Size of a chest freezer

[I-dont]

Hey, I'm looking to make a dedicated chest-freezer kegerator. I know there are tons of postings on how to do this, and the thermostats that work, etc. But I have a more important question. I buy 1/4 and 1/2 barrel kegs at the liquor store, and I want to make sure they will fit in the chest freezer I get. I am planning on just buying a used small one, just to fit one keg, but I'm not sure the minimum size I can get away with, and usually, whenever I look up the size it just gives me outside measurements, and I don't know whether that will really tell me much, because I'm assuming at least some of them have a hump in the bottom for a compressor, so that takes up some of the height. Does anyone have any info on what size I can get away with? Or do I just have to look at all of them and measure?

Thanks,
Matty.

[hooky]

I think in this forum somewhere, there is a post by a member who used templates to help him.

Put a keg on a piece of cardboard and trace it. Cut out the tracing and take it with you to the freezer store.

[Beerbilly]

I can fit a half barrel keg in the 7cuft freezer I bought from SAMs for $180.

[Butch]

I just got through doing this myself. I used an excel spreadsheet where I had resized all the cells to squares so they would represent 1” x 1” each. Then I made some circles that were 9” across (for corny kegs) and some 17” across (for full ½ barrels). Then I made a bunch of copies of each size. Then I went to the store and measured the inside diameter of all the candidate freezers. Once I had that I simply drew an outline of each freezer’s inside dimensions and moved the circles around until I got as many in it as I could. Here are my results (prices are for the South MS area in Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City stores):

? (I think 9.?) cu. ft (29” x 22”) [$???]:
6 cornys
-or-
1 corny + 1 ‘½ barrel’

13 cu. ft (37.5" x 22") [$330]:
8 Cornys
-or-
1 ‘½ barrel’ + 5 Cornys
-or-
2 ‘½ barrels’

15 cu. ft (43" x 22") [$360]:
9 cornys
-or-
5 cornys + 1 ‘½ barrel’
-or-
2 ‘½ barrels’

25 cu. ft(58.5” x 22”) [$450 dented new]:
12 cornys
-or-
8 cornys + 1 ‘½ barrel’
-or-
5 cornys + 2 ‘½ barrels’
-or-
3 ‘½ barrels’

Also I ignored the compressor shelf because I intend to build a 12” wooden collar. If you don’t plan on that the kegs may not fit under the lid if they are placed on the little shelf.

I’m going with a 13 cu. ft scratched/dented new out of the box for $286.

Butch

[I-dont]

So the consensus is that a freezer with the following dimensions

34 T x 23 D x 27 W

will definately fit a half-barrel?

Or only if I do a collar?



Thanks all,
Matty.

[Butch]

A half barrel keg is 23.25 inches tall and 17 inches in diameter. You have to figure in, what? About 6 or 7 inches for the coupling and hose?

That is assuming the dimensions you gave are for the inside of the freezer. Each side of the freezer is a few inches thick itself, so that changes things if those dimensions are for the outside of the unit. Subtracting 6 inches from the height to account for the lid and bottom leaves you with 28 inched inside height. That’s cutting it close. If it were my money I’d take a tape measure to the store and double check to make sure you have at least 30 inches vertical space and 18 inches horizontal.

Butch

[corkybstewart]

Have you considered the act of lifting a 1/2 barrel keg into a chest freezer? My friend did, and since a keg outweighs him he's decided to us a dorm fridge or break down and buy a kegerator. Even my corny kegs can be a bitch to get in the freezer with all the lines running aroundf in there. For a 1/2 bbl something that open forward like a fridge would be much better.

[toneyc]

That's what teenagers are for! I usually have one of my boys help me load the kegerator. I guess when they leave home, I'll have to come up with another solution. I've seen some block and tackle sets at Wal-Mart designed for deer season. That would probably work to lift a keg.

:)
Toney.

[zoom6zoom]

Here ya go (http://da.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=hoist&Submit=Go)

[corkybstewart]

Now if the wife will just let you rig that up in the kitchen or living room you're good to go.

[I-dont]

Yes, I have considered the weight of a keg, and I wouldn't be able to lift it very far myself, but yeah, college kids wanting to drink a decent beer or two can be a big asset. It looks like I'm going to end up with a mid-size fridge anyway, its a little more expensive, but I won't have to do the rewiring for the thermostat. Thanks for all your help, I'll see how it works out and post photos when I'm done!