Drilling holes in refrigerators: nervous as hell.

So I need to do just a few more things to my kegerator to make it really awesome, foremost of which is installing the new thermostat I just got, as well as moving the co2 tank to the outside. The problem with all of this is the drilling. So much drilling.

I've already drilled once to install a tap, but I went through the door, which I knew to be safe because it is removable. However, the probe and the gas lines (dual body reg) I would really like to go in through the side, or even better, the back.

Noodling around on HBT, I found the most comfortable route of finding the lines to be turning it on from a warm state, and feeling for warmth. The only warmth I can find, though, is from the coils on the back. Everywhere else seems to remain the same temp. Does this mean it's reasonably safe to drill the sides?

And finally, once the holes are drilled for the lines, how do most people seal them?

Man...that was way more than I planned on typing. I need a brew.

If you have coils on the back, you should be good to drill. (someone else back me up on that!) What kind of fridge is it? And if you think you still might have coils inside the insulation for some reason, drill a small hole through the sheet metal, and then poke around with a screw driver to make sure there's nothing in there, then drill the rest.

Ben25 said:

If you have coils on the back, you should be good to drill. (someone else back me up on that!) What kind of fridge is it? And if you think you still might have coils inside the insulation for some reason, drill a small hole through the sheet metal, and then poke around with a screw driver to make sure there's nothing in there, then drill the rest.

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It's an Avanti 1043 YW. I had the fortune of running into my neighbor as he was throwing it out, and it just looked perfect. Once the CO2 is outside, I'll be able to fit four kegs. It may not be as big as some keezers, but it was very free, and that's as much as I like to pay.

As far as poking around with a screwdriver, I'll take that advice once I start drilling, but didn't want to just go at it without some informed opinions first.



How do you like Burlington? I'm thinking about moving up there one of these days to get away from NYC. Burlington seems way more my speed.

I read somewhere to take rubbing alcohol and mix in some cornstarch. Turn the fridge on and put some of the solution where you intend to drill. The alcohol will evaporate quicker where the coils are (or are not, I forget).
tom

TomRep said:

I read somewhere to take rubbing alcohol and mix in some cornstarch. Turn the fridge on and put some of the solution where you intend to drill. The alcohol will evaporate quicker where the coils are (or are not, I forget).
tom

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I'll definitely give that a shot. It's a little more appealing than drilling and hoping, anyway. I think I'm pretty committed to drilling through the side, just gotta do it.

My only other question is about the sealing off of the hole once it's drilled. I know that not a lot of warm air will be getting in through the extra space, but for aesthetic reasons, I would like to seal up the hole that the probe and gas lines will be going through. Any recommendations?

I'd just use silicone sealant. You should be able to get a tube in what ever color the fridge is.
Tom

TomRep said:

I'd just use silicone sealant. You should be able to get a tube in what ever color the fridge is.
Tom

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Awesome. I didn't even think of that. I just bought some to seam seal my tent, and have a whole tube I didn't know what to do with.

tincansandtwine said:

How do you like Burlington? I'm thinking about moving up there one of these days to get away from NYC. Burlington seems way more my speed.

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Well I did move up there to get away from NYC. Born and raised in Rockland, NY. Burlington is Awesome, very relaxed and chill. Not as much money to be made though, so I just moved back to Rockland, and I'm making 3 times as much as I was up there...

When I drilled the side of my fridge, in order to move the CO2 bottle outside, I did the following.

1. Search for schematics.
I didn't find any for my fridge because it was very old. The plus side is that if you invest in a new fridge you may have a better chance in getting this type of diagram. I'd even call the manufacturer. Ask for an engineer, they are always the most helpful people at a company and usually don't give a crap about sales type stuff. Most customer sales reps are not going to be smart enough to tell you what you want and they will likely say that they can't give that type of information out. Most engineers like modifying stuff to make cooler stuff and will help you out. Example of schematics

2. Try and take off any removable covers on the back or bottom. This can give you a much better idea of clear spots to drill. I pulled the front bottom grate off and saw that the compressor was located on the left side with tubes going up. I didn't see anything on the rear right side, so that was where I started.

3. Just cut through the outside sheet metal first.
The other guys here are right. Cut through the sheet metal first then dig around in the foam insulation with a small screw driver. To do this use a hole saw drill bit with the center smaller drill bit removed. It will make it more difficult to drill, but you won't bast through a compressor line of wiring. You could also start from the inside. Since it is plastic is may be easier to hole saw without the centering drill.

4. If you mix corn starch and rubbing alcohol and wipe it on a fridge that is not plugged in, then turn the fridge on, the heat generated by internal coils will theoretically warm faster than areas without coils. This may show you where warm coils are located because the alcohol will evaporate faster above the coils leaving a dry line of corn starch. If this takes too long, the alcohol may just evaporate, so you can try water. The problem with this is that most fridges are really well insulated and you may not see enough variation in evaporation. Besides, this won't work for wiring.

