Keezer with metal crown

[sancycling]

I'm starting to build my keezer and I have an idea that I havn't seen anyone here doing it. So please give me your thoughts.

I just bought a 7ft chest freezer, I've already bypassed the built in thermostat with an STC-1000 and it seems to be working well. I have two kegs in there with picknick taps... but ready for the next step.

All the crowns that I've seen in the forum are built with wood, insulation and then some decoration. I'm thinking of using a metal profile that is 10 x 2 3/4. see picture.

In the factory where I work I should be able to cut and weld the steel, then I would apply primer and white paint. The inside of the profile I'm thinking of filling it with the pink foam polystyren from home depot 2in.

What are your thougths?

I don't have any tools for working wood so I would have to pay someone to do it for me and that will get quite expensive.

 

[plan_ahea]

I don't have any tools for working wood so I would have to pay someone to do it for me and that will get quite expensive.

I'm part way through my keezer build. I didn't have any tools aside from a hammer & drill, nor did I have any woodworking experience. I'm making great - albeit slow - progress by borrowing tools & learning as I go, so I wouldn't rule out woodworking for those reasons alone.

That being said, the metal collar is a neat idea though. You've got the right idea about insulating it since the metal won't do anything for keeping the heat out.

 

[agrazela]

You might need a little wood to get the thickness needed for a shank.

(That sounded dirty!)

 

[mongoose33]

The part that will be problematic for you is that you'll have a lot of conduction of heat with that metal. It's not that it can't work, it's that there is no thermal break between the inside of the keezer and the outside of the metal.

Depending on ambient humidity levels, you may have condensation on that metal--on the outside of the keezer.

Now, that said, what if you made the collar out of just 2x6s or whatever--you don't need a lot of tools to do that, just a saw, some screws, and some adhesive.

That wood would sit on the edge of the freezer, and be the part the lid sealed to. Wood can be a pretty efficient insulator. Saw a keezer last night with 2x6s faced with 1x6 planks, and it was not cool to the touch on the outside at all. Then you could put a metal fascia on the wood so it wouldn't matter how good or bad the wood looked--you'd still have the metal facing outward.

I think that would look sharp.

As an experiment, try placing pieces of that metal on the edges all around, close the lid, wait an hour or two, and see how cold they get on the outside.

 

[narddawg314]

In the factory where I work I should be able to cut and weld the steel, then I would apply primer and white paint. The inside of the profile I'm thinking of filling it with the pink foam polystyren from home depot 2in.

What are your thougths?

We all would do this if we had access to a weld shop and paint shop. It may be better to use expanding foam, or fiberglass foam unless one of those rigid foam boards fits perfectly. Air gaps in insulation cause sweating and that could lead to rust or ice build up in the keezer. You're on the right track. Sounds bad ass! :rockin:

 

[sancycling]

After getting al the material quoted I've decided to use wood. I'll do it the easy way even if it ends up not being as pretty.

But thanks for the encouragement.