Trimming plastic for a kegerator

[m3B.eer]

Hi everyone!

I am trying myself to make a kegerator or moreso a fermentation chamber for now.

I bought this fridge second hand and realized I'll have to cut and trim the plastic within the door. I've seen quite a bit of information on this, so I'm not too worried.

However, 2x5Gal kegs still won't fit. I think the culprit would be the plastic part molded to carry the different trays.

So now I'm like : Should I attempt to trim those, and hope that the 2 kegs will fit...? Or should I just get another fridge. (I've attached a picture to describe). Has anyone experienced this before? My bad for not noticing this earlier but well...

I'm bummed as I was planning to brew a lager today... :-(

Cheers!

EDIT : I also had other questions :
Has anyone of you been able to fit a 10Gal keg in such a sized fridge? Dimensions are slightly less than 12"x26". To make it fit, I was thinking if it was possible to cut off a bit of the plastic in the step? and also some of the foam isolation...

 

[Dr_Jeff]

From the angle of the view in the pic, to me it looks like if you were to trim it out, it wouldn't buy you enough space.

You can do a test and cut two 8" circles out of paper and do a test fit with them on the bottom of the box.

Before I built my first keezer, I had a set of 8" circles that I just left in the van and would carry them with me when I went to look at a potential candidate box.

 

[m3B.eer]

The problem I have is that, as you can see, those molded tray holders are not at the base. They are only from the middle to the top of the inside. And they are on both side, approximately each 2cm in length (slightly less than 1 inch). So I would be gaining close to 4cm if I were to trim them off, I believe., in the best case scenario.

 

[Golddiggie]

I suggest using slightly larger than 8" circles for the kegs. Mostly because the Torpedo kegs are a larger diameter. I'd rather 'future proof' the unit with those in mind than not and be upset that I lose the space for one (or more) kegs down the road.

 

[IslandLizard]

The problem I have is that, as you can see, those molded tray holders are not at the base. They are only from the middle to the top of the inside. And they are on both side, approximately each 2cm in length (slightly less than 1 inch). So I would be gaining close to 4cm if I were to trim them off, I believe., in the best case scenario.

Measure the inside width between the actual walls (not the shelf slides). A 2-piece ruler (or just 2 short sticks that slide over one another) works wonders for inside measurements.
Do it in several spots, to be sure. If the width is larger than the diameter of the 2 kegs they should fit.

BTW, I've seen pix of similar fridges having the slides removed. They leave foam exposed. You may want to put some good sticking tape (e.g., aluminum ductwork tape) over the exposed foam areas, to prevent or reduce mold build-up over time.

Not sure what kind of tool would give you a smooth cut and finish. The more time you spend on it, the smoother the surface, and the better it may look. I guess a utility knife or an oscillating saw would get you close, then smooth it with a sander?

 

[Wables]

On my Sanyo I removed the whole plastic shelving system on the door and replaced with 1/4” plywood. That might work on the side.

 

[slurms]

I was in the same boat as you when I was using a mini fridge as a kegerator. I ended up cutting the tray holders out with an oscillating tool. It's just the plastic you see and the foam insulation underneath. As others mentioned, might want to smooth it out after and cover it. I never did, but, ehh.

Either way, at least with mine, I was able to squeeze in two 5 gal ball lock kegs. They aren't side to side, so it's a pain to get the back keg out. But it works nonetheless.

 

[Golddiggie]

On my Sanyo I removed the whole plastic shelving system on the door and replaced with 1/4” plywood. That might work on the side.

When I used a fridge for kegs I removed the plastic on the inside of the door (cut off with an air tool). Covered the foam with some thin plex and whatever else I had on hand (glued into position). Worked pretty well for as long as I had that fridge. Replaced it with a keezer when the number of kegs needing to be served/carbonated exceeded the fridge capabilities.

 

[m3B.eer]

Thanks guys!
I bought it cheap... and If ever I'm going to at least shave the plastic door, It's not really resellable anyways. I think selling it and finding another one at the same price that MAY have smaller plastic tray sliders can take a bit of time.

