Drilling a hole in the side of my Kenmore

[steinsato]

I was just given a 1997 Kenmore Coldspot model # 106. 67297790 and want to drill a hole in the side of it to allow the CO2 tubing to get inside the refridgerator. The tank itself (20#) is too tall to fit inside the refridgerator without making major adjustments to the shelves and in the process losing lots of storage space. So i figured putting the CO2 outside the fridge and running the line inside through a hole in the wall would be my best option. I tried searching for it on the www. but didn't get any definite answers. Anyone know the answer or know of a website that specializes in these kind of questions? Thanks.

 

[worksnorth]

I guess the question is if you can drill the side with out hitting any coolant tubes? I had the same question sometime ago and couldn't find the answer on the particular fridge I had. Asked around and pretty much, (pretty much) the consensus was that most fridges cooling lines are only in the back.
I gently poked into the side of the inside of the fridge where one of the shelf rack holes already existed. Kind of scratched around with a probe till I found the outside wall of the fridge, cleared the hole out of insulation enough to be sure there were no tubes and then just drilled through right there. Worked out to be a fairly clean spot and way to do it for me.
Sorry couldn't be of more help finding the actual info for your fridge.
Good luck!

 

[steinsato]

Yup, that is what I meant to ask, Can I drill a hole in the side of my fridge without hitting any major arteries? The fridge doesn't have an icecube maker or anything fancy like that so I'm assuming the sides are fairly safe.

 

[Hammy71]

Why drill from the outside blindly? Cut a small 1/2 " square piece of the plastic away from the INSIDE of the fridge. Feel around with a screw driver. Then drill from the inside. No chance of hitting lines and trashing your fridge.

 

[3BB001]

On the back of my fridge there is an image of the compressor and coolant line locations and there are lines running through the sides of it. I decided to play it safe and went through the door and just left a little extra play in the lines so I can still fully open the door.

 

[steinsato]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I also sent an email to Kenmore to see if they had any answers for me as well. I think probing around from the inside is the way to go, and I will also look at the back of the fridge for a diagram.

 

[dutchoven]

Here's some diagrams on your fridge similar to yours ... http://www.searspartsdirect.com/par...sid=MMLxMerchandizexManualsModelxx10677297790

I'm using my phone ... Little tough to see ... But it doesn't look like there are lines on the sides.

 

[brewpal]

Unlikely there is anything to hit in the side. I too have a cold spot and put my taps and drip tray on the side with no issues:

 

[mc126]

I was also just given a Kenmore Coldspot. I've never converted a fridge before. If you guys have pictures of the interior I'd love to see how you modified on the inside as well as outside.

Also, slightly worried about drilling through right side of fridge. Did you guys run into any problems?

TIA