Sanyo SR361W 3.6 mini fridge kegerator conversion

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beau_cephus

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After seeing a couple of threads on here of people converting their mini fridges with the freezer/evaporator units in the top, I decided to give my old college fridge a go.

First thing I did was look for an online service manual. I found the model number on the back and googled it.



Granted this fridge was built circa 1998, but I was surprised how little info was on the internet. I got a couple of links showing a downloadable *.pdf copy of the manual. I downloaded the manual and it consisted of the below exploded assembly with a corresponding spare parts list.



Below are the pictures of the fridge with the shelves and ice drip trays removed.





It was pretty straight forward popping the evaporator unit off the plastic clips which attached it to the top of the fridge. I just had to pull the unit forward until the keyhole slots allowed me to remove it. I then gently bent the entire assembly down until I got it in position. Luckily the thermostat did not have to be moved on this model. I was surprised how sturdy the evaporator unit was after I adjusted it in the fridge. Really no need to attach it to the back of the fridge.



I then removed the molded door assembly and the door seal by unscrewing the 24 screws that were attaching it to the door. There was a good bit of mold in the door seal, especially in the bottom. I cleaned the seal and around the door with Clorox Cleanup to remove the mold.

Below are the pictures of the door with the seal and molded assembly removed. I went ahead and confirmed that both my keg and 5lb CO2 unit would fit.





I ordered a sheet of 1/16"x24"x36" High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) from McMaster Carr on Saturday night. It was a little over $10 ,and I got it delivered tonight. I went ahead and marked it up for cutting to fit the door and decided to call it a night.



Now its time to look into a cheap tower or door faucet/shank combo. :mug:
 
The current (Nov 11) issue of Brew Your Own magazine has a DIY article for a PVC tap tower. Not sure if that's the route you'd be willing to go, but I saw it and got tons of ideas. Also, there's a trick involving a cornstarch slurry to figure out exactly where the plumbing on the top of your fridge is, that's on YouTube. I think it was actually posted by a HBT member...

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk.
 
Bought the same fridge for $35 last week through a local classified ad site.

Did about the same conversion, except i used a drop-ceiling light diffuser panel from lowes, mounted smooth-side-out on the door.

Of course, my 20lb co2 tank does not fit inside it, so i will have to drill a hole somewhere to run the gas line in.

fwiw i can verify that this fridge is deep enough for 1(one) pin lock keg.
 
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