Kegerator help... please

[Satansfx]

Hello, I am a long time lurker, first time poster... so I have a few questions that I would like to run by you all.

I am building my first kegerator, and I was wondering if it was ok to drill a hole in the side of a the fridge I just purchased on craigslist...

I bought a Roper RT18DKXAL00. Freezer on top

Now why would I want to drill the hole in the side of the fridge rather than the front? well a couple of reasons.... I am redoing my den, and the den shares a wall with the garage - So my thought was to drill a hole in the side of the fridge and run the beer line within PVC through the wall (about 8" in length).

So im sure some of you are saying "why not put this in the den" or "Build a smaller kegerator" well I can't do either, because of the couple of reasons of why it is in the garage. The other reason it needs to stay in the garage is because I will also be running a soda fountain (10 flavors) and the cold plate needs to be in the fridge as well. Plus there will be 10 soda flavors which will be in a rack in the garage... Kinda hard to hide 10 BiB's

So I will have 1 beer line and 10 soda lines coming through the side wall of the fridge in PVC that I will insulate the outside as well as the inside of the PVC.

So back to the original question... Can I safely drill a 3-4" hole in the side of that model fridge? Does anyone know if there are any coolant lines that run in the sides? or is it just insulation around the "shell"

 

[Satansfx]

I might be in luck... I think I answered this with a little help from my friend google!

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/frame_diagram.aspx?diagram_id=38730&pkw_=basket&model_id=244383&NewWindow=1

 

[Ohio-Ed]

It's typically not recommended to drill the sides.

However, If I were gonna do it;

I'd start on the inside and very carefully cut a hole in the liner penetrating the insulation as little as possible.

I'd then dig out the insulation all the way to the exterior to make sure there were no lines in the area.

Then finally, finish the hole from inside out.

Again, I've never done it, but that is the approach I'd take.

Good luck,
Ed

 

[bowiefan]

If it is a "frost free" model, which is what the exploded view shows, you are in business. Check the following for confirmation: is there a visible refrigerant coil on the back of or under the unit? plug the unit in and turn it on leaving the doors open. After 5 minutes of run time check the following, is there a fan moving air behind the rear pannel of the freezer compartment? In the area in which you plan to drill, is the outer surface of the unit the same or cooler temperature than the ambient air? On the inside of the unit where you plan to drill, is the surface free of frost or condensation, and not outright cold to the touch? If you answered yes to all the above, then you are safe to drill (or the unit was already broken)

 

[Garyius]

Based only on your drawing, I think you are okay. Clamp a piece of scrap wood on the inside of the fridge so you don't blow the inside lining apart, and go very slow at first in case the insulation is fiber instead of blown solid. (if you are using a hole saw then you are safer but will get a bigger hole). If it is fiber go hella slow and clear the bit several times.

 

[Marsdude]

You should be fine. Most refrigerators, if they have the freezer on the top, get their cooling from that freezer. I drilled mine through the side and was fine. The only thing you need to worry about is electrical lines that may have been run through the sides, so I second what "Ohio-Ed" said about how to go about doing this. I always pays to be careful.

 

[SweetSounds]

Based only on your drawing, I think you are okay. Clamp a piece of scrap wood on the inside of the fridge so you don't blow the inside lining apart, and go very slow at first in case the insulation is fiber instead of blown solid. (if you are using a hole saw then you are safer but will get a bigger hole). If it is fiber go hella slow and clear the bit several times.

Once you're through the metal, if it's fiber, run the hole saw backwards. (But still slow)
It'll tear the fiberglass strands instead of catching them...

 

[Satansfx]

Thanks everyone - I just got off shift, so I don't have the time to test the method that bowiefan mentioned. I will take a look and make sure that everything is on the up and up before I even think about drilling the hole. First I need to finish my drywall, and hook my ceiling speakers up before I can tackle the wetbar and beer/soda fridge.

Since this is a whole work in progress I will make sure that I get some pictures up once I actually start on the fridge.... might be a few weeks. I don't even have all the parts I need to start on the fridge - just the dream and a fridge right now lol However I do have all the parts ready to go for the soda fountain, I just need to add a water line and im all set.