Highly recommend two things. 1. put your temp probe in a bottle with water and 2 get a fan in there. You will get more consistent temps. Good to see the braj back!
I wouldn’t use water as if there is a problem it can freeze and then you’ll get whack temps. Better to use vodka or moonshine. Something that won’t freeze. I believe Martin from homebrew challenge had this in one of his videos.
@@djg1224 only concern would be that koozie may throw off temps due to insulation. I’m no real scientists just a guess/assumption. Would be curious to see if it’s true or not. Have you tested this?
@@SmokeNFermentables Haven't done a side by side comparison but I do this in my fermentation chamber and keezer and haven't had any issues with fermentation. Could be that I adjust my temperatures based on historical success.
One small recommendation, buy some foam board insulation and glue it to the back of your wooden collar. This will significantly improve the efficiency of the new keeper, keeping its power consumption low but also taking a lot of stress off of the refrigeration system itself, making it last a lot longer. As far as what I prefer, I like both. Kegerator at a higher temp for the heavy bready boys and keezer for the lighter, crispier types. I don't want to drink a stout at 35f, more like 55f; but I don't want to drink an IPA or a sour that's too warm.
Kegerator guy here. Got one with the freezer at the bottom so I can have tall handles no problem. Like that more since it's easily fitting 4 kegs + tank inside for less sq ft. Also no temp control needed. I've heard bad stories of the probe freezing up and then the freezer froze all the beer. Probably not a big deal, but i prefer the internal control from the fridge. Cheers!
Keezer! Its more energy efficient, with the cold air staying inside anytime you open it (unlike a fridge door that lets out the cold air). Also, drill a small hole in the collar for your Inkbird thermo-wire, keep that lid sealed TOIGHT on the collar. I put a simple snap latch on the lid to keep the cold seal toight. Also, with the keezer, I found it necessary to buy a little computer "muffin fan and some pvc pipe to recirculate the cold air around the keezer. I put a metal grate on the bottom to keep the kegs up a few inches and away from the condensation on the bottom. Pro tip... add a splace of bleach to the bottom of your keezer to keep in freshhhh
As someone who lives in kingsport it blows my mind to hear knoxville called a small city. Perfect timing on the video, i'm filling up my morebeer shopping cart right now since i want to get into kegging.
Kegerator, low end 10 year old fridge had sitting for years in basement was free. 3 Korney kegs 2 taps. Freezer up top is key for ice for wort cooling or just having some for the cooler. You've taught us well!
The Braj is back! To answer the final question, I love my Keezer. 8 taps, fits 6 5-gal crony’s and 2 3-gal ones. Needless to say we have a lot of neighborhood friends 😅
Kegerator here. Made one out of an old side-by-side fridge that came with my house. Holds three corny kegs and has room for two more shelves of bottles and cans above the kegs. Plus I can run whatever tap handles I want and still have full access to the freezer on the other side. Only thing that sucks is when the keg in the back kicks, you have to pull out all three to get to it.
Great Stuff! Hooray Keezers. I totally cheated and bought a used one for $475, but it fits 4 Corny kegs and no assembly required. 4 beers on tap is completely blowing my neighbors minds!
I have an old fridge where the ice box is inside. So only one door to open. I don't have to worry about taller tap handles if I want to get into the freezer. It was what I found on craigslist at the time for free about 15 years ago! Still runs great, but if I didn't have that option I would probably go keezer now a days. Also I put my CO2 outside to get the most out of it. Just like the guy who fills your CO2 should be doing at cooler temps and not ambient temps to get the bottle the fullest it can go. That said, it depends on who is working that day! Great to see you back with content. Cheers from Washington (State)!
I love my Keezer if you want to call it that. I never made a collar and I just use picnic taps. Ya you have to open the lid every time you want a beer but it works for me. I have used it this way for over a year now and maybe someday I will complete it. Thanks for the vid CH. Cheers!
Cool video! I have a keezer, and one thing nice about them is you can put it in your kitchen without it looking weird. With the kegerator its more suited for a basement, garage, man cave area.
