Question about drilling hole for gas line

[uptheirons]

I have a Magic Chef refrigerator (Model HMDR1000BE) that I am converting into a kegerator. I read in a couple of threads here that I have to drill the hole in the hump at the bottom for the CO2 line. The user manual says to leave 5” on the back and sides which means I cannot drill a hole in the sides. Does anyone have pictures to share? There is a metal plate on the back bottom so if I drill through the hump, I will probably hit the metal plate.

Thanks

 

[jseyfert3]

I don't have your fridge, however, the 5" is for air circulation. A CO2 hose will have no effect on that.

That said, they might have refrigerant lines running inside the back and side walls. Unless you see either an exposed coil on the back, or there is a fan blowing warm air out of the top or bottom of the fridge, that is probably what they did. Drilling a hole risks drilling into a refrigerant line, which will make your refrigerator an expensive room temp storage cabinet.

 

[odie]

either use a smaller bottle that will fit inside or pick a spot on the back and drill a very small exploratory hole thru the outer skin. probe thru the insulation to find a clean shot thru to the inside without hitting a freon line.

 

[jseyfert3]

either use a smaller bottle that will fit inside or pick a spot on the back and drill a very small exploratory hole thru the outer skin. probe thru the insulation to find a clean shot thru to the inside without hitting a freon line.

I'd caution against that. They could (and probably do) have refrigerant lines attached to the outer wall of the fridge. Drilling an exploratory hole will let you know if there's a line or not, but not in a way you want to find out.

A thermal camera could be used. With the fridge running, watch with a thermal camera. The lines should show up as they heat up.

Otherwise I'd personally recommend against drilling any sort of holes, unless the lines are confirmed to not be there (such as the lines are an exposed coil on the back, or are coils on the top or bottom that are fan-cooled).

 

[cmac62]

I used a wooden collar and put the hole through that. This also raises the height by about 6 inches which is a good thing. I don't have the same model though. Good luck.

 

[jseyfert3]

I used a wooden collar and put the hole through that. This also raises the height by about 6 inches which is a good thing. I don't have the same model though. Good luck.

As do I, with my converted chest freezer. But the OP has an upright fridge/freezer they are converting, not a chest freezer.

 

[cmac62]

As do I, with my converted chest freezer. But the OP has an upright fridge/freezer they are converting, not a chest freezer.

Oops, oh well that's what you get from not reading the OP carefully.

 

[day_trippr]

If one wants to drill a thin pilot hole for probing inside the wall cavity it should be done from the inside, not the outside...

Cheers!

 

[jseyfert3]

If one wants to drill a thin pilot hole for probing inside the wall cavity it should be done from the inside, not the outside...

Cheers!

Ah yes. That should be safe enough, for the OP's case, since they have a fridge/freezer combo.

Caveat for any future readers who don't have the OP's fridge: If it's a minifridge with no freezer, or a chest freezer, don't drill holes from the inside either. In these cases, they almost always have refrigerant lines connected to the interior walls too.

 

[mac_1103]

A picture of the back of the fridge just might be worth a thousand words.

 

[Climb]

Can you route the CO2 gas line through the water filling pipe that goes to the ice maker? Thus you use an existing path into the freezer section without drilling any holes through the exterior. You should be able to drill a hole from the refrigerator section to the freezer section to route the CO2 line to the refrigerator section. This is what I have done for my side-by-sides.

 

[mac_1103]

This is a 10.1 cf refrigerator. There is no ice maker.

 

[Deadalus]

This is what it looks like according to the model number.

 

[Broken Crow]

The hump in the bottom is highly unlikely to have coils in it, so a careful and shallow exploratory hole really is the best approach. The coils are generally in the walls and for visual confirmation you can look at the compressor and follow where the lines go...if they go to the walls and not the hump, you should be OK to drill. All modifications without schematics carry a certain amount of risk... I'm just adding my opinion: Give it a cautious try.

 

[Bassman2003]

Since this is closer to a full size fridge, the door is always the safest bet for any kind of drilling. Just put the hole(s) close to the hinges so they will be out of the way when the door swings. Then glue a bracket or some way to zip tie everything to the inner wall in order to keep things tidy inside.

