New Keezer Help - Kenmore 253.19531990

[Derick_Z]

My old dorm fridge 2-keg kegerator died not long ago so I hit Craigslist looking for deals and came across a 14.8 cu ft chest freezer for $65 so I immediately jumped on it. It looks to be in great condition and the sellers were very friendly. The internal dimensions are 22 in by 33 in on the floor excluding the hump, and the compressor hump is 9 inches wide. I only have 2 kegs right now, but I should be able to fit 7 in there eventually I think.




I haven't really done any research on keezers in a while.. what's the current consensus on whether you should attach the collar to the lid or body? I noticed the lip on the body is sloped in slightly.. will that make a difference?



I was thinking of just using 2x4s for the collar, any issue there? Additionally i looked at the gasket briefly to see how to remove it if I wanted to put the collar on the lid, and can't figure out how to get it off. It looks like it's tucked under the plastic covering the lid, with some little pegs or something holding it in place.. any idea how to remove it easily so I can attach it to the collar?



Thanks!

 

[purplehaze]

I cant help you with the collar but those pegs are a press fit. I just use a flat head screwdriver and carefully pry them out so you don't damage the gasket.

 

[DanH]

Edit: technical difficulties with the iphone app.

 

[Derick_Z]

I just tried that, and it worked fantastically! Thanks! I just stumbled across http://billybrew.com/kegerator-collar this site and he didn't even attach his collar I don't think. He just rests it on the top of the base and attached the hinges to the back of the collar. Any thoughts? I want to go with an easy build, but I do like the idea of the shanks being lifted up out of the way when I open it..

 

[DanH]

I've done both but I prefer to attach the collar to the lid. I staple the gasket with a staple gun. They say the hinges aren't rated for that heavy of a lid but I haven't had a problem (even with a 2x12 collar).

2x4 would be fine but I prefer at least a 2x6 just to have more wood around the shanks (that sounds weird).

 

[Derick_Z]

How did you attach the collar to the lid? I was debating using Liquid Nails or something like that, but I really have no idea. Here's a quick shot of the hinges:



Also, I just noticed that if I take off the gasket, there's only about an inch of flat(ish) area before the lid bends up. That may cause an issue I presume?



EDIT: Also the compressor hump would need like 7 or 8 inches extra clearance to fit a keg on it I think, so that may be out of the question. I don't have my kegs handy so I can't double check the height of a corny but I think it's about 25 inches.

 

[DanH]

I glued the collar on with industrial strength construction adhesive (in a caulk gun bottle). As for the lid, I guess you'd have to hold a scrap piece of 2x4 to it to see how it would work. I haven't had one where there was no room for the collar.

 

[DanH]

After looking at that photo again, a can see two options... Either you can make it work (and I think it will, or you can remove the plastic panel and glue to the metal under it (which is what I did on one of mine. You'll just have to replace the fabric looking insulation with the more rigid foam stuff.

 

[Derick_Z]

What do you mean by make it work? What if I used 1x6 board for the collar with 2x4 on the inside as extra support? The step down to a smaller width would take it out of the way of the sloping plastic I think.

Side note, this morning I plugged it in and put a large cup of water to check the temperature. After about 5 hours, the floor is reading -15 to -20 and the water is completely frozen solid! I'd say the freezer works well!

 

[DanH]

What do you mean by make it work? What if I used 1x6 board for the collar with 2x4 on the inside as extra support? /QUOTE]

I mean build the collar and just glue it on there. I can't tell him much of a slope it has.

I would try to use 2x6s if possible (i think your just romove the plastic panel. The 1x6 idea would probably work though. I'd put the metal corner brackets on it as well. Insulating it would be a good idea too.

Either way, post pics of the build. Always awesome to see.

 

[Derick_Z]

I just popped out all the pins and got the gasket off then put them back in to hold the plastic covering in place over the fiberglass insulation. Found some scrap lumber laying around the shed and decided to see how a 1 by 6 would fit vs a 2 by 6. First, here's another shot that shows the slope better:



Here's how well a 2x6 would fit if I pushed it up snug against the slope. Note that it would stick out over the lip quite a bit..not sure if I like that.



Here's a 1x6 in the same position. It fits much better, but is obviously not perfect. I could try to find some insulation foam to put on the inside of the collar if need be for the thinner stuff.



So what do you guys think? I'm not exactly keen to try to attach it on the slope as it doesn't look like it would hold in place well and seems like it would require a whole lot of extra glue or something to fill the void (unless there's a better way that I'm missing)

It's easy to remove the plastic and it wouldn't be too hard to remove the fiberglass insulation if I needed to mount a 2x6 to the metal itself. I'm hesitant to do that however because there's a light in the lid and I'd like to keep that if possible.

Bonus shot of the results of the coldness test:

 

[DanH]

On one hand, the 2x6 would provide probably a lot more strength.

On the other hand, the 1x6 would be lighter and probably better for putting the hinges on to lift the entire collar/lid.

I'm voting 2x6 to metal, but still figure how to incorporate the light.

I'm very interested to see what turns out. Either way it'll be awesome.

 

[Derick_Z]

Well, me being the impatient man I am, decided to run to the store more or less immediately after posting my previous post. I ended up getting poplar (at the insistence of SWMBO because the grain 'looked better and will stain better') and dropped down to 1x4 due to a combination of weight and price. Just finished framing it up, and I think it's fairly obvious now why I never pursued a career in this type of stuff. I neglected to account for the thickness of the wood and ended up with a frame that is nice and squared, but the boards don't quite meet and there's an awkward step. Oh well, it's at least functional. Fits well on the lid and should be a breeze to glue down.



