Gadgets: Freezer Chest Arrival

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I am going to be chilling my keg in a freezer chest. Spring has come on strong, and the temperature has risen to the point where my beer is getting warm in the garage. While this is fine for storage, for drinking from the tap, it's not ideal.

On Friday, I ordered a freezer chest from Sears. Initially, I checked Home Depot and Orchard Supply. I also called a lot of other specialty appliance stores in the area.

Eventually, I settled on this Kenmore freezer chest. I chose it partially because Sears has in-store pickup, and partially because it's reasonably priced (for a 6.7 cu. ft. model).

Without further ado, here are some pictures of the installation.

There is a slight ledge on the right, which makes it a perfect place to store extra bottled beer, and a CO2 canister. I'll probably remove the mesh on the top.

Here it is all closed up. It's surprisingly compact.

Here's a comparison shot with my corny keg next to it. The model says it's thirty three inches in height. My keg only reaches about twenty six inches.

Here, I've transferred the keg and CO2 inside the chest. Everything looks good.

A top down shot. This really doesn't do it justice, since my cheap digital camera is distorting the depth. You can definitely fit two corny kegs inside, and possibly even three (though it might be slightly too narrow for three).

Oops. After trying to close the lid, I realize that the gauge on the CO2 tank makes it slightly too tall when sitting on the ledge on the right. I can rotate the gauge slightly to make it fit, but I decide to set it into the lower basin, for now.

That's it! Unfortunately, because I transferred the chest on its side (in my car), I have to wait for two hours (according to the instruction manual) before plugging it in, so that the Freon can settle back down. I'm letting it sit open, as well, since there's a plastic smell inside.

I'm still deciding whether to put a tap on this chest, but the cobra tap will do for now.