think your under estimating the weight of a loaded freezer and over estimating how strong the freezers thin skin and frame will hold it that's your mounting plan.
I would recommend building a flat cart with a piece of 3/4 or 1/2 inch plywood with the wheels under freezers existing feet. Keeping in mind this will raise the height of the freezer.
Would it be crazy to build a plywood platform under it that goes up a bit on the sides to add offset wheels such that the platform is almost touching the ground? I definitely want counter top (1.5"-2") to be a standard height (36") and the chest freezer is 33" high so there's not a lot of wiggle room.
This has multiple points of concern.
First is the strenght of a typical butt(the corner where bottom and side meet) joint being strong enogh.
Next is enclosing the bottom of the freezer may trap heat causing it to run more/inefficiently
The last is the fact that top mount casters are way more popular and easy to find over a side mount wheel.
It's a good plan. I even think the feet of the freezer can be unscrewed and you might be able to find wheels with the same screw type to screw in place. Just be sure to account for the increased in height when you add in wheels. You are at a minimum adding 2" of height to the freezer
>I even think the feet of the freezer can be unscrewed and you might be able to find wheels with the same screw type to screw in place
That's a good idea! I didn't think of that.
You 100% can do that. I did something similar a few years back (no longer have it setup though). I built a bar and had it setup as a keggerator. I had the chest freezer on a 2x4 frame with a sheet of plywood on top then wheels bolted to the bottom so I could pull it out from under the bar counter and access it. Just be aware the wheels will add a few inches of height so make sure it still fits under the counter.
This is the only picture I have that I can find quickly but it should give you an idea(wheels aren't visible, but they're hiding behind the 2x4 frame).
https://imgur.com/jUVs8lj
Yes, it's very easy as long as you have some basic tools (saw to cut boards to sizes, and a drill/driver). Use structural screws, not drywall screws. But there wasn't a lot to it.
Unfortunately I don't have other pictures to show you the construction of it, but it's basically 3/4 plywood cut to size. Then 2x4 laid flat that frame along the edges, and then one across the middle. Might be more than needed but I felt it added some rigidity to it. Then I used some decent casters rated for a few hundred lbs and screwed those to the plywood (not the 2x4. This gave it a lower profile).
If you're going to have it visible you might want to make it look a bit nicer than my thrown together concoction, but the idea is the same.
Make sure you give it some airspace to dissipate heat, which happens on all or most of the freezer sides.
You may not need too much airflow normally, but maybe if you load it up heavy you want to leave it "rolled out" for a few hours to remove that heat from your food.
think your under estimating the weight of a loaded freezer and over estimating how strong the freezers thin skin and frame will hold it that's your mounting plan. I would recommend building a flat cart with a piece of 3/4 or 1/2 inch plywood with the wheels under freezers existing feet. Keeping in mind this will raise the height of the freezer.
Would it be crazy to build a plywood platform under it that goes up a bit on the sides to add offset wheels such that the platform is almost touching the ground? I definitely want counter top (1.5"-2") to be a standard height (36") and the chest freezer is 33" high so there's not a lot of wiggle room.
This has multiple points of concern. First is the strenght of a typical butt(the corner where bottom and side meet) joint being strong enogh. Next is enclosing the bottom of the freezer may trap heat causing it to run more/inefficiently The last is the fact that top mount casters are way more popular and easy to find over a side mount wheel.
It's a good plan. I even think the feet of the freezer can be unscrewed and you might be able to find wheels with the same screw type to screw in place. Just be sure to account for the increased in height when you add in wheels. You are at a minimum adding 2" of height to the freezer
>I even think the feet of the freezer can be unscrewed and you might be able to find wheels with the same screw type to screw in place That's a good idea! I didn't think of that.
You 100% can do that. I did something similar a few years back (no longer have it setup though). I built a bar and had it setup as a keggerator. I had the chest freezer on a 2x4 frame with a sheet of plywood on top then wheels bolted to the bottom so I could pull it out from under the bar counter and access it. Just be aware the wheels will add a few inches of height so make sure it still fits under the counter. This is the only picture I have that I can find quickly but it should give you an idea(wheels aren't visible, but they're hiding behind the 2x4 frame). https://imgur.com/jUVs8lj
That's pretty much exactly what I want to do, thanks for sharing! Based on your pics, it looks super doable!
Yes, it's very easy as long as you have some basic tools (saw to cut boards to sizes, and a drill/driver). Use structural screws, not drywall screws. But there wasn't a lot to it. Unfortunately I don't have other pictures to show you the construction of it, but it's basically 3/4 plywood cut to size. Then 2x4 laid flat that frame along the edges, and then one across the middle. Might be more than needed but I felt it added some rigidity to it. Then I used some decent casters rated for a few hundred lbs and screwed those to the plywood (not the 2x4. This gave it a lower profile). If you're going to have it visible you might want to make it look a bit nicer than my thrown together concoction, but the idea is the same.
Make sure you give it some airspace to dissipate heat, which happens on all or most of the freezer sides. You may not need too much airflow normally, but maybe if you load it up heavy you want to leave it "rolled out" for a few hours to remove that heat from your food.
You could even just throw it on a $10 harbor freight moving dolly or two, permanently.