bending freon lines back in mini fridge tips and tricks

So being a poor grad student i will be buying a mini fridge for a kegerator conversion of craigslist for a good price but with one big problem! i cant be picky on size. I will for sure get something that can handle 2 cornys and a 5lb tank but cant drop the extra money for a sanyo. So it seems i can find a good size but will have to bend the freon tray at the top to the back of the fridge. Does anyone have any experience with this including tips and tricks to not pinch the line and ruin a fridge? This is what i got so far:

1. Let fridge full thaw and get it to room temp before you attempt anything
2. go SLOW!!

any others?

ekjohns said:

So being a poor grad student i will be buying a mini fridge for a kegerator conversion of craigslist for a good price but with one big problem! i cant be picky on size. I will for sure get something that can handle 2 cornys and a 5lb tank but cant drop the extra money for a sanyo. So it seems i can find a good size but will have to bend the freon tray at the top to the back of the fridge. Does anyone have any experience with this including tips and tricks to not pinch the line and ruin a fridge? This is what i got so far:

1. Let fridge full thaw and get it to room temp before you attempt anything
2. go SLOW!!

any others?

Click to expand...

I am looking to do the same thing soon.
Do you have any tips for me, did you end up bending the lines?
Thank you,
Matt

That is about all there is to it. You may want to figure out a way to fasten the tray to the back of the fridge in a non-destructive manner. On mine it tends to want to "spring" back against the CO2 tank and kegs. Also when purchasing, keep in mind the hump in the back for the compressor. It will have an impact on how many kegs you can really fit.

Good luck! Kegging has been one of the best investments I have made in homebrewing thus far.

let it thaw, and do it in one slow bend. Make sure wherever you are bending it, there is enough space because if you have to move it back up chances are it will crack.

When I bent mine a gradual arch was the best. The one place where I did start to over bend, I saw it starting to kink on the inside of the arch and stopped. A 3-4" diameter piece of pipe will make a good jig, to prevent over bending.

ekjohns said:

Does anyone have any experience with this including tips and tricks to not pinch the line and ruin a fridge? This is what i got so far:

any others?

Click to expand...

Go to post #6
I used a high tech tool designed for the job

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/old-mini-fridge-fermentation-chamber-build-109071/

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

When I first decided to keg this was my route as i already had a mini fridge, made the bend after getting it to room temp and using the can idea but also doing it in one fluid motion. As far as keeping the tray from springing back, I used the already existing holes that was in there to fasten it to the top... just screw it into the back (use small screws just in case there is tubes lurking back behind the plastic). One the note of this being the best investment for brewing, I'd say it is a tie with the cooper wort chiller... I cooled my last batch in 10 mins (6gal batch)Wish someone bragged about a wort chiller more when I first started... good luck!

I would also keep an eye out for a small 12 - 15 cf apartment style fridge. If you can find a free / cheap one they work nice, no tower req'd so cheaper yet!

ClaudiusB said:

Go to post #6
I used a high tech tool designed for the job

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/old-mini-fridge-fermentation-chamber-build-109071/

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

Click to expand...

Very nice tool you designed there. Must have been hard getting those exact specs though.