Great video. Love how you make a tutorial entertaining. Like slipping some frozen peas in mac and cheese. One thing I will counter, with no credentials other than "the internet", is that you shouldn't use tephlon tape on the co2 tank. If you use the appropriate washer and tighten it down, you should be good. To my understanding, co2 to regulator threads are meant to be compression fit with that washer. If you need tape something is wrong. The other point which may be an old wife's tale, but you could end up with some tape in your regulator if you are a bit unscrupulous which could damage the regulator. But to each their own, it seems like a good insurance if you don't have a cheap supply of Co2!
When buying a chest freezer, keep a look out for some that have a refrigerator setting (It’s more like a supper low freezer temp) then you can bypass the temp control. This is how I have my current keezer setup.
Love my diy kegarator, best thing I ever done. Fits alot inside with door shelves for other bottle or can beers or moonshine jars like mine and freezer space up top for glasses and steaks.. Living the life..
Welcome back! Keezer is the way to go, doesn't permanently damage your appliance, gives you more temperature range, and I think they can look cooler! Keep up the good work!
Long time lurker, but finally subscribing. You older videos helped me come far as a home brewer and so it’s great to see you making content still. Looking forward to more content. Cheers from Texas!
Nice work on the production video and getting in a whole bunch of key points efficiently! I have both and prefer my keezer. Major efficiency benefit with keezer running 1.75 amps to refrigerator taking 15 amps and maxing out a whole outlet and circuit breaker. The keezer drops beer temps way quicker to crash. They do look better like CH said. One downside to keezer is if you're looking to get a commercial full keg they won't fit in your 5-7 cu keezer. Something I wanted living with a bunch of roommates in my 20's. My few pointers on the keezer builds is first get kilned lumber that isn't warped or bent or it will never sit right with huge gaps. If you want to go cheap 2x4’s still give you enough height to fit the corny kegs and connections. CH’s glue seemed to do the trick, but you can also use cheap aluminum plates for framing and put a couple on the back that attach to the would and keezer, which helps if you’re using silicone like I did. Drill, sand, paint, etc. before attaching the collar. FYI if for anyone that's doing a kegerator only drill in the door and never in the sides at you there's coolant lines you can hit and kill it the fridge for good. I regret going cheap on my faucets, shanks, and one of my regulators. Plated chrome faucets and shanks are not supposed to rust, but they defoliate quickly. In less than 2 years mine wore off on the insides exposing brass, which taste bad and isn’t good for you. You’ll save in the long run buying all stainless. My cheap regulator only lasted a little over a year, which is a lot less than my Taprite’s.
Keezer. I'm in the process of building one. My advice is drill a hole for the temp probe and silicone seal it, or get one of the built in controllers and wire it up. You took all the time to seal the collar, but leflt the wire go through fthe seal and cause a leak. Lower electricity build means more money for beer.
Got me a Magic Chef from HD just like you but the 7 cu ft. Still in the box. Gotta get the rest of the goods ordered up, kegs, hoses, connections faucets, CO2, etc... Agreed, bottling sucks when doing larger batches. Cant wait to get homebrew on tap. Its gonna be good!
Something I did when I built one was to put a bottle of water in there and set the thermostat inside the water. Sort of an analog buffer to keep it from kicking on the compressor too often. The biggest issue with these is combating condensation. Every couple of months we'd have a pool of water in the bottom. You need to make sure its sealed very well on top of using something to dehumidify.
Team kegerator - it’s already a fridge built to hold 38F for 10 years +. No temp controller, no fan, no condensation issues it’s just works like a fridge! Plus the freezer space is killer for hops and glasses and helped talk my wife into it, everyone needs some garage storage space.
THANK YOU I'm new at this.....but I'm an old man now and want a good hobby. Something I can constantly tweak, learn and get better at over time.....the long haul hobby. I was wondering about how to temp. Control the freezer. YOUR RIGHT.....AN EXTERNAL THERMO POWER SWITCH. for my taps I going to go with a NUKATAPS. That way I can fill pressurized Growlers or small mini kegs for my friends and neighbors. Time to start building it now
Good overview of the process. My advice to those deciding which way to go is to NEVER buy a kegerator with a draft tower and NEVER buy a fridge or freezer with a built in digital controller or any other circuit board. I made both mistakes in the Kegland brand kegerator I have. The draft tower designs always have foaming issues with the first pour and can develop growth in the lines while having anything electronic makes it prone to frying from power surges. It took my six months to finally get a replacement board.
