AHB Articles: Freezr Conversions

[dane]

This is the discussion topic for article: Freezr Conversions

 

[brettprevans]

ok so ive had some more expeirance with my converstion. heres some more info that i will incorporate into the article (also listed here)

Feel free to add your experiances/notes etc in chesty converstions and setups to this.

Force Carbing
playing with force carbing my kegs last night...

now with kegs at 300psi (or a bit more) i didnt go near the releif valve, but i had made the mistake of connecting the gas line before I had turned the ghas on..so beer in the gas line. no worries i think, just take of the gas disconnect and and a qquick depression on the disconnect to let the beer dribble out of the gas line.....after copping a face full of beer at 300psi I realise I forgot to turn the gas off and that having my finger in the disconnect just made the spray even worse. after a bit more cursing and playing I get all my gas/pressures right. thank christ i have cellis and dont have to balance this *******!

also if your going to work on your taps etc disconnect the beer line first. I had multiple bumping of 2 taps tap and beer pissing out before i thought, maybe i should disconnect the beer line.


Beer in the Gas Line
trying to work out why beer is coming up the gas line. I speak with Ross (ill omit the part about me needing to get a non return valve - you need a non return valve people! if you get beer in your regulator its buggered.)

paraphrased...
Ross: One of the problems with force carbing kegs is that you can over carb them. that sounds like your problem.
Me: its only been 2 days @ ~120psi! how the hell did I manage that?
R: hmmm, nah it cant be that. hmmmm. How far did you fill the keg up? cause if the beer is above gas inlet tube.....
Me: ohh crap! thats where my extra few litres of brew went that I couldnt account for. what a dumb arse i am!

ok so tip for young players:
- dont over fill your kegs and force carb. fill to about the weld line (about 30mm from the top).
- If you do need to get the beer level down, just do what i did and drink 4 pints of slightly undercarbed beer. fixed!


Leaving Taps open after Cleaning Kegs/Line
Courtesy of Fourstar
After every keg empties give them a sodium percarbonate wash out and quick flush with iodophor to prep the keg for the next batch. Now normally a lot of people just leave the faucet/tap open to dry out. Then close it when your ready. Remember to CLOSE it before you connect the beer line up! Otherwise its beer everywhere!

Tightening All your Fittings
Ok so Im drinking my beers and loving it. and I lift up the lid to do some work on the inside of the chesty. Beer leaking out of the JG fitting connected to the back of the tap. Quickly i disconnect the beer out line. hmmm fitting not tight enough. I tighten. obviosuly not enough becuase it does the same thing again but i didnt notice it. so ive lost probably 1L of beer.

so a reminder to make sure all your nuts , taps, fittings etc are tigher than the preverbial.

 

[cdbrown]

Would also recommend to regularly check around the beer out posts to see if there's any beer leaking from there. I had disconnected my beer lines for a little while as I don't have a collar yet and the condensation buildup inside was getting stupid. After about 5 days I came back to check the system only to find the normally clear pool of water in the bottom of the fridge was a nice golden ale colour and the reg on the gas bottle was showing there was no more liquid left in the bottle.

So pays to always check the poppets on the posts close properly after disconnectin. I always do a quick test that there's no other leaks on the kegs prior to filling by giving them a quick charge of CO2 and then tipping upside down and putting in the laundry sink. Needs to be gassed a little to get the blanket of CO2 in there prior to filling anyway.

+1 for the taps (also relates to fermenters).
JG fittings can leak after being pushed and pulled apart a number of times. Sometimes it is better just to get new ones and chuck them out.

 

[Leigh]

aggghhh...You're scaring me Brett...making bottling sound sooooo mauch easier

 

[brettprevans]

nah man, this is the idiots guide to kegging. its like the 'why isnt my kitten I mean airlock bubbling' resource for kegging.

kegging is so much better. beer on tap rocks. a lot of satisfaction from having built your own dispensing device and not having to wash bottles or have 100s of bottles if your a big drinker.

 

[brettprevans]

Ive got to edit the actual article to reflect this:

dont bugger round with cutting a hole out for the temp controller like I originally did. Ive now sealed it all up and have the temp control unit on the outside in a jiffy box. work fine. looks fine. I have bought a couple strong magnets to stick on the bottom of the jiffy box so it wont fall off the lid when I open it.

 

[brettprevans]

if there was still any debate over fridge v freezer for energy efficency then this should put an end to it.

Been waiting 6 days for the freezer to climb up to 10C (after changing the temp settings to 9-13C). The bugger is still sitting at 8C. it just wont loose its cool (so to speak). bloody brilliant energy wise but i want it at 10C to ferment!

 

[brettprevans]

Ive updated the 'article' with some extra notes and bits and peices after i had a few PMs from other AHB members.

Use the attachment that is 905.93K (ie the 2nd one)

Hope this is still a useful resource to you blokes.

 

[bum]

I have bought a couple strong magnets to stick on the bottom of the jiffy box so it wont fall off the lid when I open it.

The one on my fermenting fridge has been giving me the irrits, always wanting to fall off the top in the middle of the night - think you've just shown me the answer. Cheers.

 

[cdbrown]

I love this guide and have used it to build my collar, although adjusted slightly to suit the timber sizes, freezer and won't be mounting taps direct.

CM2 - the strip you have on the top - is that the 3mm neoprene stuff and does the seal on the freezer lid stick to it well or does it just provide a good seal due to the weight of the lid? Do you still think the rubber mats are a good idea? Lastly - any issues with condensation/mildew/mould on the bottom or have you added one of those moisture absorbing containers?

