Sanyo SR-4310W Fridge HELP!

[LarsonLE]

Hey guys, so I was recently given this fridge for free, and I came to find out that a 5 gallon corny keg is about 1/2 in. to short to fit inside (without any attachments). So the freezer compartment has to come out someway (as you can tell in the second picture). If I just take the tray out completely will this fridge still function? If so, how the hell do I go about removing it?

I would really like to start kegging so I really need to get this done some way or another. Maybe it's impossible and I have to buy a new fridge?

http://postimage.org/image/2xey2f6dg/
http://postimage.org/image/2xf1dhvd0/

 

[TJTHEBEST]

I have that fridge and i had to bend the freezer compartment down because that is the part that cools the fridge.

It was tricky on mine though because those little shelf holders get in the way to bend it. You could either bend the freezer into a "u" shape and then bend it down. or what i did was take a razor knife and cut out those shelf holder things.

 

[LarsonLE]

I have that fridge and i had to bend the freezer compartment down because that is the part that cools the fridge.

It was tricky on mine though because those little shelf holders get in the way to bend it. You could either bend the freezer into a "u" shape and then bend it down. or what i did was take a razor knife and cut out those shelf holder things.

I will probably just go ahead and cut the shelfs off. Is that piece pretty flexible once you do that?

 

[LarsonLE]

Any other suggestions?

 

[thargrav]

Cut the shelf off and you destroy the fridge - the shelf IS the cooling coil.

 

[TJTHEBEST]

Cut the little bulges on the side of the fridge not the freezer compartment.

It was actually still pretty hard to bend down because it pretty hard to cut the whole bulge things off because they have foam in them... Honestly i think i got really lucky and just went really really slow. The paint on the tubing that comes out of the back of the fridge actually cracked a little so i stopped immediately and didnt quite get the freezer all the way to the back of the fridge. But i think its definitely back far enough.

 

[thargrav]

I think you were lucky - friends have tried that around here and the tube cracked & leaked freon.

 

[a1055444]

I have that fridge and i had to bend the freezer compartment down because that is the part that cools the fridge.

It was tricky on mine though because those little shelf holders get in the way to bend it. You could either bend the freezer into a "u" shape and then bend it down. or what i did was take a razor knife and cut out those shelf holder things.

Can you post a picture of what you did because I am facing the same problem. I can't quite visualize what you did. Thanks

 

[apalke]

I have this fridge too. A week ago I bent the freezer compartment up to accomodate a keg. There are no obvious exterior cracks in the freezer compartment and there was no obvious gas leakage; however, when I plug it in the fridge will not cool down. There is condensation on the freezer compartment and it will get cool to the touch, but the fridge will not go lower than about 55F. There is a gurgling sound inside like some liquid is circulating, but there is not the gentle hum of the compressor working happily.

I did leave the fridge outside unplugged overnight to let it defrost. I had it covered with a tarp but it did rain overnight. If some water had got in there could that have fried something? I don't know much about fridges (maybe shouldn't have attempted this in the first place) so any help would be much appreciated.

 

[thargrav]

More than likely you have crimped the tube somewhere or cracked the tube somewhere. Check again today & if it cools even less or not at all then you cracked the tube and you've just created a piece of roadside lawn art.

 

[apalke]

More than likely you have crimped the tube somewhere or cracked the tube somewhere. Check again today & if it cools even less or not at all then you cracked the tube and you've just created a piece of roadside lawn art.

It's been holding steady at about 55F for a week... if I've just crimped the coolant line would it be possible to uncrimp it somehow and restore the fridge to it's former operating capacity?

 

[thargrav]

I said "more than likely", assuming it was working fine before you unfolded the coil. You could also have a unrelated thermostat problem.

I don't know if it can be fixed. If one of the tubes is crimped then pushing is back may make things worse.

 

[apalke]

More than likely you have crimped the tube somewhere or cracked the tube somewhere. Check again today & if it cools even less or not at all then you cracked the tube and you've just created a piece of roadside lawn art.

UPDATE: I took another look and noted that one part of the freezer compartment looked like it might be crimped. I carefully bent it out and instantly heard coolant rushing through the freezer line! It's been running for an hour or so and it's already starting to frost over and cool down considerably. Problem fixed (hopefully)! It may never hold the cooling capacity it once had if the coolant lines are distorted slightly, but I hope I'll be able to get it down to at least 40F.

The part that was bent too much is the part toward the back of the fridge where the freezer unit bends by design to attach to the back wall of the fridge unit. I had bent this even further during my initial operation. It looks like this is a good fridge to use for kegs, but you have to be very careful when bending back the freezer compartment.

On a side note, before I bent the freezer back I noticed that the compressor was indeed running along albeit very quietly, so I should have known the compressor was not the problem.

Sorry for taking over the thread for this problem, I hope it wasn't too much of a tangent to the OP's first post.

Thanks for the help!

 

[thargrav]

No problem, you should not have any more problems.

 

[Josten]

I just got this model fridge for free and am trying to install my draft tower. Does anyone know where the compressor line runs through the top of this model? The rubbing alcohol/cornstarch mixture trick isn't work because there is a plastic piece on top preventing the heat from the line coming through. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Theis]

What is the interior height of the fridge? I have Sanyo dorm fridge with freezer in place and it is cramped but works with pin-locks.

