Is my Keezer kaput?

OK, I am a total moron. I scored a stand up freezer from a neghbor that I was in the process of converting and I hit a freezer line with my drill. A very small nick, but a slow and steady hiss nonetheless. I didnt expect lines where I was drilling b/c this is the freezer type with the lines in the shelves. Is there any hope for my poor keezer?

Hate to tell you but you have a big heavy white cabinet now.

I think they can be fixed but it would cost a lot more to fix it than that what the fridge is actually worth.

If it makes you feel better, the freezer with refridgerator lines in the shelves isn't very useful for making a keezer. It'd only work to cool a bunch of bottles with a temp controller.

Yes you can fix it. but you will have to cut out a big enough hole to cut solder in another piece of copper tube in there. Then you will likely have to get a refrigerator repairman to shoot some freon back in that thing.

I work at a refrigeration repair company so I have access to all of the stuff and it would only cost me like 20 bucks, for you it may be more.

To anyone reading this thread. Drilling refrigerators or freezers can be risky because you do not know what is in the walls or where. Its best to look at the back and under the back to see if there is a condenser (finned radiator). This is good if you see it because some models have the condenser in the sides and these are the ones not to drill (in the sides). Doors usually do not have anything in them but insulation so you can drill without fear. When a fridge is running just feel the sides and top to see if they get hot. This indicates a condenser coil is in there. Be careful.

I've never done it, but how feasible is it to unscrew the screws on the front of the fridge and taking the panels (either the metal outside or plastic inside ones) to see where the lines are? I've seen stud finders that can sense between wood metal and plastic, would those work too?

Do not drill into freezers/fridges at all except for a) the doors, b) the fridge section if there's a visible condenser at the back. If there's no back condenser, don't drill near the fridge section either.
It's not repairable without major costs if you hit a refrigerant line.
I'm a refrig mechanic and what WBC said is spot on.

Taking the insides apart doesn't give you access to the lines because any line in the sides or top will be attached to the outside skin as a heatsink. Also, most newer units use rigid foam in the walls, which further complicates things.

There's a technique for using corn starch to find the lines. Several people have pictures in their galleries.