Also quite honoured to be mentioned in the update - thanks for that.

 

[brettprevans]

I love this guide and have used it to build my collar, although adjusted slightly to suit the timber sizes, freezer and won't be mounting taps direct.

CM2 - the strip you have on the top - is that the 3mm neoprene stuff and does the seal on the freezer lid stick to it well or does it just provide a good seal due to the weight of the lid? Do you still think the rubber mats are a good idea? Lastly - any issues with condensation/mildew/mould on the bottom or have you added one of those moisture absorbing containers?

Also quite honoured to be mentioned in the update - thanks for that.

the neoprene basicly seals becasue of the weight of the lid. and it acts as a good absorber when you accidently drop the lid down (you learn to move your head quickly after a few times!). Its probably not needed if your collar is dead level...(read between the lines...mine isnt!).

Rubber mats were a great idea...unless youve got an older style fridge that defrosts and leaves water in the bottom like mine. i ditched the mats. but i still maintain its a good idea. also gives a little extra bounce to any bottles dropping on the bottom of the freezer.

Mildew etc - yup i was getting some and Brendo mentioned that he used damprid, so i gave it a try. works bloody well. it absorbs the moisture and thus prevents mildew from forming. buy it in a buy 2 or 3kg container as thats the most cost effective.

I do have to occationally pull everything out and mop it out becuase of the excess water, but i havent had to do that since the damprid.

 

[cdbrown]

Cheers mate, I got some 10mm closed cell foam which had the sticky backing that I've placed onto the under side of the collar. I'll get some of that neoprene for the top. The collar seems to be level but hopefully the foam on the bottom and silicone (clear gutter and downpipe stuff) fix any issues.

Need to spend a little time investigating the hinge mechanism on the freezer before I tackle taking it apart.

I hate having to clean the freezer out so hoping that the addition of the collar will significantly reduce the issue as I won't have to open the lid as often as before or have the lid not sealing due to beer lines coming out of the freezer.

 

[brettprevans]

Cheers mate, I got some 10mm closed cell foam which had the sticky backing that I've placed onto the under side of the collar. I'll get some of that neoprene for the top. The collar seems to be level but hopefully the foam on the bottom and silicone (clear gutter and downpipe stuff) fix any issues.

Need to spend a little time investigating the hinge mechanism on the freezer before I tackle taking it apart.

I hate having to clean the freezer out so hoping that the addition of the collar will significantly reduce the issue as I won't have to open the lid as often as before or have the lid not sealing due to beer lines coming out of the freezer.

depending on what you want to do, you dont actually need to play with the hinge. just unscrwew the screws that fix the lid to the body, then put on the collar and fix the lid to the collar. if the collar is fixed on tight then it wont go anywhere. ill take a pic of the back of mine and shopw you what i mean.

edit: i found a pic of the lid off with the hinges still attached (ignore the ugly ******* inside the freezer :lol: ). I literally just unscrewed the hinges off the freezer body and then screwed it into the collar. never had a problem.

 

[cdbrown]

Here's my collar, been primed and painted, has the 10mm foam on the bottom. Just need to get to clark rubber and get the neoprene for the top. Have to do it soon as the keezer will have 7 kegs in it by the weekend and without the collar will only fit 6.

 

[brettprevans]

I wouldnt worry about the neoprene. yours looks dead straight and the foam should provide enough of the seal,

its lovely when it all starts coming together isnt it?

did the picture of the collar and its hinges above (post 13) make sense?

 

[cdbrown]

Yep your post made sense - my lid has different hinges. That foam I've got will go on the bottom to seal between the collar and freezer, I like the idea of the neoprene on top to seal with the lid.

I took the screws off holding the hinge to the freezer and a small plastic piece feel onto the floor from each side. It's this Model. There's two thin steel rods which extend the length of the lid which provide the spring action rather than the springs being in each hinge. I'm sure the plastic pieces are used somehow to prevent the rods from moving under the seal. Will be going to good guys tonight to have a close look at the freezers there in the hope of understanding where this little bit goes.

 

[brettprevans]

Yep your post made sense - my lid has different hinges.
I took the screws off holding the hinge to the freezer and a small plastic piece feel onto the floor from each side. It's this Model. There's two thin steel rods which extend the length of the lid which provide the spring action rather than the springs being in each hinge. I'm sure the plastic pieces are used somehow to prevent the rods from moving under the seal. Will be going to good guys tonight to have a close look at the freezers there in the hope of understanding where this little bit goes.

are they the same looking hinges as Pok's? - post 17 link? weird looking hinges. Im sure a trip to goodguys will sort you out.

otherwise Bonj has/had a smaller chesty like yours and it might be the same hinges - link

 

[cdbrown]

The hinges actually wrap around the corners so there's 2 screws into the side wall and 2 screws into the back wall for each hinge. By leaving the plastic piece out, when closing the lid the rod moves back and under the lid seal. I'll most likely have to install it with the lid proped up to take the resistance out of the rod.

 

[cdbrown]

Collar installed. Decided to remove the wire rods all together as I couldn't twist them back to the original position. Means the lid won't stay open on it's own, but an off cut of some timber fixes that. The blue circle is the cut out for the beer lines to come through, it's just some insulation.

 

[brettprevans]

.........blue circle is the cut out for the beer lines to come through, it's just some insulation.

looking good

but why the hole? are you running a font and didnt want to cut into the lid? it looks too big to be for 1 beerline and tap?