Frigidaire Model FRC445GB Mini-Fridge Kegerator Conversion - Page 8

Baja_Brewer · 04-27-2009, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bumbler

The front 4" doesn't have any coils in it. No need to remove the top if you want the tower in the front.

Finished product.

Bumbler, it looks like the tower is farther than 4" from the front, or did you mean that its 4" from behind the plastic lip on the front?

I think I may be picking one of these up real soon. Did you find you had to move the temperature control?

Thanks!

Bumbler · 04-28-2009, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khuygie88

Bumbler, it looks like the tower is farther than 4" from the front, or did you mean that its 4" from behind the plastic lip on the front?

I think I may be picking one of these up real soon. Did you find you had to move the temperature control?

Thanks!

I resolve to stay calm! I just spent 40 min doing my thing. I know, I'm slow. As soon as I hit "post" it fouled up. Must have timed out. Sorry! I'll try again tomorrow.

Bumbler · 04-29-2009, 12:01 AM

I'll try and type faster tonight.

The tower I installed is a 3" tower with a 4 1/2" base with 4 bolt holes.

The 4" I was referring to is really 4 1/2" and it's on the inside of the fridge. That's where the coils are so that's where I concentrated my effort. Pierced coil equals end of project. As soon as you open the door look up. It's the closest part to the front. It's the first section of white plastic.

Where the ceiling drops 1/2" that's where the refrigeration coils start. DO NOT DRILL INTO THAT PART UNLES YOU REMOVE THE TOP AND LOCATE THE COILS.

pic is of the ceiling of the frige.

The next pic is of the top of the fridge. I put the front of the tower where the the black top changes from motteled to glossy. The line is very apparent.

You can see in the next pic where I traced around the base and marked the holes. I think it's prudent to mention that if the base has more than 4 holes, measurements should be taken to ensure that the bolt hole located in the rear don't line up over the coils. You can see in pic 1 there isn't a lot of extra room.

The final pic is a close up of the hole. All I did was find a scrap piece of pvc. Mine happened to be 1-1/4". I found a hole saw the same diameter. Driled the hole, cut the pvc to length, inserted, and caulked it on top and bottom to maintain the vapor barrier.

As for the temp control. Yes, I did remove the light and turn it around. That little extra space allows two cornies to fit. As Elmer Fudd said, "Be very careful of the copper tube attached to the temp control." If it kinks or breaks you'll have to use an external temp control.

One final comment. Everyone has there own Ideas and preferences. Some want to have 10 kegs going at once. I would love to have more but I don't have the space. I live in a tiny house and have to have a tiny fridge. Therfore my fridge is perfect for me.

Hope this helps.

cjstruble1 · 05-07-2009, 01:24 PM

Hey everyone....I completed my first kegging of a West Coast style IPA (dry hopped with 1 oz of Simcoe and 2 oz of Columbus!). I recently purchased the Frididaire FRC445GB and unscrewed the temp control dial and pushed it back a bit in order to fit two kegs. Those of you who have done this, do you then re-attach the temp gauge in a new location or do you just leave it dangling? I used duct tape to keep in in place. If anyone has any pics of what they did, it would be great! thank you!

Myrdhyn · 05-07-2009, 01:37 PM

I also used duct tape for now. I plan on going back and JBWelding both it and my CO2 manifold in place in the near future.

cjstruble1 · 05-19-2009, 03:26 AM

Hello, Is there another model refrigerator that is similar to this one? I picked up the Frigidaire Model FRC445GB from Lowes a couple of weeks ago...but it was making a pretty awful sound so I decided to return it for another. I brought that one home tonight, and the thing is banged up beyond belief (both sides dented, inside pieces broken.) This one was quieter though!

So I need to take this one back, but not sure if I want to go through the trouble again with this model and wonder if someone has a suggestion for a different brand.

Thanks for the help!
Craig

AJ_in_HD · 05-28-2009, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bumbler

I'll try and type faster tonight.

The tower I installed is a 3" tower with a 4 1/2" base with 4 bolt holes.

The 4" I was referring to is really 4 1/2" and it's on the inside of the fridge. That's where the coils are so that's where I concentrated my effort. Pierced coil equals end of project. As soon as you open the door look up. It's the closest part to the front. It's the first section of white plastic.

Where the ceiling drops 1/2" that's where the refrigeration coils start. DO NOT DRILL INTO THAT PART UNLES YOU REMOVE THE TOP AND LOCATE THE COILS.

pic is of the ceiling of the frige.

The next pic is of the top of the fridge. I put the front of the tower where the the black top changes from motteled to glossy. The line is very apparent.

You can see in the next pic where I traced around the base and marked the holes. I think it's prudent to mention that if the base has more than 4 holes, measurements should be taken to ensure that the bolt hole located in the rear don't line up over the coils. You can see in pic 1 there isn't a lot of extra room.

The final pic is a close up of the hole. All I did was find a scrap piece of pvc. Mine happened to be 1-1/4". I found a hole saw the same diameter. Driled the hole, cut the pvc to length, inserted, and caulked it on top and bottom to maintain the vapor barrier.

As for the temp control. Yes, I did remove the light and turn it around. That little extra space allows two cornies to fit. As Elmer Fudd said, "Be very careful of the copper tube attached to the temp control." If it kinks or breaks you'll have to use an external temp control.

One final comment. Everyone has there own Ideas and preferences. Some want to have 10 kegs going at once. I would love to have more but I don't have the space. I live in a tiny house and have to have a tiny fridge. Therfore my fridge is perfect for me.

Hope this helps.

Bumbler, quick question.

In the time that you've been enjoying this conversion...have you felt the need to add any reinforcement for the tower? You commented that the top of the fridge seemed sturdy enough to forgo reinforcing it, so I'm curious if you still feel that way after a few weeks (or months, I can't remember) of having this kegerator.

I'm like 95% sure i'm gonna pick this fridge up at Lowe's and convert it this weekend. I'm still waiting on my hole bit to arrive from Amazon.

Cheers.

Bumbler · 05-28-2009, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJ_in_HD

In the time that you've been enjoying this conversion...have you felt the need to add any reinforcement for the tower?
Cheers.

It's just as sturdy as the day I put it on. I doubt I'll ever reinforce it.

Side note:

I did have a problem freezing my last batch during conditioning. I had a thermometer inside the fridge. It told me air temp not keg temp. Since then I bought a remote temp sensor and strapped it to the keg and mounted the display on the wall above the fridge. I can now monitor the keg temp every pour. The keg stays between 37 and 38.

LakeErieBrew · 05-28-2009, 01:20 PM

This is a very cool project. Thanks for sharing all of the pictures and details.

AJ_in_HD · 05-28-2009, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bumbler

It's just as sturdy as the day I put it on. I doubt I'll ever reinforce it.

Side note:

I did have a problem freezing my last batch during conditioning. I had a thermometer inside the fridge. It told me air temp not keg temp. Since then I bought a remote temp sensor and strapped it to the keg and mounted the display on the wall above the fridge. I can now monitor the keg temp every pour. The keg stays between 37 and 38.

Sweet! I will be buying this fridge this weekend and will perform the conversion on Saturday (I hope!).

So if you don't mind I have one more question...what temperature setting do you have the fridge on? Maybe if the controller is a dial you could give this as a number on the clock dial?

Cheers and thanks again for your replies!