# The Keezer Build



## BKBrews (4/10/16)

I've been putting info about my build in someone else's thread, so I thought I should start my own and document the entire journey. 

I bought a 215L whirlpool chest freezer for $70 on gumtree. It was in pretty good condition - no rust - and was owned by an old farmer who used to preserve fruit in it. I went and picked it up and off we went.

So far I have bought:
- 4 X keg King 19L ball lock kegs (2nd hand but less than 6 months old - look new - bought the lot for $250)
- 1 X Perlick 650SS flow control tap and SS shank with JG fitting
- 15m 4mm beer and gas line
- 6 X Keg King Premium Disconnects (3 Gas 3 Liquid)
- 4 way manifold
- Keg King MKIII regulator

Last thing to purchase is a CO2 bottle which will be done in the next few days.

My mate has just finished building his house and has a heap of treated pine left over, so the collar is being built this weekend. Luckily for me, he is also a plasterer by trade, so my plans that I will explain shortly will hopefully come to fruition.

So far I have sanded the entire freezer ready for paint. It will get 2 - 3 coats of Wattyl Epoxy Gloss Enamel in Matte Black. I chose this paint as it does not require a primer first (similar to white knight - hoping it's as good). Sanding was a BITCH. I went through about 10 sanding pads, but it is now finished.







The plan is to make the collar about 310mm high. I have some 200x100 subway tiles left over from my renovation which I plan to tile the collar with. Inspiration was Stone and Wood and Balter, who both have this in their brew pubs.




So 2 coats of paint this weekend, get the collar sorted and take it from there. Will keep this updated for anyone interested!


----------



## Judanero (4/10/16)

Pics ALWAYS help. Thousand words, all that jazz.


----------



## BKBrews (4/10/16)

Judanero said:


> Pics ALWAYS help. Thousand words, all that jazz.


Ugh, there was pics, but they have disappeared. I'll edit the post.


----------



## mstrelan (4/10/16)

Sounds like you need 3 more taps and 2 more disconnects.


----------



## BKBrews (4/10/16)

Plan is to have two taps and then maybe get a 3rd down the track. Going to just start with the one and switch over each time, to give my wallet a rest. I'd say I'll have two by Christmas.


----------



## peteru (4/10/16)

I hope it all goes well for you, but I probably would have started with all the work that runs a risk of damaging/ruining the freezer. Namely, bending any pipework, drilling holes, screwing things down, wiring up controllers and probes, etc. Sanding and painting would have come later, once I was sure that it will actually work.

The reason I say this, is that I have had one fridge and one freezer die on me before I got them converted. Moving the old fridge from the kitchen, down some stairs and into the backyard was enough to cause it to leak refrigerant, so that was written off pretty quick. The small freezer I found on the other side of the road during council cleanup was just fine, but in the process of removing some extra cooling ribs and bending the pipework, I managed to puncture the pipe and ruined it. It would have sucked if I spent days sanding back the paint, only to have to chuck the thing.

Anyway, good luck with it!


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

peteru said:


> I hope it all goes well for you, but I probably would have started with all the work that runs a risk of damaging/ruining the freezer. Namely, bending any pipework, drilling holes, screwing things down, wiring up controllers and probes, etc. Sanding and painting would have come later, once I was sure that it will actually work.
> 
> The reason I say this, is that I have had one fridge and one freezer die on me before I got them converted. Moving the old fridge from the kitchen, down some stairs and into the backyard was enough to cause it to leak refrigerant, so that was written off pretty quick. The small freezer I found on the other side of the road during council cleanup was just fine, but in the process of removing some extra cooling ribs and bending the pipework, I managed to puncture the pipe and ruined it. It would have sucked if I spent days sanding back the paint, only to have to chuck the thing.
> 
> Anyway, good luck with it!


Have been plugging it in after each day of prep to ensure everything is still working well. I'm not drilling or modifying anything to do with the freezer, just adding parts on top, so painting was the first logical step, as it will move quickly once the collar is built and I didn't want to paint around that.


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

Just realised I've made a rookie mistake.... I've taken all of my kegs apart for cleaning and I've since filled two of them, to be ready when the keezer is built. Only just found out that the gas and beer posts on the kegs are different? No idea which is which and I just chucked them on any which way.....


