Existing hole w/ plastic cover in back of chest freezer door?

[GratefulBear]

I've got a Hotpoint 9.4 chest freezer and I'm finally getting ready to do some drilling. I want to keep the CO2 tank outside the keezer and put the gas lines through the edge of the door. I noticed the back of the freezer has an existing hole with a plastic cover (picture attached). The hole is a couple inches deep and all that's visible is insulation. Does anyone know the purpose of this hole or if it signifies the electrical line for the led light is nearby?

 

[jseyfert3]

There won’t be any refrigerant lines in the lid. I suspect the hole is likely where they injected the foam mix into the lid assembly.

 

[GratefulBear]

There won’t be any refrigerant lines in the lid. I suspect the hole is likely where they injected the foam mix into the lid assembly.

Thanks, that makes sense. I'm guessing they wouldn't inject foam right where the electrical line is.. I'm guessing the electrical line goes straight from where it enters the door (at a hinge) to the light to use as little material as possible... Gotta follow the $ haha

 

[day_trippr]

That is correct, that lid cavity is solidly filled with rigid foam.
My current keezer came with that style of lid, I tossed it and made my own

fwiw, in my case the dome light power came in through the back edge via an obvious power cord that was held in place with a single screw to its receptacle.

I suppose one could still try to route gas lines through the lid - that's what I did on my previous two keezers. Gonna be a challenge to do it neatly...

Cheers!

 

[Deadalus]

Do you not have any interest in putting taps in it eventually? Collar extensions are relatively straightforward to do and it would seem you are trying to maximize space. A collar can raise the lid height such that a five gallon keg can fit on the hump. Then you could just drill a hole in the collar for the gas line.

 

[GratefulBear]

Do you not have any interest in putting taps in it eventually? Collar extensions are relatively straightforward to do and it would seem you are trying to maximize space. A collar can raise the lid height such that a five gallon keg can fit on the hump. Then you could just drill a hole in the collar for the gas line.

I'm going to use a draft tower I already have. I want to keep the taps up and away from the kiddies. I may have to use some sort of backing board or pvc waterstop combined with pvc pipe so the top sheet metal of the door doesn't bear all the weight of the draft tower when I open the door

 

[GratefulBear]

That is correct, that lid cavity is solidly filled with rigid foam.
My current keezer came with that style of lid, I tossed it and made my own

fwiw, in my case the dome light power came in through the back edge via an obvious power cord that was held in place with a single screw to its receptacle.

I suppose one could still try to route gas lines through the lid - that's what I did on my previous two keezers. Gonna be a challenge to do it neatly...

Cheers!

Ya, I knew there were no refrigerant lines in the door (even though I typed refrigerant/electrical lines at first) I must have been seriously tired. As I was editing my post, people started responding.. Anyways, you're the one that I got the idea from to go through the edge of the door! Any tips on how to drill if I'm just sending the 7/8 OD tube straight through the edge? Should I drill at an angle or go straight in from the outside (horizontally) and then drill up at an angle from the inside so I can get the tube to curve down through the thicker interior insulation? Thanks!

 

[Deadalus]

I'm going to use a draft tower I already have. I want to keep the taps up and away from the kiddies. I may have to use some sort of backing board or pvc waterstop combined with pvc pipe so the top sheet metal of the door doesn't bear all the weight of the draft tower when I open the door

Ok, you might still benefit from the lift over the hump. Or maybe just want to use that space for other cold stuff. I have an iron pipe tower but a wood skin enclosure. The pipes are heavy but the wood is 1" thick and supports it so I can't offer any insight there. I can unequivocally say when they get bigger get some tap locks too!

 

[day_trippr]

Curiously, this is the second thread dealing with the foamed-in-place chest freezer lids tonight.

It would be a challenge trying to run gas lines through such lids from the back because (1) there's no way to tighten down a bulkhead, so (2) you have to run raw tubing through a hole drilled through the metal edge in the back of the lid, and (3) then you have the challenge of drilling up through the liner to try to meet up with that first hole and (4) then finally snake the tubing through all that to emerge where it can connect to anything
I don't think the liner can be separated from the foam, which would be a significant contribution to what I think would be a pita.

I literally gave the lid back to the retailer - it was easier than trying to get rid of it! - and built my own lid...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/my-k3-14-8cf-keezer-build.689790/
Cheers!

 

[Deadalus]

I will mention as there was a similar concern recently but with a mini-fridge, you could possibly run the line up through the hump or if you didn't mind it, sacrificing the drain hole.

 

[GratefulBear]

I will mention as there was a similar concern recently but with a mini-fridge, you could possibly run the line up through the hump or if you didn't mind it, sacrificing the drain hole.

I think I'm gonna just go for it. I've done crazier things. I have some big drill bits on the way. I'm just going to take my time and think my way through it. If I can get a nice snug fit and maybe just use a little bit of duct tape then not a ton of cool air escaping. I'll let you guys know how it goes for better or for worse.

 

[GratefulBear]

Finally finished the keezer a few weeks back. Tough to find time with being a Dad and all but I ended up running the lines through the side of the lid. I used a shorter drill bit for precise angling (so it was lined up to pop out in the right spot) to get the hole started and then used a long drill bit to go straight through to the other side. The reasoning for going through the side instead of the back was to stay away from the electrical line for the LED light and closer to my manifold. I used moldable weather caulk around the line. The lines were moving around a lot when I opened and closed the door still and this was also making a mess of the original foam inside the keezer. To stop them from moving, I super glued a small strip of wood to the side of the lid and put screws in it that I then attached to the gas lines with line clamps. The weather caulk has been staying in place and I was thinking about spraying that expanding foam from the inside around the lines to improve insulation. However, I'm not sure if that will expand enough to pinch the lines and cause problems. I was originally going to clean things up by mounting a pvc pipe below the manifold and running the gas lines through it. However, the "arm" is a different length for each line when I open the door and the lines all move in their own way so I'll probably just loosely zip tie instead for greater flexibility. Going to post with more detail on the build in the keezer thread. One of the big lessons learned was how messy this got with the existing freezer foam. Probably should have worn a mask more and maybe emptied the keezer before attempting (instead of just using a dropcloth). I ended up having to use a hose to hose everything down while draining out the drain hole.