I have a keezer, but would do a kegerator next time when it breaks. I have back issues and a full 5 gallon keg is borderline for me to hoist over into the thing.
Great video! I prefer the keezer, as you can get them big enough fit as many kegs as you want and are always for sale used and cheap. Couple things I've learned the hardway. Tape your temp prob near the bottom of your fullest keg. Letting it dangle inside can lead to freezing your beer when you put a fresh warm keg in there. The freezer runs steady until the new beer is cold but your already cold beer keeps getting colder and cold until frozen. Also avoid letting the kegs touch the inside walls. This can also lead to freezing. Next dont use those gear hose clamps, they suck and tend to leak over time. I prefer single ear stainless pinch clamps. Furthermore dont use Teflon on conical/flared fittings, thet dont seal that way and you can actually cayse them to leak getting tape on the seal. Next if you have to drill through the side of a fridge or freezer ir drill screws beware there could be condensor/evaporator lines in there that you may drill into. Been there done that, ruined a perfectly good keezer.
Keezer all the way, also, I'd set the temperature differential to be at least 5 degrees. I've found that the larger the temperature differential, the longer the compressor lasts.
Always a great day when a new HB4L video drops! Hilarious and perfect pacing as always. Now back to listening to the Hoppy Hour stream since it's a tad difficult to listen live in Norway 🙂
I have a stand up fridge (no freezer) that I wired up some STC 1000 temp controller and 110 outlets inside it to power a small computer fan and a small desk space heater. I can ferment 10 gallon batches in my conical at 90f or have 4 beers on tap at 35f. Its a hell of a unit.
Dual mode chest freezers. Eliminates the Inkbird. If looking for used one's, manual PDF sites can help which ones have refrigerator mode as well as just being a freezer.
I’ve had a couple different kegerators/keezers over the years… I’m done with them. Dealing with faucets and keeping them clean is just a pain in the ass. Currently I use just a chest freezer on a temp controller with no modifications and just simple cheap picnic taps inside. So much easier to clean. Cheaper. Since they stay on the inside of the fridge they don’t mold instantly like they would on the outside. Never going back to faucets for homebrew. I brew often but unless you’re running a business I just don’t see the need. If plastic bothers you, you can even get stainless picnic taps from torpedo these days. Added bonus- way less spills/accidentally knocking the faucet open with a picnic tap if you’ve got guests over.
Master Braj, had to take my keezer up to the shrine level... 3" copper pipe, brass taps, wrapped in cedar casing. How can I send you a pic? Hoppy home brewing!
Great job CH, solid advice and a great looking keezer! I made a keezer. Though I like the simplicity of a kegerator. With a keezer you have to lift the full keg and lower it in. Not terrible but might be a factor for some. I'm using the inkbird and its working great. I'll have to take another look at the isolation, you were way more thorough. my keezer fits 3 kegs, but I bought a 4 tap manifold. The fourth has an extra long gasline so I can forcecarb a keg on the floor without disconnecting anything. Cheers.
I totally watched that menu video! Some day I may make one of these, but right now I have a free fridge that will be my kegerator. Like you I'm allergic to spending money. HA!
I added a thin layer of silicone all around to the top part of the collar. That way the lid will actually seal against the collar. I'm not sure if it actually helps with the cooling but I did it because I could.
Built both. I Use inkbird controllers. Kegerator is better. You don't have to lift kegs up over the side and freezer on top. I used a small free fridge. Built a collar for it so i could fit more kegs. I basically just use the keezer for temp controlled fermentation chamber. Added 2 small ceramic reptile heaters. Hot and cold.
Great video, braj! I have a keezer but just use picnic taps so I have to open the lid anytime I want a beer. I think it's time to build the collar with the shanks. Thanks for bringing back the old school how-to vids. Hope you're enjoying Knoxville.