----------



## Tahoose (5/10/16)

The gas posts have a line marked on the side.


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

Tahoose said:


> The gas posts have a line marked on the side.


Yep, found that out now.... Too late when they're both full and primed! Will have to check tonight whether I somehow miraculously got it right!


----------



## Rocker1986 (5/10/16)

I dunno about your kegs but on my kegs, there is IN and OUT embossed on the black plastic stuff right next to the posts. I'll grab a piccy in a sec.

Edit: Not sure how clear these will be.. the keg is in the kegerator and I can't get to the spare ones at the moment due to works being done in that area.


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

Rocker1986 said:


> I dunno about your kegs but on my kegs, there is IN and OUT embossed on the black plastic stuff right next to the posts. I'll grab a piccy in a sec.
> 
> Edit: Not sure how clear these will be.. the keg is in the kegerator and I can't get to the spare ones at the moment due to works being done in that area.


Now I'm confused.... If I take the posts off the in and out, are they the same? My kegs say in and out as well, but now I'm reading that the actual posts are different for beer and gas - so you still need to screw the correct post to the correct outlet...?


----------



## earle (5/10/16)

The actual posts are ever so slightly different, but different enough that if you put the wrong disconnect on the wrong post it will get jammed.

The gas posts have little notches at the bottom and need to be on the same outlet as the short gas tube.

The liquid posts have no notches and need to be on the same outlet as the long dip tube.

The in and out markings on the keg are to help you keep everything sorted.


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

That's what I've been reading.....

So much for priming the kegs! Will just have to quickly change them over (if they're incorrect) when I go to hook them up to the keezer and then give them a bit of force carb to make up for any pressure loss.


----------



## earle (5/10/16)

Chill them down before you do it but be sure to release the pressure before you start unscrewing the posts. You don't want the post shooting off because of gas pressure.


----------



## stilvia (5/10/16)

The 'Out' post is connected to the dip tube. If you've got the gas line on the 'Out' post, you'll probably find you've stripped some flavor from the beer. From memory the gas disconnect will fit on either post, but the beer disconnect will only fit the 'Out' post.

Just a quick note, I have the same fridge and used 90x45 timber from my collar. I found when sizzing up my collar that going much higher than 100mm makes it a bit more difficult to put a full keg in and out of the kezzer. 45mm width is also perfect for the width of the existing plastic moulding.


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

> The 'Out' post is connected to the dip tube. If you've got the gas line on the 'Out' post, you'll probably find you've stripped some flavor from the beer. From memory the gas disconnect will fit on either post, but the beer disconnect will only fit the 'Out' post.
> 
> Just a quick note, I have the same fridge and used 90x45 timber from my collar. I found when sizzing up my collar that going much higher than 100mm makes it a bit more difficult to put a full keg in and out of the kezzer. 45mm width is also perfect for the width of the existing plastic moulding.


I don't really understand that first part? I took both the gas and beer dip tubes out when I cleaned everything and I put the beer dip tube back on the OUT side and the gas dip tube on the IN side. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether I put the correct post on each side.

For my collar, I'm probably going with 19mm pine, as the thickness will be increased with the tiling setup. I'm going to put the 19mm pine flush against the lid seal and then build outwards:

19mm pine + 6mm villaboard + 4mm tile adhesive + 8mm ceramic tile = 37mm total thickness

In regards to putting kegs in and out of the freezer, yes, I'm sure it won't be easy, but I want to build something aesthetically pleasing. I'll probably build a small pine step to sit at the side of the freezer, to stand on to lift kegs in and out.


----------



## Meddo (5/10/16)

I accidentally put my dip tubes and posts into one keg back to front (correct post for each dip tube, but in the wrong holes). Confuses the shite out of me every time I look at it given that the "IN" and "OUT" labels are wrong, but functionally no drama.

If it turns out that you've got the wrong posts on each dip tube (regardless whether they're in the right holes or not) just swap the disconnects on your gas and beer lines while you're using that keg - easier than trying to change the posts and tubes on a full keg. Push-in fittings rather than hose barbs on your disconnects are a massive pain-saver in this situation...


