Jerm's Kegerator Build

I found my chest freezer on Craiglist for $50. This was a screamin' good deal since the original owner had hardly used it and it was only a year or 2 old. It is a HOLIDAY (Lowes) 7cf Model LCH0701PW chest freezer. It will hold 3 Cornelius Kegs(5 gallon), I use the included basket to hold my beer glasses. First of all I need to mention that I did not attempt this build without researching alot on the internet. I did not come up with this on my own. This walkthrough is basically how I handled the project with my skill level and the tools available to me. Much thanks go to the members/contributors of Micromatic.com's discussion forum View Full size image by clicking on them
	After removing the plastic cover & gasket I drilled a hole through the top of the lid using a LENOX Bi-Metal Arbored Hole Saw 3" I picked up from Lowes which I believe I paid about $18 for. I thought about using a DREMEL but decided I wanted it to be as clean cut as possible. I checked out HomeDepot first(closer to my house) and found that I would have to spend nearly twice as much there since their 3" hole saw did not include a mandrel like the one at Lowes did. Cutting through the lid goes fairly quick since the metal is VERY thin.
	Here is the inside of the lid, the plastic covering and gasket were held in with plastic clips and a couple of screws. It was easier to cut the clips off than try to save them for re-use. I used sheet metal screws to replace the clips when it came time to re-install the cover.
	To make the lid sturdier for mounting the tower I cut a scrap piece of 2" x 8" of wood and placed in over the whole, temporarily taped it in place so I could mark the position to drill into the wood. After the whole was cut in the wood I marked the position where I wanted the wood to be secured with a sharpie. Using a serrated steak knife I cut along the lines I had marked. The foam came out in chunks so I ended up using a puddy knife to scrape the remaining foam out so the board would sit flat. After a few minor tweaks I had the board laying flat.
	I applied some construction adhesive to the side that would make contact with the metal lid and let it dry overnight.
	There was a pretty big gap between the wood and the foam.
	Using a can of spray foam insulation I filled in the edges around the wood as well as covering the entire piece of wood. When it was dry enough I pressed down on the foam to compact it so it wouldn't bulge out. Hint: misting the uncured foam with water will make it cure quicker. I replaced the inside plastic lid cover and gasket temporarily so I could mark the position to drill the hole in the plastic(sorry, no pic)
	Using the tower gasket I squared the holes up and marked them with a sharpie. I drilled 4 small "pilot" holes and then secured the tower to the top of the lid. The tower was very stable so I removed the tower since I knew I would be opening and closing the lid alot.
	Next up was drilling a hold through the freezer so a temperature controller probe could be inserted. The best place is under the lid hinges where the insulation is injected. The hinge with the spring is under stress so place a nail through to lock it in place, otherwise it will snap back at you. I removed some insulation so I could all the way into the inside wall. There was a cooling line visible at this point so I used a small pointed punch to lightly tap where I intended to drill. I could see the mark on the inside of the freezer so I was good to go.
	Here the hold has been drilled. The temperature controller probe as well as the electrical wire for the tower cooling fan will be inserted here. I cut a small piece of vinyl tubing to add a little more protection for the wiring and then sprayed some foam into the hole to replace the insulation I removed.
	I chose the Johnson "Brewers Edge" A419 temperature controller($75) since the stainless steel probe is submersible. You want the liquid temp to be monitored rather than the air temperature. I found that beveragefactory.com has the best price on this particular controller. You could get an Analog controller for less but I wanted a digital display. Using velcro I secured the controller to the side of the freezer and then with plastic tie's and anchors secured the cabling.
	Here the hinge has been re-installed. Originally this side had the spring on it, but since I had to route cabling through this side I swapped them. Also, the little silver knob seen on the hinge is a speed controller for the tower cooling fan. I had this part lying around from a PC power supply so I threw it in the mix. It's not really 100% necessary I just though it would be cool to have.
	Here you can see where the wires are coming into the cabinet as well as the hose I intend to use for the tower cooling. I picked up about 4 ft of "bilge" hose at HomeDepot that is supposed to be $2 a foot. The kid at the register couldn't find the right price to charge so he only charge me $2 for 4 ft.
	This picture was obviously taken after the build was completed, however what I did here was used some 1" PVC pipe for cooling the tower
	Here you can see that I am using an extra growler filled with water to place the temperature probe into. The black box is a "project box" I bought at radio shack for about $8 which has a blower inside to pull cold air from the bottom into the draft tower. Without a blower I don't think it is possible to get consistent "pours". To see how I build my tower blower box click here
	Here is the "complete" kegerator. I really should say "functioning" kegerator since I will more than likely continue to make improvements as I see or think of them. At the time of the picture, I only had 1 beer on tap since I brew my own and I can drink it faster than I can brew it :) The tower is Stainless steel with 2 ventmatics faucets. The only issue I've found with installing a tower on a chest freezer is that you cannot open the lid all the way when it is up against the wall. Not a real big issue since I can pull it away from the wall when I need to replace a keg. I was well aware of this issue prior to building this.
	Regardless of not being able to open the lid all the way when up against a wall, I can easily grab a glass from the inside without having to move it. Even though the blower box is functioning OK, one upgrade I would like to do is find a hose similar to the one below that will expand and compress as the lid is opened and closed. The problem I am having now is that I can't locate one with the correct ID. This will allow me to secure the blower box in one place.
	After scouring the internet for the best price on a drip tray, I purchased one from Williams Brewing. Most places didn't have a SS drip tray for less than $50, Williams lists this on their website for only $19.90. This doesn't have a drain hole in it as some may like, but in my opinion if you need one then you are wasting WAY too much precious beer and need to work on your aim. They are called drip trays for a reason! The drips in my tray dry up quickly. At the moment I just have the tray secured to the lid with 3 strips of velcro.

