has anyone made their own beer tower?

[chapesh]

i have been eyeing my chest freezer with the interest of putting my homebrew kegs in it, i wanted to find a tower for it and after looking around realized my wallet was going to get beat up! i want either 3 or 4 taps and those are uber expensive,i was thinking of getting some 3" pipe from my cousin the plumber and trying that, and then stumbled on a wooden mini keg my buddy has, anyone with any proir experience would be very helpful and greatly appreciated.

[bruin_ale]

Welcome to the boards! I built my own tower..here's a picture of it:

The most expensive part is the shanks and taps.. but even without a tower you're going to need to buy those.

[bruin_ale]

Here's a pic of the entire thing

[HarkJohnny]

a lot of guys build a wodden "collar" that raises the top up a few inches. Some have put the taps that space instead of through the top. I've seen the full on Perlick taps or even the cheapo picnic (cobra) taps just sticking out for pouring.

search the web... you'll be surpised at what you might find!

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by bruin_ale
Here's a pic of the entire thing

Bruin - what's the specs on that kegerator? Outside dimensions? chest freezer capacity? Fits how many cornies?

That looks like something I could get away with putting in my house. I'd likely flank the tower with a couple wine racks. Might make the wife happy if it looks nice.

[bruin_ale]

Inside is a 7cu foot chest freezer. It holds four cornies, plus a co2 tank on the shelf (could hold a 3 gallon corny or some bottles, or whatever also on the shelf.

Trying to remember the dimensions, I think it's roughly 21" deep X 35" wide. The height of the wood on the chest freezer is 35", plus about 3-4" for the wheels underneath. Total height including the tower is probably 55" or so.

I built it with the intention of moving it into the house, but it's still in my garage. I haven't decided if I will move it inside yet. I spend alot of time in the backyard, but maybe as winter/rain arrives I'll tire of running out to the detached garage to get a beer.

[HogieWan]

As I have mentioned on other threads, my biggest selling point to the wife for setting up a kegerator is having soft drinks easily and cheaply available. So I need a setup that looks good enough to put inside. I've picked out a nice corner of the dining area that this might fit into. I'm going to measure tonight.

[chapesh]

hey...... that looks real nice! did you build the cabinet around your chest freezer? that was an idea of mine as well. also how did you insulate the lines to the taps. i was thinking of that insulation you put around pipes. i was thinking of using that small barrel, but i'm wondering how to attach the thing to the top of my chest freezer, also hoping to use a brewers thermo to control the temp? any problems with that? and thx for the welcome.

[chapesh]

sorry forgot to mention that the barrel doesn't have ends that open i'll have to find a way to get access inside without destroying the thing. was thinking of cutting out an end and using a pvc cap(i have a 6" from an old chiller that went BOOM!) and attaching that to the top and than using screws to attach the barrel to that.

[bruin_ale]

Yeah, I built a cabinet around my chest freezer using 2x4 and ply, I got the idea from this guys pictures.
http://gvtc.com/~jmurdoch/now_showing.htm

As for insulating the lines, I didn't bother. I was going to, but honestly, without using a fan to force freezer air into the tower, all the insulation in the world won't stop that first beer from being a bit foamy. Since there's only a foot or less of exposed line, I just deal with it. The first pour is half foam at worst (sometimes not foamy at all depending on how cold my garage is), the rest are perfect.

[chapesh]

that was a helpful link! thnx. pictures help me a lot you see i don't read so good,haha. seriously though that was helpful.

[bruin_ale]

No problem.. when I built mine, I basically used those pictures as a step by step on how to frame around the freezer and end up with a nice cabinet around it. The pictures he has of the tower were less than clear to me, so after I had the cabinet together I basically winged it from there.

[corkybstewart]

I used this same set of photos for my freezer, but I did several things different-not better-but different. To save space I did not frame around the freezer. I just screwed the plywood to the 2X4 base and then used some short sheet metal screws to attach directly to the freezer at the very edges where there would be no coils. I also left the freezer lid more or less intact with the insulation and light. I drilled 4' holes for the hoses, fan and air return. I'll try to psot pictures later. As for the foaming issue, I have the same problem-the first beer is very foamy, the rest are fine except for my Belgian strong ale. It takes 2 glasses of foam to settle down. Ijust set them aside for a few minutes nd then drink them.One thing I wish I had done different is to space the fausets further apart, but that's not too big a deal.

[HogieWan]

I might need to employ some space-saving tricks when building mine.

[bruin_ale]

I like having a bit of an air gap between the wood and the freezer to allow the heat to dissipate off of the freezer walls when it runs a cooling cycle. With the wood pressed right up against the freezer, I'd worry that it might overheat.

[HogieWan]

The air gap and wood would insulate better than the wood right up against the freezer.

[fretlessman71]

Add a few holes, maybe? Best of both worlds?

[bruin_ale]

Since there's no back to the cabinet, there's actually a space for the air to get out.. I've wrestled with the air gap insulation thought myself, since that's basically what a double paned window is, but while the air gap might keep the warm air inside, it's not keeping the heat directly on the freezer wall. Since the freezer only runs for a few minutes a day, there's adequate time for the air gap to cool back down between cycles.