----------



## stilvia (5/10/16)

BKBrews said:


> I don't really understand that first part? I took both the gas and beer dip tubes out when I cleaned everything and I put the beer dip tube back on the OUT side and the gas dip tube on the IN side. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether I put the correct post on each side.


Does one dip tube reach the bottom of the keg and the other is short? When I say dip tube, I meant the tube running to the bottom.


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

> Does one dip tube reach the bottom of the keg and the other is short? When I say dip tube, I meant the tube running to the bottom.


Yes I know - long dip tube = beer, short dip tube = gas. The long tube was put on the OUT hole and the short tube on the IN hole. This I know is correct. What I'm not sure about is whether I put the gas post on the IN hole.



> I accidentally put my dip tubes and posts into one keg back to front (correct post for each dip tube, but in the wrong holes). Confuses the shite out of me every time I look at it given that the "IN" and "OUT" labels are wrong, but functionally no drama.
> 
> If it turns out that you've got the wrong posts on each dip tube (regardless whether they're in the right holes or not) just swap the disconnects on your gas and beer lines while you're using that keg - easier than trying to change the posts and tubes on a full keg. Push-in fittings rather than hose barbs on your disconnects are a massive pain-saver in this situation...


That makes sense, but what if the gas post is on the beer dip tube? Then it won't work.....


----------



## stilvia (5/10/16)

BKBrews said:


> Yes I know - long dip tube = beer, short dip tube = gas. The long tube was put on the OUT hole and the short tube on the IN hole. This I know is correct. What I'm not sure about is whether I put the gas post on the IN hole.


Yep, so all i'm saying is if you did put the gas on the out post, you may have scrubbed some flavor off the beer.


----------



## earle (5/10/16)

BKBrews said:


> Yes I know - long dip tube = beer, short dip tube = gas. The long tube was put on the OUT hole and the short tube on the IN hole. This I know is correct. What I'm not sure about is whether I put the gas post on the IN hole.
> 
> 
> That makes sense, but what if the gas post is on the beer dip tube? Then it won't work.....


Only if you connect your disconnects up backwards as well. But I reckon you'd be better off fixing the posts if they are backwards. Its not going to lose all the carbonation from your beer, mostly just from the headspace in the keg. Do it as quick as you can, and afterwards purge the headspace with CO2 and leave it connected, it'll soon be right.


----------



## Meddo (5/10/16)

BKBrews said:


> That makes sense, but what if the gas post is on the beer dip tube? Then it won't work.....


If the gas post is on the beer dip tube then you have two options:

Unscrew the gas and beer posts and swap them over
Swap the gas disconnect onto the beer line and beer disconnect onto the gas line and leave the posts and tubes as they are
Up to you which you prefer, but either will work fine. For my setup I have MFL disconnects with push-in fittings screwed onto them so it would be trivial for me to pull the lines out of the disconnects and reverse them. If you've got your lines hose-clamped onto barbed disconnects though it's probably easier to unscrew the posts and put them back the right way around.


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

> Yep, so all i'm saying is if you did put the gas on the out post, you may have scrubbed some flavor off the beer.


I don't mean to be rude, but how on earth do you come to that conclusion? Essentially there is absolutely no difference either way, except my disconnects (which is outside the keg and not in contact with the beer) won't fit properly on the correct posts. There is absolutely no possible way it will affect the flavour of the beer.

Thanks for everyones replies. I think if they're incorrect, I'll just quickly swap the posts over and purge the headspace.

Now, back to my build


----------



## Meddo (5/10/16)

I believe stilvia is referring to if you'd actually run gas through the beer tube and had it bubbling up through the beer. I suspect personally that that wouldn't be a big issue anyway (happy to be corrected) since the force-carbing method does just that with seemingly no ill effects.


----------



## stilvia (5/10/16)

Normally CO2 comes in and fills the head space. The CO2 then dissolves into your beer.

If you connect the CO2 to your beer out, the CO2 travels through the dip tube to the bottom of your keg and then bubbles through your beer to the head space. This is known to scrub flavor, but is often done to get rid of DMS from beer.


