Hey guys, I've heard all the comments and I would like to let you all know that I began home brewing last year and it's been a fun ride. I started off doing 5 gallon extract boils on my stove, and have moved up to a full 10 gallon all grain setup. I recently got 4th out of 18 in a local homebrew competition at a brew pub. 2 of the taps on the kegerator are now setup for my hombres kegs
Good info. I have been planning on building one for my garage and couldn't decide on chest freezer vs. stand up fridge. I think I will get a better temp out of the freezer. And I may steel some of the ideas you had there. especially the "Collar". Thanks.
RE: "Any suggestions on how to get a better seat between the lid and collar?" - I would remove the original bottom seal from the freezer and seal the frame to the freezer with silicone. THEN the fun part... Carefully attach the bottom seal to the wood frame so everything lines up when the lid is closed. You may have to remount the lid to accommodate the thickness of the bottom seal. It's a PITA, I know... but it should solve your problem. Best of luck to you! Now go make some beer! LOL =0)
As for the frost in your Kegerator: The problem is the imperfect seal on the lid. I had the same problem with my chest freezer... Little to no frost for years, until the lid hit something and failed to close. By the time I noticed it there was a thin layer of ice all around the freezer. Are you going to start making your own beer now?
I figured that was likely the culprit. The meat of the collar is framing lumber and while I can put 4 peices of wood together, there were slight imperfections and so the lid doesnt quite seal like is did on the box as intended. Any suggestions on how to get a better seat between the lid and collar?
I don't plan to make my own beer just yet, maybe in the future.
With my keezer, and on most frigidaire's, on the sealing surface of the freezer, there are these "cleats", or pieces of trim if you will that are slightly higher than the rest of the sealing surface on each corner. The problem with this is, the freezer seal took a memory to that, and when I had the lid closing on my wood collar, there were gaps in the corners. I put some weight on my lid in hopes that it will take a new memory. If this doesn't work, I may order a new seal...
This weekend I added another 6" collar ontop of what I have in this video to make the lid a solid 12" higher than stock. By doing this, I am now able to accomadate 2 :1/2 kegs by putting one on the compressor step while having enough room for the couple so the output tube doesn't get pinched. In the process, I was more careful to align the topside of the boards and I now have a perfect seal around all edges. Some more expanding foam between the 2 courses of wood and we're good to go.
Sounds good man....Also, I got a 5" "muffin fan" and made a 5x5x5" tall stand for it out of chicken wire, so that the fan can pull air from the bottom of the freezer and point it right at the shanks of the taps. Seems to be working out real well...I had a 15 deg. temp difference from top to bottom, so I had to do something. I have 6.5' 3/16" beer line, and am having BEAUTIFUL pours...perfect, I could not be happier. But I do encourage you to homebrew....it is a blast, and very rewarding!
use magnets,the lid should already be, you could put thin metal down on top of the coller. plus i would also put air duct insulation on the inside of your coller.looks like bubble rap with foil on either side. Your probably losing cool air through the wood. im gonna build one thanks for the ideas!!
@poobinatch I know that its been two years since you posted this^ but I hope you started making your own beer. I never had a single commercial keg in my keg, I thought you brewed! The only reason I said that is because all of the kegerators that I saw had home brew in them, I was a little shocked to find out you dont brew.
cut a few lemons up put em in their should help with the smell and get a copper heat sink should help u alot have fun
chaosinhell666 7 months ago
Comment removed
chaosinhell666 7 months ago
Hey guys, I've heard all the comments and I would like to let you all know that I began home brewing last year and it's been a fun ride. I started off doing 5 gallon extract boils on my stove, and have moved up to a full 10 gallon all grain setup. I recently got 4th out of 18 in a local homebrew competition at a brew pub. 2 of the taps on the kegerator are now setup for my hombres kegs
poobinatch 8 months ago
thanks I got a lot of good insight
DPURDY2008 1 year ago
Comment removed
egeneric 2 years ago
Good info. I have been planning on building one for my garage and couldn't decide on chest freezer vs. stand up fridge. I think I will get a better temp out of the freezer. And I may steel some of the ideas you had there. especially the "Collar". Thanks.
SuperTex1966 2 years ago
RE: "Any suggestions on how to get a better seat between the lid and collar?" - I would remove the original bottom seal from the freezer and seal the frame to the freezer with silicone. THEN the fun part... Carefully attach the bottom seal to the wood frame so everything lines up when the lid is closed. You may have to remount the lid to accommodate the thickness of the bottom seal. It's a PITA, I know... but it should solve your problem. Best of luck to you! Now go make some beer! LOL =0)
BeerIndependence4All 2 years ago
As for the frost in your Kegerator: The problem is the imperfect seal on the lid. I had the same problem with my chest freezer... Little to no frost for years, until the lid hit something and failed to close. By the time I noticed it there was a thin layer of ice all around the freezer. Are you going to start making your own beer now?
BeerIndependence4All 2 years ago
I figured that was likely the culprit. The meat of the collar is framing lumber and while I can put 4 peices of wood together, there were slight imperfections and so the lid doesnt quite seal like is did on the box as intended. Any suggestions on how to get a better seat between the lid and collar?
I don't plan to make my own beer just yet, maybe in the future.
poobinatch 2 years ago
With my keezer, and on most frigidaire's, on the sealing surface of the freezer, there are these "cleats", or pieces of trim if you will that are slightly higher than the rest of the sealing surface on each corner. The problem with this is, the freezer seal took a memory to that, and when I had the lid closing on my wood collar, there were gaps in the corners. I put some weight on my lid in hopes that it will take a new memory. If this doesn't work, I may order a new seal...
tomroeder 2 years ago
This weekend I added another 6" collar ontop of what I have in this video to make the lid a solid 12" higher than stock. By doing this, I am now able to accomadate 2 :1/2 kegs by putting one on the compressor step while having enough room for the couple so the output tube doesn't get pinched. In the process, I was more careful to align the topside of the boards and I now have a perfect seal around all edges. Some more expanding foam between the 2 courses of wood and we're good to go.
poobinatch 2 years ago
Sounds good man....Also, I got a 5" "muffin fan" and made a 5x5x5" tall stand for it out of chicken wire, so that the fan can pull air from the bottom of the freezer and point it right at the shanks of the taps. Seems to be working out real well...I had a 15 deg. temp difference from top to bottom, so I had to do something. I have 6.5' 3/16" beer line, and am having BEAUTIFUL pours...perfect, I could not be happier. But I do encourage you to homebrew....it is a blast, and very rewarding!
tomroeder 2 years ago
use magnets,the lid should already be, you could put thin metal down on top of the coller. plus i would also put air duct insulation on the inside of your coller.looks like bubble rap with foil on either side. Your probably losing cool air through the wood. im gonna build one thanks for the ideas!!
gibby462 2 years ago
@poobinatch I know that its been two years since you posted this^ but I hope you started making your own beer. I never had a single commercial keg in my keg, I thought you brewed! The only reason I said that is because all of the kegerators that I saw had home brew in them, I was a little shocked to find out you dont brew.
HDiGITTY 8 months ago