Also, I bought a used kegerator stand up fridge on Craigslist. $100 for the fridge, the CO2 tank, 1 shank already installed, and even a commercial keg that they let me keep the deposit on when I returned. Drilled a second hole myself and I've had two kegs running pretty much nonstop ever since. Easily the best return on investment I've had in used homebrewing buys.
I find that duct taping the temperature probe to the outside of a 16oz beer you don't like (mine is a cucumber gose from 3 years ago) keeps the temperature more consistent and saves your compressor. Cheers!
Keezer all the way. I started with kegs due to your recommendation and got a $100 freezer on facebook marketplace a few months ago. I can fit 4 5 gallon kegs and a 2.5-3 gallon on the ledge with the CO2 Tank.
Outf#$%standing vid CH as usual! I wish you put this out back in August when I started down the damn homebrew rabbit hole! I blame you because your vids were so fun to watch. I'm a kegerator fan, 18 cu ft, that I snagged on Craigslist for pennies. Gotta find one with the freezer on the bottom! Have 4 faucets, 20# CO tank mounted outside, easily handle 4 cornys at a time. Picked up a $20 fridge the other day, warm temp control fermentation with the kveik yeast. Can't wait. Cheers🤘
Just upgraded from a single gallon pressurized growler to a 2.5 gallon ball lock kegerator with a soda stream CO2 tank in the garage fridge. Baby steps, but skipped bottling entirely
Echoing all in being pumped to see vid release! I prefer keezer as well - added some foam insulation to mine as well as a rechargeable dehumidifier thing. They use the moisture beads but then it can be plugged in to dry them out, pretty cheap on amazon.
JOIN US LIVE!! bit.ly/3eBzX2J
Highly recommend two things. 1. put your temp probe in a bottle with water and 2 get a fan in there. You will get more consistent temps. Good to see the braj back!
I wouldn’t use water as if there is a problem it can freeze and then you’ll get whack temps. Better to use vodka or moonshine. Something that won’t freeze. I believe Martin from homebrew challenge had this in one of his videos.
@@SmokeNFermentables I put a can in a koozie and wedge the probe in the koozie. Less chance of moisture ru inging the probe or plastic.
@@djg1224 only concern would be that koozie may throw off temps due to insulation. I’m no real scientists just a guess/assumption. Would be curious to see if it’s true or not. Have you tested this?
@@SmokeNFermentables Haven't done a side by side comparison but I do this in my fermentation chamber and keezer and haven't had any issues with fermentation. Could be that I adjust my temperatures based on historical success.
@@djg1224 right on, definitely interesting/good idea. Glad to hear it’s a success though.
One small recommendation, buy some foam board insulation and glue it to the back of your wooden collar. This will significantly improve the efficiency of the new keeper, keeping its power consumption low but also taking a lot of stress off of the refrigeration system itself, making it last a lot longer.
As far as what I prefer, I like both. Kegerator at a higher temp for the heavy bready boys and keezer for the lighter, crispier types. I don't want to drink a stout at 35f, more like 55f; but I don't want to drink an IPA or a sour that's too warm.
Dude, this is the most complete, awesome, reference-filled, information-dense, keezer tut on youtube. Hell yeah
Thx for watching Jesse!
Kegerators all day! Having a storage freezer for glasses, hops, steaks and ice cream is expert level homebrewer status
Thanks!
YOU DA MAN BRAJ!
Kegerator guy here. Got one with the freezer at the bottom so I can have tall handles no problem. Like that more since it's easily fitting 4 kegs + tank inside for less sq ft. Also no temp control needed. I've heard bad stories of the probe freezing up and then the freezer froze all the beer. Probably not a big deal, but i prefer the internal control from the fridge.
Cheers!
Keezer! Its more energy efficient, with the cold air staying inside anytime you open it (unlike a fridge door that lets out the cold air). Also, drill a small hole in the collar for your Inkbird thermo-wire, keep that lid sealed TOIGHT on the collar. I put a simple snap latch on the lid to keep the cold seal toight. Also, with the keezer, I found it necessary to buy a little computer "muffin fan and some pvc pipe to recirculate the cold air around the keezer. I put a metal grate on the bottom to keep the kegs up a few inches and away from the condensation on the bottom. Pro tip... add a splace of bleach to the bottom of your keezer to keep in freshhhh
As someone who lives in kingsport it blows my mind to hear knoxville called a small city. Perfect timing on the video, i'm filling up my morebeer shopping cart right now since i want to get into kegging.
