Drilled into the side of a freezer

[Gsusbrew]

Ok so please don't yell at me ... But I screwed in some wood paneling onto the side of my freezer . Am I now screwed? I've drilled about 12 screws into the side.
What are the chances I drilled into one of the cooling lines?
How do i check that i have or haven't?

Its not plugged in but when i get home tonight I'm going to plus it in and listen and look for anything funny.

Anyway. Let me know your thoughts. Just sitting here paranoid at work..

 

[kh54s10]

If you plug it in and it does not cool you are screwed. At least a coolant line got screwed.

Next time -- adhesives!!

 

[Rockn_M]

The only true way is to plug it in and wait a few min to cool. If it cools you lucked out.

If it was quiet when you were working you might have heard the coolant escape but if your like me, I've got music on so you might not have heard anything.

Good Luck!

 

[PlexVector]

Some freezers may use the outside of one or more walls to sink heat away from the condenser. I would assume the back wall of the freezer, so you may want to figure that out as well. The user manual will say to keep that side about 2 inches from any surfaces.

 

[SnakeRidge]

I drilled into an AC cooling line once and it hissed like a mad rattlesnake and the coolant rushed out in a white cloud. I think you would know if you punctured one, but plug it in and see if it cools.

 

[Gsusbrew]

So it's cooling down just as it did when I got it. Does this mean I'm out of the woods???

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

I believe so...

 

[SnakeRidge]

Sounds like it

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Run it for 24 hrs., and report back..........

 

[Supergrump]

I've killed 2 keezers that way. I'm a slow learner. Both times it took about 18-24 months for it to die. The coolant will slowly leak out and evaporate over time. I did it twice by only using 2 screws so you are much more likely to have hit a line. Don't remove the screws or you'll expedite the death of your keezer. You'll notice in time, eventually, the compressor will always be running and it will have a hard time maintaining the temperature.

I would suggest that you don't make any modifications that can't be easily undone and moved to a new keezer. It's very annoying to tile the lid and laminate wood on the sides only to find you have to do it all over again in less than 2 years.

edit: I just read the original post and noticed you drilled into the outside wall. You're probably safe. As someone mentioned earlier the coolant lines are close to the inner wall. The outer wall is mostly insulation. You are very likely to kill it by drilling into the inside.

 

[Supergrump]

Edit: ignore this... you've drilled into the outside so this is irrelevant.

You could try spreading epoxy or JB Weld over the screw heads to prevent the coolant from leaking out of the screw holes. After i learned my lesson i mounted my gas manifold to the inner wall using epoxy glue. I had a hard time getting the glue to stick to the inner surface so good luck getting a good seal. Hope it works out.

 

[thumpersk_a]

The jb weld epoxy on the heads wont work. Id look up the model number of your freezer and see if the coolant runs through the sides. Google is your friend. If its running through the sides and still cooling i wouldnt dump any more money into it, unless you remove all the screws and make sure you absolutely didnt hit any lines. Personally id rather pull them out and find out rather than hoping i dont have a slow leak and come home to warm / hot beer. Happy screwing.