CGolden, love the Keezer. You actually inspired me to make one and copy most if not all of your designs. Unfinished pictures posted. (Told you we copied you .
One question I did have and am thinking of incorporating in my own keezer is making the counter with its own hinge (in the rear) and therefore when you lift the counter this comes up separate from the Freezer lid. (Hope that make sense). The coffin of course would still be attached to the countertop. The portion where the holes are in the freezer lid would have a gasket seal around them that when the countertop closes down onto the freezer lid it seals the holes which should still allow for intake/exhaust fans to flow normally. The only thing is it would mean having to open 2 lids (freezer lid and Countertop lid) separate. My thought in doing this is that its less pressure on the freezer lid and you also don't have to worry about how you attach the countertop to the top of the freezer. I believe Cgolden used pop rivets for his. My other thought would be that this would allow if for some reason the freezer ever crapped out you could easily remove it and hopefully replace it rather than having to rip the countertop tile off, etc.
I would like any ideas or advice if others have tried this and ran into issues or if you think it might be viable. Thanks.
Update. Didn't work since it was too hard to find a spot on the back to mount a separate latch for the lid. Decided to stick to cgoldens and others method.
One question I did have and am thinking of incorporating in my own keezer is making the counter with its own hinge (in the rear) and therefore when you lift the counter this comes up separate from the Freezer lid. (Hope that make sense). The coffin of course would still be attached to the countertop. The portion where the holes are in the freezer lid would have a gasket seal around them that when the countertop closes down onto the freezer lid it seals the holes which should still allow for intake/exhaust fans to flow normally. The only thing is it would mean having to open 2 lids (freezer lid and Countertop lid) separate. My thought in doing this is that its less pressure on the freezer lid and you also don't have to worry about how you attach the countertop to the top of the freezer. I believe Cgolden used pop rivets for his. My other thought would be that this would allow if for some reason the freezer ever crapped out you could easily remove it and hopefully replace it rather than having to rip the countertop tile off, etc.
I would like any ideas or advice if others have tried this and ran into issues or if you think it might be viable. Thanks.
Update. Didn't work since it was too hard to find a spot on the back to mount a separate latch for the lid. Decided to stick to cgoldens and others method.
My coffin is 20" wide by 14"tall by 11.75" deep. The backsplash is recessed by about 2.5" and the center of the taps are about 11.5" from the tile.
I originally planned to do a collar because I wanted to keep my options open to maximize keg configurations and possibly add a bigger CO2 tank. However, I wanted my keezer to look like a piece of furniture and I felt like adding a collar would make it look too boxy. To give you some perspective my keezer is currently 49" wide on the bar top and 36" from the ground. Adding a 4-7" collar like I originally planned would make it almost as tall as it is wide which doesn't look like most furniture pieces (think entertainment center, dresser, buffet, etc).
On the flip side if I wasn't making this a "decorative" piece I would much rather have the flexibility of a collar. If squareness doesn't bother you then the collar would allow you to add in pin locks or 1/6 barrels a little easier. Adding a collar would also put the top more at a bar height so it could make it a nice place to stand around with a beer.
One thing that I don't see people talk about much is that even without a collar the top with a coffin is very heavy. It can be tough to hold it open while moving kegs around and the stock hinges seem to be barely capable of supporting the weight. I would imaging that adding a collar that is attached to the top would make it extremely heavy and hard to handle. If you attached the collar to the bottom part of the freezer you are making it more difficult to lift heavy kegs up and over to get them inside. Ultimately I decided that the adding a collar was not worth the added trouble (trying to get everything sealed and airtight) and it did not fit in with my design but if you are set on pin lock kegs it may be worth it to be able to fit the fourth keg.