I'm about to be the owner of 4 ball lock kegs with a 5lb CO2 tank, single regulator, and enough parts to set up two picnic lines. The picnic beer gun is cool and all but I want to build a keezer.  Talk to me about what's good, bad, and ugly about the various designs. I'm so excited to not have to bottle any more!

I am also about to start kegging.  I'm shooting for a 4 tap setup.


What is the advantage of a Keezer over an actual refrigerator?  Once you figure in a temperature control unit, it seems a used fridge would be less expensive for a larger setup.


 

Also, This is a huge resource:  http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=377518

ETA, requested info added to bottom.

Just put together this guy last month.  Was getting tired of bottle cleaning, sanitizing, filling, capping.  Intended to accommodate the laundry/utility room.  Love having it.  I now have all taps full, currently with the following extract kit kegs:

• Caribou Slobber Brown Ale


• Tasmanian Devil Australian Pale Ale


• Orange La Petite Belgian Dubbel


• Apple Honey Hard Cider


• Sprecher Cream Soda

ETA: Good things to note - push lock tube fittings (1/4" OD tube used), fan to draw cold air from the bottom to the top for a more even distribution of cold, more spendy but a low pressure regulator for each keg is very nice to have for boost carbbing and setting higher carbed sodas/ciders/weizens kegs (I boost carbonate a new keg at 60PSI for a ~24-32 hours** and have perfectly carbbed beer ready to drink).  Any other questions just ask.

** Temperature/beer style/kezzer setup dependent, 32 hours gets me a 14PSI served @ 38F GTG.

 
My understanding of the benefits of Keezers (converted chest freezers) over Kegerators (converted stand up refrigerators) is that it is easier to load kegs in from the top than to shuffle things around in a front loading scenario, also depending upon if you attach your collar (generally a wood box made out of framing lumber) to the chest or to the lid you can have all the hoses out of the way when the lid is open.  Also freezers will be much better insulated and thus require less power to keep cold than refrigerators.  Also even a smaller chest freezer from the Costco will easily fit 3 kegs, 4 if you're clever and you can find chest freezers that will hold many more (I have seen a couple 8 taps online, and one 12 tap that was clearly constructed to be humorously enormous), but 3 is the max in many kegerators.


Thats what I know so far.

 

I like that! thats not a very big floor foot print and 5 taps is very respectable.  I am very much a buy-once/cry-once and a bit of a control freak kind of person so the independent regulators for each keg is on my list for sure.  Tell me more about the push lock tube fittings, can I get that at the home depot or the LHBS, or where do I find that?  Was it pretty easy to put together?  I also really like the idea of having the CO2 tank outside the keezer, it just seems like such a waste of conditioned space to put it inside.  Where does that drain line go after it gets thru the wall?  Any plans to do something more permanent than flex hose?


Thanks for sharing!

The push locks that I picked up were John Guest Brand.  They are 1/4" (tube OD) x 1/4 (FFL, female flair) lead free brass and I picked them up at Fresh Water System (P/N MI4508F4SLF).  1/4" OD polyethylene polyurethane tubing is used for the push locks, I picked mine up at McMaster-Carr.  

The push locks are a bit more spendy than the push on barb fittings, but the smaller 1/4" OD allow for a bit less tubing to obtain the same fluid resistance and the oblivious quick install/removal.  My 14PSI tap is around 6' and the pour is quick and spot on with the perfect head (for the pale ale at least).  My soda tubing is double plus that length due to the 28PSI serving pressure.  Note that the John Guest fittings require a nylon flair washer when connecting to another metal male flair (regulator or faucet shank).  The one exception is the ball or pin lock MFL disconnects which have one built in. All ya need to connect them is tighten them with a wrench, tubing is shoved in the fitting and done, it'll be tight and won't come back out.  Removing the tubing is performed by pushing in the white collar ring with you fingers which then releases its hold on the tubing, just pull the tubing out.

The drain line from the drip tray is running through a hole in the wall that previously passed a gas pipe for a stove by the prior owner.  It runs down the wall to the basement and into a drain.  I will put a cover plate on the wall, but as far as making a more permanent solution to the back side of the wall... haha, once in and functional my motivate to improve seems to slip as time goes on..  But it would be nice to send it to the back side and out of sight.  

The drain is very nice to have but not a necessity.  I have found that the warm faucet will create foam in first second or two of your pour from the temp differential pulling the CO2 out of the liquid.  When the faucet cools enough the foam stops, it happens very quickly. I've been starting the pour and letting the foam clear and then filling the glass, works good for preventing excessive foam and very little liquid is wasted.  If you have a busy tap that stays cool its not an issue.  Every now and then I'll chase the sticky beer on the drip tray with a gallon of hot tap water and it dissolves and clears off any beer or soda residue.