Kegerator, low end 10 year old fridge had sitting for years in basement was free. 3 Korney kegs 2 taps. Freezer up top is key for ice for wort cooling or just having some for the cooler. You've taught us well!
Cant wait to make one of these. Merry Christmas 2024! SNES Rules!
HES BACK!!!!!!
Perfect timing braj, I’m looking at this project in the next few weeks.
This may be my solution to the lack of space I have and getting rid of bottling! Thank you for the vid.
The Braj is back!
To answer the final question, I love my Keezer. 8 taps, fits 6 5-gal crony’s and 2 3-gal ones. Needless to say we have a lot of neighborhood friends 😅
Kegerator here. Made one out of an old side-by-side fridge that came with my house. Holds three corny kegs and has room for two more shelves of bottles and cans above the kegs. Plus I can run whatever tap handles I want and still have full access to the freezer on the other side. Only thing that sucks is when the keg in the back kicks, you have to pull out all three to get to it.
The subtle "Regulators" is killing me bro. I crack a smile every fucking time.
So happyto have you back posting new stuff, braj-master!!! 😃
Great to see a video from you again,cheers.
Definitely a KEEZER.
Two thumbs up for your hard work 👍🍻
Great Stuff! Hooray Keezers. I totally cheated and bought a used one for $475, but it fits 4 Corny kegs and no assembly required. 4 beers on tap is completely blowing my neighbors minds!
You have achieved BOSS LEVEL ‼️
I have an old fridge where the ice box is inside. So only one door to open. I don't have to worry about taller tap handles if I want to get into the freezer. It was what I found on craigslist at the time for free about 15 years ago! Still runs great, but if I didn't have that option I would probably go keezer now a days. Also I put my CO2 outside to get the most out of it. Just like the guy who fills your CO2 should be doing at cooler temps and not ambient temps to get the bottle the fullest it can go. That said, it depends on who is working that day! Great to see you back with content. Cheers from Washington (State)!
i went straight to begging because of your videos.. built a keezer from a deep freezer and it is a massive game changer
I love my Keezer if you want to call it that. I never made a collar and I just use picnic taps. Ya you have to open the lid every time you want a beer but it works for me. I have used it this way for over a year now and maybe someday I will complete it. Thanks for the vid CH. Cheers!
Cool video! I have a keezer, and one thing nice about them is you can put it in your kitchen without it looking weird. With the kegerator its more suited for a basement, garage, man cave area.
this is the exact project I am doing in about a month...won't bottle again unless i have to, but works for me and cheers
Great video. Love how you make a tutorial entertaining. Like slipping some frozen peas in mac and cheese.
One thing I will counter, with no credentials other than "the internet", is that you shouldn't use tephlon tape on the co2 tank. If you use the appropriate washer and tighten it down, you should be good. To my understanding, co2 to regulator threads are meant to be compression fit with that washer. If you need tape something is wrong.
The other point which may be an old wife's tale, but you could end up with some tape in your regulator if you are a bit unscrupulous which could damage the regulator.
But to each their own, it seems like a good insurance if you don't have a cheap supply of Co2!
Welcome back and glad to see you got that all set up finally! Cheers!
You kill every video, braj. The threesome analogy., Emit’s shirt, and “Regulator!” make me ridiculously happy. Bring back the MBC!
When buying a chest freezer, keep a look out for some that have a refrigerator setting (It’s more like a supper low freezer temp) then you can bypass the temp control. This is how I have my current keezer setup.
I always wanted a keezer but just transformed my fridge to a kegerator because my apartment is already stuffed. Love it.
Good, better, best. Thanks for the info and the chuckles. Brew on...
Just built my keezer, and only have one keg so far. There’s no going back to bottles. Keep up the killer work!
Great video. I added a fan and an Eva-Dry dehumidifier which works great to keep condensation away.
He’s back!!!!! Keezer for life Braj!! Killer vid!!
I never thought I would be happy about a kegerator going out, now that I have lost my second one, time to build a keezer. Great video as always!