Also the plastic top comes off mine in order to switch the door to the other side. If you pop it off you could probably utilize the cornstarch alcohol method.

 

[Josten]

What is the interior height of the fridge? I have Sanyo dorm fridge with freezer in place and it is cramped but works with pin-locks.

Also the plastic top comes off mine in order to switch the door to the other side. If you pop it off you could probably utilize the cornstarch alcohol method.

The doorway is 29 3/8". I bent the freezer compartment down to make room for a corny and co2. The plastic piece on top is glued, not screwed, and I wanted to avoid ripping it off for fear that it wouldn't look as nice when I put it back together.

 

[egy]

The doorway is 29 3/8". I bent the freezer compartment down to make room for a corny and co2. The plastic piece on top is glued, not screwed, and I wanted to avoid ripping it off for fear that it wouldn't look as nice when I put it back together.

Have you made any progress on your conversion? I'm looking to use the same fridge and have the same questions about lines (coolant/Elect.) on the top?

Thanks,

 

[Josten]

Have you made any progress on your conversion? I'm looking to use the same fridge and have the same questions about lines (coolant/Elect.) on the top?

Thanks,

I ended up just ripping the top off. There was a layer of foam beneath it. I poked around in the center near the back third of the fridge for any lines, and didn't come across any. Then, after much anxiety, decided just to cut through it with my hole saw. The compressor line either doesn't run across the top of this model, or I got lucky.
I attached the tower to the top with a piece of plywood underneath for a base, so I had to hack away at the foam in that area so the top would sit flush again. Although there isn't any glue anymore, there are tabs that clicked back in. I'll try and attach a pic.

 

[egy]

Josten - thanks a ton! That's exactly what I needed to hear. Looks awesome! Could you provide a measurement from the back edge of the top plastic piece to the center of the hole you drilled, and the diameter of the hole? I will likely just use the same location.

Did the plastic piece come off cleanly, and look OK once re-attached? I'd like to paint mine so I may take it off anyhow to get a better looking paint job. Di you paint the center piece on yours? That looks nice.

 

[egy]

Also, where did you get your draft tower? I'd like to do two taps but they are quite pricey!

 

[Josten]

Josten - thanks a ton! That's exactly what I needed to hear. Looks awesome! Could you provide a measurement from the back edge of the top plastic piece to the center of the hole you drilled, and the diameter of the hole? I will likely just use the same location.

Did the plastic piece come off cleanly, and look OK once re-attached? I'd like to paint mine so I may take it off anyhow to get a better looking paint job. Di you paint the center piece on yours? That looks nice.

6 5/8" from the back edge to the center of the hole. I used a 3" hole saw. The top came off easy, and looks ok after being reattached provided that you carve away any excess foam and the tabs click back in.

SWMBO used chalkboard paint on the top section so I can keep track of what is in the taps. I got that 3" tap tower from amazon for under $100, but can't recall the seller or exact price.

 

[nstowe81]

I have an old office fridge, same make and model, here that I'm considering converting. After reading through this thread I'm still having a hard time visualizing your freezer tray conversion. Are you suggesting bending it into a "U" from the front to the back, or from one side to the other, in which case I'm thinking "C". do you think you could post a pic of the inside of your fridge? That would help me out greatly!
Thanks in advance.

 

[apalke]

The way I bent mine was more of a "U" shape. I definitely did not bend from one side to the other in a "C" shape, and I would suggest you not attempt to bend it that much as you'll most likely crimp the lines or, even worse, break them open.

I'll take a picture of my set up tonight when I get home, but basically I very carefully bent the front part of the freezer unit up just enough until I had clearance to fit my keg. I left it attached at the back of the fridge where there are two plastic "bolts" holding it in place. I suppose you could remove the two plastic "bolts" but I found it wasn't necessary. I didn't even remove the sides of the freezer from the grooves that they are set into.

If you read a few comments up you'll notice I had a problem with a crimped line. Mine crimped near where the unit attaches to the back. Luckily I was able to bend it back so that the lines opened up. You definitely don't want to bend the unit any more than absolutely necessary. Good luck, and just be very careful.

I have an old office fridge, same make and model, here that I'm considering converting. After reading through this thread I'm still having a hard time visualizing your freezer tray conversion. Are you suggesting bending it into a "U" from the front to the back, or from one side to the other, in which case I'm thinking "C". do you think you could post a pic of the inside of your fridge? That would help me out greatly!
Thanks in advance.

 

[nstowe81]

Thanks for the advice apalke. I was doing some more research today and found this photo in google images. Is this what you ended up doing?

 

[apalke]

Nstowe81,

Sorry, I meant to post this earlier. Yeah, that looks pretty similar to what I did.

I guess I was wrong about the sides of the freezer. It looks like mine did come out of the groove on the side on the left. Either way, I think you've got a handle on it.

Good luck,
Aaron

 

[leand487]

Thanks for all the info.

I can also confirm drilling 6 5/8" from the back edge to the center of the hole will not hit any refrigerant lines in this unit. Worked perfectly!!

Also, to remove / move the freezer tray, I let the unit de-thaw unplugged overnight then bent the tray downward in the "U" shape as others described. Once I was able to remove it from the shelving racks, I slowly bent the coolant line downward so the entire tray would sit against the back wall. It helped that the "U" shape also hugs the keg.