----------



## BKBrews (5/10/16)

stilvia said:


> Normally CO2 comes in and fills the head space. The CO2 then dissolves into your beer.
> 
> If you connect the CO2 to your beer out, the CO2 travels through the dip tube to the bottom of your keg and then bubbles through your beer to the head space. This is known to scrub flavor, but is often done to get rid of DMS from beer.


OK no worries. No CO2 has been purged into the keg - I have naturally primed these kegs with dextrose as my gas setup has not been finished yet.


----------



## stilvia (5/10/16)

Ah, no worries. Going off what you said I thought you had actually hooked gas up. All makes sense.


----------



## Tahoose (6/10/16)

Just to make things confusing, sometimes if I'm using a keg for something like a punch at a party and I can't be bothered with ice and c02 plus reg ect.

I swap the posts around and lie the keg on its side. Then use a picnic tap for dispense.


----------



## BKBrews (6/10/16)

Would my chesty definitely be aluminium panelling? Or could it be steel? I just found out I have to prime for the paint I bought if it's aluminium. Should have just got the white knight paint! I also only have ceiling rollers, so I need to buy foam rollers.

Ugh.


----------



## BKBrews (6/10/16)

Would my chesty definitely be aluminium panelling? Or could it be steel? I just found out I have to prime for the paint I bought if it's aluminium. Should have just got the white knight paint! I also only have ceiling rollers, so I need to buy foam rollers.

Ugh.


----------



## black_labb (6/10/16)

BKBrews said:


> Would my chesty definitely be aluminium panelling? Or could it be steel? I just found out I have to prime for the paint I bought if it's aluminium. Should have just got the white knight paint! I also only have ceiling rollers, so I need to buy foam rollers.
> Ugh.


It is probably steel. check with a magnet (a freezer magnet as opposed to a fridge magnet )

Ive got a Keezer build going at the moment as well.


----------



## earle (6/10/16)

Very unlikely that its aluminum


----------



## BKBrews (6/10/16)

Well, I primed it anyway.... We'll see how we go. I read a few places online that said aluminium is often used, so decided to just be safe. I've just laid the primer and will let it sit for 2 hours, sand it back with fine paper and then do the first top coat.


----------



## bevan (6/10/16)

Just in case you haven't worked out the difference between the two gas and liquid posts here's a picture of what gas in post should be marked with [emoji482]


----------



## BKBrews (7/10/16)

So I just checked and on one keg I have two gas posts and then on the other I have one of each, but on the wrong sides. So I will need to take one off one of the kegs and replace it and then switch them both on the other keg.

I've got one coat of paint on, but as per usual with me and painting I was too heavy handed. Super hard to get a consistent finish with the roller but it looks OK and will hopefully look better again as it dries. In any case, I will sand it down with fine grit blocks prior to the second coat and hopefully I can use moderation. I was actually planning on 3 thin coats but I can just never get it right with paint.


----------



## BKBrews (7/10/16)

Looked pretty good this morning and it still had about 9 hours left to completely dry and re-coat. That's the annoying part with paint, it doesn't look right when you put it on, so you try and compensate, over-compensate, then stuff it up. I think a light sand and then another coat will do the trick.


----------



## spog (7/10/16)

Slow and steady wins the race, yeah stuffing the paint job up would be a PITA but once it's done it's beer time!


----------



## BKBrews (7/10/16)

It's official, I'm a shit painter - it looks patchy and not that great. I actually think the primer was a bad decision in the end, because it was a rough surface compared to the sanded metal.

Trying to decide whether I bother re-doing it (easily got enough paint), but I probably won't - will take too long to strip down again and as long as it's functional it will be fine. 

2nd coat on tonight and we'll see how it looks in the morning.

Collar being built tomorrow, but unfortunately all of my gear didn't arrive this week. Hoping for tap beer next weekend.


----------



## earle (7/10/16)

Maybe think about a hammertone finish. They can look great and make it easy to hide flaws.


----------



## BKBrews (8/10/16)

The paint has actually come out alright after the 2nd coat. I can pick out the imperfections, but I think overall someone looking at it from the outside won't notice too much. I will have a think about it and may do a 3rd coat when I've got it finished. Main priority now is getting it all functioning.