I agree with keeping the CO2 outside in this install.  If I was building it to look nice for a rec, bar or living room I'd want it inside to clean it up.  Buy my utility room install didn't require it and I gained an extra faucet for keeping it external.  BTW, that freezer is a 7.0 cu. ft. GE.

Former white chest freezer, painted with black chalk paint. Red oak exterior collar.

4 taps, I think I have a total of 7 kegs. 10 foot liquid lines. Notice the little USB fan in top left to keep air circulating. I also have a couple of 2 litre bottles filled with water to stabilize the temp (temp probe is tapped to one of them).

Complete with my Franken Middy and tactical cat with freakin' laser eyes.

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Kegerator. It holds two 2.5 gallon kegs.

My setup is pretty ugly, but it works well. Craigslist Maytag fridge/freezer. By making my own shelving inside, I am able to house five corny kegs and a 20# CO2 tank inside along with bottled brews on the shelves.

Ok, so before you go judging, I know it's a cluster and I still need to put some finishing touches.  Second, I'm probably the anti-christ, but I don't brew my own beer.    Currently, I only buy commercial beer from distributors and local breweries.  I do/did have water in my keezer at one point for my wife, but it got moved when I got a killer deal (1/6bbl for $13 each).   I also started with one faucet, and the whole project has morphed.  Technically I can fit 5, with 1 on the hump.  I offset one faucet, because I was told that we were going to get 1/6bbl Guinness, so I'm waiting for this to happen and I'll add a beer gas set-up.

Started with going through the collar.  My lid was all dented in, hence the cover/top.


Bringing the CO2 in, before adding the extra regulators.


Current bank of regulators.  I had the one offset for the fuzzy water my wife drinks, but now it's for beer and much easier to control having water on it's own tank.


Through the lid, much better.  Don't bump into faucets and pour your beer on the floor! Also easier to put a variety of tap handles on.


Used to have fuzzy water on it's own tank, this resembles it's most recent configuration (minus the tank)


Four on the Floor"


Five will fit!!  Collar was built tall, for this possibility.


How the gas currently sits.  Keezer is on wheels, as is the bar so it's not hard to get to.  Will eventually drop it lower when I get a bigger CO2 tank.


Where my wife's fuzzy water currently resides!  As often as I have to get in to fill it up, it is way easier to pull things in and out of this style, vs. up and over the collar.  



BTW, I'm not a multi-millionaire with a supermodel wife, tier anything stud, but lifting a full 1/2bbl keg by yourself sucks, especially with a tall collar.  Cleaning sucks also and I have long arms, *almost* wish I just did a traditional kegerator so I could have the freezer for glasses & liquor.  Or a commercial bar unit with front swinging doors.  Still need to replace the front and add a drip tray of some sort.  

That thread is awesome.  I bought a Danby 5.5 cu ft model for mine.  with a 10" collar I can fit 4 ball-lock kegs and my CO2 tank.  Exterior dimensions are small:  34" wide, 22" deep and roughly 44" tall.

I used this temp controller, routed into the front face of the collar and mounted flush.  I used a 8 ft cord to bring power into the controller and wired an outlet box at the back to plug the fridge into.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281294885235?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

So is the "keezer" better than using a beverage merchandiser or regular fridge?

 
I have 3 5 gallon kegs in a normal fridge...adjusting beer/gas lines is a huge pain because I only have an inch or 2 of clearance above the fittings.  On the up side, I have a freezer for hops, ice, and excess food.


In hindsite, I wish I would have gone with a keezer.

Where did you get those kegs?

 



On the one hand, smaller kegs sound very useful.


On the other hand, half capacity for similar price makes me twitch.

 

Yeah. It is anoying, but really it is the same processes, the same connectors the same work to make a 1.75 gallon keg as a 5 gallon keg. the 5 gallon keg has what a couple dollars more steel. So I understand it.

I just upgraded to an edgestar kegerator with a three tap tower. So now I can hold two 5 gallon kegs or a 5 gallon keg and two of the 2.25 gallon kegs. But really my plan is to have two of the taps Ball lock for my homebrew and one D connector for 1/6th kegs from Total Wine. I can get Dogfish Head 90 on tap at my house and that makes me happy in pants.

Just came in here for inspiration.



I am drinking my first draft from my first brew that I kegged.



HOT DAMN! I think I may become an alcoholic.

