Frigidaire Model FRC445GB Mini-Fridge Kegerator Conversion

[tabasco]

Thanks for this report, dude.

I'm going for it. Next time to Lowe's I'm picking one up. Good price & nice looking unit.

 

[GamePreserve]

do any of you have good bookmarks on write ups for programming/settngs navigation for the Love TS controller? I can't find the ones I stumbled over before. thanks

( http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_view.asp?sku=9352000 )

 

[Orogenic]

Am I correct that this fridge will not fit two pin-lock corny's? Anyone fit two pin-locks in here yet?

 

[AJ_in_HD]

Am I correct that this fridge will not fit two pin-lock corny's? Anyone fit two pin-locks in here yet?

well the best way to determine this would be to compare their diameters. Pretty sure there is more than enough vertical clearance.

 

[cloud9]

I just bought one of these Frigidaire's yesterday, and am very grateful to everyone contributing to this thread for helping me find a promising kegerator mini fridge! However, my application is different than the standard in that I'd like to put the shank through the side of the fridge. WatereeBrew seems to have put a hole in the side without piercing any vital condenser lines (see below). If you're still monitoring this thread WatereeBrew, would you be able to post a couple pics showing where you positioned your hole and explain your technique if applicable? Or if anyone else has put holes in the side of this model fridge without killing it, I'd be very grateful if you could provide some information about your hole location and size.

The reason I'm hoping to put the shank through the side is that my very old house has an old and beautiful bar in the basement with a tap going through the bar wall into a big walk-in fridge (no longer functional). I need to position a kegerator in the walk-in such that the shank penetrates the bar wall (~9" with all the insulation) and the fridge wall. Obviously, facing the fridge door against the walk-in wall with a shank through it is not going to work. Going out through the top of the fridge and bending 90 degrees would require a longer run of shank and beer line -- raising concerns about keeping the whole run adequately chilled to prevent foaming. My plan was to put a 3" pipe from the back of the faucet, through the 9" wall, and into the side of the fridge, which would provide space around the shank for cold air to circulate. Coming in the side rather than the top may let me get by without a fan. I guess I could go out the top as documented by others and put in a circulating fan to chill the rise and run, but I'd feel safer going with a straight and shorter run. But if I can't get good documentation on going through the side, I suppose I'd rather go out the top using well-documented techniques and avoid the risk of destroying the fridge and having to buy another. Thanks for any help!

 

[Orogenic]

Am I correct that this fridge will not fit two pin-lock corny's? Anyone fit two pin-locks in here yet?

I am doing a mod on this build to fit my pin lock kegs. So I am essentially adding a 3" insulated column to the front and moving the door out 3 inches. Like a keezer only horizontally...thats what she said.

I drilled the hole for the tower and pulled off the plastic interior of the door panel this evening with no problems. I am building the insulated column and mounting some chrome, stainless, or plastic to the inside of the door tomorrow. I will hopefully rout in a slot for the door gasket as well. Waiting on my tower to arrive.

 

[Orogenic]

Build is coming along. Switched to wood for the door panel.

 

[GamePreserve]

so you decided to go throughthe top then? how'D that workout for ya. how are you going to control the temp?

 

[qskapunk]

Has anyone tried to fit a carboy in one of these?

 

[GamePreserve]

It fits my Ale Pale, but i have to use tubing and a blowoff, the airlock wont fit. I sit it on the back hump and have a wooden block under the front. Sotn have a carboy, so I'd be interested in finding out too.

 

[GC89]

I remember putting one in when I first picked it up. If you prop up the front it will fit but i didn't take into consideration an air lock so I couldn't tell you if there would be enough room.

 

[GamePreserve]

what size carboy?
the height fits between the hump and the fridge inside ceiling?

 

[qskapunk]

5 gallon
I can go with a blow-off tube if an airlock won't fit, which I'm thinking it won't.

 

[Chefkeith]

A few things:

Does anybody else hear a persistent whooshing noise while the compressor runs? In other words, how quiet is the coolant as it runs through the lines? I recently purchased this fridge, but I want to know if this noise is normal before I go cutting holes in the unit.