Today I bought the pine and built the collar. I went with 235x19 pine for the frame, cut back to 206mm (I am using 100mm tall tiles and will have a 3mm gap along bottom and 3mm grout line in middle - top will sit flush with collar). It was then covered in villa board ready for the tiles to be applied.

Plan is to fit the lid to the collar with the hinges (won't tile the back as I believe the tiles won't hold them properly) and then secure the collar to the top of the freezer. Once in place, I will do the tiling.

Anyway, enough of the talk, here's some pics. Super happy with the outcome!!


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

My goodies arrived this morning (Perlick 650SS tap, Keg King MKIII regulator, cheeky peak 4-way manifold, 4mm ID beer line, disconnects etc), so I'm hoping to get this tiled by the end of the week, ready to fit the tap over the weekend at some point. Aiming to be pouring a beer from it by the following weekend. Bought everything I need to do the tiling yesterday, so it's just a matter of securing the collar to the freezer, letting that settle, gapping it, then getting the tiles on.


----------



## Meddo (11/10/16)

Hey BK, sounds like everything's coming together nicely 

Did you end up going for barbs or push-in fittings? If barbs you might be better off grabbing some 5mm or 6mm ID hose as it's a fair bit easier to fit over the barbs from what I've heard (I used 5mm ID on the few barbs I have in my system and it worked OK). Given you've got a flow control tap the ID of the hose doesn't really matter with regards to hose length and flow restriction.

As an aside I have a three way plus pass-through secondary reg in mine. The three main outputs go into a 4-way and two 2-way manifolds for distribution to my six kegs - this combo basically lets me have any mix of up to 3 different pressures. The point of this ramble was that I swapped the barbs into the manifolds with push-in fittings as shown below. I've been suspecting a slow-leak since I've done that (I had one emptied gas bottle which I've since replaced) which I just confirmed. Turns out that even though I tightened up those push-in fittings before I installed the manifolds into the collar they'd somehow developed a leak around the threads. Seems like the thermal contraction must be slightly different between the manifolds and the fittings as they needed to be screwed in tighter again to seal against the leak. May be a bit of a trap for young players (like me) to check the fittings for tightness after they've cooled down to keezer-temps.

Good luck with the rest of your build :beer:


----------



## Rocker1986 (11/10/16)

You can also put silicone in the manifold threads to seal them properly. I had to do this with mine after finding a leak in one of them. It was just the standard barbed fitting.


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

Thanks for the info mate - yours looks great.

I've just gone with the barbs for the time being, with JG push-ins on the tap shanks only. I've heard it will be quite hard to get them on and by the look of it, it will be, but I will just be patient and see how we go. Going to sit down on the couch tonight with some boiling water on the table beside me and patiently give it a crack.


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

Just had a quick stab at it.... I see a very frustrating evening in front of me, possibly more than one!


----------



## Rocker1986 (11/10/16)

Why the JG push in fittings on the tap shanks? Do the shanks not have barbs on them for connecting the lines?


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

> Why the JG push in fittings on the tap shanks? Do the shanks not have barbs on them for connecting the lines?


No they don't - I opted for the JG fittings instead. Bought from Cheeky Peak brewery as a complete set. Perlick 650SS tap, 100mm SS shank and JG push-in fitting for 8mm OD line.


----------



## Meddo (11/10/16)

I went the same setup with the push-in fittings on the shanks, and everywhere else that I could. Makes life a hell of a lot easier being able to connect and disconnect lines without cutting.

You do need to be a bit careful with some of the KK inline fittings (tees, straight joiners, elbows etc), too much lateral pressure can cause a leak. I replaced nearly all the bends in my lines with elbows (the photo above was from before I did that) which tidied everything up and got rid of the pressure from those bends. The JG shank fittings seem to have a much deeper throat though and aren't really bothered by bends.

If it turns out you have too much trouble with the 4mm you'd be able to pick up a metre of 5mm or 6mm ID line for a dollar or two from most LHBSs I would think. Bugger-all of it required with the FC taps.


