Upright Keezer?

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Hudson1984
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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Hudson1984 » Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:38 pm

f00b4r wrote:
Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:18 pm
Some freezers have cooling lines between the drawers and fridge freezers usually have one compressor to cool both sections, so neither tend to usually be a good choice.
The good news is that larder fridges are quite plentiful.
A couple of things to note, corny kegs come in two shapes and you need the taller thinner type to be able to fit in 4 on a level (with the fatter shorter versions or sankey kegs you will only get 3 in on a level, possibly 4 if you hack away the inside but it isn’t very sanitary). This issue doesn’t seem to be well publicised on certain homebrew sites/channels and even denied by others, e.g. when I pointed out to David Heath that his review of a keg usage measuring product (Plaato) completely ignored that it reduced the number of kegs you could use in most UK/EU fridges he outright denied that the taller thinner ones were corny kegs at all, despite all the various new ones being available for sale being all of the same format. Not very helpful to people buying eg an expensive Kegland undercounter based larger fridge that should be able to fit four kegs but is then reduced to 3, or even worse a 3 one reduced to 2.
IMHO it’s often worth buying new kegs for a bit extra than the second hand ones for the size benefits, ability to seal at low pressures, the fact you don’t need to change seals/poppets etc and the general less hassle of finding leaks or losing a batch to issues.
If you buy a tall larder fridge and hack it yourself then you can have space for bottles at the top or some half size kegs.

Yeah I’ve got a larder fridge as it stands which I’m just going to use instead of getting the chest freezer. I do have to allow for shopping space as it’s the spare fridge. But at least I’ll still have the brew fridge so when everything’s brewed I can just turn that down to fridge temps and we still have a spare fridge then.

Measuring the larder fridge I have, it seems I’d have room for three - just about. And be able to leave the top shelf and bottom tray in. So that works for my needs.

Agree with your point though, was intending to buy new kegs, just seems safer option. And being thinner should make the three a little less cramped.

I’ve got a kitchen cupboard either side of my brew fridge so I’m intending to cut away one of those and use it as a gas store, just keeps them neat and out the way.

So next step is get a keg setup (lines taps etc) and get drilling.

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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Jocky » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:12 pm

I looked at this recently when weighing up whether to get a keezer or something else.

For floor space you really can’t do better than a larder fridge. Some I looked at could potentially fit 7 kegs. Easier to lift kegs in and out than a keezer, you just have to drill the door to put taps in.
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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by orlando » Wed Oct 21, 2020 7:47 am

Hudson1984 wrote:
Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:38 pm
But at least I’ll still have the brew fridge so when everything’s brewed I can just turn that down to fridge temps and we still have a spare fridge then.
If your intention is to keep all your Beer at the sort of temperatures required to keep food safe, you're going to find that outside of Lagers most will be too cold for their full flavour to develop, until they have warmed up to cellar temp i.e 10-12c. I realise you might be up against some domestic opposition :wink: for a dedicated fridge and of course space, but if you have that option that would be my choice.
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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Hudson1984 » Wed Oct 21, 2020 8:13 am

domestic opposition haha what a great way to put it.

it's only really christmas when fridge space becomes a problem, so trying to keep the domestic opposition to a minimum.

so - correct me if i'm wrong in this - or something sounds daft as I'd hate to appear to throw your advice back in your face ;)

the intention of going to keg is to allow things to condition better, the wine I did was "ok" but I need a larger batch to have a chance for at least some of it to get a decent conditioning time before the wife has it haha! with a 19l keg I think i'd have 5 or 6 bottles with the keg full. So the aim will be to allow the keg to condition - this was going to be in the kegerator but no reason this can't be left in the brew fridge at 10-12c. Equally the cider would be the same, although it's not really been a conditioning issue with the cider, it's more preference of carbonated over still. So that would more than likely go straight in.

and as you've suggested, lager doesn't appear to be an issue - but after chatting with the wife, she has slightly brought plans back to reality a bit as we don't actually drink vast amounts of Lager, so that'll probably remain something we just buy when we want it. So i'll either go for another cider variety or just start with the 1 cider and 1 wine and see how things progress.

