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So when I moved to Lancaster, I encountered a terrible problem. For as awesome as the new house was, it had one major design flaw. The basement door has a closet located about 4' across from it. This made it impossible to angle my 8' x 2' x 42" bar through the door and down to the basement. The solution? A keezer!
I began with a Holiday 7.0 Cu. Ft. Chest Freezer from Lowe's. I built an inner collar out of Top Choice 1 x 6 x 10 Whitewood Board and surrounded that with an outer collar of Top Choice 1 x 8 x 10 Whitewood Board. These collars are flush at the top and the outer collar hangs down 2" so that the collar stays stable on the freezer.
I then set the lid on the collar and drilled the hinges into the wood. Also seen above are the three 7/8" holes for my taps. Building the collar means you don't have to damage the freezer itself.
Key to using a freezer is temperature control. I used a Johnson Controls Refrigerator Thermostat . The copper probe is snaked in under my weather stripping, and the unit mounts to the wood collar. The freezer plugs into the control's power cord and then into the wall. It is set to keep the freezer +/- 3 degrees of 40F.
Next I made it mobile with some locking casters and butcher block (left over from a section of the Harrisburg bar - some old with the new). This also acts to raise the taps. Chest freezers are low for a 6'1" guy with a bad back. These plus the collar raised everything to a comfortable level.
Very proud of my CO2 solution... I have never seen this anywhere else, but I cut a piece of wood to match the size of the freezer's compressor. Then I bought an unused paint can and screwed it on. The 5 lb. tank slips right in and doesn't tilt over due to the heavy, lopsided regulator. The wood is not attached to the hump, it just sits there.
Three Perlick 525SS Faucets ready to pour... Yes, I took this opportunity to upgrade the system to three taps from two. The tap handles are from Will at Bass Custom. I can print tap markers on business card sized paper and slip them in.
The guts... Fits 3 corny kegs. I have 10' of beer line on each. I marked my lines with electrical tape (red, green, blue) at the shank and the disconnect so I know where they go. My gas lines are marked black, white, grey. One side of the dual regulator goes to a CO2 Distributor 2-Way w/ 1/4" MFL shutoffs and the other side has it's own line. This way I can have two on serving pressure while I carb a third.
Finished product! I put a few L-brackets on the drip tray with JB Weld. Then I JB Welded magnets all over the brackets and the tray. Can't hold a beer, but it catches drips. Overall, I am pleased with this temporary solution (temporary until we finish the basement. Stay tuned for Bar 4.0!).
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