Frigidaire Model FRC445GB Mini-Fridge Kegerator Conversion

IffyG said:

I'm still in the middle of my build, but the new version of this fridge fits a 5 gallon keg, 2 three gallon kegs and a 5 lb CO2 tank without major modification aside from removing the molded plastic from the door. I was able to leave the thermostat and light assembly in place with plenty of room to spare.

Click to expand...

The kegs may fit, but hopefully you'll be okay with the beer and gas lines in. I have two 5g kegs a 5 lb CO2 cylinder and tubing. It's a tight squeeze.

It should be OK. Worst case scenario I have to run my gas line through the compressor hump and put the tank on the outside.

FYI, I was having temp control issues with the stock thermostat after installing a second 5 gal corny keg. First is was two cold and froze the lines and an entire keg of soda water. Now it is too warm and was staying in the 50-60 deg F range.

Removed the 2nd keg that was close to the thermostat in now the temp is dropping so the compressor is working. Planning to add an ebay temp controller and maybe a fan to help maintain consistent temps.

treynor said:

a build im almost done with. ill post more later

Click to expand...

This looks like it is implying a co2 tank and two 1/6 kegs will fit here... I was really hoping to do commercial kegs in the conversion I am doing, but it seems most people dont think two 1/6 kegs will fit. I just need to keep re-reading this entire thread I suppose.

Pictures of my build so far (not very far):

I just bought one of these and kegged for the first time. I am using picnic taps. A couple of questions:

1. After I put the first full keg in the outside of the fridge became very hot, probably hot enough to burn my hand when I touch it. Is this normal?

2. What is the best way to deal with the door shelves that prevent two kegs from being put in the fridge? I was able to move the temperature controller back enough to get two kegs in, but it seems like there are a few pieces of shelves that need to be hacked off in order to get the second keg to fit.

thom said:

I just bought one of these and kegged for the first time. I am using picnic taps. A couple of questions:

1. After I put the first full keg in the outside of the fridge became very hot, probably hot enough to burn my hand when I touch it. Is this normal?

2. What is the best way to deal with the door shelves that prevent two kegs from being put in the fridge? I was able to move the temperature controller back enough to get two kegs in, but it seems like there are a few pieces of shelves that need to be hacked off in order to get the second keg to fit.

Click to expand...

1. With a fridge trying to cool down that much mass at once, the fridge will get hot on the outside.

2. Hack some of the plastic off like all the others.

Finally finished up a conversion on this fridge last week. Had to hack out the door on mine, I also changed the top and put on a custom top. That took the most time of this project due to priming/paint/wetsand/paint/etc..
Wish I had taken photos of the entire process. C'est la vie.

juvinious said:

Finally finished up a conversion on this fridge last week. Had to hack out the door on mine,

Click to expand...

Did you use a blade on the door? What steps did you take on door?

I used my angle grinder and cut around the edges about 1/2"-3/4" from where the gasket sits in the door. Then I lopped off any pieces that were jutting out of the door. Then I proceeded to peel off the plastic and sanded the whole thing down with a auto sanding block and I think 60 grit to be as uniform as possible. Of course some areas are deep indentations so I didn't bring it all down to that depth.

I tried to find something like dry erase board but the backboards at homedepot were like 16'x16' or something which was way to large for me to take and try to cut. So I looked around the whole place and I found a piece of white covering that goes into a light fixture which was roughly the same size of the door with some minor modifications. (It's got creases that go vertically through the whole thing so it won't work as a whiteboard but it serves its purpose. Anyhow I'm planning on finding something to fit over that later on.)

To attach it I used great stuff and filled in all the deep areas and spread it out on the rest of the surface and laid the panel on it. I put weights on the corners and then let it sit for 2 days. Then I cleaned up any foam that came out, which wasn't much and used cold weather insulation tape to go seal it up as you can see in the pic.

Woo that was allot, hopefully that helps you.