Tag

Here was my temp controller installed during the build.  It has a 110v relay so you provide power (I used an 8ft utility cord) and wire the relay to an outlet box.  I installed the outlet box in the back of the collar, then plugged the fridge into the outlet box.  Power comes on at the set point and turns the fridge on and off.

Just started my new kegerator project after my last one finally quit on me.

I'm going with a fridge this time as i hated lifting full kegs over my 2x6 collar

When I built my keezer, I used 6/4 cherry for the collar and it's 9.75" tall. I double hinged the collar to the freezer, then the lid to the collar. So cleaning and putting in kegs is simple with the collar open, but also easy to open the lid and check on PSI and general cleanliness.

Nice

Here is my keezer I apologize for the messy counter and drip tray.



I turned these handles on my lathe



Just the freezer lid lifted- used for checking CO2 levels, connections are tight, computer fan is still working, and water is still in bottle with the temp probe. I've found more consistent temp control with it submerged in a 20oz water bottle than hanging free in the air.



With the collar tilted back- taking kegs in and out and cleaning. Usually I clean it every 6 months.  The chains on either side keep the collar from falling all the way back



Travel hoses with party taps for taking my kegs to parties

I know this is an old thread, but am working on my keezer so thought I would post.  IMHO keggerators tend to be sized for a 16 gallon commercial keg.  Keezers are going to be very hard to use with a commerical keg, but work very well with soda kegs.  I forget -  but the one I started should hold 4 kegs w/o a collar and an additional 2 with a collar (or 2 short kegs - it has a shelf over the compressor).  Lifting a 5 gallon soda keg is not a huge deal.  Even if a keggerator was large enough to hold several soda kegs, you would have to rearrange them each time to change out a keg - but most keezers will allow you to pull and replace any of the kegs in it w/o messing with the others much  (other than temporarily moving hoses out of the way.  

It might just be a wag, but I suspect that freezers are better insulated than mini-fridges as well.

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Last post before this gave me some inspiration to do my lid - thank you.  Most people either do collars - with the taps in front - or towers in the back.  Problem with towers in the back is you have to move the keezer to open the lid (they will hit the wall when tilted.  Just started thinking about making the "tower" 2/3's the depth of the keezer and hinging the lid on it's top.

since my keezer shit the bed i decided to build a new one out of a fridge
just finished it today

Will get a picture soon, finished plumbing and wiring it today (still need to mount the fan). Made a few mistakes, including one that essentially makes me unplug the keezer from the temp control to open the lid.  Anyway, 1 keg chilling (and carbonating) in it, one to go, and many, many more to brew.  

Right now the lid is sitting on the keezer.  Will probably mount the hinges in the future.

Just found the Home Brewing forum here, how have I been here this long and not seen this forum?

Here's mine, I built it off a GE 5.0cuft freezer.  Removed the factory lid and built my own to include a coffin box in order to keep the factory lid intact.  Holds 2 5gal cornys and a 10lb CO2 tank.  I've considered rebuilding the lid to include more clearance for a third keg on the compressor hump, but that would require putting the CO2 outside.  That being said, go bigger than you think you need.  To do it all over, I'd just build a fullsize fridge and keep it in the garage.  Mine was built with the understanding it would look nice, so the wife would let me keep it in our dining room.  



Here's a more detailed build thread:  http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=555235

Nice build!
Perlick flow control faucets?

It is a pretty simple build.  5/8" ply with a 1x2 brace around the edge.  Since 1x2 is actually 1.5", that allowed me to sqeeze in 2 layers of .75" insulation.  Tower has 1 layer of insulation.  STC-1000 is in a project box on the back side of the tower.  I screwed up and put the cords and outlet on the bottom of the box.  They should have been on the left side (controler is on the right side), so not to interfere with hinging the lid.

The location in the house is under a built in bar, so was limited in height - it was built with 1/2" clearance once I slide it back.  As such the lid can not be opened at all w/o siding the keezer forward a good ways.  Will probably use a vinyl wrap to faux finish the white freezer.
 


Currently have a chocolate stout and a hefeweizen on tap.  I am attempting to malt some wheat for a halfhearted attempt at a wit.  




If the malting works, it will be 2 experiments.  One, the cheapest possible beer I can make, and making 2 beers one with a German wheat beer hops, and one with an American wheat beer hops (reusing yeast - second batch will cost $4 for 5 gallons).


 

Thanks, yeah I have the Perlick flow controls.  They're great for filling growlers and bottles slowly to prevent CO2 release, but honestly I usually run them wide open when I pour.  I have 10' of line so no issues with foam, but it makes me less worried about overcarbing a keg (if I force carb) since I can just turn down the flow to prevent foam.  Worth the few extra bucks, I'd say.