Leave as is
0% (0 votes)
Cheapest upgrade: bigger collar made out of pine and painted something cool
33% (2 votes)
Cheap upgrade: bigger collar made out of poplar and stained dark.
67% (4 votes)
Next level upgrade: bigger collar made out of red oak, the cheapest of the dark woods which requires no staining
0% (0 votes)
Top upgrade: bigger collar made out of nice dark wood (min $150 for pieces that big)
0% (0 votes)
Total votes: 6
Body:
Ok, wanted to do a quick poll. The question is how should we upgrade the keezer, if at all. Please choose for the next week and we can take it from there. Also feel free to suggest anything I might have left out.
Just as a quick preface, I built my own keezer and while doing that I found that light colored woods do not blend well with a white fridge. So a nice dark wood (mahogany, red oak, ebony, etc) is needed to really look nice. Problem is, these are the more expensive pieces of wood. Staining Poplar, which is much cheaper, is an option.
We can also paint or burn some cool stuff on a cheap pine collar.
If we do the upgrade, I'll bump the collar height up an inch to make sure it closes properly.
Hi Kris, we did discuss last night at the meeting and are willing to fund for the cheapest upgrade option. Spending a lot of money on cosmetic keezer upgrades does not make sense until we can keep it clean and maintain the tap lines. Plus, we need to figure out what's going to happen with the tap system behind the bar; which I'm currently working on with a professional draft installation company.
Have you guys thought about painting the keezer with chalk board paint? Seems like it would be pretty cheap and would be a cool way to advertise what beers you have on tap
We actually have chalk board paint on the lid above the tap handles.
hmmm... Should we just hold off then? I can upgrade it to fix the lid not closing, but if we're about to upgrade and add taps to the bar and etc., I'd hate it if 2 month's later we're all like "damn, wish we'd paid and extra 70 for better wood". I'll touch base with you next time I see you. Thanks man.
Yeah, I think the main thing is to fix the lid issue for know, so if you want to price that out, just let us know how much. Thanks, Kris!
Hey Kris, you mentioned last time we talked that you had some carpentry experience (through your family? I think?).
Unlike the front bar taps, which would be a new system and a significant cosmetic upgrade, the keezer is something that gets a lot of use right now, and through that use gets beat to hell.
Would it be possible for you to price out the cheapest option in terms of materials and time? If you need a build hand I'd be willing to make the time for it.
Hey James, no problem. It's already fully functioning so it's just the wood and some minor supplies are needed. Just to do a very quick estimate (for ballparking). I have no idea what the actual measurements are, but that looks like it might be somewhere around 4ft by 3ft and probably 10 inches tall. So, a 10" x 1" x 15' of board is needed.
Priced on home depot:
Common Pine (2x4 wood): 12 for 8 foot board, so $24 plus $15 for stain/paint and brushes and then another $10ish for a sealer/adhesive.
So 50-70ish taking into account anything I"ve forgotten and store prices.
Just for perspective, Red Oak boards that size run 6.50 a foot, so over $100. And nicer, darker woods, get more expensive (why I did this poll).
I'm less concerned about the cost, and more about the time and "buyers remorse". It'll take about 6 hours to do this I would guess. We'll have to cut away all the adhesive and prep for the new stuff then build the collar, attach the lid, and re-seal, level and create a sealant layer for the lid.
It's totally doable. I just don't want us to be like "oh that looks good... why didn't we spend an extra 100 and make it look amazing/permanent?" or "oh hey, the bar looks great now, can we get a new collar to match it" in a few months.
I think we might be able to "re-level" what we have on there now, raise it up a fraction of an inch, and add a sealing layer to the top as a temporary fix (hoses are what's raising the lid up).
Kris, I personally would shy away from nicer woods for the keezer, because, I as mentioned above, the thing gets absolutely beat to hell. We pour beer on it and bash it with 40 pound metal cylinders on a weekly basis. As long as it seals, I'm all for it.
There are a few things I think you missed. One is that we would need to re-drill then re-seal the holes for the tap lines, and attach the regulators to the new collar as well. And, if you can think of a design to make it work, I would like to attach some sort of platform for a drip tray on the front of the keezer too (which I forget if we have a spare one lying around). Let me draw up a sketch and get back to you tomorrow so you know what I am trying to say. After the plans are in motion, it will be much easier to get approval for the spend.
I got you man, don't worry about a drawing. Heavy duty velcro is perfect for a drip tray as it will need to be lower than the bottom of the collor. I didn't forget those things, wasn't important to a build list. Should take 6 hours like I was saying. Maybe weekend of the 24th for a build day.
Kris, I may be wrong, but I think Matt tried attaching the drip tray to the keezer before with glue to limited success, but if you have experience using a velcro setup, that sounds ok. I was going to suggest using screws and metal brackets to bolt the platform to the collar.
I have one velcro'd on mine with the velcro they use for hanging paintings. Problem with the collar is you might be able to just fit a pint glass under the taps... but not a growler or a tall pilsner glass. 10 inches isn't much room.
My mind's eye was thinking that the drop tray would hang off of a bracket that was bolted to the collar, but of course, let's try the heavy velcro first and see how it works out.
If you can find the brackets that allow for the lip of the keezer and are long enough and hold a shelf (hanging brackets that hold a shelf and have an offset aren't standard) then that would definately be the best bet. Much better than velcro. I'd say they need to be a foot long.
Drip tray and L brackets are at the brewhouse. Just need heavy duty adhesive.
Why go with a taller collar when you can just adjust the hinges so the lid closes properly.
It already a pain in the ass getting kegs in and out at the current height.
Chuck, I think the lid fitting right was more of a motivator to pimp our keezer, lol. Yep, a little tlc with current keezer could make it less "jankey" We could even paint the collar (hell, we could paint the whole thing if we wanted...)