Keezer Build Questions

Hey everyone!

I've been reading a ton of posts on here lately. I have a chest freezer that I'll be converting to a keezer and I had a couple of questions. If you have good links that answer the questions that would be awesome as well. The freezer fits 2 cornys without a collar (3-4 with). I'm looking to get something short term before investing more time and energy into something nicer / more expensive. I'd like to do a tower build as opposed to anything coming sideways out of the collar. I'll be working with just commercial kegs from my liquor store (for now)

1) I'll need to have beer lines going out of the keezer, CO2 lines running in, and a thermostat going in, correct? Is there anything that goes into / out of the freezer that I'm missing?

2) What are your thoughts on building a collar versus just cutting through the top of the freezer to run the beer lines out?

3) I'm looking to make a wood tower to basically replace the metal towers that come with tower kits. Other than insulating it and keeping it cool (computer fans or copper pipe is what I heard), is there anything important I need to consider?

4) Would this be the right equipment to get me started: http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/kegerator-conversion-kits-pid-RCK-S-2.html?

Thanks so much guys!

Hi

If the freezer you have only fits two ball lock corny's you will have issues with commercial kegs. Even a 1/6 commercial is bigger than a ball lock. Yes indeed I have experiance with that particular gotcha.

You will spend more money on the fittings for a two tap setup than on a tiny freezer. Better to bump the budget a bit and do it with a freezer that is at least 16.5" wide internaly.

Also remember that in order to use 1/6 kegs and normal couplers, you will need about 6" above the top of the keg. That sets your minimum inside height to a bit over 30". You can fiddle things a bit by spending more money, but I think you are *much* better off to spend the same or less on a bigger freezer.

Bob

1 - Nope that about covers it.
2 - Build the collar if you have any woodworking skills. If you don't cut the top you can always put it back on later if you decide to upgrade to a bigger freezer.
3 - Yes, the location of the keezer. If you don't put wheels on the bottom you will need to take into account the "tower" everytime you open the lid. You don't want your tower/tap handles smacking the wall when you open the lid.
4 - Yes, that kit will get you going. You will definitely have to build a coffin/tower or just a collar to mount the faucets.

I agree with Bob. Just spend a couple more bucks and get a bigger freezer to begin with. Trust a guy that is on his second keezer. I bought a small freezer to begin with and quickly found out that I needed a bigger freezer.

Doed said:

Trust a guy that is on his second keezer. I bought a small freezer to begin with and quickly found out that I needed a bigger freezer.

Click to expand...

Hi

Ok, trust *TWO* guys who just quickly found out they needed a bigger freezer. I'm on number two as well...

Bob

Thanks for the help guys! I bought it and picked up 2 commercial kegs and taps from the local liquor store to test and it'll fit 1 commercial without a collar and 2 with a collar. It appears I'm going to need to go bigger or go home. I'm going to return it and get a size upgrade as you suggested. I'm just out of college, so I have a small apartment and floor space is at a premium.

I'm thinking of getting the 7.2 Kenmore and sucking it up and building a collar (I don't have any woodworking skills, but I have lots of friends who do) that would fit 2 in the hole and 1 on the hump.

I'll get it up and running with the taps in that kit just sitting inside the keezer. First project will be to put it on some wheels and second project will be be build a tower. I just don't like the look of the taps through the collar.

Hi

I've got a Kenmore 7.2 sitting in the garage. It's headed for fermenter duty with Corny's in it. It's a pretty study little freezer. The lid is a lot stronger than the Electrolux / Kenmore / Frigidaire versions.

Floor space wise, these things don't grow as fast as you might think. I just went out and checked. The 14.8 cubic foot is less than 10" bigger than the 7.2 cubic foot.

Bob

Hey everyone! So it's been a while, but I have an update. The keezer is functional. Next step is to get it looking like a legitimate piece of furniture. I've attached pictures below. What pressure do you guys have your keezers on? We had ours on 12 as the kit instructed and we kept getting a lot of head. The lines are in the keezer, so no issues there.

P.S. Tip for any new keezer setups: the fasteners on our setup required a large wrench and some Teflon tape.

I added quite a bit of length to my beer lines and that did the trick on foam. I don't remember exactly but I am thinking 8-10 ft. Bev lines are cheap so it is probably worth a try.

NewBrewB said:

I don't remember exactly but I am thinking 8-10 ft. Bev lines are cheap so it is probably worth a try.

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+1 for 8-10 feet.. never had a problem..

what do you have in that keg in there?

I run 10' of line per tap on mine, that takes care of any foam issues.

Is that a slim 1/4 barrel?

That's a torpedo (1/6 barrel) of Blue Moon. I think the foam issue was because we had too much pressure at the faucet, which would mean that longer beer lines or lowering the pressure would fix it. I'm sure I'll need longer beer lines once we build the tower anyway, so I'll go ahead and order longer lines and turn down the pressure a bit until then.

The keezer will fit 3 torpedos, but I've only got the equipment for 2 right now, so I may look into getting a slim 1/4 until I decide to buy the equipment for a 3rd tap.


Next steps: build a base and wheels on it, then build a wooden tower / top.

Hi

A ten foot line *should* be good up to a bit over 20 psi. If you are switching stuff out anyway, beer line is dirt cheap. Go to 15 feet.

Bob

That is the same chest freezer I used when I made my keezer. I used a 2/10 for the collar, I can get 6 corny kegs and a case of beer in it at once. I am using 7 foot beer lines and I am about to upgrade them to 10.