I found my chest freezer on Craiglist for $50.

This was a screamin' good deal since the original owner had hardly used it and it was only a year or 2 old.

It is a HOLIDAY (Lowes) 7cf Model LCH0701PW chest freezer.

It will hold 3 Cornelius Kegs(5 gallon), I use the included basket to hold my beer glasses.

First of all I need to mention that I did not attempt this build without researching alot on the internet. I did not come up with this on my own.

This walkthrough is basically how I handled the project with my skill level and the tools available to me.

Much thanks go to the members/contributors of Micromatic.com's discussion forum

View Full size image by clicking on them

After removing the plastic cover & gasket I drilled a hole through the top of the lid using a LENOX Bi-Metal Arbored Hole Saw 3" I picked up from Lowes which I believe I paid about $18 for.

I thought about using a DREMEL but decided I wanted it to be as clean cut as possible.

I checked out HomeDepot first(closer to my house) and found that I would have to spend nearly twice as much there since their 3" hole saw did not include a mandrel like the one at Lowes did.

Cutting through the lid goes fairly quick since the metal is VERY thin.

Here is the inside of the lid, the plastic covering and gasket were held in with plastic clips and a couple of screws. It was easier to cut the clips off than try to save them for re-use. I used sheet metal screws to replace the clips when it came time to re-install the cover.

To make the lid sturdier for mounting the tower I cut a scrap piece of 2" x 8" of wood and placed in over the whole, temporarily taped it in place so I could mark the position to drill into the wood.

After the whole was cut in the wood I marked the position where I wanted the wood to be secured with a sharpie.

Using a serrated steak knife I cut along the lines I had marked. The foam came out in chunks so I ended up using a puddy knife to scrape the remaining foam out so the board would sit flat.

After a few minor tweaks I had the board laying flat.

I applied some construction adhesive to the side that would make contact with the metal lid and let it dry overnight.

There was a pretty big gap between the wood and the foam.

