Front view showing GE FCM7 freezer (7 cubic feet), homemade collar, stainless drip tray, Perlick faucets, Love controller, and homemade dolly.
Top view. It just barely fits four kegs. Blonde Ale and Hard Apple Cider currently on tap. Note the double regulator.
2x6 collar corner detail. Note gasket between collar and freezer so its not attached to freezer and can be easily removed.
Two gas distribution manifolds, one hooked up to each regulator. Why five valves? With a regulator on each manifold I can be serving 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 while force carbonating 4, 3, 2, 1, or 0 kegs respectively. An extra gas line can be handy too. In this picture also note the rigid foam backer on the wood collar. The rigid foam is beveled lower than the wood collar at the bottom so that it matches the inward bevel of the top edge of the freezer perfectly. Likewise the outward bevel of the freezer lid contacts the extra gasket on the top edge of the ridged foam.
Close up of the controller. I made a sandwich of two pieces of clear plexiglass with a piece of black paper in between held together by four screws. The plexiglass pieces sandwich the shoulders of the sheet metal hole the old freezer controller was in. Love controller mounts in a hole cut through the center of the plexiglass sandwich.
Nice setup, I did the same thing with an old freezer. I would recommend that anyone who wants to go this path, drill the holes for the taps before you assemble everything. It should make for a nicer looking setup, i drilled mine after and 2 of the holes aren’t quite aligned with the rest.
I didn’t shop too hard, but I shopped some and got what I consider reasonable prices. The double regulators have been in action for years and rebuilt once (i.e. new diaphragms etc) and came from William’s Brewing and are from North American Dispense Systems. The ball lock connectors, barbs, flare nuts, beer line, gas line, shanks, faucets, gas manifolds, and drip tray came from the Beverage Factory. The drip tray actually shipped direct from somebody else that I don’t recall. The shanks hold it up solid so there’s no need for other mounting hardware. The faucets and drip tray weren’t cheap. The Love controller came from Dwyer. Time for some custom tap handles now
The only adjustment I may make is to move the gas manifolds over to the wall by the CO2 tank. Four kegs is a very tight fit in this keezer and getting past the shanks and associated tubing is bad enough without having to deal with the manifolds and their associated tubing jutting out from the back wall too.
How much was involved in swapping out the freezer’s controls with the Love?
I have the exact same freezer and think I’m going to have to follow your lead…