Will this fridge fit a 6 gallon better bottle with an airlock? I measured the dimensions and it looks like it'd be a tight fit. With an airlock on top, it wouldn't fit on the shelf due to the height, so it'd have to sit on the very bottom of the fridge. I need ~12in for it to fit and it looks like it might work if I removed part of the plastic from the door. Can anyone confirm that there is nothing in the door (cooling lines or anything else important) that would damage the fridge if I took a knife to it? Thanks!

Lurch69 said:

Will this fridge fit a 6 gallon better bottle with an airlock? I measured the dimensions and it looks like it'd be a tight fit. With an airlock on top, it wouldn't fit on the shelf due to the height, so it'd have to sit on the very bottom of the fridge. I need ~12in for it to fit and it looks like it might work if I removed part of the plastic from the door. Can anyone confirm that there is nothing in the door (cooling lines or anything else important) that would damage the fridge if I took a knife to it? Thanks!

Click to expand...

I have th old fridge and had a 6gallon glass Carboy in there. No way the airlock fit. Had to do a blowoff tube. Also had to tape the door shut as the plasti on the door pushed up against the Carboy preventing a "regular" closure

If you have th better bottle and air lock, do a dry fit

The door has no internals other than insulation

I couldn't find this information on the internet anywhere so I decided to draw up the wiring for an STC-1000 to this fridge. It was annoying at first since I didn't know what was what but I happened to check the paperwork that was with the fridge and it had the service information with schematic. If you intend to put the light back into service tie the red into the hot. The switch on the side of the fridge triggers power to the yellow so that would go back to your light and you would just need to tap into neutral.
Just putting this out there if anybody considered doing this and not sure what to do.

Also if you plan on mounting the STC-1000 on the door, be careful where you put it because I put it directly under the lock and didn't realize that the mechanism goes down about 2 inches below it into a chamber of clay. So it has to stay up now which is no big deal since I don't use it with my custom top. I'd recommend mounting it on one of the sides or further below the lock. I'll get some pics of it up when I can. Anyhow hopefully this helps anybody with this.

Will this fridge fit a 6 gallon better bottle with an airlock?

Click to expand...

Can't actually fit one of these at the moment for you (kegerator has kegs in it; BB is in a different mini fridge fermenting away). Felt like I tried this back in the day without success, but the measurements look like it is possible:

-- Height of ~28 inches from floor to ceiling (you only need about 24-25 inches to get a blow off tube on a 6-gallon better bottle).
-- Depth of, at most, 11 inches from hump to door edge (this is pretty tight for a 6 gal BB. Definitely would need to cut the door flat).

FWIW, I picked up a cheap Kenmore Model 564-94449400 off craigslist as my fermentation fridge (has 12 inch depth and height fits a 6 gal BB with blow-off tube, no need to remove the freezer portion at the top).

I'm having a ton of trouble with this fridge freezing a glass of water. Is 1 the lowest temperature level, or is 6 the lowest temperature?

It says in the the manual (http://manuals.frigidaire.com/prodinfo_pdf/Anderson/241607805en.pdf):

To adjust the temperature colder, turn the control knob toward the “Colder” setting or higher number for the fresh food control.....

Click to expand...

All done! Keg in and cooling/carbing now!

All done! Keg in and cooling/carbing now!

Click to expand...

I see your light is on, but you ripped out the door molding. Did you end up pulling the bulb or did you come up with a mechanism to push the "light switch" when the door closes? I've thought about doing the latter, but never got around to it and would be interested in ideas.

Had anyone used this as a fermentation chamber? I'm curious if you cut away the door, will it fit a 6.5 gallon carboy? I prefer air locks, but I can handle a blow off tube.

I found one of these on CL today in my area and have been planning to make a ferm chamber.

elganso said:

I see your light is on, but you ripped out the door molding. Did you end up pulling the bulb or did you come up with a mechanism to push the "light switch" when the door closes? I've thought about doing the latter, but never got around to it and would be interested in ideas.