Also, I read somewhere on this forum that installing a small fan will keep the unit from cycling so much. How many people have found this to be true? My unit seems to cycle a few times per hour (more than what I thought it should) even at the lowest temperature setting, which still keeps it at 37. Also, I'm not interested in cooling the tower. I would like to keep this fridge as energy efficient as possible.

To people who want to ferment in the fridge: Have you considered fermenting in a corny keg? (forgive me if this idea has already surfaced here).

Thanks for all the great info!

Cheers!

 

[GamePreserve]

i like to brew 6 gal batches, so i get 5.5 into the fermenter after a 4% volume shrink from cooling, and then rack a clean full 5 gallons off the yeast into the Keg or bottles.
with a corny, you may be limitied to the amount of clean beer you get after fermentation.
this seems kinda dumb, but everytime i try and post a picture, it has my put in a URL. how can i upload a pic from my harddrive?
I have my Ale Pale in there right now. No fan, but with my Love single stage set at 67 its only been kicking on once or twice a day. With the exothermic heat from the ferment, the whole system has been behaving nicely.

 

[GC89]

yes the coolant is a bit loud in these, as for a fan, it may help. I have one in to push cold air up into the tower and I dont think mine cyles more that once every hour or two max

 

[Chefkeith]

Has anybody tried to put casters on this model? I was looking at them at Lowes, and they seem to have a pretty good selection. However, I think the heavier duty models' threads are too large to simply replace the levelers on the front of the unit. The holes may have to be drilled out, and that may be hard to do without tipping the fridge. I'm not sure how I would attach the rear casters yet; I thought I saw some holes somewhere back there.

The extra added height of the casters would be appreciated as well.

 

[JohnnyO]

Has anyone eyeballed the 3.3 cu ft Frigidaire that's at Lowe's as well? Can these same techniques be applied there? Will a corny or two fit in the 3.3?

 

[schwarzk]

Hi all!

This forum has been amazingly informative--thanks so much for posting all of the info and pictures! I read this entire thread beginning to end, and was so excited when I got to page 7 or so and learned that you could convert this model with a tower on the top. I was thinking I would have to pay a lot in shipping to get one of the older models I'd read about elsewhere (Sanyo, etc.) in order to set up a tower-type. Now I can just pick this one up from Lowe's. Awesome!

Anyway, I'm planning to get this mini-fridge and the 2-faucet tower homebrew conversion kit from kegconnection.com for my husband for Christmas. I figured we'd settle for putting the tower through the front part to avoid removing the plastic top, since we're not as DIY-inclined as a lot of the people here who have created some real kegerators of beauty.

My question is about the tools & other supplies we'll need. I can rent a 1-3" hole saw for $6/day--would this be the appropriate tool to get through the top of the fridge? Plus, some people have talked about using PVC pipe segments through the lid, but I think someone else used duct tape, which is more at my skill level. Does it matter? I don't care what it ends up looking like on the inside.

Also, I'm assuming that you can only put on the drawer handles as rails if you take the top off and drill through it. If there's another way, though, please share! It looks really cool.

Sorry for the long first post, and thanks!

 

[AJ_in_HD]

Hi all!

This forum has been amazingly informative--thanks so much for posting all of the info and pictures! I read this entire thread beginning to end, and was so excited when I got to page 7 or so and learned that you could convert this model with a tower on the top. I was thinking I would have to pay a lot in shipping to get one of the older models I'd read about elsewhere (Sanyo, etc.) in order to set up a tower-type. Now I can just pick this one up from Lowe's. Awesome!

Anyway, I'm planning to get this mini-fridge and the 2-faucet tower homebrew conversion kit from kegconnection.com for my husband for Christmas. I figured we'd settle for putting the tower through the front part to avoid removing the plastic top, since we're not as DIY-inclined as a lot of the people here who have created some real kegerators of beauty.