Love my diy kegarator, best thing I ever done. Fits alot inside with door shelves for other bottle or can beers or moonshine jars like mine and freezer space up top for glasses and steaks.. Living the life..
Welcome back! Keezer is the way to go, doesn't permanently damage your appliance, gives you more temperature range, and I think they can look cooler! Keep up the good work!
My keezer is now back to being a freezer... It's currently filled with meat. Great video!
I made an upright keezer and we love it. I can get the cold temps if I need to for lagering.
Bro! Thanks for coming back and the recommendation! I'm gonna build me a keezer
Long time lurker, but finally subscribing. You older videos helped me come far as a home brewer and so it’s great to see you making content still. Looking forward to more content. Cheers from Texas!
Perfect timing as I am planning to build my keezer... Great video - thank you very much!
As a youtuber i gotta say your intro on here is bad ass and should be taught in schools. Love this video.
Much love!
Nice work on the production video and getting in a whole bunch of key points efficiently!
I have both and prefer my keezer. Major efficiency benefit with keezer running 1.75 amps to refrigerator taking 15 amps and maxing out a whole outlet and circuit breaker. The keezer drops beer temps way quicker to crash. They do look better like CH said.
One downside to keezer is if you're looking to get a commercial full keg they won't fit in your 5-7 cu keezer. Something I wanted living with a bunch of roommates in my 20's.
My few pointers on the keezer builds is first get kilned lumber that isn't warped or bent or it will never sit right with huge gaps. If you want to go cheap 2x4’s still give you enough height to fit the corny kegs and connections. CH’s glue seemed to do the trick, but you can also use cheap aluminum plates for framing and put a couple on the back that attach to the would and keezer, which helps if you’re using silicone like I did. Drill, sand, paint, etc. before attaching the collar.
FYI if for anyone that's doing a kegerator only drill in the door and never in the sides at you there's coolant lines you can hit and kill it the fridge for good.
I regret going cheap on my faucets, shanks, and one of my regulators. Plated chrome faucets and shanks are not supposed to rust, but they defoliate quickly. In less than 2 years mine wore off on the insides exposing brass, which taste bad and isn’t good for you. You’ll save in the long run buying all stainless. My cheap regulator only lasted a little over a year, which is a lot less than my Taprite’s.
Keezer. I'm in the process of building one. My advice is drill a hole for the temp probe and silicone seal it, or get one of the built in controllers and wire it up. You took all the time to seal the collar, but leflt the wire go through fthe seal and cause a leak. Lower electricity build means more money for beer.
Got me a Magic Chef from HD just like you but the 7 cu ft. Still in the box. Gotta get the rest of the goods ordered up, kegs, hoses, connections faucets, CO2, etc... Agreed, bottling sucks when doing larger batches. Cant wait to get homebrew on tap. Its gonna be good!
Have only Made a kegerator but want a keezer will need to try one day. Gold video as always
I have a kegerator that I bought for 300$ cause it was the display but always love keezers love the fact you can customize it to your hearts content.
Something I did when I built one was to put a bottle of water in there and set the thermostat inside the water. Sort of an analog buffer to keep it from kicking on the compressor too often.
The biggest issue with these is combating condensation. Every couple of months we'd have a pool of water in the bottom. You need to make sure its sealed very well on top of using something to dehumidify.
Sick Braj! Thx for the video... I still haven't converted my chest freezer but I'm motivated now. Cheers!
Still using picnic taps and a fridge with 2 corneys. I'm just about to finally build a keezer. Looks good Casey!
Team kegerator - it’s already a fridge built to hold 38F for 10 years +. No temp controller, no fan, no condensation issues it’s just works like a fridge! Plus the freezer space is killer for hops and glasses and helped talk my wife into it, everyone needs some garage storage space.
THANK YOU I'm new at this.....but I'm an old man now and want a good hobby. Something I can constantly tweak, learn and get better at over time.....the long haul hobby. I was wondering about how to temp. Control the freezer. YOUR RIGHT.....AN EXTERNAL THERMO POWER SWITCH. for my taps I going to go with a NUKATAPS. That way I can fill pressurized Growlers or small mini kegs for my friends and neighbors. Time to start building it now
Excellent content! Was excited about this tutorial the moment I saw the community post. Love that you are back into brewing and pouring. Cheers, braj!