[bruin_ale]

The best thing to do would be what this guy did:
http://users.ev1.net/%7Ecolplink/pholkstudios/kegerator.htm

He basically has an air gap like I do, and uses an exhuast fan to pull cool air in...

[corkybstewart]

You've got a good point. For me I just barely had room in my garage for the freezer so I tried to minimize its size. I've had mine 6 months with no problems so far. The outside of my freezer never got hot, just slightly warm so I don't think it'll give me any problem. I was also careful to keep the vents uncovered and I keep that side of the freezer away from any walls or obstructions.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by bruin_ale
The best thing to do would be what this guy did:
http://users.ev1.net/%7Ecolplink/pholkstudios/kegerator.htm

He basically has an air gap like I do, and uses an exhuast fan to pull cool air in...

That's a cool setup right there

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by bruin_ale
Trying to remember the dimensions, I think it's roughly 21" deep X 35" wide. The height of the wood on the chest freezer is 35", plus about 3-4" for the wheels underneath. Total height including the tower is probably 55" or so.

Can you double check these dimensions for me. If this is rigt, it'll take up much less room than I thought!!! I think I can get permission for this. I just need to find a cheap freezer.

[bruin_ale]

I'll recheck when I get home.

I think the key is finding the right chest freezer.. Get the smallest one that you can fit 4 cornies into... I found this one used on craigslist and bought it for $50 and they even delivered it for me!

[HogieWan]

I may be able to get a bigger one in there and squeeze five or six cornies.

[HogieWan]

And where did you get that drip tray? That is the detail that makes the kegerator!

[bruin_ale]

Thanks.. the tray is a floor register that's meant to cover a heater duct. You can get them at home depot. I like it because you can get them much cheaper than the drip trays online (I think it was maybe $10). I built the tray part out of sheetmetal.. Right now it doesn't actually "drip" anywhere, just sort of collects in the tray. That's only a problem when I have tons of people over who think it's cool to pour their foam out in it :) When I use it, it might drip one or two drops onto the tray, and when it's starting to look a little dirty I wash it in the sink or with a hose...

The wood that's holding the tray is just something I put together with the remaining 3/4" ply from the bartop and a few leftover pieces of molding I had after finishing up the rest of the cabinet.

[bruin_ale]

Okay, just remeasured.
Front to back - including a 2" lip on the bartop is 26" deep.
Side to side on the bartop is 44", that's a 2" lip on each side, so the cabinet is about 40" wide.
Height I had about right, I think the total height including the tower is just under 60" tall.

Good luck on the permission Hogie, let me know if you have any other questions.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by bruin_ale
Good luck on the permission Hogie, let me know if you have any other questions.

As of yesterday, my wife and I have been married for a whole 2 months. I decided to cook a nice dinner and fix a couple drinks. She really like cosmopolitans that I make for her (more vodka, less juice). Since I had the shaker out and dirty (it's my grandfather's from the 30's, so it's a bitch to keep clean and rust-free), I decided to make a martini for myself. I like a "Flying Dutchman" - two parts gin, one part triple sec and a drop or two of lime juice. After she had a couple I started my sales pitch.

I showed her your pics, Bruin, as well as the ones you looked at for your build and the link with the 60's tower. She bit! The only objection was she wanted a bit of control on the design of it. I have NO problem with that. She didn't really like the idea of having coke on tap. I may be able to have all four taps running homebrew!

She did have concern about our future children having easy access to the beer, but I assured her that if nothing else, we can get locks for the taps so that you need a key to pour a beer.

So, all looks good. I'll need to wait before starting such an expensive project, but I think it'll be worth it.

[bruin_ale]

Congrats! My wife wasn't such a hard sell since we both enjoy homebrew. Initially, we were both equally interested in brewing, but lately she's decided that it's a much more noble job to be the taster. That's fine with me, it leaves the creativity of what to brew next up to me, although I continually ask her if she's got any requests.

I'm glad you recognize that it's quite an expensive project, as I was going to warn you. I went into it thinking it'd be inexpensive, but things just kept adding up. Even though I only paid $50 for the freezer, between materials for the cabinet/tower and keg parts + taps, etc. I've probably dumped about $500-600 into it, but compared to what a commercial 4 tap kegerator would cost, that's nothing. Plus, I think mine looks nicer and I have the pleasure of saying that "yes, I built it" :)

[chapesh]

good point, i felt the side of the freezer just the other day and it ws suprisingly warm! i like the idea of a space for ventilation. wondering about rust being a problem at screw points on the metal of the freezer. as for the top is it just glued to the lid? i have a little time before i jump into this project, we are moving in a few weeks(first homewoohooo!) so i have alot of projects with priority to keep the fiance
happy.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by chapesh
we are moving in a few weeks(first homewoohooo!) so i have alot of projects with priority to keep the fiance happy.

you have more projects than you can imagine!

[bruin_ale]

If you look at the build pics from the post above, I did it basically the same way.

There are two 2x4 sections running on the inside part of the freezer lid, I screwed through these, through the lid, and into the top of the bar. Just make sure you use a screw that is long enough to go through everything, but not so long that it goes through the top of the bar. Glueing would probably work though, but I prefer not to wait for glue to set, nor do I necessarily trust glue to hold wood to the smooth metal on the freezer.

[HogieWan]

And screws come off if you need to "upgrade"