19 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

So I have a 2-keg draft fridge with a double tower at the moment. My basement bar has a closet (my brew bunker) behind it so sending shanks and taps through the wall would be relatively easy. I plan to get a chest freezer and put 4 kegs and two 5-lb Co2 tanks in there (splitting the 2 tanks for the 4 kegs). As I measure the width of 2 kegs and a 5lb tank, I get about 23". I found a small freezer that is 23¼" deep by 27" wide and 34¼" high. Check out this freezer. Am I missing anything? This seems like a nice, small solution that I could fit nicely into a tight spot but still have plenty of room for the 4 kegs and 2 tanks. I would probably take my draft fridge and turn it into a lager primary spot. Thoughts?

[djinkc]

Off the top of my head I would guess those are exterior dimensions and there will be a compressor hump to deal with.

[DR0NE]

I bought a Whirlpool 8.9 chest freezer at Lowes and it can fit 4 cornies plus a 20 lb C02 tank with free space on top of the compressor. You could also fit 5 cornies and a 5 lb tank on top of the compressor I bet. The freezer you linked to is only 5 cubic feet, so it seems like it would be tough to fit that much in it.

[Big Nake]

Okay, thanks guys. I was trying to figure out the inside dimensions or the thickness of the walls so maybe this is too small. I don't plan to have ANYTHING else in this chest because I already have a full-sized fridge for bottles and another full-sized fridge for cold, carbed kegs and then a smaller fridge. I see that these chest freezers go from 5cf and 5.3cf and then the next step is around 7-8cf.

[pete maz]

Ken, I would recommend going to your local appliance mega-store and looking at the freezers in person. When I bought mine I made some cardboard cut-outs of corny & CO2 tank footprints, then opened up a bunch of freezers to see how many would actually fit. Remember too, you might be able to fit another keg on the compressor hump if you build a collar.For reference, mine is a 9 cu ft model that holds 4 corny's without the collar. With an 8" collar it would fit 2 more on the hump. And remember you could always keep the CO2 outside the freezer.Good luck with it!

[ncbeerbrewer]

Ken, I have a 7 cuft chest freezer that I use exclusively as my kegerator and it holds 4 cornies no problem. Now I don't put my CO2 tank inside but I think it would hold one at least maybe two if squeezed in as well. I put a collar on mine but that was so I could place the taps onto it as well. I didn't start off with picnic taps either. Here is the freezer I bought for my kegerator FreezerHere is the freezer after conversion. The last pic shows 3 taps but I extended it to 4 after these pictures. Hope this helps you.

[Big Nake]

Guys: Thanks for that, especially the pics, NC. Yeah, going and looking at them in person would probably be the best as many of the interior configurations are different, it appears. My plan would be to run lines from the freezer to the wall where shanks would run through the wall to the faucets. As a result, I was hoping to get around making the collar, if possible. The only question then would be... where is the best place to drill through the wall of a chest freezer to get the lines out? Thanks again guys & Happy Sunday!

[ncbeerbrewer]

Guys: Thanks for that, especially the pics, NC. Yeah, going and looking at them in person would probably be the best as many of the interior configurations are different, it appears. My plan would be to run lines from the freezer to the wall where shanks would run through the wall to the faucets. As a result, I was hoping to get around making the collar, if possible. The only question then would be... where is the best place to drill through the wall of a chest freezer to get the lines out? Thanks again guys & Happy Sunday!

You are welcome. I thought the pictures would help the visual of course too. Seeing your plan to run lines the only safe place to drill through a chest freezer is through the door. The coolant lines run all around the sides back and front. If you don't come up through the door then you have to build a collar. I think that the cutout idea of the bottom of a keg would be a great way thats how I decided which freezer to get when I bought mine too. I don't think anything less than 7 cuft would work though seeing how they fit in mine. Have a great Sunday as well.

[Big Nake]

The coolant lines run all around the sides back and front. If you don't come up through the door then you have to build a collar.

Ah, okay this I did not know. I knew that brewers built a collar so they could put taps directly on the freezer and also to get some additional height. I figured that if I wasn't doing either of those, I could get around the collar. But it sounds like it's the best idea... and then I can drill out the back of the collar for the lines. Then do you guys caulk (or something else?) those drilled holes so cold air is not escaping? I need to do some searching on the easiest way to build the collar because I'm not overly handy. Thanks again... good stuff!

[ncbeerbrewer]

Ken. I would not worry about the handiness I am in the same boat for myself too (father in law) helped me build mine. If you are doing to drill holes just for lines to pass through I would not use caulk or anything. For my setup I just drilled a hole big enough to let the air hose pass through the wood from the outside. There is not air leakage from that and if you caulk it will be permanantly in there so if you needed to replace for anything you would be in trouble. To answer how you build the collar for mine I built a frame with unstained wood so that it butts up with the outer edges of the freezer walls. I then build a collar around that and let it over hang lower so as to lock the collar into place. The outer boards are on the left right and front of the freezer. The only caulk that I ran was along the base of the collar and the top of the freezer bottom. I took off the door of course to add the collar then put it back on top. Here are a few more pics of the progression

[Howie]

Just to throw out another option, I have this refrigerator that will hold 4 cornies (you have to remove the door shelving). The footprint of this fridge is really no bigger than that of your current kegerator, but CO2 would have to go on the outside. You also get an added bonus of a bit of freezer space for hops and no temp control needed.

[Stout_fan]

And no problems with collecting condensation.