Hey guys:

I know it's been a while, but here's a quick update:

I now have my keezer complete with 2 torpedos of Sam Adams Summer and Blue Moon (although I think it's getting close to empty). A couple weekends ago, my future father in law helped me build a base for the keezer (pics attached), so now it's mobile. I bought beer lines like you all suggested, but messing with the pressure seemed to fix most of the foam problems. Next step: designing the tower.

This looks like the GE 7.0 chest freezer. I have been researching but have not found anything definitive before I purchase regarding if this can fit 1/6 kegs with a standard coupler in it without having a collar. I see your picture and it appears that the internal height is sufficient. Is that correct? I have been reading you need 30 inches to fit the 1/6 kegs, but it appears you got them in nicely without kinking the tubing at only 27" which I believe is the height of this freezer.

The one I have fits 3 torpedos without a collar. Works very well for me. I've been working on the cabinet and tower. Should be done in the next couple weeks. I'll post pictures soon.

Hey guys,

Well it's been 6 months since the last post here, but I'm still making progress. Very slow progress, but progress nonetheless. The tower is mounted on the lid, and the lid is complete with tiling, grouting, and everything. All that's left is trimming the molding from the bottom (put some molding on there and it was too low, so it couldn't roll on the carpet), staining, and finishing.

However, I have a question that I think you guys may be able to help me with: I have a hole drilled through the tower so that the CO2 tank can sit outside. However, I'd like to split the CO2 line inside the tank so that I only have to run one line through the tower and (potentially) can set a different pressure for each keg.

1 - Do I need to have special tubing or connections for the lines to be able to run the full tank pressure along the line from the CO2 tank to the keezer?
2 - What kind of manifold do you guys recommend? (I'm thinking I should go ahead and get 4-way).


Thanks for your help!

gtdean11 said:

1 - Do I need to have special tubing or connections for the lines to be able to run the full tank pressure along the line from the CO2 tank to the keezer?
2 - What kind of manifold do you guys recommend? (I'm thinking I should go ahead and get 4-way).

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1) Yes, you do. Something like this http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/regulators-parts-pid-8406.html

It's much easier to just put a primary regulator on the tank, keep that at 30 psi or so and run a standard line inside to a couple secondary regulators.

2) If you want to run all 4 kegs at separate pressures, you need a 4-body secondary regulator, like this http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=610

A cheaper compromise would be to get a dual body secondary regulator (http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=608) and split the outlet of each. Then you can run 2 different pressures.

Glad to see I am not the only one with these questions, I was able to get ahold of a refrigerator quicker than a freezer. I also had to take into account the space issue. I know that a keezer in expansion and in ease of use is better than a kegerator but I had to make a compromise with SWMBO.

i use one like this:
http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=216

and then have a 3way manifold off of one of them and a 2way manifold off of the other, so i can have up to 3 with one pressure and 1 or 2 with the other.. i only have space for 4 total in my keezer, but that way i can do different combinations..

you can see how i worked mine from the link i my signature

Sounds like I'm in for an expensive project if I want to only have 1 CO2 line running into keezer and multiple pressures. ($70 line + $50 per tank with a different pressure).

I'll go ahead and get the $70 high pressure line and invest in more expensive regulators later. My current regulator (dual gauge regulator splitter) should do until I decide that I really need more than 2 tanks or 2 different pressures.

Well, I have good news and bad news and need your help with a pressure problem.

Good news:
The keezer is done and was working spectacularly:

Bad news:
We needed to disassemble it to move it, and when we reassembled it, it wouldn't work.

Where I need your help:
I can't get beer to come out of the faucet. It was in a working state (everything looking pressurized, beer coming out of faucet, etc.). In order to disassemble it to move it, I had to disconnect CO2 tank and keg from the keezer. Here's what I did:

1. Close CO2 tank via black value on the top.
2. Unscrew the CO2 line from the CO2 Tank (I have a high pressure line running from tank to regulator). At this point, I heard air coming out of the line that I just disconnected. I assume it was the CO2 from the keg.
3. Untap the keg. (this step was completed probably 5 minutes after the last step was completed, so there was no longer air coming out of the line once I untapped the keg).

When putting it back together, I connected CO2 line to the tank, opened black knob on the CO2 tank, then tapped the keg. When I pull the faucet, I don't get any beer. This saddened me (and my friend who helped me carry the keezer)...

So here's where I need your help: WHY ISN'T BEER COMING OUT? All of the pressure relief vales (on the tap and regulator) spit out air (maybe CO2) when I pull them, and the pressure reading on the regulator goes down a bit, but goes back up to 12 PSI. I'm lost for reasons why the beer isn't coming out. Do you guys have any ideas? Also, my CO2 tank is low, but not empty. I suppose there's a possibility my tank is empty, but I believe that's unlikely since the gauge I have isn't in the red and it was able to push beer through before we moved it.

Bonus question: since I had the keg tapped and left the CO2 line open to the air, is there a possibility that some air has gotten in and my beer will be flat / bad when i finally get it out?

what happens when you pull the pressure relief on the keg? If CO2 purges off than you have a clog in your bev line, if nothing purges off then reset your CO2 lines to make sure nothing is stuck in a closed position.

You want to make sure you always disconnect for the keg back to prevent suck back. The one time I forgot, I sucked beer into the gas quick disconnected once it dried and I reconnected it to the keg it broke the post in the disconnect, it looked connected but really wasn't.

Happy Hunting

Thanks Bean!

I pulled the pressure relief on the keg and air came out, then disconnected and reconnected everything then waited overnight. When I woke up, everything was working. I think the tank and keezer were just adjusting to a temperature (and pressure) difference from friend's house to my apartment. Anyways, thanks for your advice!