Four tap keezer

[ILMSTMF]

TL;DR version. Details after the break.

Build is based very much on what @mongoose33 has produced here. Mongoose33 was also instrumental in helping me plan the build as was @IslandLizard So, big credit to them for the tips and their patience:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/easy-peasy-no-glue-keezer-build-with-lots-of-pics.632550/

Finished product:

****************************** This is the break lol *****************************

This took 14 - 16 months to finally get live. I lost count. Was buying kegs, tubing, taps, adapters, and accessories well in advance of this build. I believe in the time I waited to have the keezer live, I served 6 kegs with picnic taps in an air conditioned closet. Not ideal.

I should mention here that the entire build was almost exclusively funded by those in my debt. Being a nerd pays off... especially when your painter & carpenter friends need computer help.

Vendor I work with went out of business and had no use for their vinyl-wrapped 7.0 cubic foot chest freezer. It's banged up with dents and getting the wrap off was a headache. Logo blurred to protect the...unfortunate.

Wish I took a photo of the unit BEFORE the residue from peeling the wrap off was removed. It was ugly. Uglier then the plain white seen below, believe it or not.

After my guy cleaned it up, he painted it black.

Doesn't do a perfect job of hiding the dents but I think it's MUCH better at it then white did.
Time to get to work. Purchased 2x6 doug fir and 1x8 red oak, the former as the main collar and the latter as the facade.

But wait... something doesn't look right... Remember, I'm not handy. Went to lumber yard asking for those specific wood thicknesses and lengths. Didn't really pay attention as I loaded it into my car. Got to the shop and, hey, that's 1x4 red oak not 1x8! I looked at my invoice and, yes, the lumber yard charged me for 1x8. This was their screw up as well as mine. 40 minute drive one way back to lumber yard to correct the issue... They offered nothing as a consolation for my troubles. This is the price one pays for not taking a solid look at what's in their possession.
It all worked out anyway, sort of. I purchased this self-stick weather seal. A roll of 1 1/2" and a roll of 3/4". This was applied to the freezer mouth to support the weight of the collar. Turns out I didn't need the 3/4" so I returned it for a refund.

Also picked up this 1 inch thick R5 insulation, 2 feet wide 8 feet long. To be used on the interior side of the main collar. Cut on angles at the top allowing the freezer lid (with it's beveled plastic shield) to sit flush / minimize air loss in keezer.

More details after the jump.

 

[ILMSTMF]

Measuring before bolting it.

Whoops. My guy drilled one shank hole too many.

That's one hole cut for 1/4" ID main gas supply. Two holes drilled for 3/16" alternate gas supply. Explanation later.
My guy decided he didn't like how the top of the wood looked so he added more wood on top of it. Looks relatively seamless when I open the lid. And it feels smooth too.

At this point, shanks are all exposed. I was going to keep it this way but, you'll see later...

 

[ILMSTMF]

Insulation secured to the collar with wood screws and thin metal washers. Probably 2" screws. My guy did a pretty good job keeping corners tight too.

A few down are the stages of the wood being torched before the sealer went on it.

Also note the strips of insulation that we put between the shanks.

The story above. The two holes that were drilled for the 3/16" line were way too tight to get the tube thickness through. They were drilled wider to let the lines through. So, the wood cap you saw earlier was discarded and my guy didn't take the time to build another cap. No problem, gaff tape on the interior side.

Tapped a simple nail in here to hang the Ink Bird on. I did that myself! LMAO

Why two holes for extra gas?

• The main 1/4" gas line coming in is directly off one of the regulator barbs. It enters through the hole and supplies gas to a 4 channel manifold (photo later).

• The first smaller hole has 3/16" ID line coming in. On the outside, that is connected to a 2 channel manifold (zip tied to the CO2 tank outside). The 2 channel manifold is connected to the second regulator. On the inside, the line has a QD on it. This line will be permanent. But what's the point? Oh, to serve one keg at a different pressure then those on the 4 channel manifold. In fact, it is being used at this very moment for a 30psi force carb of a grapefruit Sculpin clone I put in keg yesterday! ;-)

• The other small hole? For the same purpose as above. I can serve two kegs on the 4 channel manifold at one pressure and, if I wanted to, I can serve two other kegs at a different pressure. Realistically, I don't know how often that need would arise but I've got a hole for distributing gas in if I ever needed to.