----------



## tj2204 (11/10/16)

BKBrews said:


> No they don't - I opted for the JG fittings instead. Bought from Cheeky Peak brewery as a complete set. Perlick 650SS tap, 100mm SS shank and JG push-in fitting for 8mm OD line.


I've got the same setup for my taps, got covered in beer a few times before I got the JG fittings properly seated and sealed. Push them till they're all the way in, then push them in some more as they're probably not all the way in!


----------



## Radshoes (11/10/16)

I have also gone jg for my taps. makes it much much easier to pull all apart and clean/discard and start again.


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

> Hey BK, sounds like everything's coming together nicely
> 
> Did you end up going for barbs or push-in fittings? If barbs you might be better off grabbing some 5mm or 6mm ID hose as it's a fair bit easier to fit over the barbs from what I've heard (I used 5mm ID on the few barbs I have in my system and it worked OK). Given you've got a flow control tap the ID of the hose doesn't really matter with regards to hose length and flow restriction.
> 
> ...


How did you wire up that computer fan by the way?

I removed a light from the inside of the lid of my freezer and planned on mounting a bracket with a fan to the screw holes left behind. As I will be using an Ink Bird 308S for the temp control, I wanted to wire the computer fan to a normal plug, which I will plug into the 'Heating' side of the Ink Bird. Theory is that the Ink Bird will run the freezer until it reaches 1 degree below the set temp and once it switches to the heating, the fan will come on and disperse the air. Once the temp rises to 1 degree above the set temp, it will switch back to cooling, the fan will turn off and the freezer will turn back on to bring it back down.


----------



## earle (11/10/16)

I don't think that will work in practice. Temp controllers don't usually switch straight from cool to heat. Also, it may be better to run the fan while the freezer is on to disperse the "coolness" that it is producing.


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

earle said:


> I don't think that will work in practice. Temp controllers don't usually switch straight from cool to heat. Also, it may be better to run the fan while the freezer is on to disperse the "coolness" that it is producing.


I've been using a 308S and watched it run quite a few times - it seems to switch to heating as soon as it reaches the minimum set temp. You're probably right about the fan running while the freezer is cooling, but I think this will work as well.


----------



## earle (11/10/16)

Fair enough, the 308S must work a bit different to STC's. You probably won't have a heat source in your keezer, but in a situation like a fermenting fridge where you have a heat source hooked up as well, it seems like you could end up with the fridge and heat source battling against each other and chewing through the electricity. Other temp controllers that I've used have a 0.5 degree buffer (but adjustable) either side of the set temp to prevent this from happening.


----------



## Meddo (11/10/16)

BK, mine just runs off a DC power-pack with the wires punched through the collar. The fan is controlled by a momentary switch shown below - the fan runs full-time while the lid is closed and turns off when opened. Probably not an efficient use of power but I want to make sure that the cold air at the bottom of the freezer is being circulated to keep the shanks cool to reduce foam on first pour. I also don't want the fan to stay on with the lid open as that would just force cold air out of the freezer.

I have a whole packet of little momentary switches that are similar (but smaller) if you want one for the same approach?


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

Meddo said:


> BK, mine just runs off a DC power-pack with the wires punched through the collar. The fan is controlled by a momentary switch shown below - the fan runs full-time while the lid is closed and turns off when opened. Probably not an efficient use of power but I want to make sure that the cold air at the bottom of the freezer is being circulated to keep the shanks cool to reduce foam on first pour. I also don't want the fan to stay on with the lid open as that would just force cold air out of the freezer.
> 
> I have a whole packet of little momentary switches that are similar (but smaller) if you want one for the same approach?
> 
> ...


Thanks mate. I think I'm just going to go down the DC power pack route, hooked up to the heating side of the Ink Bird and see how it goes. I can see why you would want it running full time while the lid is shut, but I think i'll try it just running periodically first and see if it's sufficient. I know it won't add much load overall, but my garage is becoming quite heavily loaded between the keezer, ferm fridge and grainfather setup!


