Hi everyone, I have built my collar for my keezer project using 2x10's (height lets me use the shelf, I know my back will curse me later). I used non pressure treated wood, should I add any sealant to the inside of the lumber before I attach it to the freezer? Or an oil based paint? I am attaching plywood facade over the collar so the easiest thing for me would be to do nothing, but I'm cautious about the potential of rotting from high humidity levels in the freezer. But then it's also super cold. Thoughts?
Ready, FIRE, aim. Pressure treated is just a touch more expensive and really does a better job. If it were me I just re-do the collar. What are you talking about, maybe an extra 10 bucks of material? If you choose to keep what you have I'd recommend sealing it with an oil-based primer, then top coat of another oil-based paint (which already puts you above the price of another 2 x 10 PT) . . . then budget a couple of days in the future to replace it.
I was afraid you'd say this. I chose non-PT lumber by design, I do a lot of outdoor woodworking stuff and anytime something is going to be inside and near food, I purposely use the non-PT type. After I made my cuts and assembled everything so perfectly it dawned on me that there will be no food contact and that inside gets WET! I'll redo the collar. Glad I thought about this before I attached the facade. At least I can use the old boards as templates. Thanks Largo!
FWIW, I did my collar twice (both with PT). Just didn't like a few design features so went and bought another stick of wood . . . somewhere I still have a scrape piece of 2 x 6 with five 7/8" holes in them. For full disclosure: I'm not sure how quickly non-treated wood will deteriorate in a keezer (and don't want to find out). But for the small added cost it's good insurance. Be aware your hardware will also be in contact with moisture, recommend all SS fasteners. Have you bought your kegs yet? If yes, fill them with water and see what it's like to lift over the collar. If you don't have kegs a 53 lb weight is a good stand in. And it's not your back, rather your arms that take the punishment. The nature of my keezer has me doing the lifting with one hand whilst the other hand is trying to tame the beer/gas lines. Remember, you'll have a row of faucets lining the front, so middle is the tough spot.
I wouldn't sweat it. If it starts to succumb to humidity in a few years, you'll be no worse off than you are today (and lumber will likely be cheaper). And you may even have some ideas on how you can make it better after you've used it for a while. I used cedar on mine. I put a couple of coats of spar urethane on it because I was doing the bar top at the same time and figured, why not? 14 years and no problems so far.
You can prime it with a sealing primer if you like. As for temp, know that the cold in a chest freezer sits in the well. Above the top line the temperature differential is huge. Supermarket freezer are very often open top, so you can just reach in. Everything stays frozen as long as it sits below the top line. Personally I would not worry too much. @PortLargo lives near the ocean, and may have some very different conditions to deal with. My keezers are often built with oak and stained or just paint grade lumber. Works so far. Finally, refrigerators and freezers are actually dry environments, not humid. Cold air holds less moisture than warm air. When you see liquid water, that is water vapor that has fallen out of introduced warm air. The more you let moist warm air get into the cold air environment the more liquid drops out. So, water on the bottom of your fridge is showing you that your compressor is working fine. Minimize unconditioned air openings. A tub of damp rid can help. Cheers.
Thanks everyone for your input. I've been running the keezer at 28 overnight, I do see that the freezer sides get condensate but not so much the wood. BillandSuz, I have a plan to incorporate a fan inside eventually, but yes I do see how much colder the bottom is than the top. I've got the kegs and have water tested them over the collar. It sucks! But I really want that 5th tap. I thought about trying to make a double hinge but I ended up going for the classy route with the ultimate goal of tricking, I mean convincing, my wife to bring it in the house (it's in the garage now). I ended up buying new PT 2x10 and am sealing it now, more to set my mind at ease having those PT boards that close to my precious beer! In the end, I do think I could have gotten away with the non PT lumber, but I will be adding plywood and pretty molding to the collar and just don't want to worry about it! Thanks everyone for weighing in!
So did I . . . until realizing it wasn't necessary. Remember, your kegs feed from the bottom of keezer. My lines are 9'/12' of which more than half is tucked down low, 'bout 2 ounces of brew reside in the lines. Shanks will be a mite warmer than bottom but you're only talking a few degrees. So once balanced I found the pours/temp were good without fanning the air. One small problem is short pours (samples) of 2'ish ounces will suffer, however that's a special case. A normal pour of 8+ ounces compensates for those temp differences. Side Note: it'll take a while to balance everything, but then it's pretty much set forever. I haven't touched temp or line length for years. Not trying to talk you out of the 10" collar, but it's going to be even harder once you install faucets and shanks/tailpiece/lines. Picture 5 beer lines and 5 gas lines competing for the space you want to place that keg . . . with a tailpiece/beer-line that ain't gonna budge . . . and faucets that just dare you to bump into them whilst lifting. I compromised with two 3 gal kegs on my hump which has worked well.
This is exactly why I think I may or may not install one! I definitely have the addition in mind if I need it, but if it is all nice and gravy, why add more work? But you are I can't foresee myself switching kegs very often, and I've already got the line plan down (on paper at least ) I really want that 5th faucet! Plus I already bought the $35 dollar 2x10 (second one too) soon my wood bill will be more than my faucet bill! I'm waiting on the manifold (back order until July) but I'll keep you all updated as I plug along with more rookie mistakes as I make them. Once the project is finished I'll post in the Keezer page, hopefully at least... Thanks again!
It's probably too late, but you may want to wait to seal it. PT wood often needs time to dry out a while before it can be sealed.
Good point. The pressure treatment is designed to repel moisture . . . the fresher the treatment the more it wants to repel. Professional painters have recommended to me it's better to wait six months from date of treatment before applying any type coating. That said, I have cheated on that time frame when construction schedule dictated. Pretty sure you know to use an oil-based sealant. FWIW, I left mine untreated but covered in an extra layer of insulation. If your beer ever makes contact with the collar you have bigger problems.