• One huge bonus about that 2 channel manifold is that I keep one channel connected to a 30' utility line. Because the keezer is in an office, I don't want to do wet work in there (if I can afford not to). Yesterday, I used that line to run into a nearby bathroom where I force carbonated and rolled a freshly filled keg. It worked really well!!

Another jump...

 

[ILMSTMF]

Above, you can see the primary 4 channel manifold. That is on the right plank of the collar, facing the front of it. Originally, I wanted to put this on the left plank where the inbound gas lines are. The manifold would have interfered with the taps so, I'm glad I made the call to put on right plank. SWMBO helped me drill that into the foam. ;-)
You can also see the John Guest fittings on the shanks. I used right angle fittings too. Honestly, I'm not sure if this was a great idea... Being very green to keg serving, there are problems I already ran into. The first being that I didn't have the Bev Seal Ultra fully inserted into some of these connections. Thankfully, I discovered that when I had set up my system to clean the taps and liquid lines (before putting the first keg on). Some Oxi spurted around inside but not much. But the bigger problem...

This mess of coiled beverage line. It's just a horror show. To get the kegs in and out, needed SWMBO to hold the coil to the side. Not efficient. I will probably start another thread to ask for tips on how to keep this line organized, out of the way, kink-free, etc. I've got some other problems already too but nothing awful.

It took much much longer then I wanted to get this damn thing active but the payoff makes it worthwhile. Knowing what warm-dispensed beer was like compared to this... Quite different and certainly for the better.

I broke one of the cheap plastic tap handles trying to thread it onto one of the taps lol

I'll do my best to answer any technical questions, if there are any. Thanks again to my dudes @mongoose33 and @IslandLizard !

 

[BrianDorry55]

Did you get anywhere on wrangling those beer lines? I’m about to order the John guest fittings and lines. Looks like a great build by the way!

 

[ILMSTMF]

Thank you @BrianDorry55 !

So, I coiled up the lines and used velcro zip tie to hold each coil together. A minimal amount of each line is fed to the keg QD and tap. In other words, I keep as much of the coil in the "cold area" as I can.

Look at the very last photo posted above. The manifold is on the right side of the keezer. Below that is the compressor hump. Because the kegs are taking up all the floor space, the coils are gathering on top of that hump. I do wish it was neater / I could utilize that space for something better. Each line is 18', BTW. I think that sounds worse then it actually is especially since they are coiled up.
It's still damn crowded in there and tricky to move things around. Though, I've seen other builds that look even more frustrating to maneuver through so... I'll try to get you a photo later on.

I'm not the authority on the JG fittings. I love them, no doubt. But if you asked me how to remove any of them from the lines / shanks, I wouldn't know! It seems like once they're on, they're on. lol

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Wow, ILMSTMF, that looks great! I really like your process, too.
What do you currently have on tap???

 

[ILMSTMF]

Thanks @Iowa Brewer ! Had to LOL at "love your process". I'm f'n neurotic; "over-thinks-****" is my middle name and "talks too much" is my salutation. I really must give a lot of the credit to @mongoose33 and @IslandLizard for inspiration, guidance, and support.

A clone of Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin just kicked (which was lovely) and I've got NB's Fruit Bazooka NEIPA as of three days ago. It is wonderful. My second NEIPA, the first being my very first AG brew. So many failures that day...but, bottled, it still turned out OK. This one though really smokes it. ::HOP BELCH REPEAT:: <- someone design an emoji for that, please.

As promised, photos (including that NEIPA)

Clearly room for improvement with keeping all those tubes neat but, uhhh...only so much one can do, right?

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Thanks @Iowa Brewer ! Had to LOL at "love your process".
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Ha! You and me, both, brother! I'm building a keezer right now (photos to come), and I'm way over thinking everything. But overthinking's worked for me thus far, eh? The beers sound delicious! Keep it up, mate!