Kegerator Build Igloo 4.6 FR465, Haier HNSE05, Kenmore 183.94679 and possibly others

Thinking of picking up the igloo fr465 as a lagering fridge. Just wanted to double check that a 6.5 gallon glass carboy or a standard ale pail will fit.

Thanks in advance.

All i can really tell you is you jave 12" clearance fron compressor humo to door with shelves removed. I dont have an ale pail but all my carboys fit.

A 6.5 gallon bucket fits just fine. Just take all of the shelves out except for the bottom one, the bucket fits great on that shelf without modifying the door, but an airlock doesn't fit. However, a blow off tube works great. I've been using one since Christmas.

Thanks, I figured it was more of a cautionary tale than anything else.

Yours looks great but my wife would never let me have mine in the house so I think I may be stepping up to a full size fridge, there are a number of 18 cubic foot ones on CL for $50-75 and I can probably clear that selling my draft tower.

Thanks again and congrats on your nice kegerator!

Hatch

Hatch said:

So when drilling the back gas line is it bad when it goes "Psssssssssssssssst"? I wish I could put a smiley on it but I just bricked my kegerator. The tower was all installed and functional but I couldn't get my kegs in there with the CO2 bottle so I did the centered and 4 5/8" down from the outside, drilled a 1/4" hole and got the dreaded sound. I guess I should have tried to dig it out from the plastic side first.

If anybody need a door with the liner removed I have one just North of Seattle.

The worst part is I have two cornies ready to go with an IPA and a porter. To Craigslist I go...

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I just bricked mine too. I had found a large metal line when digging up from the bottom and carefully removed the insulation away from that and drilled a small hole exactly in the center and a few inches from the back but when I was enlarging the hole I hit a different, VERY small line which was just off center and directly under the top of the fridge, very hard to detect and I heard the hissing sound so I'm assuming the whole fridge is junk now. Thought I was being careful by digging out from the plastic side first but wasn't careful enough.

Wow. This isnt good, im sorry to hear about your fridge, i guess maybe i just got really lucky with mine. I cut a 3x3 inch square out of the plastic underneath and dug out all the foam very carefully until there was no foam left in the entire 9 square inch area before i drilled. Like i said earlier tho, i still almost hit that black metal line.

Also forgot to mention, i think the metal line is a conduit for the thermostat wires and i think the thin line is the one that disperses heat in the walls of the fridge, there is probably only one that crosses the top to go from one side to the other obviously there in the back of the fridge too, so far it sounds like this fridge is a dangerous choice for a kegerator.

snowtires said:

Also forgot to mention, i think the metal line is a conduit for the thermostat wires and i think the thin line is the one that disperses heat in the walls of the fridge, there is probably only one that crosses the top to go from one side to the other obviously there in the back of the fridge too, so far it sounds like this fridge is a dangerous choice for a kegerator.

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Yeah I think you're right about the metal conduit, the small black one that I hit was between the metal top and the foam when I hit it, the refrigerant escaped. I've already ordered another fridge same exact model, just will be 10 times more careful next time. Its kind of a waste this can't be fixed though, it just needs to be patched up and refilled with refrigerant or whatever but this fridge is so inexpensive that it would probably cost more to fix than replace.

snowtires said:

Now, i scuffed up the surface with some sandpaper and laid glass tiles directly to the sheet metal top using epoxy mortar and grout.

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I just picked this fridge up to convert in the next couple of months and I love the way your glass tile looks. My only concern is that it restricts the heat exchange from the top of the fridge, mine gets pretty warm on the top. Have you noticed any issues with heat dissipation after installing the tile?