[Big Nake]

Just to throw out another option, I have this refrigerator that will hold 4 cornies (you have to remove the door shelving). The footprint of this fridge is really no bigger than that of your current kegerator, but CO2 would have to go on the outside. You also get an added bonus of a bit of freezer space for hops and no temp control needed.

Howie: That guy holds four cornies? Interesting. You guys bring up another question too... do freezers have temp controllers and if so, can I assume that the "highest" setting is something like 30°? I have an analog Johnson controller that I would use, but clearly the fridge would make it unnecessary. I would also get around making a collar. Where did you drill for your lines on that fridge and how did you know where it was safe to drill? Thanks guys.

[Howie]

Howie: That guy holds four cornies? Interesting. You guys bring up another question too... do freezers have temp controllers and if so, can I assume that the "highest" setting is something like 30°? I have an analog Johnson controller that I would use, but clearly the fridge would make it unnecessary. I would also get around making a collar. Where did you drill for your lines on that fridge and how did you know where it was safe to drill? Thanks guys.

Yeah, it'll hold four. I only have mine set up for 2 at the moment, but you can definitely cram 4 ball locks in there. It's a very tight fit. I don't think it would work with pin locks. You have to remove the door shelving and replace it with tile board. I removed all the interior shelving and extended the compressor step to make one flat base in the bottom.My conversion is not complete. I have yet to put my tank on the outside. This thing is built like one of the dorm fridges, so the only cooling mechanism is the little freezer part. From what I can tell looking at specs online, there is only one coolant line running from the compressor in the back up to the freezer. If I ever actually brew enough to have four kegs ready at the same time, I'll put the tank on the outside. I plan to drill a very small hole through the outer shell in the back, and then use an ice pick to poke through the insulation to make sure I'm not going to hit the compressor line when I drill on through.I have two taps installed so far, drilled right through the door. I have two more to add at some point.Chuck_d from the "other board" has the same model. You might try to contact him for further info.I used to have a chest freezer, and I didn't really like it. Condensation would pool up in the bottom (along with some dripped beer from cobra taps/changing lines, etc and cause nasty mold. Very hard to clean down in there as well.

[Big Nake]

Okay, great info and another possible option. I just realized that this thing is pretty tiny... I looked at the specs on the Sears site and I think my Dad had a fridge about this same size. I had to take the plastic molded shleving stuff out of my small fridge so that's not a problem. I'm liking this idea a little bit better and I will look around to see what else is out there. What is weird is that I have a full-sized fridge right now that houses cold, carbed kegs and I can only get 3 kegs in there. Yes, the door molding is still there and I haven't tried getting 4 in there, but 3 kegs plus one 5-lb tank is a very tight squeeze. Thanks and cheers!

[Humperdink]

If you go with a collar ken, most tubing states the outside diameter as well, just grab a bit of the same size and drill through. I don't have this line caulked or anything, hell it was trouble just getting it through. Also, if you do go with shanks through the collar you may want to get the shortest ones that will still go through so that you don't ahve to fight them when you pull kegs in and out. Also, if you are running lines through a wall, you're going to want to insulate the lines. I saw someone who had some insulated ducting and a computer fan set up to blow into the duct to keep the lines from warming up. Really it just depends on how far you are going to be running the lines from the keezer to the taps... and just because I love herETA: if you actually go physically shopping, what I have seen others do is measure the diameter of a corny keg and cut out cardboard circles of the same diameter that way you can measure at the store how many kegs will fit in each different model of freezer or fridge.

Edited by chriscose, 16 November 2009 - 11:12 AM.

[harryfrog]

how come no-one insulates the wood extension they add? The R-value of wood is next to nothing...

[VirginiaBeach]

Ken,The fridge you put a link to in your first post, did you try and fit kegs in there to see how many it could actually hold (including CO2 tank)? I'm curious because I'm looking at one on craigslist in my area that is very similiar (listed at 5.1 CuFt). But I'm only looking for one that will hold two kegs.Also I'm somewhat ambitious and was thinking of possibly using the same freezer to lager beers, though I don't know if that would fit (probably not with 2 kegs, though maybe with one).Any thoughts, anyone?

[Big Nake]

Ken,The fridge you put a link to in your first post, did you try and fit kegs in there to see how many it could actually hold (including CO2 tank)? I'm curious because I'm looking at one on craigslist in my area that is very similiar (listed at 5.1 CuFt). But I'm only looking for one that will hold two kegs.Also I'm somewhat ambitious and was thinking of possibly using the same freezer to lager beers, though I don't know if that would fit (probably not with 2 kegs, though maybe with one).Any thoughts, anyone?

I was not smart because the dimensions I was using were the outside dimensions and I couldn't find any inside dimensions. I probably really need to go to a place with a tape and measure the area. These guys had the great idea of going with a cardboard cutout the size of a corny which would be very helpful. One of these listed freezers (in this thread) is a 7cf and barely holds 4 kegs, so the 5cf jobbie may only hold 2 kegs plus a tank or something. It seems that you really need to see it. Or... ask the CL seller if he'll measure it for you. Good luck.

[Howie]

I was not smart because the dimensions I was using were the outside dimensions and I couldn't find any inside dimensions. I probably really need to go to a place with a tape and measure the area. These guys had the great idea of going with a cardboard cutout the size of a corny which would be very helpful. One of these listed freezers (in this thread) is a 7cf and barely holds 4 kegs, so the 5cf jobbie may only hold 2 kegs plus a tank or something. It seems that you really need to see it. Or... ask the CL seller if he'll measure it for you. Good luck.

My old 5 cubic ft freezer would hold 3 corny kegs and either a small CO2 tank or 3 gallon keg on the compressor step. I think it was Woods brand.