Building a kegerator. Have some questions.

[Twinsbro]

So I'm going to build a kegerator using a chest freezer. But I have a couple questions.

I have everything picked out from the Co2 system, gas block, connections for whatever kegs I plan to use, digital temp controller, etc.

I searched the forum and found the kegerator pics thread, and notice a lot of chest freezers doing the collar thing with the wood and drilling through that to mount the taps to. So my questions is this...

Do I need to insulate anything around the inside part of the wood?

Do I need to secure the wood collar to the main part of the freezer from any air escaping or give it a tight seal(using a sealer or putting a weather strip around the bottom part of the wood)?

I might have some other questions when I finally get all the parts, but any other info about how to put it together would be great. Thanks in advance for your help.

[BigNastyBrew]

I didn't insulate mine and it stays nice and cold in there. I did use some braces and caulking. Here's a video of mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDNYflOOpy4

[Twinsbro]

I didn't insulate mine and it stays nice and cold in there. I did use some braces and caulking. Here's a video of mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDNYflOOpy4

awesome. Thanks for the info. I'll have to watch the vid again when I get home from work.

[Bugeater]

I didn't insulate mine either. The wood does a fine job. Make sure you seal the wood with a good moisture proof finish like polyurethane so it doesn't rot or warp. My collar has two layers. I built the basic collar out of cheap (but straight) 2 X 6 lumber. I then fastened a really nice piece of 1 X 10 clear hemlock to the front and sides of the collar with a small piece of scrap fastened to the back. The whole works was then coated with a nice stain and a couple coats of polyurethane. Using the wider facing pieces keeps the collar from sliding around when opening and closing the lid. I have the lid mounted to the collar rather than the freezer body. For a seal between the collar and the freezer body I use a strip of 1 1/2" wide foam tape used for mounting camper shells to pickup truck beds. It's cheap at any big box hardware store or RV dealer. You don't need anything special to seal between the collar and the lid as you already have that seal in place on the lid.

Wayne

[Twinsbro]

I didn't insulate mine either. The wood does a fine job. Make sure you seal the wood with a good moisture proof finish like polyurethane so it doesn't rot or warp. My collar has two layers. I built the basic collar out of cheap (but straight) 2 X 6 lumber. I then fastened a really nice piece of 1 X 10 clear hemlock to the front and sides of the collar with a small piece of scrap fastened to the back. The whole works was then coated with a nice stain and a couple coats of polyurethane. Using the wider facing pieces keeps the collar from sliding around when opening and closing the lid. I have the lid mounted to the collar rather than the freezer body. For a seal between the collar and the freezer body I use a strip of 1 1/2" wide foam tape used for mounting camper shells to pickup truck beds. It's cheap at any big box hardware store or RV dealer. You don't need anything special to seal between the collar and the lid as you already have that seal in place on the lid.

Wayne

Awesome. Thanks for the info.

Do you have any pics that shows how you have it constructed and what not?

[Bugeater]

Awesome. Thanks for the info.

Do you have any pics that shows how you have it constructed and what not?

I took a whole series of photos of the construction of my newest kegerator but lost them all in a computer crash before I got them posted anywhere. Here is a photo of my old kegerator that shows some of the outside detail.

I am about 500 miles from home right now or I would run in a take a few quick closeup pictures of how I have my new one put together. It's just like the one in the picture except larger.

Wayne

[Twinsbro]

sweet. I found BDawgs set up and tutorial page about his.

Thanks guys for your input.

Bug, thanks for telling me about the staining thing. I would have totally forgotten about that if someone didn't mention it.

[Twinsbro]

Here's Bdawgs if anyone else is looking for info about his.

http://www.west-point.org/users/usma198 ... erator.htm