Keezer - Easy, Practical, Quality Build Project

Since I relied so much on the online community when building a keezer a few years back, I thought I'd pay it forward and share my own build in the hopes that others may benefit in their own build. I built it a few years back so I'll try to include as many details/pics as I can.

There are a ton of keezer builds online, but my goal was to find a middle ground in my build: a moderate sized freezer (7.2 cu/ft), no fancy towers, elaborate woodworking, or crazy amount of taps; yet I also wanted something that looked nice with quality/solid construction materials and components (i.e. stainless steel). Aside from the freezer, nearly everything I purchased was new so I would say the final cost fell in the middle of the cost spectrum (~$1300). The price can vary a lot depending on buying new vs. used, components, etc. So the supply list with prices that I provide reflects my particular build and my particular costs; adjust accordingly based on your situation.

The construction materials and supplies outlined is close to everything you would need to be able to connect and dispense 3 commercial 1/6 kegs or three 5-gallon corny kegs at one time. However, there's enough room to fit 5 corny kegs in this freezer (plus 5lb Co2 tank). You could also easily add a cheap splitter or an additional regulator if you needed to dispense 4 at a time (or even 5 if you added an additional tap). I don't know all the exact combos of keg sizes that this size freezer will fit, but def can do 5 corny kegs.

Even though I installed four taps, I chose a 3-way Co2 regulator because I knew realistically I wasn't going to need to independently control the pressure for 4 different things on tap; I never had more than 3 things on tap at any given time, but if I did need to have four, I could just use a simple splitter for one of the gas lines.

My supply list includes commercial keg couplers, so if you're only doing home brews, you may not need one (realistically you'll probably want to tap a commercial beer at some point...) FWIW, the largest commercial size I put in it was a 1/4 keg; you wouldn't want to lift anything much heavier since the collar sits pretty high!

Even though I bought one, I never got around to attaching a drip tray; I didn't find it particularly necessary.

This is for the keezer build only and doesn't include the cost of any actual brewing/kegging supplies such as 5 gallon corny kegs, etc. so take that into consideration.

Freezer & Collar construction:

• Frigidaire 7.2 cu/ft: $200 (I bought used)
• Solid oak wood outer collar (1x12x10'): $130
• Wood stain and finish (I used the Stain and Poly in one, which worked well): $15
• 2x8x10' Pine inner collar base: $15
• 2'x4' Oak plywood top: $28
• Epoxy finish for top: $25
• Round oak wood plugs $5
• Misc: screws, wood glue, caulk, etc.: ~$20

Temp controller and Co2 hardware:

• Johnson A419 Temperature controller: $80
• Here's the newest model
• Taprite Primary Double Gauge CO2 Gas Beer Regulator: $73
• 3 way Co2 secondary regulator (This allows you to connect 3 taps at a time with independent pressure for each): $185
• Co2 tank: ~$60-90 (can find cheaper used)
• CMB Ball Lock couplers/taps MFL (bev and co2 taps for connecting corny kegs): $15 each pair
• Taprite D System Keg Coupler Grey Handle with Stainless Steel Probe (for connecting commercial kegs): $65 each

Dispensing supplies (All the supplies in this list I ordered from RiteBrew and I've included links below; your quantity may vary depending on your setup but this worked well for me):

• Perlick Perl Faucet (Stainless Steel): (4) at $45 each
• Black Plastic Faucet Knob: (4) at $1.50 each
• Shank Assembly 4" (Stainless Steel): (4) at $14 each
• Rubber Washer: (8) at $.30 each
• Spanner Wrench: $3
• Beverage Tubing - 3/16": $.50 per ft. (I bought about 50 ft)
• CO2 Tubing - 5/16": $.72 per ft. (I bought about 12 ft)
• Tailpiece 1/4" MFL (Stainless Steel): (8) at $3 each
• Swivel Nut - 1/4" FFL to 1/4" barb: (8) at $1.30 each
• 1/4" swivel nut washer: (8) at $.19 each
• Hex Nut: (8) at $1.10 each

Optional/Misc:

• Computer fan for air circulation
• Mini dehumidifier
• Drip tray

I just shopped around on craigslist and was lucky to eventually find a 7.2 cu/ft Frigidaire that was less than a year old and looked basically brand new. I found the 7.2 cu/ft a pretty good size since I was able to fit 5 corny kegs plus a 5lb Co2 tank. The freezer always worked flawlessly for me. I don't remember all the exact combinations of what will fit if you're using a mix of corny kegs and commercial kegs; I'm thinking you could get 3-4 quarter kegs or 4-5 1/6 kegs. Probably 1/2 keg too but you don't want to lift that thing over the collar since it sits so high!

One tip I had read if you're concerned about fitting enough kegs, is to take cut outs of the keg size you'll be using to make sure you can fit enough. See pic for my footprint cutouts.

