Mini Fridge Repair....Possible?

Yesterday while trying to convert an old mini fridge into a fermentation chamber I punctured one of the coolant lines with my drill. After a little bit of cussing I started to wonder if I could fix the problem. My plan is to cut the high pressure side where the hole is then solder on a T joint with a bike tire valve in place. I'd do the same thing for the low pressure side then repressurize with coolant. Are there any refridgeration experts out there that have any comments?

I'm pretty sure you can't fix it (otherwise there would be a lot of cheerful threads titled "I fixed my mini fridge!!!"), but you can take your lemons and make lemonade.

I would say that it is possible. You have to vacuum the lines and then charge it properly.

If you manage it, then I'd say you are one up on most who post here.

I'm pretty sure you can't fix it (otherwise there would be a lot of cheerful threads titled "I fixed my mini fridge!!!"), but you can take your lemons and make lemonade.

Click to expand...

Its more like we don't admit mistakes.


I did it to my upright freezer and fixed the screw up with the help HVAC guy.
I used a 3" hole saw to cut around my mistake hole and reused the the same piece to plug up the hole.
Since both the outside and inside freezer walls are made out of metal only one hole is required for soldering.
The HVAC guy soldered the hole shut and recharged the unit after pulling a vacuum.
After installing the plug, putty and paint looks like new.

Here are the problems with your type of fridge..
Assuming
The inside wall is made of plastic requiring you to cut two holes, outside and inside for soldering or you melt the plastic, unless you drilled from the inside.
The compressor is not equipped with a recharge port.

The cost for installing the charging port and recharging the system can cost more than a new one.
If you have a HVAC friend like I do repair cost is material plus refreshments.

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

Sounds like a major PITA, unless you have the hook-up like Claudius. Mini fridges sell for around $50 - $100 on Craigslist.

If you could braze or solder the hole in the line up, find a vacuum pump, put and access valve in the charging stub on the compressor and recharge it with the ounces of refrigerant it needs, you can save it. Having that kind of work done by some one else usually costs more than the replacement would though. I have a bit of experience with same problem, when drilling a hole in the side of a full size refrigerator a couple years ago I hit the tube around the door seal area. A couple hours later after prying liner loose, brazing a new section of line in, pulling a vacuum, and recharging the unit it came back to life again, not much fun to do though.

I made the decision last night that its not worth the hassle, I think I'll just offer up $30 on craigslist for another used minifridge and chalk this one up as a loss.

I know this is off topic, but I'm curious. Having made a couple kegorators without incident, I'm curious why there are so many stories of busted refrigerant lines.

I mean no disrespect, I'm honestly curious. Are the lines that soft/thin that they can't take a couple nicks with a hole saw and be OK before you realize and pull out? Or are people just going whole hog and praying? No pilot holes? Are they immediately under the skin where there is no chance to peek in after taking the initial layer?

I mean no disrespect, I'm honestly curious. Are the lines that soft/thin that they can't take a couple nicks with a hole saw and be OK before you realize and pull out? Or are people just going whole hog and praying? No pilot holes?

Click to expand...

I only can speak for myself and my freezer.
My freezer walls are all metal, no plastic
I needed 5 holes (all in line) on each side of my upright freezer and knew the location of the lines.
Four holes went well, the drill bit for the fifth barely cut the the side of the condensing line.
The reason it happened to the fifth hole was the line mounting to the side wall was 1/8" off from the rest.
The lines are brazed to the outer metal wall, pilot holes don't help when drilling from the outside.
You don't feel the differents, its metal on metal.
Drilling from the inside first may help, you can feel going through the wall and insulation before hitting lines again.

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

In my case the reason I drilled through the line was because it was soooo small. It was made out of soft copper and the OD is roughly 1/10" I didn't know I had even touched the line until I heard the hiss of refrigerant coming out. This line, I found out last night, snaked its way all over the fridge which made it very unpredictable and hard to avoid.

ClaudiusB said:

I only can speak for myself and my freezer.
My freezer walls are all metal, no plastic
I needed 5 holes (all in line) on each side of my upright freezer and knew the location of the lines.
Four holes went well, the drill bit for the fifth barely cut the the side of the condensing line.
The reason it happened to the fifth hole was the line mounting to the side wall was 1/8" off from the rest.
The lines are brazed to the outer metal wall, pilot holes don't help when drilling from the outside.
You don't feel the differents, its metal on metal.
Drilling from the inside first may help, you can feel going through the wall and insulation before hitting lines again.

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

Click to expand...

Didn't know that. That certainly explains a bit.

I bought a mini fridge off of craigslist and had no problem installing my tower, but after about a weak, I realized that it was not cooling as well as it shoud. I noticed that the refrigerant it used was R-134a. That is availale at the automotive parts houses and even Walmart. The problem I had then was the fact that it was a sealed system. I had no way to charge it. I called an A/C supply warehouse and found they sold a line tap for about $2 that I could install on the low pressure line. It even came with the tool to install it. Then, I had to make one more trip to the auto parts store to get a R-134a retrofit fitting so that I could charge it. After all was installed and I was able to charge, I only had to charge it for about a second and a half and now it works great! If anyone needs part numbers, let me know....

Ewalk02 said:

I made the decision last night that its not worth the hassle, I think I'll just offer up $30 on craigslist for another used minifridge and chalk this one up as a loss.

Click to expand...

Next time you should try the corn starch/ rubbing alcohol trick. It worked fine for me. Once it dries you can see where the lines run.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/sanyo-4912-kegerator-conversion-19596/

goodham said:

I bought a mini fridge off of craigslist and had no problem installing my tower, but after about a weak, I realized that it was not cooling as well as it shoud. I noticed that the refrigerant it used was R-134a. That is availale at the automotive parts houses and even Walmart. The problem I had then was the fact that it was a sealed system. I had no way to charge it. I called an A/C supply warehouse and found they sold a line tap for about $2 that I could install on the low pressure line. It even came with the tool to install it. Then, I had to make one more trip to the auto parts store to get a R-134a retrofit fitting so that I could charge it. After all was installed and I was able to charge, I only had to charge it for about a second and a half and now it works great! If anyone needs part numbers, let me know....

Click to expand...

i know this is an old thread, but hopefully you are subscribed still or someone who knows more is...

how difficult was it to recharge your closed system fridge? simply line tap, recharge, and go?

any clues on sealing a crack in the line? liquid weld maybe?