Trouble mounting tower on kegerator

[NoNothing]

Im looking to put my tower on my kegerator, and Ive run into a little issue.

Unlike the sanyo's my kegerator (GE SMR04) has no plastic lid on top, its just a sheet of metal that wraps all the way around the sides and top of the fridge. And worse yet, its glued on so it doesnt seem that its an easy task of getting it off and dealing with that for proper tower support.

I have thought of a few solutions. One is drill a 3" hole straight through the top of the fridge and holes for the tower connections. Then put a peice of MDF board on the top of the inside of the fridge to drill the tower screws into. Another solution I thought of was putting a peice of wood on top of the fridge, I can drill into that and it would even make adding rails easy. But Im not terribly sure how I would secure it, tons of glue maybe? And then its down for good.

It seems like the better long term solution is just to put the board on the inside of the kegerator and pick up some longer screws that will go into that to hold the tower done. What do you all think? any other suggestions?

I dont have any new pics of my kegerator to upload but some older pics are avaliable in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/prepare-your-gmr04-4-4cf-minifridge-kegs-76627/

 

[MoRoToRiUm]

I would consider just drilling straight through (after you check for possible coolant lines). That way you should be able to have a pretty stable tower using long machine screws with nuts and washers (Recommend using some silicon sealant to make sure it's air tight). If it's not stable it would be easy to get two flat pieces of steel, drill holes where your threads are and stabilize it more.

The rails would be a little harder though, depending how close to the edge you would like them. If you want it close to the edge, you probably won't have clearance underneath. You could drill holes and insert post that your rails would sit on. Depending on your rails they could or could not be very sturdy though...

 

[NoNothing]

I like that idea quite a bit better than my own!

I saw some thread on here as for how to check for coolant lines. Looking on the back of my fridge it shows that most of the coolant lines are on the sides, but there is one running along the top. It shows it near the front but I want to make sure its not in the middle before I drill, how do I go about doing that?

 

[MoRoToRiUm]

To check you can use a corn starch 'slurry' like https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sanyo-4912-kegerator-conversion-19762/, or just check the condensation when you crank it and unplug it.

As far as drilling, once you have a safe/desired spot, use a hammer/nail to get a starter notch, then use a metal/all purpose hole saw.

Here is a link as an example for tower stabilization https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/sanyo-4912-draft-tower-stabilization-mod-stainless-steel-rail-install-tips-24176/

As far as the rails, if you do any woodworking (or have experience with assembling IKEA furniture), the concept is about the same as the holes that you put wood pieces in to enhance stability. Use metal rods or threaded screws that are close to tight, and use some Teflon tape or glue to build a tight fight. Hope this helps!

 

[MoRoToRiUm]

Decide to take a drill to your fridge yet? Curious how it turns out- Cheers!