Glad your back and finally getting settled in to make some dope brews and some kickass Braj videos! Skies the limit holmes!
Great vid, braj. Glad you’re back and I really like the way your give light to some of the other brew-tubers. Thank you.
Good overview of the process.
My advice to those deciding which way to go is to NEVER buy a kegerator with a draft tower and NEVER buy a fridge or freezer with a built in digital controller or any other circuit board.
I made both mistakes in the Kegland brand kegerator I have.
The draft tower designs always have foaming issues with the first pour and can develop growth in the lines while having anything electronic makes it prone to frying from power surges. It took my six months to finally get a replacement board.
100% i wish I had seen this video 6 years ago lol
skip the digital controler. Replace with a thermostat from an abondoned refrigerator. Its easy. Pos neg ground and thermocoupler.
Love my keezer. It's on the deck and ready to pour!
Keezer all the way baby! Got one for free and added more taps to it! Holds 4 - 5 gallon kegs. Happy Days!
I have a keezer, but would do a kegerator next time when it breaks. I have back issues and a full 5 gallon keg is borderline for me to hoist over into the thing.
Got that same freezer. Works great for my keezer overall but does get some icing.
Keezer always bro..... People walk up and go "oh my god I love you".
Great video! I prefer the keezer, as you can get them big enough fit as many kegs as you want and are always for sale used and cheap.
Couple things I've learned the hardway. Tape your temp prob near the bottom of your fullest keg. Letting it dangle inside can lead to freezing your beer when you put a fresh warm keg in there. The freezer runs steady until the new beer is cold but your already cold beer keeps getting colder and cold until frozen. Also avoid letting the kegs touch the inside walls. This can also lead to freezing.
Next dont use those gear hose clamps, they suck and tend to leak over time. I prefer single ear stainless pinch clamps. Furthermore dont use Teflon on conical/flared fittings, thet dont seal that way and you can actually cayse them to leak getting tape on the seal.
Next if you have to drill through the side of a fridge or freezer ir drill screws beware there could be condensor/evaporator lines in there that you may drill into. Been there done that, ruined a perfectly good keezer.
Keezer all the way, also, I'd set the temperature differential to be at least 5 degrees. I've found that the larger the temperature differential, the longer the compressor lasts.
Definitely liking the Keezer braj. 🤙🍻
AYYYY, ITS ALLAN BEIRMAKENS
I'd recognize Adonis anywhere. He's a good kitty.
Always a great day when a new HB4L video drops! Hilarious and perfect pacing as always. Now back to listening to the Hoppy Hour stream since it's a tad difficult to listen live in Norway 🙂
Getting the keezer going thanks for your help braj!!
I have a stand up fridge (no freezer) that I wired up some STC 1000 temp controller and 110 outlets inside it to power a small computer fan and a small desk space heater. I can ferment 10 gallon batches in my conical at 90f or have 4 beers on tap at 35f. Its a hell of a unit.
Dual mode chest freezers. Eliminates the Inkbird. If looking for used one's, manual PDF sites can help which ones have refrigerator mode as well as just being a freezer.
I’ve had a couple different kegerators/keezers over the years… I’m done with them. Dealing with faucets and keeping them clean is just a pain in the ass.
Currently I use just a chest freezer on a temp controller with no modifications and just simple cheap picnic taps inside. So much easier to clean. Cheaper. Since they stay on the inside of the fridge they don’t mold instantly like they would on the outside.
Never going back to faucets for homebrew. I brew often but unless you’re running a business I just don’t see the need. If plastic bothers you, you can even get stainless picnic taps from torpedo these days.
Added bonus- way less spills/accidentally knocking the faucet open with a picnic tap if you’ve got guests over.
I'm all about the keezer life, I've got a one similar size to Clayhammer so I like because I have room for 6+ kegs.
Master Braj, had to take my keezer up to the shrine level... 3" copper pipe, brass taps, wrapped in cedar casing. How can I send you a pic? Hoppy home brewing!
