How to build a kegerator

Step one: Find a chest freezer on craigslist or somewhere. It will probably be rusty, if it is then refer to step 6

Step two: measure the circumference of the freezer and take into consideration that you will be building a collar so you will need to cut two sides shorter than your measurement so you can screw them together. I used a 2 x 6 piece of wood and the measurements I took were 57 x 27 x 57 x 27, so I cut two 57 inch, and two 24 inch pieces of wood. A 2 x 6 is actually 1.5 x 5.5 and I was going to screw the two smaller pieces in-between the two larger front pieces. To do this I had to cut the two end pieces 3 inches shorter than the measurement I took.

Step three: buy the parts. Assuming you already have what it takes to keg and dispense your beer from a picnic tap, this is all you will need to turn that constant opening and closing of your keezer or kegerator into a dream come true.

freezer on Craigslist 100$

Co2 gas distributer with 4 way check valves 52$

2 SS Shanks for faucets 17$ each 34$

2 SS perl faucets 39$ each 78$

2x6x10 top choic lumber cut at Lowes 7$

cabot outdoor mahogany flame finish 15$

Sandpaper 220 grit and tack cloth 6$

chip brushs 2$

polyeuethane adhesive 5$

wood screws 8$

Total of 307$

For fixing rust if you have it:

Rust ezz 5$

2 cans of Rustoleum spray paint 11$

Step four: Sand, tack and stain your wood. It took the wood I used about a week to fully dry in my garage.

Step five: Remove the lid of your freezer and place aside. If you have rust present then skip this step and go ahead and fix the rust before you attach the lid. I wish I would have done this. Once the collar has screwed together you will place a bead of the polyurethane adhesive along where you wish to place the wooden collar.

Let this dry with books on top for a day or so and then reattach the lid. The holes might line up, if they don't then go to a hardware store and buy a few sheet metal screws and just reattach where the holes line up. Viola, you have the collar attached and it is ready for the shanks to be attached.

Step six: Go get some Rust-ez from Ace hardware, it is used to convert rust on cars into a paintable surface. Get some rustoleum in the color of what you want to paint. Follow directions on the bottles for both.

Start with this..................

and hopefully end with THIS.............

Now all I can do is hope that this will hold, if not then I still have some paint left over for some touch ups.

Step seven: here you will drill the holes for the shanks you bought and then place them in. Attach the faucets and then make sure to insulate your beer lines. Every bit helps when it comes to foaming, and even a one degree temperature change will cause foam.

The beer on the far left is the India Summer Ale from 10 Barrel brewing company, while the two on the far right are my homebrew. It is an India Summer Rye brewed with belgian witbier yeast and then also American Ale two yeast. In two separate kegs. I hold the kegerator at a steady 40 deg. F.

Cheers