----------



## breakbeer (11/10/16)

Hi BKB,

Great idea to use the tiles in the collar (I might just do the same)

Have you ever drilled holes in ceramic tiles before? It's a fairly time consuming process & the correct drill bits can set you back nearly $100

Let me know if you have any questions 

Cheers

BB


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

breakbeer said:


> Hi BKB,
> 
> Great idea to use the tiles in the collar (I might just do the same)
> 
> ...


Hey mate, thanks for that. It was the first thought I had when I decided to do it - love the look and I thought I could pull it off.

Never drilled holes in tiles before, so a little bit worried about that. I had a look at the diamond drill bits and noticed how expensive they were, so have asked around to see if anyone has some. I got my gear today and the shanks are a smaller diameter than I thought which is good - means my holes don't need to be as big.

I've read that you can cut holes/squares in the tiles using a grinder from the rear? Ever tried this? I'm very comfortable pre-drilling the holes prior to fitting the tiles, as I have planned the format so that I have 3 full tiles centred along the top row of the front of the collar - this will allow for 3 taps evenly spaced. Although I'm only starting with one tap, I'm going to cut all 3 holes now and seal the ones not being used at this point in time.


----------



## BKBrews (11/10/16)

Put all of the disconnects on the 4mm ID line tonight and I can honestly say it was a piece of piss. One stretch with the needle nose pliers, into boiling water for less than 10 seconds and straight onto the barbs right to the hilt.

Only problem is the clamps that cheeky peak provided don't fit over the lines attached to the barb, so will need to sort that out. Probably don't even need them, but I'd like it all secure. 

I used 2.5m lengths for the liquid post to shank section and 1m for the manifold to gas post section. Will accurately measure the regulator to manifold section once I've put it in the fridge.


----------



## Rocker1986 (11/10/16)

BKBrews said:


> No they don't - I opted for the JG fittings instead. Bought from Cheeky Peak brewery as a complete set. Perlick 650SS tap, 100mm SS shank and JG push-in fitting for 8mm OD line.


Ah fair enough. I didn't know you could get them like that. I do have push in fittings on my disconnects that I'm really happy with so far. I haven't got barbed or push in fittings on my font set up; it's a flooded font so it just has the stainless tubes poking out of the bottom to attach the beer lines to. Bit of a muck around trying to get my 5mm ID lines over the 8mm diameter tubes, but I got there and they're pouring well.


----------



## BKBrews (14/10/16)

Going to liquid nails the collar into place tonight, so that I can get cracking on the tiling tomorrow. Very nervous about this - the tiles on the side of the collar will be very close to sitting proud of the fridge. If I get the collar wrong by even 1mm, it will be out on each side. Front and back will be fine, because if anything, I made the collar slightly too narrow on these sides so there's plenty of room.

I've been searching for suitable insulation for what feels like days and I've finally found a good solution. Most of my enquiries were about products that were either too expensive or you couldn't get in small orders. I've opted for the TradeSelect Thermal Break 8, which is an 8mm foil insulation filled with XPE foam. I got a 1350mmx1000mm sheet for $18, which will be enough to put 2 layers on each inside face of the collar (16mm total insulation).

Coming together now!


----------



## Meddo (14/10/16)

Mate do you have a plan for making sure the holes for the shanks are straight? I did mine with a handheld drill and was way out of line (~5mm) by time I hit the back. I was able to widen the holes out a bit so the shanks were straight enough by the time I did up all the nuts but it was a lot more difficult than I was expecting it to be. Reckon it might be harder again having to deal with the tiles as well? Just checking cos it may be easier to do that part before you attach it permanently to the freezer.

Another tip is to make sure that your shanks are actually long enough to go completely through the collar with enough of the shank sitting proud to attach the JG fittings. My first lot of shanks turned out to not be quite long enough, even though they were longer than the width of the collar. I wound up having to bore out a recess for the nuts to sit in to get enough shank exposed for the JG fittings. Not the end of the world but one more complication that I wasn't expecting.


----------



## BKBrews (14/10/16)

All good points mate.

I'm pre-drilling the holes in my tiles prior to fitment and they're only 8mm thick, so I shouldn't have too many issues. In regards to drilling the collar, because I'm tiling it, the frame is only 25mm thick (19mm pine + 6mm villaboard), so should be quite easy to keep it straight, compared to people having to cut straight through 30 - 40mm of pine.