Fantastic, so nice to see you back at it man, beautiful. Like a phoenix from the ashes 🦅🚬
Great job CH, solid advice and a great looking keezer!
I made a keezer. Though I like the simplicity of a kegerator.
With a keezer you have to lift the full keg and lower it in. Not terrible but might be a factor for some.
I'm using the inkbird and its working great.
I'll have to take another look at the isolation, you were way more thorough.
my keezer fits 3 kegs, but I bought a 4 tap manifold.
The fourth has an extra long gasline so I can forcecarb a keg on the floor without disconnecting anything.
Cheers.
Kegerator is my preference. Great video.
Great video. I’m getting back into home brewing and was/still debating on bottling or to keg.
I totally watched that menu video! Some day I may make one of these, but right now I have a free fridge that will be my kegerator. Like you I'm allergic to spending money. HA!
I added a thin layer of silicone all around to the top part of the collar. That way the lid will actually seal against the collar. I'm not sure if it actually helps with the cooling but I did it because I could.
Thanks for this video, you've helped me make a decision. Keezer time baby!
Built both. I Use inkbird controllers.
Kegerator is better. You don't have to lift kegs up over the side and freezer on top. I used a small free fridge. Built a collar for it so i could fit more kegs.
I basically just use the keezer for temp controlled fermentation chamber. Added 2 small ceramic reptile heaters.
Hot and cold.
I got a kegerator and all the fixins from marketplace for $200, I thought that was a steal. Looking to brew my first batch soon!
Great video, braj! I have a keezer but just use picnic taps so I have to open the lid anytime I want a beer. I think it's time to build the collar with the shanks. Thanks for bringing back the old school how-to vids. Hope you're enjoying Knoxville.
Thx MB loving knoxville!
Great Video! Keep n coming!
I spent a little more on the collar and used red wood. And some big head brass screws.
HE'S BAAAAAACK. KEEP 'EM COMING
Also, I bought a used kegerator stand up fridge on Craigslist. $100 for the fridge, the CO2 tank, 1 shank already installed, and even a commercial keg that they let me keep the deposit on when I returned. Drilled a second hole myself and I've had two kegs running pretty much nonstop ever since. Easily the best return on investment I've had in used homebrewing buys.
He's back baby! Missed your videos more than you know and this one was 🔥
(and thanks for the Shoutout Braj!)
Thanks for letting me steal ur content! 💕
Great to see instructional videos again
Kegerator for me as I can store my hops and ice in the freezer
Love your content as always braj. thanks for the info and the quality
I find that duct taping the temperature probe to the outside of a 16oz beer you don't like (mine is a cucumber gose from 3 years ago) keeps the temperature more consistent and saves your compressor. Cheers!
I Was not ready for this videoooo
Keezer all the way. I started with kegs due to your recommendation and got a $100 freezer on facebook marketplace a few months ago. I can fit 4 5 gallon kegs and a 2.5-3 gallon on the ledge with the CO2 Tank.
Now to fill those cornys braj lord. Great tutorial and so glad you’re back in the game after the relo! Cheers from Nashville to Knoxville!
O man. That looks so much nicer than the old kegerator.
💯
I used to have a 5 lb co2 tank but upgraded to a 20 lb one not too long ago. They cost close to the same to fill. It was a no brainer to upgrade
Outf#$%standing vid CH as usual! I wish you put this out back in August when I started down the damn homebrew rabbit hole! I blame you because your vids were so fun to watch. I'm a kegerator fan, 18 cu ft, that I snagged on Craigslist for pennies. Gotta find one with the freezer on the bottom! Have 4 faucets, 20# CO tank mounted outside, easily handle 4 cornys at a time. Picked up a $20 fridge the other day, warm temp control fermentation with the kveik yeast. Can't wait.
Cheers🤘
Just upgraded from a single gallon pressurized growler to a 2.5 gallon ball lock kegerator with a soda stream CO2 tank in the garage fridge. Baby steps, but skipped bottling entirely
This is great information, thanks.
Echoing all in being pumped to see vid release! I prefer keezer as well - added some foam insulation to mine as well as a rechargeable dehumidifier thing. They use the moisture beads but then it can be plugged in to dry them out, pretty cheap on amazon.