I built a keezer

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btrots87

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So I've just about finished putting together my first keezer conversion and I thought I'd put together a bit of a build thread to show people what I've done. I got a lot of inspiration (aka stole a lot of ideas) from this forum and I think it's all come together surprisingly well considering my lack of DIY credentials.

First step: Picked up a 164L Fisher and Paykel chest freezer for $100 off gumtree.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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The first thing I had to do was to remove the lid and give it a bit of a clean and sand it back a little for future painting. I then used some 30 x 190mm pine to make a simple wooden collar to sit on the top. The collar was just held together with screws and some 90 degree brackets in each corner.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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With the collar put together, I used some more of the pine to make a matching stand, and added some caster wheels to the bottom so that I can move the finished keezer around.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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The next step was painting and staining it. This was the part I enjoyed least, although it probably had the most positive effect on the finished product. I just don’t like painting. There were a few dents and scratches, and the holes where the hinges were attached, all of which I filled in with a bit of gap filler and sanded smooth. I used a satin black enamel paint that I applied with a roller in two coats to give a smooth finish on the freezer, and the collar and stand got a couple of coats of a merbau coloured exterior stain.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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There were a few gaps between the collar and the freezer at this point so I picked up some neoprene strip from Clark rubber and stuck that around the top of the freezer.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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I then ran some silicone adhesive/sealant around the top of the neoprene strip and mounted the collar on top. Once I had it lined up properly I put the lid on and used a couple of full FV’s and crates of homebrew to weigh it down for a few days. Before doing this I also drilled my holes for the shanks using a spade bit.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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After a few days I took the weight off the lid and ran some of the sealant along the inner edge of the collar and freezer to make sure there were no gaps to let the cold air out. I then re-attached the lid using the original hinges and screwing directly into the collar.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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The next thing that I did was to add a small computer fan to help circulate the air and keep an even temperature. I also wired it up with a pressure switch so that when I lift the lid up the fan turns off and doesn’t blow all the cold air out. In reality this probably isn’t necessary but it was fun to make so I don’t care. I screwed the fan straight in to the lid and used some spacers to let the air flow behind the fan.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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I opted to keep the gas bottle on the outside so that I can fit four kegs inside, two on the floor and two on the compressor hump. I decided to only install three taps but have room for four kegs so I can always have one conditioning and ready to go as soon as there is an empty keg. This meant that I had to drill some 8mm holes through the rear of the collar to feed my 8mm OD gas lines. I also installed two separate 2-way manifolds. The reason for this is that in the future I hope to get another regulator so I can have two different serving pressures. At the moment though the two gas lines will just be joined with a T-piece and connected to a single regulator.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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I’m using an STC1000 for temperature control, and just used some removable magnetic strips to attach it to the back so it’s hidden but still easily accessible.[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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The (almost) finished product:[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

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I still have to install a drip tray which I haven’t yet decided how to do. I’m thinking of maybe using magnets but I’m worried if they’re not strong enough they’ll slide down and damage the paint. Maybe glue would be a better option, we’ll see. I also need to test for gas leaks, and most importantly I need to get some beer brewed so I can get this thing up and running.

[SIZE=8pt]Anyway, like I said I got a lot of helpful ideas from looking at other threads on this site so hopefully someone else might find this helpful.[/SIZE]
 
Really nice build btrots87!

love having a keezer :)
 
That is awesome! I just bought a new chest freezer to build my keezer next week. Will be referring to this a few times.
 
Looks the business mate, I really like the stain against the black freezer. The one thing I regret not doing on mine was building a base, would have made it much easier to drain and move around.

Have you considered some insulation around the inside of your collar? I don't know how much difference it makes but I lined my collar with foam and then covered the foam with thermal tape. Probably overkill, but if you find the outside of your collar is cool to the touch, it may be worth considering. Mine has a coffin on top of the lid though, so probably a lot more cold air passing through this area on mine.
 
Nice,if you want a drip tray you could use a couple of bits of stainless flat bar screwed to the collar running down and attach to that.
That's what I might do.
 
My drip tray is screwed directly in to the front of the keezer, but I was pretty confident there were no coils there. My mate was not so lucky. If you glue it on, how will you remove it for cleaning?
 
Fraser's BRB said:
Looks the business mate, I really like the stain against the black freezer. The one thing I regret not doing on mine was building a base, would have made it much easier to drain and move around.

