Beer Forum

Quite simply, is it necessary? The collar is made of 2x6 and the kegerator is 4 feet x 2.5 feet.
I've heard it's not necessary, but I would like to keep the energy bills down all the same.
Thanks

I added weather stripping to the underside of mine where it sat on top of the opening, but didn't insulate the wood itself on the vertical sides. Between the 2x4 and the 1/2" facing board, it was plenty thick and I didn't really see any advantage to adding any more insulation.

HTH-

With the collar you get several things. You do not run the risk of hitting any cooling lines. I've heard a 2x6 is R6. You get added height inside and the taps are at more usable level. Plus if you upgrade to a larger one you may be able to take it off and sell it as normal freezer.
Check out one of our club members. http://adventuresinhomebrew.blogspot.com/2009/07/its-finally-done.html I really like the chalk board paint on the front for writing the beers down.

I insultaed mine with foam insulation due to the moister that the freezer puts out, it helps protect the wood. Even though I use Damprid I still have some. Also as a side note I attached the collar to the actual lid instead of the feezer. All the taps lift up when I open it and you don't have that added height on to your freezer. Trying to lift 5 gallon corneys and 6.5 gallon carboys into the thing is hard enough. Here is a link to where I got the idea to do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnS3j1Etr08

Thanks for the help guys, and nice to hear from you BDawg! Seems like only yesterday we were listening to JP yell: "No heat on the bus! NO HEAT ON THE BUS!"
And BlueLoon, I already have the collar installed. I was just asking whether insulation was necessary. I decided I am going to go ahead and throw a little foam in. It can't hurt and the girlfriend and I are trying to be environmentally friendly and save a little $ on our electric bill.

The collar is fine - solid wood is just fine as an insulator. I added a 1" strip of weatherstripping to the top of my collar where the lid rests on it, and I took out the plastic and light kit from the lid and replaced that with some rigid foam insulation, but that's about it.

Chupa LaHomebrew wrote:Thanks for the help guys, and nice to hear from you BDawg! Seems like only yesterday we were listening to JP yell: "No heat on the bus! NO HEAT ON THE BUS!"
And BlueLoon, I already have the collar installed. I was just asking whether insulation was necessary. I decided I am going to go ahead and throw a little foam in. It can't hurt and the girlfriend and I are trying to be environmentally friendly and save a little $ on our electric bill.

what the hell man, you growing plants in your house? i use elec like its goin outta style and i still only get a $25 monthly bill.

perhaps the wood should be epoxy or poly resined to seal the moisture out?

The interior side of my collar is made of unfinished 2X6 and it seems to insulate just fine and has not suffered at all from exposure to moisture.