Can I drill for a tap in the side of a fridge?

I recieved a large side by side fridge from my parents and have been using a party tap for the last few months inside the fridge. I have a tap and want to drill the hole for it, but I don't want to do it in the door of the fridge. I know that sometimes cooling lines are run thrgough the sides of fridges. Has anybody put the tap on the side of their fridge? Any tips on where/how to find out if there are components on the side?

Any help would be great.

I guess it depends on the fridge,you could try the baking soda and rubbing alcohol method,but dont know how it would work on the side of a fridge.The obvious answer is to call the manufacturer,Id think no lines on the side,but its just a guess

I would recommend putting the fridge on its side, but the manufacturer will recommend NOT to do that. But I guess they'd also recommend not drilling into the fridge!

Personally, I'd say screen it and try it anyways. Research the method online (I don't know the proportion of the components) but basically it'll clump where the lines are (if any). From there you know where it is safe to drill.

Good luck

If you cam see the condensor on the back of the fridge and the coils inside the fridge then you can drill a hole straight through the sidde. Otherwise you could use the ics maker/water disoenser if it has one and upgrade the spigot to allow for a larger flow. You can also drill through the front doors very easilly and attatch a catcher tray and drain for foamy brew. Lots of possibilities and very few linnits if you use common sense.
Wheelchair Bob

Agree with Bob. Also, the lines will be run to the freezer, not the fridge regardless if they are run up the back or up the side. Isolate your hole drilling to the fridge side, and you should be fine.

When I drilled the side of mine to run the co2 line, i cut a 1"x1" hole on the inside with a razor blade (surprisingly easy) and drilled from the inside out.

I've actually been wondering this myself. I just got a 20 lb co2 tank and I'll need to drill a new hole for the gas line since it won't fit inside with the kegs. I also have a side by side. Let us know how it turns out.

allenH said:

When I drilled the side of mine to run the co2 line, i cut a 1"x1" hole on the inside with a razor blade (surprisingly easy) and drilled from the inside out.

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This is the best advise. DO NOT DRILL FROM THE OUTSIDE!!

By doing it this way you can locate the lines before you drill, they are always stuck to the outer skin.

Thanks. I will keep everything in mind tomorrow.

I drilled it from the outside, it worked. FYI

mikescooling said:

I drilled it from the outside, it worked. FYI

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It worked for you but it would be bad advice to tell someone else to do it because it worked for you. I did it once and killed a brand new fridge.

That is good advice. Also that is why I said "I drilled it" you know what would help is a picture of the fridge and where you are going to try to drill. MM cool brewery you got's some skills. You had a picture of a frame cracked near the burner, what cracked the frame? Not to thread jack.

mikescooling said:

That is good advice. Also that is why I said "I drilled it" you know what would help is a picture of the fridge and where you are going to try to drill. MM cool brewery you got's some skills. You had a picture of a frame cracked near the burner, what cracked the frame? Not to thread jack.

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I got some cheap steel and the burner eventually cracked it, I replaced it with heavy angle iron.

Well, I bit the bullet and drilled today. Actually, it was during a bordem streak while I was deep cleaning a bunch of brewing stuff I was given. It went great, and I can still open the fridge and use it.

Did you drill from the inside out? Did you get a look a the insde of the sidewall?

I didn't drill from the inside. I drilled a pilot hole then poked around with a nail... The innards seemed to to just be styrafoamy insulation.

Klaussprecht said:

I didn't drill from the inside. I drilled a pilot hole then poked around with a nail... The innards seemed to to just be styrafoamy insulation.

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I've done 3 fridges this way and never had a mishap. Just drill enough to get through the skin, whether you drill from inside or out side doesn't matter. Once the skin is breached take a screw and pull some insulation out to make sure there's nothing else inside.

Klaussprecht said:

I didn't drill from the inside. I drilled a pilot hole then poked around with a nail... The innards seemed to to just be styrafoamy insulation.

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corkybstewart said:

I've done 3 fridges this way and never had a mishap. Just drill enough to get through the skin, whether you drill from inside or out side doesn't matter. Once the skin is breached take a screw and pull some insulation out to make sure there's nothing else inside.

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Cool. Thanks guys!