Frigidaire Model FRC445GB Mini-Fridge Kegerator Conversion

[geepmaley]

Manual.

Did it cool down?

Nope

 

[geepmaley]

Looks like I have a lovely fermentation chamber on my hands as my fridge has not gotten past 49F in the past 2 days.

Anyone know if the new version can accept the door of the old version and therefore not need door mods to hold two ball locks?

 

[msmith92]

I have the new model and i can measure it for ya.

 

[geepmaley]

I have the new model and i can measure it for ya.

Cool. Hinge placement would also be important. Im thinking of getting the new one and swapping doors since I know the door on mine needs no mods to fit

Thanks

 

[jCOSbrew]

This is my version of the frigidaire kegerator in a built in bar w/ dual tower. I used the copper pipe to cool the tower and can fit two ball lock kegs without modding the door. Thermostat is at the warmest setting "1" to prevent the lines from freezing.

Thanks for all the tips on this thread.

 

[geepmaley]

This is my version of the frigidaire kegerator in a built in bar w/ dual tower. I used the copper pipe to cool the tower and can fit two ball lock kegs without modding the door. Thermostat is at the warmest setting "1" to prevent the lines from freezing.

Thanks for all the tips on this thread.

Looks great. How do you cool the cabinet with it built in? Those types of refrigerators are not designed as built ins

 

[jCOSbrew]

Looks great. How do you cool the cabinet with it built in? Those types of refrigerators are not designed as built ins

This and other mini fridges are standard under counter height (approx 30" high). Tower is mounted to the counter top and added extra pipe insulation between the fridge and counter and in the tower. The fridge is not actually in a cabinet, but I trimmed out around the fridge for a built in look.

 

[geepmaley]

This and other mini fridges are standard under counter height (approx 30" high). Tower is mounted to the counter top and added extra pipe insulation between the fridge and counter and in the tower. The fridge is not actually in a cabinet, but I trimmed out around the fridge for a built in look.

So you have a few inches clearance in the sides and the back and just put trim pieces around the front to make it look built in? What about ventilation to let the built up heat escape?

I'm curious because we have a couple wine fridges we are looking to "build-in" but they also require 4" of clearance on back and sides since they are not undercounter models either.

 

[jCOSbrew]

I don't think this setup is any different than a standard kitchen fridge with cabinets on both sides and above. This mini fridge is insulated pretty well and has a larger thermal mass (2 kegs) and is rarely opened so the compressor cycle time is pretty short. If you are worried about about heat from the 2 under-counter wine fridges you could add a small computer case fan to push hot air out from the back of the cabinets towards the front.

 

[IffyG]

I'm still in the middle of my build, but the new version of this fridge fits a 5 gallon keg, 2 three gallon kegs and a 5 lb CO2 tank without major modification aside from removing the molded plastic from the door. I was able to leave the thermostat and light assembly in place with plenty of room to spare.

 

[MissouriBrewer]

I'm still in the middle of my build, but the new version of this fridge fits a 5 gallon keg, 2 three gallon kegs and a 5 lb CO2 tank without major modification aside from removing the molded plastic from the door. I was able to leave the thermostat and light assembly in place with plenty of room to spare.

The kegs may fit, but hopefully you'll be okay with the beer and gas lines in. I have two 5g kegs a 5 lb CO2 cylinder and tubing. It's a tight squeeze.

 

[IffyG]

It should be OK. Worst case scenario I have to run my gas line through the compressor hump and put the tank on the outside.

 

[jCOSbrew]

FYI, I was having temp control issues with the stock thermostat after installing a second 5 gal corny keg. First is was two cold and froze the lines and an entire keg of soda water. Now it is too warm and was staying in the 50-60 deg F range.

Removed the 2nd keg that was close to the thermostat in now the temp is dropping so the compressor is working. Planning to add an ebay temp controller and maybe a fan to help maintain consistent temps.

 

[ajsnow6234]

a build im almost done with. ill post more later

This looks like it is implying a co2 tank and two 1/6 kegs will fit here... I was really hoping to do commercial kegs in the conversion I am doing, but it seems most people dont think two 1/6 kegs will fit. I just need to keep re-reading this entire thread I suppose.

Pictures of my build so far (not very far):

 

[thom]

I just bought one of these and kegged for the first time. I am using picnic taps. A couple of questions:

1. After I put the first full keg in the outside of the fridge became very hot, probably hot enough to burn my hand when I touch it. Is this normal?

2. What is the best way to deal with the door shelves that prevent two kegs from being put in the fridge? I was able to move the temperature controller back enough to get two kegs in, but it seems like there are a few pieces of shelves that need to be hacked off in order to get the second keg to fit.

 

[snackson]

I just bought one of these and kegged for the first time. I am using picnic taps. A couple of questions:

1. After I put the first full keg in the outside of the fridge became very hot, probably hot enough to burn my hand when I touch it. Is this normal?

2. What is the best way to deal with the door shelves that prevent two kegs from being put in the fridge? I was able to move the temperature controller back enough to get two kegs in, but it seems like there are a few pieces of shelves that need to be hacked off in order to get the second keg to fit.

1. With a fridge trying to cool down that much mass at once, the fridge will get hot on the outside.

2. Hack some of the plastic off like all the others.

 

[juvinious]

Finally finished up a conversion on this fridge last week. Had to hack out the door on mine, I also changed the top and put on a custom top. That took the most time of this project due to priming/paint/wetsand/paint/etc..
Wish I had taken photos of the entire process. C'est la vie.