I ended up going with angle brackets and wood screws to hold it together and it seems sturdy enough, and picked up some flat metal plates to attach the hinge too which will then screw into the collar, so that will hopefully help spread the load out some across the wood.

I also grabbed some styrofoam insulation sheets for the inside which I think I'll apply once I've got the collar glued down.. which brings us to the glue. I was hesitant to use Liquid Nails because (though I've read it works very well) I want to be able to remove it if necessary and I noticed on the tube it says not recommended for plastic. I ended up picking up this because it says it works on wood and PVC so I figured it may be the best bet, but I'm really not sure.



Finally, I grabbed some nails with a thick head to tack the gasket to the collar later.

 

[DanH]

That's gonna come together very well.

 

[Derick_Z]

While the freezer is big enough to support 7 kegs eventually, I am currently limited to the 2 that I already had, so I've only drilled two tap holes. I planned ahead however and marked out where the other 4 will go (eventually), as I couldn't come up with a way to fit 7 that looked good to me. If I ever add a 7th I'll either put it dead center or on one of the sides of the unit.

A dry fit to make sure everything was coming together well (with my brand new tap handles!):



Putting on the first coat of stain now!

 

[Derick_Z]

After moving stuff around some and staggering the kegs, I realized I'll eventually be able to fit 8 kegs in this puppy! It'll be trivial to fit all the taps as I've only drilled two so far, meaning it'll stay balanced easily.

Here's a quick shot of the stained collar, I think I'm about ready to glue it down tomorrow!

 

[Derick_Z]

After three coats of stain and four coats of clear polyurethane, I just glued the collar to the lid! The tube says allow to set for 48 hours before removing mechanical fasteners and it'll fully cure after 5-8 days. Do I really have to wait a week before I can move on with this project??

 

[DanH]

I've only ever left them alone overnight.

 

[DanH]

I should add that I like to put a handle on mine so that you are lifting it by the wood collar, rather than by the lid itself.

 

[Derick_Z]

I should add that I like to put a handle on mine so that you are lifting it by the wood collar, rather than by the lid itself.

Yeah I had thought about adding a handle that I can lift by and use as a towel bar right in the middle. Thought it might look cool and prevent me from having to lift the collar by the glue.

 

[Bookworm]

It is a little late now but you could have cut a rabbit joint in the 2X6 to allow for the slope and fill any space with the glue or silicone.

 

[Derick_Z]

I don't have the tools or the skills for that kind of cut

 

[Derick_Z]

Just glued in two layers of r=3 insulation foam to the collar! When I glued the collar down I put a thick bead all along the edge and smushed it down, then put a decent bead all around on the inside to make sure it would stick and it feels pretty darn solid. Now the foam is glued together and to the collar, so it's nearing completion! Tomorrow I'll go back and sand down the foam to fit the slope on the inside if need be, then tack the gasket down to the collar and see how the hinges will attach. I also found the coarse adjustment screw on the thermostat so I won't need a temperature controller, and if all goes well I may be up and running by Tuesday!

 

[Derick_Z]

Sorry for the extended delay, but I had a series of problems with temperature control that ended in me breaking down and buying a commercial external controller rather than fiddling with the internal setting or my own thermostat. Just got the STC-1000 assembled and it's looking gorgeous! I'll be moving the keezer to its (semi) permanent location on thursday morning, and hope to pull my first pint by Thursday or Friday night!

On a related note, any idea how long it takes a keg to come down from ~75 to ~40? I may put them in the freezer now so they'll be nice and cold and will hopefully survive the hour long trip without heating up to much and I can drink that much sooner!

 

[theck]

Someone on craiglist has a 253.16702102 says it's a 7.2 cu ft... how many kegs can you get into yours?

 

[bondra76]

Someone on craiglist has a 253.16702102 says it's a 7.2 cu ft... how many kegs can you get into yours?

Someone told me that the 3rd number after the decimal is the # of cubic feet. I guess that doesn't apply when you have something double digits though like the OP's freezer.

I have a 7 cubic foot freezer and I am going to be able to fit in 4 5 gallon kegs with a collar.

Check out this thread for all the layouts. I have a 7 cubic foot kenmore that is really old, but it's got the same measurements and layout as the newer 7 cu ft kenmores. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/chest-freezer-specs-layouts-377518/

 

[theck]

Thanks saw the thread... Didn't see that model. Hate to drop cash for a freezer only to find it doesn't work for 4 taps. I might just try to find a 9 for that just in case situation. Some of the 7s on there will do 4 some 3. Thanks.

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Derick_Z]

Sorry for the long delay, I've been away from the forums for a while.

At the moment I only have 4 kegs, but I ran the numbers and I should be able to fit at least 8, possibly 10 if I stagger them (I don't have the pad I was planning this all on anymore).

I'd post a picture but the place is an absolute mess right now!

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Thanks saw the thread... Didn't see that model. Hate to drop cash for a freezer only to find it doesn't work for 4 taps. I might just try to find a 9 for that just in case situation. Some of the 7s on there will do 4 some 3. Thanks.

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Home Brew mobile app

Costco sells a Haier 7.1cuFt chest freezer year round for $175.

Theres a thread about it here on HBT

Mine fits(VERY SNUGGLY), four 5 gallon ball locks on the floor, one 5# CO2 tank w/ double regulator, 4 way gas distributor, and a 2.5 gallon ball lock keg all on the hump, and an EvaDry 500 in the bottom left corner.

I have to situate the double regulator in a very specific orientation for it to work, but it fits fine. Luckily the two dials on the regulator fit exactly between the gaps the 2.5 gallon keg makes with the two kegs its pushed up against.