If you have ever considered building a kegerator, odds are you have at least given some thought to a chest freezer conversion. The process is not all that different.
With a chest freezer kegerator, sometimes called a keezer, you get the option to have a few additional kegs inside depending upon the size of the freezer you end up with. This gives you the possibility for multiple taps and different setups. Regardless of how you go about it, your essentials are going to be basically the same.
You will need an external temperature controller since you don’t want your beer in a deep freeze. Just be sure that the temperature probe is hanging in air and not touching any metal or laying on the floor inside. This could cause the temps to be off and confuse your controller.
You will need a CO2 tank and regulator as well. This can be outside of the freezer so long as you have enough tube to reach all of the kegs. You may want different gas lines in case you want a high pressure line for quick pressurizing a keg.
While this isn’t most peoples’ first choice, it can be handy in a pinch. You will also need the beer lines and faucets for the kegs as well as the taps and handles for the outside of the freezer.
Construction is fairly straight forward. But there is one trick that can really add some detail to your keezer. Since you are likely to find yourself short on space at the top, consider removing the lid and extending the height of your freezer by attaching wooden runners across the seal.
They will give you a surface to mount your lines and taps to besides drilling into the insulated freezer. Since putting holes in the freezer would ruin its ability to retain cold air, you can put all of your taps and lines through the wood and keep the freezer intact.
Not only will it serve as a practical way to give you a mountain spot and height extension, but it will look great. After you have everything set up, you can just reattach the lid to the wooden runners.
The cost for building a freezer kegerator can vary a great deal. You will probably want a big enough unit to hold a couple kegs, but the size is entirely up to you.
If you look around places like Craigslist or local newspaper for sale sections, you might be able to find a big 20 cubic foot freezer for next to nothing. Or you can get one half that size depending on how much room you have. Since a kegerator which can hold one or two kegs can cost over a thousand dollars if you buy it premade, building one yourself can be a fun project and actually save you a lot of money.
If you’re looking to make a kegerator, but you want to take it a step farther and build something that can hold two, three or four kegs then you might want to look into building a chest freezer kegerator. So long as you’re comfortable with a few power tools and you know how to follow instructions that come with w conversion kit, you can have a keezer up and running in no time.
