Insulating Keezer Collar?

[Jiffster]

How critical is it to insulate the inner collar?

Is it an added measure that has very little benefit or does it yield real benefits?

If so, what is the best insulation to use?

I was looking at these 1" & 3/4" thick panels at Lowe's yesterday.

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[Revvy]

I'm sure that will be fine. For mine I used pink foam board.

 

[itsnotrequired]

i would recommend insulating, it will help with condensation issues. most freezers seem to have an r-value in the 5-7 range. 1.5" construction lumber has an r-value of less than 2. i wouldn't say it is 'critical' to have the insulation but it certainly can't hurt.

the product indicated is eps (expanded polystyrene), which is made of little foam 'balls' that are heated and pressed together. if you can afford it, i would spring for xps (extruded polystyrene). the performance between the two will be about the same in this application but since the xps is a solid piece of material, it is much less prone to breaking apart. easier to cut too. think of a keg or similar rubbing against the insulation when it is taken out/put in. it is much more likely that little foam balls will bust off with the eps. not a performance issue but could be annoying. if you cover the insulation with a wrap or similar, might not even be an issue.

xps is certainly more expensive compared to eps but not much. i had some left over from a basement project so it was a no-brainer for me.

 

[Jiffster]

...if you can afford it, i would spring for xps (extruded polystyrene).

Would the Owens Corning pink foam board like "Revvy" posted in the post above be XPS?

Also, what about covering the board (for looks)?

 

[itsnotrequired]

Would the Owens Corning pink foam board like "Revvy" posted in the post above be XPS?

Also, what about covering the board (for looks)?

yep, that's the stuff! i haven't covered my insulation (might never do it) but others have used reflectix (bubble) insulation.

 

[Revvy]

That silver stuff looks cool though. Lot cooler than the pink inside of mine.

 

[beerinthebloodco]

I used the pink board insulation and covered it with the metal ducting tape. It looks nice and seems to keep condensation away from both wood and insulation.

 

[Jiffster]

Did you guys also seal the inside wood on your collar? (Poly, etc)

 

[EcuPirate07]

I used the pink board insulation and covered it with the metal ducting tape. It looks nice and seems to keep condensation away from both wood and insulation.

Did you completely cover the foam with the duct tape or just tape the sides

 

[beerinthebloodco]

I completely covered the foam with tape. It is more visually pleasing to me.

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[Revvy]

Did you guys also seal the inside wood on your collar? (Poly, etc)

No, I left it rough to have a better surface to adhere the liquid nails to.

 

[tomcho74]

I'm in the middle of my keezer build and I used 1" EPS insulation as it's all my Home Depot had and didn't feel like driving to Menards/Lowes. It was very messy and just yesterday I taped over it with foil tape.

 

[Jiffster]

I completely covered the foam with tape. It is more visually pleasing to me.

Looks good. Can I ask how you mounted your fan?

 

[beerinthebloodco]

I actually just used the bracket it came with and taped it to the side. It has held up for 6 months now!

 

[Moose_MI]

I have a 1x10 collar that i have not insulated. Its been about 4 months and i'm not having any trouble. I do have a fan in my keezer. My keezer is in the basement where ambient stays 68ish...i think if i had it outside in garage or in a place where ambient got into 70s or more then it might be more important but no problems for me...
Cheers

 

[Jiffster]

I actually just used the bracket it came with and taped it to the side. It has held up for 6 months now!

Cool, thanks.

I have a 1x10 collar that i have not insulated. Its been about 4 months and i'm not having any trouble. I do have a fan in my keezer. My keezer is in the basement where ambient stays 68ish...i think if i had it outside in garage or in a place where ambient got into 70s or more then it might be more important but no problems for me...
Cheers

Good to know, thanks.

 

[Jiffster]

Question for you guys: I had to recess the area around the holes for my faucets to accommodate the shorter shanks. I'm concerned with putting 1" rigid foam board in this area as it might make accessing the shanks, fittings, etc too difficult.

Should I leave this span uninsulated or maybe leave a rectangle zone around that area open?

This is my first time having faucets so I don't know what expect or how to even assemble them.

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[Revvy]

I can say unequivocally, that in my case it indeed DOES make accessing the nuts difficult to tighten the shanks when they become loose. I cut the foam around them to make them somewhat more accessable, but it's difficult with the liquid nails. I would cut a big rectangular slot in the just over the that area, leaving plenty of room to accommodate whatever tool you use to tighten them up with.

If you felt the need to, you could always loosely wedge the foam back in over everything and remove it when you need to get back in that area.

 

[agrazela]

Add me to the pink foamboard covered with foil tape crowd. The XPS foamboard is so easy to cut, I was able to chamfer the top edge on my table saw to accommodate the angled "inset" on my freezer lid.

I used Loctite 300 foamboard adhesive. It has enough open time to reposition your foam bits if you mess up some, and it doesn't melt the polystyrene.

I did not seal the inside of the collar wood for the same reason already mentioned, I wanted a porous surface for good adhesion.

As for the foamboard around the shanks, I don't have a pic to show you (though I could take one if you want), but I cut out a "donut" of foam around each shank hole with a large hole saw so as to be able to get not only the shank nut (and deep socket), but also a 7/8" stainless washer in there (not sure you'd be able to use a washer given the diameter of your recesses). I did that AFTER applying the foil tape to get clean cut edges.

(EDIT: yes there are fewer gas lines than kegs in my keezer in that pic, and one of the faucets is not hooked up; it's not done yet! )

 

[EcuPirate07]

I'm kinda high jacking this thread but, when you guys measured your freezer for the collar did you include the small measurements? For instance I'm measuring 37 3/16 so should I roll with that or cut it off at 37"?

 

[agrazela]

I bought mine as an abandoned partially-done keezer project, with the collar mostly already made and silicone-d down. That dude musta been enjoyin' a few during the build, because when I got it home I realized it's off by ~1/4" front edge vs. back edge, ~1/8" left vs. right edges, and glued down off-center and off-square to the freezer. But it's not crazy noticeable, and I was able to make it work with some creative wood cladding. And it was cheap.

I do plan to perhaps build my own collar for it one day, a good bit taller so that I can fit a fifth keg on the hump. That one will be accurate to at least 1/16"

 

[Jiffster]

I'm kinda high jacking this thread but, when you guys measured your freezer for the collar did you include the small measurements? For instance I'm measuring 37 3/16 so should I roll with that or cut it off at 37"?

I was as exact as I could be. Make sure you understand the impact of any plastic extending out from the front/side main panels. This would only matter if you are planning to wrap the collar with oak or something for looks. Mine has a 1/8" plastic overhang.

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[paulywill]

I completely covered the foam with tape. It is more visually pleasing to me.

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Are those 2.5 or 3 gallon smaller kegs?

I want a similar setup one day.

 

[balrog]

Are those 2.5 or 3 gallon smaller kegs?

I want a similar setup one day.

The trouble with really old threads is that the person may not be around any more. In this case, they've not been seen in 3 years.