I think as long as I can keep the kegerator operating at normal fridge temps it's really just a case of planning brews at the right time.

But in all reality, I assume from your post that really i'm better off having something dedicated to the task - stick a heater in there too and run it as per my brew fridge i.e. adjustable temp.

.....back to gumtree, see what I can find :)

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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by orlando » Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:22 am

Sometimes "advice" is just opinion, not necessarily fact, and is merely a guide to a particular view. It is my advice/opinion that serving tempearture is crucial to the organoleptic experience. Apologies for the pretentious name. I offer it as merely a consideration, no more. Conditioning is another matter and reflects physics. Your intention to leave keg conditioning at 10-12c is about right, a balance between "too warm", conditions and therefore ages quicker, and "too cold", retarding the conditioning. It's about levers, I suppose. Pull on one and x happens pull on another and you get y. The results are then for you to decide whether you like it or not. Experiment, find what works for you. Those that know me better will have heard me say many times that, by definiton, the best Beer in the world is the Beer you like. That's bow locks of course, it's what I like. :lol:
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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Hudson1984 » Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:36 am

very true mate but your opinion comes from a wealth of experience so i'd be a fool not to take it on board. I'll of course over time develop my own way of working and might experiment and change some of the advice you've given but much better to have a good start and your opinions are a great way to do that, so thanks.

I think i'll just get myself another larder fridge, something I don't mind drilling into - this one was brand new so best kept as an overflow for normal shopping. I've seen one locally that's a similar size so will see if I can work a deal there.

Then just get myself another inkbird, little heater etc and then I can change between conditioning temps and serving temps. And if I'm not brewing something at the time, the brewfridge can be on conditioning duty whilst the kegerator is serving.

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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by orlando » Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:54 am

Hudson1984 wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 9:36 am
very true mate but your opinion comes from a wealth of experience so i'd be a fool not to take it on board. I'll of course over time develop my own way of working and might experiment and change some of the advice you've given but much better to have a good start and your opinions are a great way to do that, so thanks.

I think i'll just get myself another larder fridge, something I don't mind drilling into - this one was brand new so best kept as an overflow for normal shopping. I've seen one locally that's a similar size so will see if I can work a deal there.

Then just get myself another inkbird, little heater etc and then I can change between conditioning temps and serving temps. And if I'm not brewing something at the time, the brewfridge can be on conditioning duty whilst the kegerator is serving.

You're welcome. I think you've made the right decision, you won't regret it.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Hudson1984 » Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:12 pm

https://imgur.com/a/BcjwTQK

your fault!!

haha, pretty pleased to be fair, £50 and the guy even dropped it off!

Wooden "shelf" is just as a marker for size, that's 650mm above and 650mm below so LOADS of room to play with.

I don't think i'll heat it, the room is air conditioned/heated so doesn't drop below 12 anyway so hopefully I can just condition in kegs on the worktop.

Have to excuse the mess, it's a bit of a work in progress, my workshop area was at the top of the garage but just moved it to the front so it frees up space at the back allowing for a decent sofa. My piano lives out there too so trying to make it a more cozy place to sit, listen to music and drink.

Dart board will need to move too clearly haha.

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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Cobnut » Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:39 pm

you really need a few more stickers for that small fridge ;-)
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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Hudson1984 » Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:47 pm

haha, that things awful under the awful stickers. Needed to be covered with something

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orlando
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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by orlando » Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:09 pm

Hudson1984 wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:47 pm
haha, that things awful under the awful stickers. Needed to be covered with something
Paint?
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Fermenting:
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Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Hudson1984 » Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:34 pm

Ah the little boy had a whale of a time slapping stickers on it so was a fun little project for the sake of a fiver on ebay

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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by orlando » Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:41 pm

Hudson1984 wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:34 pm
Ah the little boy had a whale of a time slapping stickers on it so was a fun little project for the sake of a fiver on ebay
Odd way to refer to yourself :lol:
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Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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Re: Upright Keezer?

Post by Hudson1984 » Wed Oct 21, 2020 6:51 pm

Haha ok ok he put 1 on.... I did the rest

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