I have never noticed heat from the top only from the sides. That's why I thought there were no lines in the top, I cut a 3" hole in the top and the only line I had was the conduit for high voltage. But apparently there are lines in the top, atleased a few or maybe some models are different. Perhaps someone should try the alcohol trick to find where the lines actually are and also would be good for people to tell us on here exactly where they hit the lines to maybe get a mental map of how they run to help others.

snowtires said:

I have never noticed heat from the top only from the sides. That's why I thought there were no lines in the top, I cut a 3" hole in the top and the only line I had was the conduit for high voltage. But apparently there are lines in the top, atleased a few or maybe some models are different. Perhaps someone should try the alcohol trick to find where the lines actually are and also would be good for people to tell us on here exactly where they hit the lines to maybe get a mental map of how they run to help others.

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Mine definitely has lines near the center running across, that's where i feel all the heat. When I'm ready to convert it I'll be sure to document exactly where the lines are.

What model is your fridge, can you upload a pic? Just want to. Make sure all the models I listed are correct

Most fridges and freezers are made by Frigidaire. Surprised?

Double post.

It's the igloo 465.

Oh, mine is the 465 as well but it's different, I have the freezer compartment and the thermostat is on the top left. Totally different mini fridge. I'm wondering if some of the others on this thread also have the different model? I have seen many writeups on yours with the side thermostat possibly branded under a different name. I will try and do a search.

I noticed that yours seemed different but i figured it to be an older model. Mine had a removable tray instead of an actual freezer compartment. I haven't found many write ups for my fridge so if you find any I'd appreciate a link.

I was fortunate enough to have a neighbor that gave me the kenmore version of this fridge gratis. I have bent down the freezer compartment and flattened it on the back wall. Before I go and order a dual faucet tower I was thinking I should drill my holes in top to make sure I don't brick the fridge AFTER ordering the tower (I don't think I could afford to do this project right now if I had to pay for a replacement fridge too).

I know someone said they drilled 11.25" back from the front edge of the fridge (less the door). Am I correct to assume that's to the center of the hole? Is the hole 3"? Any reason I couldn't or wouldn't want to move it back even further than that? Thanks in advance for any advice, all these hissing fridges have me nervous.

The line that runs in the top seems kind of random, figure out where you want your hole cut a big square out of the plastic from the inside of the fridge and dig out the foam with a screwdriver. If there's a line then try forward more until you get a clear area with no lines, then you are safe to drill your hole. And if you do find a line then please post on here the location to help others.

EDIT: yes 3" hole

Has anyone noticed their fr465 running constantly after putting a keg in it? I put one corny, with a picnic tap, in mine a week ago and I don't think it's stopped ruining since.

It's staying around 39F. I'm wondering if it's a thermostat problem.

Mine runs for a good period of time and I'm guessing it has to do with the temp sensor. I just ordered a USB computer fan to put inside of it to Make the temps even, so we'll see how well that goes. I'll report back with my findings.

Genuine said:

Mine runs for a good period of time and I'm guessing it has to do with the temp sensor. I just ordered a USB computer fan to put inside of it to Make the temps even, so we'll see how well that goes. I'll report back with my findings.

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Please do!

The fan will make a world of difference! I've had my Sanyo 4912 for a few years now and don't drink as much as I used to. I noticed that the first pour was always very foamy and a little warm. I added a fan with the tube that runs up the tower and now the first pour is always perfect! Great head, (as compared to all head before) and its nice and cold. The only drawback is the Sanyo is 100 % quiet, but the fan makes a low humming noise 24/7.

I got the fan in there and after a 24 hour test run, with a digital thermometer in a glass of water, the lowest it ever got was 49-50 degrees. However, the temp was stable all around the fridge. I just need to adjust my thermostat a bit to get it to the lower 40's and I'll be happy with it.

CO2 tank & temp controller installed.

Great work on the temp controller. Now I'm tempted to put one in mine.

Genuine said:

I got the fan in there and after a 24 hour test run, with a digital thermometer in a glass of water, the lowest it ever got was 49-50 degrees. However, the temp was stable all around the fridge. I just need to adjust my thermostat a bit to get it to the lower 40's and I'll be happy with it.