Have you considered some insulation around the inside of your collar? I don't know how much difference it makes but I lined my collar with foam and then covered the foam with thermal tape. Probably overkill, but if you find the outside of your collar is cool to the touch, it may be worth considering. Mine has a coffin on top of the lid though, so probably a lot more cold air passing through this area on mine.
Cheers mate, yeah the wheeled base has already come in handy many times. I did think about putting some insulation around the collar but in the end figured I would see how it goes without it. It's holding a steady 5 degrees C at the moment and it doesn't seem to be cycling on and off very often so fingers crossed it will be okay without it.
 
abyss said:
Nice,if you want a drip tray you could use a couple of bits of stainless flat bar screwed to the collar running down and attach to that.
That's what I might do.
Could be a good option. I was hoping to not have anything hanging from the collar because I don't want it to cover up my nice paint job, but it definitely seems like the simplest and probably strongest option.

mstrelan said:
My drip tray is screwed directly in to the front of the keezer, but I was pretty confident there were no coils there. My mate was not so lucky. If you glue it on, how will you remove it for cleaning?
Yeah I don't have the guts to risk drilling into a coil, I couldn't handle having to get a new freezer and paint it again. If I go the glue option (which I probably won't) I would probably glue on some brackets to make a separate shelf for the drip tray to sit on so it could be removed.
 
Mat B said:
That is awesome! I just bought a new chest freezer to build my keezer next week. Will be referring to this a few times.
Thanks mate, hope it can help. There's so many good ideas in various threads on this forum. I spent a lot of time going through the kegging setups thread getting inspiration, and there are a lot of smaller threads with good info as well. Every time I googled a question it just led me back to this site.
 
Given me some courage and inspiration to emulate your great effort mate. I think my DIY skills still fall short of yours though. Cheers!
 
I've just spotted this and it looks sensational. Well played sir!
 
I used the same freezer for my keezer, but it's nowhere near as nice as yours. Love the wheeled base, would certainly beat manhandling it onto a moving dolly.
 
btrots87 said:
Could be a good option. I was hoping to not have anything hanging from the collar because I don't want it to cover up my nice paint job, but it definitely seems like the simplest and probably strongest option.



Yeah I don't have the guts to risk drilling into a coil, I couldn't handle having to get a new freezer and paint it again. If I go the glue option (which I probably won't) I would probably glue on some brackets to make a separate shelf for the drip tray to sit on so it could be removed.
To drill into the wall of your keezer use a spacer block of wood that allows you to only puncture the outer skin,then use short metal thread screws to mount the drip tray.
These screws only need to be about 5 mm long as the excess length will be taken up by the thickness of the metal of the drip tray where the mounting holes are located.
If you are worried about the tip of the screw possibly puncturing a cooling line,first drill the hole then using a hand held screwdriver tap the thread into the hole to get it started.
Then file the point off othe screws and then screw them in place,by filing the point off if the screw hits a coil/tube/pipe it will only dent it not puncture it.
 
Noiiiice!![emoji108][emoji119][emoji119] as far as drip tray goes could always glue some strip magnets to the back of it so no drilling into the the freezer face x
 
Hey mate, I'm just about to undertake the same project - I bought a 210L chest freezer today. Hoping you could answer some questions:

1. How much sanding did you do prior to painting? I've started taking mine back to bare metal, but thinking that's probably not the best idea.
2. Did you take any of the plastic trims off or did you paint in place?
3. Did you prime?
4. Which paint did you use and how many ml? White Knight Epoxy Enamel?
5. Did you have a cord entering the lid panel and if so, did you cut it?

This build gets me excited to crack into mine.
 
BKBrews said:
Hey mate, I'm just about to undertake the same project - I bought a 210L chest freezer today. Hoping you could answer some questions:

1. How much sanding did you do prior to painting? I've started taking mine back to bare metal, but thinking that's probably not the best idea.
2. Did you take any of the plastic trims off or did you paint in place?
3. Did you prime?
4. Which paint did you use and how many ml? White Knight Epoxy Enamel?
5. Did you have a cord entering the lid panel and if so, did you cut it?

This build gets me excited to crack into mine.
I painted a fridge about a year and a half ago, still looks great.

Just need to sand to 'key' the surface. Dont need to go to bare metal.

I think I used White Knight epoxy enamel - it is/was a primer as well. Did a couple of coats, looks smick.

Think it wa a litre of paint, was more than enough (used maybe half or three quarters of it, two or three coats cant remember). Used a spray gun.
 
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