I recently shared the very simple 2 tap keezer build I did for a friend. What allowed me to keep that keezer so simple was my experience building a 5 tap keezer for myself. I had previously been using a 3 tap kegerator built into a refrigerator that worked great, I actually really liked having the freezer on top to store hops, but I brewed far too often to have only 3 faucets. I set my wife on the hunt to find me the best price on a large chest freezer and she certainly did not disappoint. With a combination of coupons and store discounts, we paid $356 for a 14.8 cu. ft. Frigidaire, originally priced at $530.



With the freezer on order, I purchased all of the other parts including angle brackets, bolts to hold the facade to the collar, faucets, CO2 tank, regulators, etc. Once the freezer was in my garage, we got to work. The first step was removing the lid.

Easy enough, just don’t forget about the springs in the hinges, they will absolutely bash your face in if you’re not careful. One option is to stick a long nail into the small hole in each hinge to hold them in place during removal. I just held the hinges in place while I removed the bolts and it worked fine. Still, be careful.

I decided I wanted my collar to have a facade that would help hold it in place on the freezer. We constructed the collar using 2 x 6 douglas fir then attached the 1 x 8 pine facade to the front and sides using 3″ bolts, which added a nice rustic touch.

Many people choose to use a hardwood for the facade, which I didn’t do mainly because of the significant difference in price. If I’m being totally honest, I was a little afraid I was going to fuck up, hence my choice to go with about the cheapest wood you can buy. The one problem with this is that pine boards are rarely ever totally straight. We made it work.

We also decided to connect the corners using butt joints because… have you ever tried to use a miter saw? Once the collar was all put together, we threw it on the freezer just to make sure it fit. Like a glove!

It actually took a little work to squeeze the collar onto the freezer, which gave me some security it wouldn’t be wiggling around during use. It was time to drill the holes for the faucet shanks.

I fucked this up. For whatever reason, I grabbed by 1/2″ spade bit instead of my 15/16″ bit, you can imagine my disappointment when I tried to slide a shank through the first hole. Using a scrap piece of plywood with the proper hole as a guide and a couple clamps, I fixed the issue and all was well.

My helpful and incredibly beautiful wife offered to stain the collar. She did a great job.

You might notice a weird lighter area on the front corner. My neighbor convinced me to use wood filler to fill in the very small gap between the 2 pieces of the facade, swearing it stains “exactly like real wood.” He felt terrible when it didn’t and he’s lucky I don’t care much about stuff like that. We let the stain set overnight then applied 3 coats of varnish the next day and let it dry for a few hours before putting the collar in place on the freezer.

When attaching the lid, I was surprised to discover the lower holes in the hinges lined up perfectly with the top holes on the freezer. I attached the top part of each hinge to the collar using 1″ screws and used the original bolts for attaching the lower portion of each hinge to the freezer. It was really starting to come together! The next step was attaching the faucets and putting everything together.

I attached 5 Perlick 525SS faucets. I highly recommend investing in quality faucets over the cheap non-forward sealing versions, it’s worth the extra money.

For the internal components, I went with a dual primary regulator split to a 3-body secondary regulator and a 4-way manifold. I plan to swap the 4-way manifold for 4-way secondary soon, they are super convenient. I serve 5 while carbonating 2 beers, it’s a nice system. I also have a 10# CO2 tank and a simple single-stage analog temp controller. Notice the Yeast Bay samples, ready to be beta tested!

I completely forgot to order tap handles, those arrived a few days later. The first beer poured was a very tasty German Pils.

After about a week of use, I decided I wanted to add chalkboard paint to the top of the keezer.

Everything was working great, the only problem I had was beer spots getting all over the ground beneath each faucet. I purchased a 19″ stainless drip tray, but couldn’t think of a good way to mount it. Then one morning I had the idea to build a cabinet for my beer glasses that I could also set the drip tray on. About $30 and 2 hours later, I was set!

I installed a shelf that gave me room to store a good amount of glasses.

I’ve been using this keezer for almost 2 years now and have no big complaints. While condensation can be a pain in the ass, my simple solution has been to shove a towel down in the corner by the drain hole, it works great.

:: General Parts List ::

5 Gallon Refurbished Pin Lock Kegs (10)

3 Gallon Refurbished Pin Lock Kegs (4)

Perlick 525SS Faucets

4″ Faucet Shanks

Barbed Pin Lock Gas-In Disconnects (7)

Barbed Pin Lock Beer-Our Disconnects (5)

8′ x 3/16″ SuperFlex Beverage Tubing (5)

3′ x 5/16″ Gas Tubing (7)

10 lb CO2 Tank

Dual-Body Three Gauge Primary CO2 Regulator

3-Way Secondary Regulator

4-Way CO2 Manifold

120 mmComputer Fan (air recirculation)

Universal AC Power Supply (for fan)

19″ stainless drip tray

If you have any questions about my build, feel free to ask!

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