Click to expand...

Right now I'm just securing it with two strong magnets. Seems to work pretty well. I'll have to post some pictures

I'm having issues getting this fridge cold enough now. At first it was too cold, but now I can't get it cold enough even at 6! With two kegs and at 6 it still only gets to ~48F.

Brett3rThanU said:

I'm having issues getting this fridge cold enough now. At first it was too cold, but now I can't get it cold enough even at 6! With two kegs and at 6 it still only gets to ~48F.

Click to expand...

I'm actually having the same problem. I converted the fridge 3-4 months ago, it ran great for a while, and then a month ago it started warming up and hasn't changed since no matter what the thermostat position is in. Every once in a while I'll still hear clicking and still hear coolant flowing through the lines, but it seems pretty rare for the compressor to actually run. So I'm hoping it's a problem with the thermostat (though if I'm hearing clicking, does that mean the thermostat's actually working?). I'll have to try bypassing it to see if I can force it on and cool the fridge.

Kino said:

I'm actually having the same problem. I converted the fridge 3-4 months ago, it ran great for a while, and then a month ago it started warming up and hasn't changed since no matter what the thermostat position is in. Every once in a while I'll still hear clicking and still hear coolant flowing through the lines, but it seems pretty rare for the compressor to actually run. So I'm hoping it's a problem with the thermostat (though if I'm hearing clicking, does that mean the thermostat's actually working?). I'll have to try bypassing it to see if I can force it on and cool the fridge.

Click to expand...

So after leaving the fridge off for 2 days, it turned back on and the temperature got back down to the 30s. I then ended up letting it return to room temperature to make some additional mods including slightly widening the drain plug and connecting an external thermostat, and now the temperature is stuck at ~52 degrees. There's also a weird ice patch on the back of the fridge I hadn't ever seen before, making me think this might be a low refrigerant issue causing the evaporator to freeze up. So that sucks, at this point I'm considering the fridge to be a loss. Thankfully Best Buy has the fridge on sale today for $150...

Has anyone successfully figured out a way to have the fridge run a little quieter? It seems to squeal at a really high pitch whenever the compressor runs.

Hi all and thanks for this thread. I'd already bought the new Lowes version of this fridge (LFPH44M4LM) when I stumbled on this site. I've spent the last few days reading every page of it. With that said, I'd like to ask a few questions that have already been answered about a million times. Just kidding.

I'm using the fridge to house two 5gal corneys (pepsi/ball) which are 8.5" wide and a 5lb tank. I'm going to see if I can sneak in a 3gal/8.5" corney on the hump but I'm thinking the reg will get in the way... unless the co2 tank is outside, which is not (really) an option for me.

My setup is going to feed a double tap tower on a bar. I'm not going to cool the tower but I am going to insulate it (There was a great suggestion about 40 pages back to use packing peanuts). The plan is to run beer lines from fridge to the tower. As the counter top the tower is attached to happens to be 2" above the top of the fridge, I'm debating how to connect the beer lines.

My first thought was to bring the beer lines out the bottom of the fridge (on the hump) and run them up the back side of the fridge using pipe insulation to try to keep things cool. The alternate idea is to run a right angle connector out the top and go up to the tower from there.

The hole in the counter top is already there, so no changing that and I want to be able to move the fridge a limited distance, meaning I can't have a direct connect (with copper pipes, etc) through the counter and then into the fridge... although I'm considering it, particularly in that I could cool the tower.

I'm planning to do the Love controller mod and I was thinking of removing the thermister and going with the 3in1 directly to avoid any future problems, particularly if I build the tower into the top of the fridge. Any comments on the failure rate of this part in the new Lowes fridges?

If I go the "out the bottom" route, I'll have to be careful to not hit anything in the bottom/top of the hump. There are several different comments on if there are or are not lines in the horizontal part of the hump. I did a temp test (I just plugged it in and let it get cold for a bit without the door on it). The hump never seems to get cold, so that's a good start. I'd like to do the starch/vodka test but I don't have any idea on the mixing proportions. A brief google attempt didn't turn up much more other than I can use flour instead of corn starch...

