I have been very happy with their brew buckets. I ordered a third one last week with temp control. Very pleased with the quality and their customer support has been great. I'd also like to see silicone grips for the handles.
I drilled holes on my old fridge, but nicking something important was a concern. On my current chamber, I just close the doors on the wires and I haven't had any problems.
I live in Mississippi and brewing during the summer can be absolutely brutal. There have been years where I brew a ton in the spring to build a stockpile so I don't have to brew at all during the summer.
To beat the heat in the warm months, I try to start my brewing around 6:00 am. I love it...
Could just be a bad bottle. I would put on in the fridge and see how it's coming along in terms of carbonation and flavor. If the carbonation and flavor is coming along nicely, then it was probably a bad bottle.