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Hophead04 · 04-09-2012, 05:46 PM

So I am getting a mini-fridge for free (awesome) from a co-worker. The only problem that I see so far is that it evidently has a minifreezer at the top of the fridge. I have not seen this mini-fridge yet, but I will pick it up tomorrow. My question is: 1) Should I even bother using this as a kegerator? 2) Any tips on how to modify the fridge to be a kegerator (removing freezer, working with top cooling element etc) Thanks!!

Cheers

Noahl · 04-09-2012, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hophead04

So I am getting a mini-fridge for free (awesome) from a co-worker. The only problem that I see so far is that it evidently has a minifreezer at the top of the fridge. I have not seen this mini-fridge yet, but I will pick it up tomorrow. My question is: 1) Should I even bother using this as a kegerator? 2) Any tips on how to modify the fridge to be a kegerator (removing freezer, working with top cooling element etc) Thanks!!

Cheers

The office-type fridges that I've seen use the freezer compartment as the cooling element for the fridge, so I'm skeptical about the odds of removing it.

Hophead04 · 04-09-2012, 07:39 PM

Do you think it would be relatively easy to bend or move the cooling element to the back of the fridge?

Noahl · 04-09-2012, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hophead04

Do you think it would be relatively easy to bend or move the cooling element to the back of the fridge?

This is just based on the ones I've looked at, but I think not. The freezer compartment walls form an 'L' to box in the colder area from the rest of the fridge. So there are two plates with the coolant flowing through both. Those plates -are- the element. It seems that bending them would release the coolant.

But have a look at the one you are considering, it could be totally different.

-Noah

Polarbeer · 04-09-2012, 09:06 PM

I did the exact same thing on my kegerator. The freezer box is in an L shape and can be bent back to accommodate a pin or ball lock keg. My advice to you is to first VERY VERY VERY slowly bend the metal coolant line. If you kink it, it's toast. Secondly, to help you bend it find several round household items that you can bend it around. So I stared to bend mine around a can of beans and then moved smaller to small rolling pin. This was enough to put the old freezer compartment into the back of the mini fridge.

Good luck and just FYI you might have to mess with the thermostat setting. I had to because once I bent the cooling element back, the kegerator was freezing everything.

**stripper18** · 04-09-2012, 09:19 PM

i heated the line with a lighter before i bent it and tried to keep it hot the entire time. don't sweat it too much its not as hard as everyone makes it out to be, just take your time.

Polarbeer · 04-09-2012, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stripper18

i heated the line with a lighter before i bent it and tried to keep it hot the entire time. don't sweat it too much its not as hard as everyone makes it out to be, just take your time.

Righhhhttt.... believe the stripper.....

Hophead04 · 04-10-2012, 01:00 PM

Wonderful thank you all! I will update this thread with pics of how it goes!

Talguy · 04-10-2012, 02:40 PM

Hophead, I just convert my old college fridge into a kegerator over the weekend. It was a Danby (forget model number) but had a freezer compartment. I ended up taking my time bending the cooling element down. I would bend it a little bit at a time and let it sit then repeat. I tried to bend it more at the middle of the pipe instead of where the pipe connects to the cooling element. Its been maintaining temperature since friday when I did the conversion.

Hophead04 · 04-10-2012, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talguy

Hophead, I just convert my old college fridge into a kegerator over the weekend. It was a Danby (forget model number) but had a freezer compartment. I ended up taking my time bending the cooling element down. I would bend it a little bit at a time and let it sit then repeat. I tried to bend it more at the middle of the pipe instead of where the pipe connects to the cooling element. Its been maintaining temperature since friday when I did the conversion.

Wonderful! Thank you! I will take it slow and steady. Thanks for the tip about bending towards the middle of the pipe, I probably would have gone for where it connects to the cooling element. Thanks!!