Fridge Refurbishment Help Needed!

Ok so I scored my $25 fridge today. Got it home and in the basement. It works good but the outside is in some pretty rough shape.

I don't care about looks but I would like to paint it so you don't get rust all over you if you rub against it and to prevent any further rusting.

I am using this fridge to keep my kegs cold while carbing so I need to drill a hole in it to run the airline to the CO2 bottle that will sit outside the fridge. Where and how is the best way?

Can the fridge support 4 full kegs ok? Do I need to reinforce the floor?

Any other tips?

Get a tetanus shot.

I'd get some paint specifically for situations with rust and just paint the thing. Making sure your tetanus is up to date is always sound medical advice

I would sand the rough spots a bit, knock off all the loose rust, then paint it with some appliance paint (rustoleum should work fine as well).

Am I safe to drill thru the side? Specifically the left?

Usually there are coils that run through the walls of the fridge, so I would be very careful if you do decide to drill through the side.

So is the door the only safe bet?

Sand it, clean it, then use this stuff: http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=101

They make it in black too! Works great.

Odds are the evaporator coils are in the freezer compartment. The coils are typically concealed by an aluminum cover. There probably are no evaporator coils in the lower refrigerator section sides or back. The condenser coils are typically on the back of the fridge. So, while it's probably safe to drill a hole anywhere in the lower section, it will still be a very good idea to be certain. Plug it in and run it while checking the interior walls with your hand. Within a few minutes (maybe as much as 10 or 15 min), you should be able to detect the walls getting cold if there are any coils embedded in them. Inspect the freezer compartment and check the same way. You should be able to feel the top and bottom of the freezer compartment getting cold within a short time. Even if you get to the point where you are fairly confident that no coils are in your path, proceed cautiously. Damaging a coil will likely doom the fridge.

I got this off of a appliance forumn and this was a response from a refrigerator repair man: "MOST refrigerators have just insulation in the sides.

Old refrigerators had condensors built in the side wall, but today things are different. 98% of new refrigerators have them in other places besides the sides.

I would stay away from the back edge, but 6 holes should be relatively safe.

Good luck, send some beer my way when you're done."

From everything I've read, most coils are on the back, bottom or between the fridge and freezer. I'm going to be drilling some holes in the side of mine soon and feel better about it.

I would sand that thing down as already said, just to get the bulk of the rust off, then paint it with the already suggested paint. As far as the lines on the sides, I wonder if the alcohol/corn starch trick would work on the sides... Anyone else know if that is only good for the mini-fridges? One question, why don't you want to drill in the door? It will have to be accessable anyways... Just wondering. PS, should have held out for a fridge on Crairgslist, I just picked up a full size side-by-side fridge that will fit 4 kegs and I plan on building a shelf system to fit more... it looks only about 2 years old.... Got it for just $50... just saying...

IF you're going to go through with restoring this I HIGHLY recommend you drill before you do anything else. No sense sanding and painting only to hit a coolant line when you finish.

I will say this, I bought a 1940 Philco fridge for $40 for my kegerator and it was in much better shape.

A quart can of alkyd oil base paint and a brush will make that thing look decent, spray paints are great, but i like using them outdoors...be careful indoors, I remember reading a thread where a guy misted his apartment w/ spray paint....hah...YMMV. As said above, i would not invest a lot of time and money in a $25 dollar fridge. Sand it, clean it, paint it, done.

*The floor will hold your beer just fine.

AluminumGerbil said:

IF you're going to go through with restoring this I HIGHLY recommend you drill before you do anything else. No sense sanding and painting only to hit a coolant line when you finish.

I will say this, I bought a 1940 Philco fridge for $40 for my kegerator and it was in much better shape.

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Yeah, I don't mean to make you feel bad, but I got a fridge off Craigslist for free and it was white and only about 8 years old and works perfectly. I know that deal doesn't come along every day, but you probably could have found one in much better shape.

Craigslist was a no go for me I live in too rural an area everything was hours away. Also its hunting season up here so any cheap fridges and freezers are snagged up pretty quick. I've been trying for 2 months at least. I know its pretty rusty but its clean inside and holds temp and doesn't run all the time. It just sits in my basement no one but me sees it.

Today drilled a hole in the side to run the air line in and installed the secondary regulator and all the lines. Tommorow I will sand it down and paint it black with the rustoleum appliance epoxy paint.

Carbing my 1st keg in it now.

That's good to know that there is no issue drilling through the side. I'll be doing that to mine real soon. And I didn't mean to offend you; I'm sure you got what you could and if it works who cares. I'm sure it will look like new again real soon.

As far as sanding it down, I had a chest freezer in almost as rough of shape. About an hour with a wire wheel, some sanding to clean things up, and a coat of Epoxy Appliance spray paint and it looked like new.

I was careful. I drilled in just till I was thru the outside sheet metal. Then I slowly pushed a screwdriver into the insulation and moved it around to make sure there were no lines or nothing in the way before I drilled thru to the inside.

The other good thing about the frigde being so rough is right now we live in an apartment and since I will be into this fridge about a total of $30 when we move in the future a year or two down the line I won't feel the need to take it with us or feel bad about leaving it behind, so I won't be having to haul it back up the stairs and out of the basement May be old and rusty but the sumbitch was heaaaaavy! My back is still feeling it!

Waunabeer said:

That's good to know that there is no issue drilling through the side. I'll be doing that to mine real soon. And I didn't mean to offend you; I'm sure you got what you could and if it works who cares. I'm sure it will look like new again real soon.

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I didn't get a wire wheel I got one of those rough abrasive ones. Don't care if I get it to look new just to the point the GF doesn't scream in fear when she sees it like she did today LOL.

Jawbox0 said:

As far as sanding it down, I had a chest freezer in almost as rough of shape. About an hour with a wire wheel, some sanding to clean things up, and a coat of Epoxy Appliance spray paint and it looked like new.

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why not just put the tank inside the fridge?

If I put the tank outside I can fit four kegs inside, tank inside only 3 kegs.