I used a 2x8 to build the collar frame with simple butt joints screwed together. I did add some corner brackets for extra stability. One 10' board was enough for my size freezer.

Before building collar frame, you'll need to remove the lid - be careful with the hinges since they have a strong spring action and you don't want to pinch a finger. You only need to remove the hinge part that's attached to the freezer body (don't remove part that's attached to lid).

Having a finished outer collar (for the front and two sides) is something that adds to the cost especially if you use something like oak (prices are currently high for lumber); however, it does give it a great, finished look.

I chose to use 1x12 oak since I wanted the finished oak to overlap the pine base on the top and bottom. I needed enough to overlap on the top to accommodate the freezer top. I installed a bar top to the top of the freezer lid so I made sure to overlap the top to match the thickness of the freezer top.

It also overlaps on the bottom a couple inches which helps keep the collar from shifting side to side.

I built the finished outer collar slightly wider than the collar base to make sure that I could easily slide it on and off the freezer - useful for test fitting and when taking off for staining, etc; you can always add some thin filler and/or shim pieces to ensure a snug fit which is what I did. That's much preferable than it being too tight and you've blown a bunch of money on nice wood.

Once I ensured I had an optimal fit, I attached the oak outer collar to the base collar; I think ended up using some 1/4" thick shim pieces to attach to the collar base sides (see pic) to compensate for the slightly wider outer collar. To attach the outer collar to the base collar, I'm *pretty sure* I used a combo of finishing nails and construction adhesive - I wanted to minimize the amount of holes on the outside of the finished collar.

As you'll see in the photos, I countersunk the screws of the outer collar so that I could use oak plugs for a nice look. Cut and sand the plugs so they are flush.

Take your time to determine exact location for your taps, mark, and then drill. Be sure to use the appropriate sized hole saw diameter for the tap shank assembly. I chose the 4" stainless steel ones. That size seemed to work pretty well since they don't stick too far out inside the keezer.

I used a stain and finish all in one (Minwax PolyShades) and I thought it worked really well.

Before I was ready to mount collar, I put strips of foam tape on the bottom side of pine collar (that sits on freezer) to ensure a good solid mount and help prevent air leakage.

I used a piece of 2' x 4' oak plywood to construct a nice top for the keezer. I allowed for a bit of overhang on the front and sides. Important: just make sure if you do a similar type top that it doesn't overhang too much in the front or it could obstruct the tap handles! I also used a jigsaw to create a radius on the corners to avoid sharp edges.

I used an epoxy kit after I stained the top to create a nice glass like surface. Something like this. I had never used an epoxy before and it went smoothly. Just follow the instructions in the box. There's also tons of instructional videos found online.

After the top was finished, I ensured that I attached it to the inner collar so that it stuck up slightly higher than the finished outer collar. Finally, to adhere the finished top to the actual freezer top, I applied copious amounts of silicone caulk to both surfaces. Once that caulk sets up, trust me, the top isn't going anywhere. Of course, the tradeoff is if you ever want to remove it, it'll be a pain in the ass.

I didn't do anything too crazy as far as insulating goes. I simply glued some styrofoam panels (about 1" thick) to the inside of the inner collar and used some foil tape to tape the seams. From some other tips I read, I rigged up a cheap computer fan to help circulate air inside keezer. I also used a mini dehumidifier like this one.

I never had much issue with too much condensation building up inside. I always kept my keezer indoors (climate controlled). I suppose if you were keeping it in an environment without climate control you may have to do some additional insulating if too much condensation builds up.

For the primary Co2 regulator that connects to the tank I chose a double gauge unit that shows tank level plus PSI. I simply mounted the secondary Co2 regulator to back of the keezer with a couple screws. I opted for a 3-way unit for the reasons explained in the intro.

The gas lines (red tubing) attaches to barbed ends of the secondary as seen in pictures. I used worm clamps to secure. Allow enough length in the lines to easily attach to kegs.

The coupler used on the other end will depend on whether you're tapping a commercial keg (pic 4) or corny keg (pic 5).

For the tailpieces that connect to the shanks, I chose the MFL version which requires a swivel nut (see pic 2) to connect to the beer lines. This makes it very convenient to easily unhook the lines for cleaning, etc. Make sure to use those small swivel nut washers as seen in picture or else it will leak. Those tend to fall out when unhooking, so just double check each time you're attaching. All those parts are found in supplies list.

I went with the stainless steel Perlick Perl faucets. May pay more for these but they look classic and should last forever. In pic. 3 you'll notice the special spanner wrench which I recommend for attaching the faucets; makes it much easier.

Of course the final essential part is buying a temp controller that will actually bring the temperature up in the freezer. A popular choice is the Johnson temp controller. I simply mounted it on the back of the keezer collar. The temperature probe I just feed through the back of the lid.

I know there are a lot of keezer designs out there, but I hope this may help someone or spark an idea. I tried to be detailed but I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot; fortunately there's a great online home brewing community with a wealth of information!