Keezer build questions

[RichardM]

I’m looking into building my first keezer and start kegging. My plan is to have three taps with enough room for a fourth keg for either expansion or just to have one carbing on deck with a 10lb bottle. I haven’t decided on corny or sanke, but will likely be ball lock cornies with one sanke coupling if I want one of my favorite local brews on tap.

I honestly haven’t decided for sure on a keezer over a kegerator, but prefer the looks of a keezer and would like to build it. The downside would be the need for a temp controller and likely dealing with condensation. It’s going to go in a outdoor sunroom. The room seals up so it won’t be in the elements, but is normally not temp controlled. One of my questions is would there be any difference in amount of possible condensation in a keezer build with a collar over one without and having a tower?

I don’t have any ideas on faucets. There seems to be several models of Perlicks to choose from and intertap. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[JugDog]

For what it’s worth my keeper is in the garage and I keep it at about 39 degrees most of the time and I haven’t had issues with condensation.

I had used the chest freezer as a fermentation chamber (before turning it into a keeper) and with the warmer temps I had condensation. I found that if I used one of those damp rid buckets, the moisture wasn’t as much of a problem.

A lot of people use fans and it’s probably a better way to go than the damp rid.

And it’s probably cheaper to go the keezer route, and more customizable. There are temp controllers for around 30 bucks.

I used a haier 5.1 cubic foot chest freezer and I can get 4 ball lock kegs in there. The gas is on the outside though, which has an effect on the overall look, which might matter if you happen to be married

Hope that helps

 

[day_trippr]

Assuming a decently sealed collar, I don't think there'd be any difference in condensation levels vs a lid-mounted tower.
The condensation is caused by the freezer evaporator reaching sub-zero temperatures anytime the compressor is running and I doubt there's anything that can be done to actually prevent that.
Further, as the interior air temperature falls, external air is going to be pulled in - again, physics in action that won't be denied.

About all one can do is stir up the cabinet air with a small DC fan and run either DampRid or a "rechargeable" dehumidifier.
I use a pair of the small Eva Dry 500 units, each can suck up around 4-5 ounces of water before running a dry cycle on them.

Condensation is largely a seasonal thing here. From November through June I never have a problem but from June through October I have to dry out the Eva Dry units every couple of weeks else puddles will form.

As for faucets, the Intertaps have been fairly well vetted by HBT members and are probably the closest functional equivalent to Perlicks...

Cheers!

 

[RichardM]

Thanks for the help. The co2 will need to go inside for aesthetics. I just wasnt sure if condensation happened due to lack of insulation of the collar. I’m not trying to save money on the build I just liked the looks of a keezer, but hard to not ignor the ease of converting a refrigerator.

Another question was serving lines. I’ve found lines already made up with ball lock fittings ready to go from several different homebrew supplies, but all are a standard 5ft length. Even commercial kegerators. Everything I’ve read is they are too short and would need 10-12ft to avoid foam. I wouldn’t mind spending a little more to have lines made up, but it seems like a waste of money and suppliers should be aware of it, unless I don’t understand something.

 

[day_trippr]

Considering 99% of purported "beer line length calculators" share a fundamental error wrt tubing resistance it's not surprising retailers continue to kit such short line lengths.
Even if they know better they still save a buck or two per system and let their victims - err, "customers" - get their problem fixed via HBT

If using solid PVC line (eg: the virtually generic Bevlex 200) 1 foot of 3/16" ID line per PSI will work very well.
If using PET barrier line such as Bev Seal Ultra 235 bump the length by 1.5x...

Cheers!

 

[jbb3]

I've not had any significant condensation issues with my coffin top. Air circulation within AND not opening and closing any more than necessary is the key. Igloo 5.1cf freezer and I can fit a 4th keg on the hump. Bev-Seal Ultra beer lines with Perlick Flow Control faucets so don't have to be concerned with line length. You can click on the link in my signature to see the Coffin Top Keezer Build if interested.

 

[RichardM]

Great looking build jbb3. Looks like you built a new lid. If not installing a collar could a wood top be attached directly to the cover? I was thinking if I got one that could hold everything in the bottom with nothing on the hump just attaching a top and placing a coffin directly to it wouldn’t be too bad. Also I could store bottled beer on the hump or something else.
I was wondering how short the bev lines could be with flow control faucets. It would make for a cleaner look.

 

[jbb3]

Great looking build jbb3. Looks like you built a new lid. If not installing a collar could a wood top be attached directly to the cover? I was thinking if I got one that could hold everything in the bottom with nothing on the hump just attaching a top and placing a coffin directly to it wouldn’t be too bad. Also I could store bottled beer on the hump or something else.
I was wondering how short the bev lines could be with flow control faucets. It would make for a cleaner look.

Thanks. I think I could have attached the wood top directly to the freezer hinges (or the freezer top itself) but I didn't for two reasons. 1 - The freezer hinges are not the most robust and the new top is fairly heavy with the ceramic tile. 2 - I added a false bottom that raises the kegs up about 3 inches off the bottom of the freezer. So there is not enough headroom without a collar of some sort. Without a false bottom, there should be enough room to not need a collar. The Bev-Seal lines are about 5 ft lg. It does help reduce the clutter within.

I hope that helps!

 

[mongoose33]

Easy-Peasy (no-glue) Keezer Build with pics:

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

I've done two this way, I'd do it the same way again.