Any suggestions? Anyone know for a fact if there are lines in the horizontal section of the hump in the new Lowes version (LFPH44M4LM) of this fridge?

In any case, I'll post my build.

--
Primary: Irish Red Ale
Secondary: American Red Ale (Fat Tire clone)

Since you are restricted on the tower location by the existing hole in the counter it might be safer to get a different fridge with no lines in the top to line up the hole in the fridge to the counter and allow for copper pipes, fan, etc. for cooling the tower. With the frigidaire or any other fridge, I would recommend running the lines out the top for the shortest distance of beer line without cooling. With a direct route (and even on my fridge with copper pipe cooling) the beer in the lines will be warmer then the keg so the first 4-8oz will be all foam. After that point there should be cold beer in the lines and you will get a good pour. If the run the lines out the back you will have multiple cups of foam before you get cold lines and a good pour.

There is definitely a coolant line somewhere in the back hump, I have seen it in photos on this thread. I have external CO2 in my setup I have successfully drilled a couple holes in the back drain hole and drain channel for these lines.

jCOSbrew said:

Since you are restricted on the tower location by the existing hole in the counter it might be safer to get a different fridge with no lines in the top to line up the hole in the fridge to the counter and allow for copper pipes, fan, etc. for cooling the tower. With the frigidaire or any other fridge, I would recommend running the lines out the top for the shortest distance of beer line without cooling. With a direct route (and even on my fridge with copper pipe cooling) the beer in the lines will be warmer then the keg so the first 4-8oz will be all foam. After that point there should be cold beer in the lines and you will get a good pour. If the run the lines out the back you will have multiple cups of foam before you get cold lines and a good pour.

There is definitely a coolant line somewhere in the back hump, I have seen it in photos on this thread. I have external CO2 in my setup I have successfully drilled a couple holes in the back drain hole and drain channel for these lines.

Click to expand...

The run length of the lines is really making me reconsider going out the top. I was thinking of a 90 bend at the top *in* the insulation and a connection out the back of the fridge at the very top. After I posted yesterday, I called the counter top fabricater to see if they could push the tower forward by a few inches -- but they'd made the hole already, otherwise I could have run the tower straight into the fridge.

Thanks for the info about the drain channel. I was thinking that would be a safe place to put holes but again there's the distance/foam issue...

I've seen the pictures of the guy who drilled in the back, left corner (facing) successfully with the older version but there was someone else who said they hit a line in that area.

i just bought one of these on craigslist. the top was a little melted, but I pulled it up and the foam underneath wasn't burnt or anything so I think they just set something hot on it. Now I plugged it and cranked the temp and the outside sides of the fridge are pretty hot. It is like 95 degrees here. Anyone have any issues with this fridge?

I actually had to extend it out 3in or so to get the 2 1/6 to fit and make a custom door. You may be able to may be able to do the same.

I was running around looking for a decent fridge today. I found this one at Lowes for $100 It's a 4.0l. I looked inside and the freezer "tray" is easily removable. So height isn't an issue. I was hoping to get 2 3 gallon corny kegs in it although I only had one with me at the store to test fit and it looked like it was a little over half the width. Also the door would definitely need to be cut away a bit.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_121700-2251-LFPH40M4NB_4294937007%2B4294965783__?productId=3701432&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=Frigidaire

I'm curious if anyone used it yet. Otherwise, I guess I go with this one,

http://www.lowes.com/pd_326299-47224-LFPH44M4LM_4294937007%2B4294965783__?productId=3256590&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=Frigidaire

It's double the price and I think it's the same fridge listed in this thread although the model #'s don't match up.