 

[Broken Crow]

^^ @Bassman2003 's idea is better than mine as it also allows you to decide how far up to have the line come in so you can simply hang your lines on the top and not have to worry about where you set your kegs/fermeters down....plus: No Risk of hitting anything.

 

[mac_1103]

The hump in the bottom is highly unlikely to have coils in it, so a careful and shallow exploratory hole really is the best approach.

The compressor is under the hump. You should be able to see what is and is not in your way from the back. Most likely there are two refrigerant lines running up through the back of the unit, but nothing else in the hump itself. It may even be that there's a false back that can be removed exposing the coils. That's why I asked to see a picture of the back. There's a 360 degree view on the HD web page for this unit, but I just can't see enough detail on the back.

 

[uptheirons]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Here are two pictures of the back. I am thinking the hump is probably a safe place. I also borrowed my friend’s endoscope camera. If needed I will use it to check for any refrigerant lines but I think i won’t need it.

 

[day_trippr]

Good pic. Add your hole at the red dot. Easy peasy

Cheers!

 

[bolepa]

Just found this and hope this will be helpful:

Locating Refrigerant Lines​

by Kegerators.com

When converting a regular refrigerator or freezer unit into a kegerator, the first thing you should consider is how to locate the refrigerant lines. The biggest task ahead of you when doing a conversion like this is drilling holes in the fridge in order to mount your beer faucet shank. You may also be needing to drill a hole for external CO2 tank tubing or a temperature probe. Refrigerant lines are the one part of your fridge which you do not want to mess up. Puncturing or nicking the refrigerant lines with your drill bit may end your kegerator project before it even begins. We will look at some simple approaches which will help you to avoid damaging these lines.

Before Your Drill​

Step 1 - Clean the outside of the fridge
Step 2 - Make a thin mixture of cornstarch and alcohol
Step 3 - Brush the mixture over the area you want to drill
Step 4 - Turn the kegerator on to its coldest setting
Step 5 - You will see a ghost of the cooling coils after 10-20 mins
Step 6 - Don't drill in that spot

https://www.kegerators.com/articles/locating-refrigerant-lines/

 

[uptheirons]

Thank you @bolepa. I saw those instructions in another post and the OP was still not sure where to drill the hole. Let me give this a try.

Thank you

 

[sbro]

Locating Refrigerant Lines

If you don't see condensor coils on the back (as that article had) or bottom of the freezer, then they may be in the walls. Any wall that is warm when running is another place to avoid.

Without drilling, you might be able to run a line in the drain hole since this should not be needed due to no defrost cycle being triggered with the temperatures Keezers run at.

 

[jseyfert3]

If you don't see condensor coils on the back (as that article had) or bottom of the freezer, then they may be in the walls. Any wall that is warm when running is another place to avoid.

Without drilling, you might be able to run a line in the drain hole since this should not be needed due to no defrost cycle being triggered with the temperatures Keezers run at.
View attachment 827670

This is a freezer-on-top fridge. It will still need defrost cycles, and I wouldn’t recommend removing the drain.

 

[sbro]

You could snake it in from the drip tray (assuming it exits in the bottom of the refrigerator and does not go all the way to the freezer) without disabling the defrost cycle.

 

[uptheirons]

I tried drilling through the hump and all I felt was insulation. Unfortunately I need a longer drill bit to make a hole all the way to the back. Ordered the extra long bits and getting them tomorrow. Meanwhile, installed the two intertap faucets through the door and it was a breeze and snug fit. Will add some caulk later when finalizing the setup.

 

[uptheirons]

Finally, I got the gas line going through the hump. First I tried drilling through the inside and went too close to the compressor wire so went through the sheet metal in the back and through the hump. I will figure out a way to plug the first hole so that there are no leaks (for now used some electrical tape). Thanks for all the suggestions. Just in case some one runs into the same issue, I bought the extra long drill bit set for $16 on Amazon. Drilled through the sheet metal like it was nothing.

 

[Bassman2003]

Glad it worked out!