5. Down an few and just do it. Some times you just won't know for sure so grip it and rip it!

You have two sets of coils to worry about. One is the condenser coils, but since you said he ones on the back are getting warm, you know where those are. Now you have to worry about the evaporator coils, where the cooling actually happens. Sometimes in small fridges, those will be around the ice box and they cool the rest of the fridge. Larger fridges will have those somewhere on the inside walls, most likely the back. You can get a sense of those by leaving the door open, fridge on and just feel the inside walls. There will be an area that is much colder than the rest, avoid it. I like to cut a small access hole in the outside with a Dremel and a cut off disk to keep the penetration to a minimum and give me a larger hole to poke around in. Good luck, it's always a crap shoot and scary.

google your model and see if you can find an owner's manual on it. It may have a clue on where the coils are.

schoolmaster said:

When I drilled the side of my fridge, in order to move the CO2 bottle outside, I did the following.

5. Down an few and just do it. Some times you just won't know for sure so grip it and rip it!

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That's probably what it's going to come down to. I had a few last night and was eyeballing it, thinking how pretty that thermostat would look mounted on the side...

Ricand said:

You have two sets of coils to worry about. One is the condenser coils, but since you said he ones on the back are getting warm, you know where those are. Now you have to worry about the evaporator coils, where the cooling actually happens. Sometimes in small fridges, those will be around the ice box and they cool the rest of the fridge. Larger fridges will have those somewhere on the inside walls, most likely the back. You can get a sense of those by leaving the door open, fridge on and just feel the inside walls. There will be an area that is much colder than the rest, avoid it. I like to cut a small access hole in the outside with a Dremel and a cut off disk to keep the penetration to a minimum and give me a larger hole to poke around in. Good luck, it's always a crap shoot and scary.

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It's those cooling lines I think I should be worried about. I'm pretty sure they're in the back, but then again, I'm not totally sure. On my food fridge, the sides are definitely cooler than the back, so I know that's where they are in that fridge. On the kegerator, though, there isn't really one side that's cooler than the other. I think it just comes down to picking a spot, downing copious amounts of homebrew, and pulling the trigger.

I emailed the company for the schematics, and hopefully they will be helpful. I found the manual here, but it didn't seem to have anything useful.

The rubbing alcohol and corn starch trick works well

Ben25 said:

Well I did move up there to get away from NYC. Born and raised in Rockland, NY. Burlington is Awesome, very relaxed and chill. Not as much money to be made though, so I just moved back to Rockland, and I'm making 3 times as much as I was up there...

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and paying four times as much for everything. We are toying with the idea of Tennessee SWMBO was asked by one of the VP's of the company she works if she would consider a move with a promotion. With more money than she is making here .

Rather than use silicone, I think I'm going to throw on some rubber grommets to seal the inside and outside, as that will also prevent chaffing of the line from the metal. I also called the manufacturer, and they said that the refrigerators are manufactured in China and they don't have any info about the coils. It was probably bull****, but that's how it goes.

schoolmaster said:

When I drilled the side of my fridge, in order to move the CO2 bottle outside, I did the following.

(edited)
1. Search for schematics.
2. Try and take off any removable covers on the back or bottom.
3. Just cut through the outside sheet metal first.
The other guys here are right. Cut through the sheet metal first then dig around in the foam insulation with a small screw driver. To do this use a hole saw drill bit with the center smaller drill bit removed. It will make it more difficult to drill, but you won't bast through a compressor line of wiring. You could also start from the inside. Since it is plastic is may be easier to hole saw without the centering drill.
4. If you mix corn starch and rubbing alcohol...
5. Down an few and just do it.

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This is all great advice.

Modified #3:
Instead of the metal skin, drill through the plastic from the inside (which is easier anyway), then probe. The reason is the coils use the metal skin to dissipate heat, and are right up against the skin, sometimes attached to it, so it's pretty easy to nick them.

#6 when you first drill through and you hear some popping/hissing don't panic (yet). In my case the plastic/foam/skin were in vacuum and when I puncture the plastic the metal separated from the foam. Another good reason to follow #5.

spotter said:

This is all great advice.

Modified #3:
Instead of the metal skin, drill through the plastic from the inside (which is easier anyway), then probe. The reason is the coils use the metal skin to dissipate heat, and are right up against the skin, sometimes attached to it, so it's pretty easy to nick them.

#6 when you first drill through and you hear some popping/hissing don't panic (yet). In my case the plastic/foam/skin were in vacuum and when I puncture the plastic the metal separated from the foam. Another good reason to follow #5.

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I ended up just following #5...after I was 90% sure that there were no lines running through the sides. After more closely examining the compressor, I saw three lines going into it/coming out of it. One was power, one was the coil that gets hot (which never aqctually goes into the fridge) and a cool line. The cool line runs straight up to the freezer section, which has very cold ridges running all over it. The freezer section is very well vented, so I believe the fridge is cooled via the freezer, with no lines running through the side walls (except some electric near the edges). I stayed away from the edges, and presto! New thermostat. Thanks to everyone for all the help!