keep it at fridge temps and you are golden. I am not a fan of the keezer due to the space it takes up and cleaning it out if you have a leak/spill/etc is a PITA.

[JimPotts]

The chest freezer is more efficient than an upright, and depending on the size, can hold more kegs.  If you want to have five or six kegs on tap, you'll probably have an easier time fitting them in a chest.  If you want the taps mounted on it, a fridge arguably looks nicer (I personally have no opinion).

In my case, I have a perfect spot for a fridge, but not a chest freezer.


For that matter, an upright freezer would also work fine (but not as efficiently as a chest freezer).


-Jim

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

[Bones]

The chest freezer is more efficient than an upright, and depending on the size, can hold more kegs.  If you want to have five or six kegs on tap, you'll probably have an easier time fitting them in a chest.  If you want the taps mounted on it, a fridge arguably looks nicer (I personally have no opinion).

In my case, I have a perfect spot for a fridge, but not a chest freezer.


For that matter, an upright freezer would also work fine (but not as efficiently as a chest freezer).


-Jim

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

I don't want or need taps (have teenage kids so it's easier to secure things with picnic taps for now)

[carrisr]

Most of the time it comes down to what you already have or where you are going to install it. One downside of chest freezers when running at fridge temps is condensation. Another is that there's no airflow which can cause uneven temps. Adding a fan inside can help. I use a side by side fridge because it's what I had available. The freezer side is nice for storing hops and overflow from our main freezer.

On 11/15/2013 01:38 PM, JimPotts wrote:

The chest freezer is more efficient than an upright, and depending on the size, can hold more kegs. If you want to have five or six kegs on tap, you'll probably have an easier time fitting them in a chest. If you want the taps mounted on it, a fridge arguably looks nicer (I personally have no opinion).

In my case, I have a perfect spot for a fridge, but not a chest freezer.


For that matter, an upright freezer would also work fine (but not as efficiently as a chest freezer).


-Jim

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

[prieff]

This is my keezer.  Can hold 7 kegs and I can lean inside to clean.  The collar is what makes it to deep to clean out. On Nov 15, 2013 1:42 PM, "Bones" <brew-equipment@crbeernuts.org (brew-equipment@crbeernuts.org)> wrote:

JimPotts wrote: The chest freezer is more efficient than an upright, and depending on the size, can hold more kegs.  If you want to have five or six kegs on tap, you'll probably have an easier time fitting them in a chest.  If you want the taps mounted on it, a fridge arguably looks nicer (I personally have no opinion).

In my case, I have a perfect spot for a fridge, but not a chest freezer.


For that matter, an upright freezer would also work fine (but not as efficiently as a chest freezer).


-Jim

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)

I don't want or need taps (have teenage kids so it's easier to secure things with picnic taps for now)



Chris Z

Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)