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Any update on this? I've been thinking about adding a small fan inside my Igloo FR464 to hopefully eliminate temperature stratification and, more importantly, cut back on how often it runs. Do you think adding a fan is a viable solution for these issues? Thanks in advance.

Edit: I don't have a tower - just taps through the door. Just trying to equalize/stabilize the temperature within the unit. Thanks.

temple240 said:

Great work on the temp controller. Now I'm tempted to put one in mine.

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Thank you. If you are going to do it keep in mind that it's pretty tight in the original thermostat housing and you'll want to use a dremel to make room (the channels for at least 2 of the 3 screws will need to be ground down).

I should mention that for wiring I just used the 3 wires that were there for the original analog thermostat (black, white, ground). Since the digital controller doesn't have a ground I used 2 of the 3 wires for 110 power and the third wire as the switched (cooling) wire and just rewired accordingly at the compressor, I plugged it in and everything worked perfect. Re-wire at your own risk, I make no warranties whatsoever.

hoping to avoid the warm/foamy first pint problem some have reported in other threads by running the tower portion of the beer lines through 1/2" copper that's extended well into the fridge. Didn't want straight copper pipes coming through the roof to impede movement of my CO2 tank. Hopefully it's effective...

That's ingenious! I use a computer fan with hose and it takes up a little bit of usable space. I can't wait to hear how effective it is.

Awsome stuff there hovik. Good job not hitting any lines. That copper tubing looks like a great idea, i find to help with foaming i coil my excess beer line and drape it behind the kegs near the freezer lines and it helps a lot. I might steal your copper idea tho because it looks cool and probably works great.

NathPowe said:

Any update on this? I've been thinking about adding a small fan inside my Igloo FR464 to hopefully eliminate temperature stratification and, more importantly, cut back on how often it runs. Do you think adding a fan is a viable solution for these issues? Thanks in advance.

Edit: I don't have a tower - just taps through the door. Just trying to equalize/stabilize the temperature within the unit. Thanks.

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I'll take some photos tonight of it. It's keeping my temps at 36-38 and has made a huge improvement. Definitely helps to get that air circulating in there to keep temps level.

Genuine said:

I'll take some photos tonight of it. It's keeping my temps at 36-38 and has made a huge improvement. Definitely helps to get that air circulating in there to keep temps level.

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Look forward to checking this out. I was doing some cleaning around the house last weekend and found an old power supply that I hooked up to a computer fan I had laying around. Going to rig it into the kegerator as soon as the next keg kicks. Hoping it'll cut down on how often it cycles.

Here are a couple pics I snapped this evening. Its a blue led lit dual USB fan.

Genuine, how did you route the power cord for the fan into your frig? Not quite sure how to approach this. Would drilling a hole in the 'hump' work? Seems unlikely that there would be anything in there that could brick the unit.

Any thoughts (from anyone) are appreciated.

I think people usually use the drain hole in the back of the fridge.

Yeah that was my original plan, but when I did that the other day (turned the frig off since the door was open while I was working), I was instantly reminded that it's a drain hole. Water was dripping down the wire that would eventually be plugged into an outlet. This seemed to be a less than optimal solution, but perhaps I'm being overly cautious.

Anyone try anything else?

NathPowe said:

Genuine, how did you route the power cord for the fan into your frig? Not quite sure how to approach this. Would drilling a hole in the 'hump' work? Seems unlikely that there would be anything in there that could brick the unit. Any thoughts (from anyone) are appreciated.

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Believe it or not, I just snaked it between the door edge. Seal works well, didn't do anything fancy.

I officially bricked my igloo while I was clearing out insulation to drill a hole for my new tower. It was a traumatic experience. I thought I was being careful but I wasn't careful enough.

The good news is that I bought and converted a Frigidaire 4.4 the very same day. I liked my igloo but the Frigidaire is much nicer.

How did you brick it clearing out insulation? What did you hit?
Edit: never mind I was reading back through the post and realized you had a different fridge and your lines are in the top. Glad you got a kegerator up and running tho.