My shanks are 100mm long, so thankfully that will be fine. Total thickness of the collar completely tiled is only 36mm.

On top of all of that, my tradie mate is assisting me and I think he drills about 500 holes per day, in a construction setting, so I can just blame him if things are off


----------



## Meddo (14/10/16)

Haha good stuff mate, sounds like you've got yours planned out a lot better than I did


----------



## breakbeer (14/10/16)

Small spirit level attached to the top of your drill will help


----------



## BKBrews (14/10/16)

I fixed the collar to the freezer tonight with liquid nails. That stuff gets EVERYWHERE. 

Tip for new players: if I was to do this again, I would definitely build the collar based on the freezer frame dimensions, not the lid dimensions. Now that I think about it I don't even know why I did it that way.


----------



## malt junkie (15/10/16)

And next time just use silicone, the bond strength of liquid nails is over kill and it's messy


----------



## BKBrews (15/10/16)

It's very, very messy.

But I'm happy to report that I'm super stoked right now. The tiling was an absolute success and a piece of piss too. Tips for anyone attempting it: butter that adhesive on by the bucket load!! Unfortunately I started from the front of the Keezer, because my tap placement dictated my tiling pattern, so the front is probably the worst of the lot as I didn't use enough adhesive. It doesn't look any different to the other sides, I'm just hoping the tiles grab properly and I don't have any issues. Only other issue was my aluminium edging gaps. The adhesive compressed further than I thought (used a 6mm trowel), so they're jutting out by a few mm. No biggie.


----------



## Stouter (15/10/16)

Not sure how your taps will screw into place (thread through and backing nut?) but be careful tightening them up on the tiles, especially as the holes are in the middle of the tile. Speaking from plumbing experience when I'd be winding on taps trying to get them level and having to turn that little bit more, and.....ping!!
Using a rubber 'o' ring or fibre washer between the backing of the tap and the tile face to give a soft buffer, then grouting or silicone around the gap maybe.
You'd hate to mess up such a nice build.


----------



## Nattydstar (15/10/16)

How'd the beer turn out mate? They carbonated?


----------



## BKBrews (15/10/16)

Nattydstar said:


> How'd the beer turn out mate? They carbonated?


Dunno yet mate, gonna have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest to find out. Have to wait 24 hours prior to grouting , so once it's grouted I'll put it back in its final resting place, chuck the kegs in and crank it up.

Cheeky Peak are sending me some new clamps too because the ones they sent were too small, so don't really want to put it all together before I get them!!


----------



## BKBrews (16/10/16)

All finished and trial plumbed. Had to try, but not cold yet and not properly carbonated after natural priming. Can't wait to get the rest of the taps!


----------



## Rocker1986 (16/10/16)

Looking good mate! Nicely done. :beerbang:


----------



## Nattydstar (17/10/16)

Nice work mate!


----------



## Devhay (17/10/16)

Looks the good mate!


----------



## BKBrews (21/10/16)

I may only have a few brews under my belt and they may be far, far from perfect, but God I'm hooked. Can you really beat having 20 odd litres ready to go? Still beats 95% of the crap out there in commercial land and will only get better!


----------



## earle (21/10/16)

Looks good. Only way to beat it is by having 100 odd litres ready to go. :beer:


----------



## BKBrews (21/10/16)

earle said:


> Looks good. Only way to beat it is by having 100 odd litres ready to go. :beer:


I've got 40 odd litres kegged, but I was referring to each 19L keg. I finally understand why everyone says making the move to kegging is the best thing they ever did.


----------



## peteru (22/10/16)

There's more to it than just quantity. There are many advantages to not having to deal with bottles.

You get more control over carbonation.

You can adjust your beer, by for example throwing a hand full of hops into the keg, if you find the result lacking.


----------



## earle (22/10/16)

BKBrews said:


> I've got 40 odd litres kegged, but I was referring to each 19L keg. I finally understand why everyone says making the move to kegging is the best thing they ever did.


For sure. What I was getting at was that kegging has lots of advantages but it can be easier to have a variety of different beers available at once when bottling - more taps makes variety easier.


----------