Using a can of spray foam insulation I filled in the edges around the wood as well as covering the entire piece of wood. When it was dry enough I pressed down on the foam to compact it so it wouldn't bulge out.

Hint: misting the uncured foam with water will make it cure quicker.

I replaced the inside plastic lid cover and gasket temporarily so I could mark the position to drill the hole in the plastic(sorry, no pic)

Using the tower gasket I squared the holes up and marked them with a sharpie. I drilled 4 small "pilot" holes and then secured the tower to the top of the lid. The tower was very stable so I removed the tower since I knew I would be opening and closing the lid alot.

Next up was drilling a hold through the freezer so a temperature controller probe could be inserted.

The best place is under the lid hinges where the insulation is injected.

The hinge with the spring is under stress so place a nail through to lock it in place, otherwise it will snap back at you. I removed some insulation so I could all the way into the inside wall. There was a cooling line visible at this point so I used a small pointed punch to lightly tap where I intended to drill. I could see the mark on the inside of the freezer so I was good to go.

Here the hold has been drilled.

The temperature controller probe as well as the electrical wire for the tower cooling fan will be inserted here. I cut a small piece of vinyl tubing to add a little more protection for the wiring and then sprayed some foam into the hole to replace the insulation I removed.

I chose the Johnson "Brewers Edge" A419 temperature controller($75) since the stainless steel probe is submersible. You want the liquid temp to be monitored rather than the air temperature. I found that beveragefactory.com has the best price on this particular controller. You could get an Analog controller for less but I wanted a digital display.

Using velcro I secured the controller to the side of the freezer and then with plastic tie's and anchors secured the cabling.

Here the hinge has been re-installed. Originally this side had the spring on it, but since I had to route cabling through this side I swapped them.

Also, the little silver knob seen on the hinge is a speed controller for the tower cooling fan. I had this part lying around from a PC power supply so I threw it in the mix. It's not really 100% necessary I just though it would be cool to have.

Here you can see where the wires are coming into the cabinet as well as the hose I intend to use for the tower cooling. I picked up about 4 ft of "bilge" hose at HomeDepot that is supposed to be $2 a foot.

The kid at the register couldn't find the right price to charge so he only charge me $2 for 4 ft.

This picture was obviously taken after the build was completed, however what I did here was used some 1" PVC pipe for cooling the tower

Here you can see that I am using an extra growler filled with water to place the temperature probe into.

The black box is a "project box" I bought at radio shack for about $8 which has a blower inside to pull cold air from the bottom into the draft tower.

Without a blower I don't think it is possible to get consistent "pours".

To see how I build my tower blower box click here

Here is the "complete" kegerator. I really should say "functioning" kegerator since I will more than likely continue to make improvements as I see or think of them.

At the time of the picture, I only had 1 beer on tap since I brew my own and I can drink it faster than I can brew it :)

The tower is Stainless steel with 2 ventmatics faucets.

The only issue I've found with installing a tower on a chest freezer is that you cannot open the lid all the way when it is up against the wall. Not a real big issue since I can pull it away from the wall when I need to replace a keg. I was well aware of this issue prior to building this.

Regardless of not being able to open the lid all the way when up against a wall, I can easily grab a glass from the inside without having to move it.

Even though the blower box is functioning OK, one upgrade I would like to do is find a hose similar to the one below that will expand and compress as the lid is opened and closed. The problem I am having now is that I can't locate one with the correct ID.

This will allow me to secure the blower box in one place.

After scouring the internet for the best price on a drip tray, I purchased one from Williams Brewing.

Most places didn't have a SS drip tray for less than $50, Williams lists this on their website for only $19.90.

This doesn't have a drain hole in it as some may like, but in my opinion if you need one then you are wasting WAY too much precious beer and need to work on your aim.

They are called drip trays for a reason! The drips in my tray dry up quickly.

At the moment I just have the tray secured to the lid with 3 strips of velcro.