I was running around looking for a decent fridge today. I found this one at Lowes for $100 It's a 4.0l. I looked inside and the freezer "tray" is easily removable. So height isn't an issue. I was hoping to get 2 3 gallon corny kegs in it although I only had one with me at the store to test fit and it looked like it was a little over half the width. Also the door would definitely need to be cut away a bit.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_121700-2251-LFPH40M4NB_4294937007%2B4294965783__?productId=3701432&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=Frigidaire

I'm curious if anyone used it yet. Otherwise, I guess I go with this one,

http://www.lowes.com/pd_326299-47224-LFPH44M4LM_4294937007%2B4294965783__?productId=3256590&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=Frigidaire

It's double the price and I think it's the same fridge listed in this thread although the model #'s don't match up.

Briton said:

Has anyone successfully figured out a way to have the fridge run a little quieter? It seems to squeal at a really high pitch whenever the compressor runs.

Click to expand...

This was driving me crazy too. I ended up purchasing an acoustic foam panel (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007XGKRW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20).

I then cut it to size to form a rectangle "box" on the back of the unit where the compressor is. I sealed using metallic tape. It dampened things a bit, but I wasn't thrilled. There was still quite a bit of noise escaping from underneath the unit. So, I added a strip the entire width of the fridge about halfway out (didn't "seal" this completely on the sides, since I wanted there to be some air transfer).

That helped enough so that I can live with it in the kitchen. Clearly, I assume this is not good for the longevity of the compressor, since all that heat is trapped back there in the "box". But had to do something for my own sanity...

yehaww said:

It's double the price and I think it's the same fridge listed in this thread although the model #'s don't match up.

Click to expand...

LFPH44M4LM is the newer model of the fridge originally modded in this thread. About 3/4 of the way through this thread, everyone starts talking about this newer model. Only significant difference is that the door molding is not conducive to fitting two cornys -- so you need to hack that out. If you go through the most recent 20 pages or so, you'll see the various methodologies for doing this.

Ok, thanks. I read through quite a few pages but this is a loooooong thread!

yehaww said:

Ok, thanks. I read through quite a few pages but this is a loooooong thread!

Click to expand...

Heh. Indeed. Epic and super helpful thread... other than the compressor noise issues I've had, I'm thrilled with this kegerator.

elganso said:

Heh. Indeed. Epic and super helpful thread... other than the compressor noise issues I've had, I'm thrilled with this kegerator.

Click to expand...

I got the fridge and was super pleased to find i could fit both my 3 gallon cornys on the floor of the unit with no door mods at all. Fantastic. It's a little bigger than the "mini fridge" I told my wife it would be when I sold her on the idea though.

Hey Guys,

I'm new to the forum and had a few questions after reading through this thread. I'm still in college so initially I'm just going to be using my kegerator for 1/6 barrel kegs but I want to eventually start home brewing when I have my own place.

I'd prefer not to remove the door panel on the fridge and was wondering whether I would have to on the Lowe's Frigidaire LFPH44M4LM to fit just one 1/6 barrel? I read that you don't have to on the Best Buy model but that was for two corny kegs.

Also, does anyone know if this fridge will fit a slim quarter or even a full quarter with a stand?

Thanks in advance

Hey guys,

Best Buy has model BFPH44M4LM on sale now for $170 (and if you have a Discover Card, you can also get 5% cashback through ShopDiscover...).

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Frigida...701&skuId=9723554&st=frigidaire 4.4&cp=1&lp=1

I just picked one up and the door looks like it won't need to be modified to fit the two cornies.

I'm excited to start this project, but won't be able to for a couple of weeks.

Anyway, I just thought I'd pass along the word...

Cheers!

Awesome thread! Love the photos, really are going to help with my conversion. Cheers

I am getting ready to convert this fridge (FRC455GB) and I put in the both kegs and the co2 tank just to test the fit. The co2 tank won't sit on the back hump with the regulator attached unless I lean it slightly. This isn't a huge problem, but it would make me more comfortable if it fit upright. Has anyone else experienced this? Maybe the 5lb tank I have it slightly too tall.