Might as well take my utility knife and get trimming soon. I don't have many other tools. (Not a handyman, basically...)
As long as I don't plan to cut off the insulation, the cooling lines should be out of danger right?

The other part of plastic I'd like to trim off is part of the step in the back of the fridge. I saw a video of a guy trimming some of it off (although I believe it has a very utility reason) :
Converting a Magic Chef 4.4 cubic feet mini fridge into a KEGERATOR! - YouTube

Wish me luck!

 

[slurms]

As long as I don't plan to cut off the insulation, the cooling lines should be out of danger right?

It looks like the cooling lines are on the back wall of the fridge so you shouldn't have any problem with hitting any lines if you cut off that insulation that's in the way. Even so, it would be pretty dumb on their part to put cooling lines there...

 

[csantoni]

The other part of plastic I'd like to trim off is part of the step in the back of the fridge. I saw a video of a guy trimming some of it off (although I believe it has a very utility reason) :
Converting a Magic Chef 4.4 cubic feet mini fridge into a KEGERATOR! - YouTube

I did something very similar to that video. The hump on mine is just insulation under the plastic so I was able to carve out enough of it to allow the door to close with a keg in front of the hump. I can't fit two 5 gals but I can put a 3.5 gal on the hump now that my CO2 is outside.

 

[odie]

I did a cheap kegerator outta a mini fridge. I had to cut out the door plastic and those side slots to fit 2 kegs.

Just remember. a cut is forever

 

[m3B.eer]

Actually, using @IslandLizard suggestion of the 2 stick measuring kit:
I only have about 15" width with the tray sliders. About 16" without. to cut off some plastic in this area more would maybe give me an extra .5"... I think it's too risky to get cutting in there.
Kegs are about 8.5" diameters, so would be too much risk.
I'll put it back together and hopefully find another one soon!

 

[m3B.eer]

I did something very similar to that video. The hump on mine is just insulation under the plastic so I was able to carve out enough of it to allow the door to close with a keg in front of the hump. I can't fit two 5 gals but I can put a 3.5 gal on the hump now that my CO2 is outside.

How did you know what was behind the step/hump? Just a cut and see?

 

[csantoni]

How did you know what was behind the step/hump? Just a cut and see?

Pretty much. I watched almost every video I could find and none of them showed cooling lines in the hump. Also, I only really cut the plastic shell. I carved out some of the insulation but I just needed about 1/8” to get clearance. I was confident that even if there was anything behind there I wouldn’t hit it. I also put a bulkhead through the hump to run a CO2 line. For that I drilled a tiny hole through just the plastic shell and then used a thin piece of metal to poke through the insulation to ensure there wasn’t anything there I might damage.

 

[m3B.eer]

Pretty much. I watched almost every video I could find and none of them showed cooling lines in the hump. Also, I only really cut the plastic shell. I carved out some of the insulation but I just needed about 1/8” to get clearance. I was confident that even if there was anything behind there I wouldn’t hit it. I also put a bulkhead through the hump to run a CO2 line. For that I drilled a tiny hole through just the plastic shell and then used a thin piece of metal to poke through the insulation to ensure there wasn’t anything there I might damage.

Would you have pictures of the inside of yours? I'd be curious to see.

 

[csantoni]

Would you have pictures of the inside of yours? I'd be curious to see.

Ono thing I'd do differently is bend the freezer tray back against the wall instead of flipping it over. I did that before I knew exactly what I was doing but I don't want to risk breaking the coolant line to fix it.

 

[odie]

I'm surprised you were able to flip it without twisting and pinching the line or worse.

 

[csantoni]

I'm surprised you were able to flip it without twisting and pinching the line or worse.

No kidding! Like I said, that was before I had any idea what I was doing and I’m certainly not going to press my luck.

 

[m3B.eer]

Haha well done still! Thank you