My question is about the tools & other supplies we'll need. I can rent a 1-3" hole saw for $6/day--would this be the appropriate tool to get through the top of the fridge? Plus, some people have talked about using PVC pipe segments through the lid, but I think someone else used duct tape, which is more at my skill level. Does it matter? I don't care what it ends up looking like on the inside.

Also, I'm assuming that you can only put on the drawer handles as rails if you take the top off and drill through it. If there's another way, though, please share! It looks really cool.

Sorry for the long first post, and thanks!

first I applaud you for being a great wife and buying this for your hubby as a xmas gift!

on to the issue you are concerned with and that is renting a hole saw. Let me share with you my utter noob story that I'm not sure if i fully detailed in my build notes in this thread or not. When the time came to drill the holes in the front area it turned out that the 2.5" hole saw bit I bought could not be driven effectively by my cheap ass B&D 14.4v cordless drill. Whether the battery itself was toast or the drill didn't have the torque I'll never know. Instead what I did was what any other guy would have...drilled lots of little holes with regular bits to outline the approximate hole in the fridge and then cut through them with a knife. I used duct tape and you can do whatever you want really. Make it as simple/complicated as you like. If you're targeting the front area there really isn't much to limit your build.

Good luck!

 

[schwarzk]

Thanks for the advice!

first I applaud you for being a great wife and buying this for your hubby as a xmas gift!

I'll have to pass on the "great wife" comment. I'm going to appreciate the kegerator as much as he is, though, so it's sort of a gift to myself as well... I call that gifting success!

 

[togabear]

I'm buying this fridge tomorrow and I am really excited not to have to keg condition or bottle any more. Has anyone tried to get two cornys and a 10 lb CO2 tank in the fridge at the sametime. SWMBO doesn't want the large bright red CO2 can exposed.

 

[Richard-SSV]

I don't think a 10 lb tank with two corny's will fit. My 5 lb tank just barely fits (height wise) on the back hump/shelf. My two ball lock kegs also barely fit on the lower shelf.

 

[togabear]

Oh well, I guess she'll live with it. Ill post again if it fits though.

 

[mattgoldman]

I just finished converting this fridge to have a tower with two taps. However, I would like to store my CO2 tank outside of the fridge. Has anyone tried this? Where is the best spot to drill out (without removing the top)? Are there coolant lines on the sides and rear?

Thanks!

 

[brewluver]

for running your co2 tank to the outside checkout post 97 on page 10, thats what i did and works great. I love have access to my tank without having to move kegs around

 

[Orogenic]

Finished my conversion for pin-locks.
Some kinks, but overall went very well.

I do not recommend using packaging tape for dry fits. Left residue I am still cleaning off.

I had to buy some steel tape to get the door gasket to function properly, but if you have pin locks the conversion works.

 

[Orogenic]

More pics. Note the custom made light switch.
I also recommend deep thinking before pulling off the interior door panel...

 

[aparoche]

I just bought the Frigidaire FRC445GM (silver door) for $80 bucks off of Craigslist. I was originally looking for the Sanyo 4912M for the longest time on Craigslist but no one is ever selling them in my area. And I didn't feel like paying $190 + tax for a new 4912M from Fry's Electronics when I am going to be cutting into it. I also spent most of my money on a stainless steel double tap tower with Perlick faucets from KegConnection.com. Anyways, the guy I bought this FRC445GM from had just bought it in October 2009 but he was moving and needed to sell it. I got the paperwork and warranty and it is still in new condition. I think I will be better off with this fridge over the Sanyo due to the locking door, considering I have a 19 month old son wreaking havoc and another son on the way.

My biggest question is -- is there any best location to drill/cut the hole for a beer tower on this Frigidaire model just like on the Sanyo 4912M? I am extremely nervous about the coolant lines.

Thanks!

 

[Richard-SSV]

Aside from the very front where there are no lines, there are lines all across the top. All you need to do is first remove the plastic top. Then determine the approximate area where you want your tower to be and carefully chisel away the foam insulation until you get to the coolant lines. Then drill your hole between two lines. Replace the plastic top and then drill from inside the refrigerator up through the hole you previously drilled, into the plastic top.