 

[BrewThruYou]

Finally finished up a conversion on this fridge last week. Had to hack out the door on mine,

Did you use a blade on the door? What steps did you take on door?

 

[juvinious]

I used my angle grinder and cut around the edges about 1/2"-3/4" from where the gasket sits in the door. Then I lopped off any pieces that were jutting out of the door. Then I proceeded to peel off the plastic and sanded the whole thing down with a auto sanding block and I think 60 grit to be as uniform as possible. Of course some areas are deep indentations so I didn't bring it all down to that depth.

I tried to find something like dry erase board but the backboards at homedepot were like 16'x16' or something which was way to large for me to take and try to cut. So I looked around the whole place and I found a piece of white covering that goes into a light fixture which was roughly the same size of the door with some minor modifications. (It's got creases that go vertically through the whole thing so it won't work as a whiteboard but it serves its purpose. Anyhow I'm planning on finding something to fit over that later on.)

To attach it I used great stuff and filled in all the deep areas and spread it out on the rest of the surface and laid the panel on it. I put weights on the corners and then let it sit for 2 days. Then I cleaned up any foam that came out, which wasn't much and used cold weather insulation tape to go seal it up as you can see in the pic.

Woo that was allot, hopefully that helps you.

 

[Lurch69]

Will this fridge fit a 6 gallon better bottle with an airlock? I measured the dimensions and it looks like it'd be a tight fit. With an airlock on top, it wouldn't fit on the shelf due to the height, so it'd have to sit on the very bottom of the fridge. I need ~12in for it to fit and it looks like it might work if I removed part of the plastic from the door. Can anyone confirm that there is nothing in the door (cooling lines or anything else important) that would damage the fridge if I took a knife to it? Thanks!

 

[geepmaley]

Will this fridge fit a 6 gallon better bottle with an airlock? I measured the dimensions and it looks like it'd be a tight fit. With an airlock on top, it wouldn't fit on the shelf due to the height, so it'd have to sit on the very bottom of the fridge. I need ~12in for it to fit and it looks like it might work if I removed part of the plastic from the door. Can anyone confirm that there is nothing in the door (cooling lines or anything else important) that would damage the fridge if I took a knife to it? Thanks!

I have th old fridge and had a 6gallon glass Carboy in there. No way the airlock fit. Had to do a blowoff tube. Also had to tape the door shut as the plasti on the door pushed up against the Carboy preventing a "regular" closure

If you have th better bottle and air lock, do a dry fit

The door has no internals other than insulation

 

[juvinious]

I couldn't find this information on the internet anywhere so I decided to draw up the wiring for an STC-1000 to this fridge. It was annoying at first since I didn't know what was what but I happened to check the paperwork that was with the fridge and it had the service information with schematic. If you intend to put the light back into service tie the red into the hot. The switch on the side of the fridge triggers power to the yellow so that would go back to your light and you would just need to tap into neutral.
Just putting this out there if anybody considered doing this and not sure what to do.

Also if you plan on mounting the STC-1000 on the door, be careful where you put it because I put it directly under the lock and didn't realize that the mechanism goes down about 2 inches below it into a chamber of clay. So it has to stay up now which is no big deal since I don't use it with my custom top. I'd recommend mounting it on one of the sides or further below the lock. I'll get some pics of it up when I can. Anyhow hopefully this helps anybody with this.

 

[elganso]

Will this fridge fit a 6 gallon better bottle with an airlock?

Can't actually fit one of these at the moment for you (kegerator has kegs in it; BB is in a different mini fridge fermenting away). Felt like I tried this back in the day without success, but the measurements look like it is possible:

-- Height of ~28 inches from floor to ceiling (you only need about 24-25 inches to get a blow off tube on a 6-gallon better bottle).
-- Depth of, at most, 11 inches from hump to door edge (this is pretty tight for a 6 gal BB. Definitely would need to cut the door flat).

FWIW, I picked up a cheap Kenmore Model 564-94449400 off craigslist as my fermentation fridge (has 12 inch depth and height fits a 6 gal BB with blow-off tube, no need to remove the freezer portion at the top).

 

[Briton]

I'm having a ton of trouble with this fridge freezing a glass of water. Is 1 the lowest temperature level, or is 6 the lowest temperature?

 

[juvinious]

It says in the the manual (http://manuals.frigidaire.com/prodinfo_pdf/Anderson/241607805en.pdf):

To adjust the temperature colder, turn the control knob toward the “Colder” setting or higher number for the fresh food control.....

 

[ajsnow6234]

All done! Keg in and cooling/carbing now!

 

[elganso]

All done! Keg in and cooling/carbing now!

I see your light is on, but you ripped out the door molding. Did you end up pulling the bulb or did you come up with a mechanism to push the "light switch" when the door closes? I've thought about doing the latter, but never got around to it and would be interested in ideas.

 

[gx1400]

Had anyone used this as a fermentation chamber? I'm curious if you cut away the door, will it fit a 6.5 gallon carboy? I prefer air locks, but I can handle a blow off tube.

I found one of these on CL today in my area and have been planning to make a ferm chamber.

 

[ajsnow6234]

I see your light is on, but you ripped out the door molding. Did you end up pulling the bulb or did you come up with a mechanism to push the "light switch" when the door closes? I've thought about doing the latter, but never got around to it and would be interested in ideas.

Right now I'm just securing it with two strong magnets. Seems to work pretty well. I'll have to post some pictures

 

[Brett3rThanU]

I'm having issues getting this fridge cold enough now. At first it was too cold, but now I can't get it cold enough even at 6! With two kegs and at 6 it still only gets to ~48F.