Frigidaire mini fridge FFPA4422UM

[Taluca84]

Brewers and DIY'ers,

I purchased the above mentioned model. No freezer but I can't figure out where to put my hole in the top for the tower. I've tried a buddy with THIC and the alcohol and corn starch trick. Neither revealed coolant lines to me. Does the moon and planets need to be in perfect alignment for the lines to be revealed to me?

 

[day_trippr]

Can you take some good pictures of the interior? Maybe we can figure it out...

Cheers!

 

[Taluca84]

 

[day_trippr]

Good pic!
It appears most if not all of the rear interior wall contains the "cold plate" as it seems like all of the condensation is back there.
Based on that I would expect the plumbing between the cold plate, compressor and evaporator would be along the bottom.

I presume this unit does not have a condenser under the floor, so it likely does use the exterior sheet metal for that function.
But I don't think I've seen that type of fridge using the top sheet metal for condenser service - typically it's the sides and rear.
This is clearly important but should be easy enough to determine: turn it off long enough to reach room temperature on all sides, then turn it on and let it run for awhile (leave the door open if necessary) and compare the warmth on each side, the rear, and the top.

Last, the lighted thermostat may be the tricky bit: there'll be power to the thermostat and the light, and perhaps even a wire or capillary tube running to the evaporator for a sensor, and it's not uncommon for that/those to run across the top of mini-fridges. I think I'd be most worried about this part, so I hesitate to recommend drilling a small (1/8"d) hole from the inside up then probing around feeling for anything other than foam before carefully widening the hole until you can see inside. But that's what I'd probably try

Cheers!

 

[Taluca84]

Here is the backside. I think the plumbing is all in the back. But I'm scared to drill with out knowing for sure

 

[day_trippr]

I love the HUGE "CYCLOPENTANE" labels affixed to insulated appliances like chest freezers and fridges these days. My latest 14.8cf keezer had one of those labels above the compressor compartment - I thought it meant something interesting like a new type of refrigerant, but it's just the gas used to inject the insulating foam into chassis, lid and door cavities

Anyway, this shot shows there's definitely no discrete condenser under the floor, which surely means this unit uses the skin to shed heat. Also, the suction and pressurized tubes in and out of the compressor are to the right of the compressor and immediately head straight up along the back of the unit. I doubt they go very far - but again it's important to figure out if the top of the unit has condenser tubing under it.

Meanwhile you can see the thick power cables between the AC ingress and the compressor heading straight up on the left of the back. The question is do they loop over the top on the way to the thermostat. I'm guessing yes - but considering where the visible runs disappear plus the location of the thermostat the runs may avoid the middle of the top entirely, which would definitely be a win...

Cheers!

 

[lfdal54]

Any update on this? I'm getting ready to give it a shot and would be curious to see how the previous poster made out. Same exact fridge. FFPA4422UM

 

[Taluca84]

Ok so here is my update on this fridge. Sadly to say I ruined the fridge by hitting a coolant line on the top.
I drilled a small hole in roughly the center. I picked around the insulation and slowly widened the hole to about 2 inches. No lines and was safe. Yay!!
If I would've spotted there I would've been fine. But then I wanted to drill another hole for exterior C02 line to go in since my bottle was going to be mounted under my bar. Used the same process but I picked the center about 3inches from the rear edge. Drilled a small hole. Picked around the insulation and seemed I was clear. Drilled the final size of the hole and just nicked the coolant line. Line was at the 4oclock position if standing at the front of the fridge. 1/8th inch shift and I would've been fine.
I was pissed!
Anyway I found someone selling a gently used edge star two tap tower kegerator on marketplace for $200. So I bought that.

If you have any specific questions let me know. More than happy to pass off my experience and knowledge

 

[duncan.brown]

I love the HUGE "CYCLOPENTANE" labels affixed to insulated appliances like chest freezers and fridges these days. My latest 14.8cf keezer had one of those labels above the compressor compartment - I thought it meant something interesting like a new type of refrigerant, but it's just the gas used to inject the insulating foam into chassis, lid and door cavities

Well you learn something every day! This is on my keezer as well and I assumed it was the refrigerant.

https://pressroom.geappliances.com/news/reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-190718
Looks like it’s actually R600a for the refrigerant.

https://refrigerationclub.com/working-with-r600a-and-r290/

 

[LitBrewing]

Ok so here is my update on this fridge. Sadly to say I ruined the fridge by hitting a coolant line on the top.
I drilled a small hole in roughly the center. I picked around the insulation and slowly widened the hole to about 2 inches. No lines and was safe. Yay!!
If I would've spotted there I would've been fine. But then I wanted to drill another hole for exterior C02 line to go in since my bottle was going to be mounted under my bar. Used the same process but I picked the center about 3inches from the rear edge. Drilled a small hole. Picked around the insulation and seemed I was clear. Drilled the final size of the hole and just nicked the coolant line. Line was at the 4oclock position if standing at the front of the fridge. 1/8th inch shift and I would've been fine.
I was pissed!
Anyway I found someone selling a gently used edge star two tap tower kegerator on marketplace for $200. So I bought that.

If you have any specific questions let me know. More than happy to pass off my experience and knowledge

I had the same experience trying to convert a small fridge into a kegerator. Coolant lines were all over the back and sides of the unit, did the same thing you did, small hole poke around didn't sense anything, then drilled a slightly larger hole and nicked the line. Bought a purpose built kegerator after that and it works great.

 

[Genuine]

I love that the cooling plate isn't visible. I feel like that's a huge space saver with this fridge. If mine ever goes, I'll replace it with this one.