Ultra shallow, see-thru fridge, with kegerator on other side

[TexAg]

I have not seen anything close to this in searching though the threads. I have a unique project I want to try to pull off for a very specific solution.

I am redoing my basement, and have one wall that is exposed brick. It has a door-sized alcove in the middle, about 5 inches deep. I want to build a refrigerator that is one bottle/can deep and has a glass front and back so that the brick behind it is visible.

I would locate the "guts" (compressor, coils, etc.) on the other side of the wall, which is a hallway that is rarely used. From the front, all you would see is the frame, glass door, shelves, and beer.

As an added bonus, I would like to look at having a cabinet for a 5 gallon keg on the other side of the wall. I'd run lines through the wall and into the glass-in area, maybe even making the lines part of the "industrial look" of the thing, then have the tap just to the side of the door.

Ideally, I could mount the refrigeration hardware and the keg cabinet on the ceiling of the hallway. The hallway is the next project after the basement man cave.

What I am looking for help with:

• Ideas for arranging the evaporator coils (top, sides, etc.).
• Designing the frame. My thought is to make the walls out of some sort of foamboard pressed between layers of sheet metal. These would then be attached to a glass back (double pane, inert gas) to provide rigidity. I would add a frame mold to the front so I could hang a glass door with appropriate trimmings (gasket, magnet, etc.)
• Would gutting a used refrigerator for the compressor, and possibly condenser coils, be enough, or should I look at an AC unit.
• Will I need a fan to blow over the evaporator coils?

Getting custom glass panes is relatively easy, but I am wondering how much difference there is between normal window panes and refrigerator-specific panes. Here in northern MN, the windows are pretty robust, but...

Other thoughts or things I am forgetting?

 

[Pappers_]

Very cool idea. I've no experience at doing anything like this, but can tell you that people pull the guts out of small fridges to make ferm chambers. If you look through the DIY section you might find some threads with how people did that.

 

[day_trippr]

I suspect the geometry would prove less than conducive to straight out passive cooling as the skinny cross section is burdened with the thermal losses from all that glass but provides scant room for a suitably sized coil.

I think the most viable solution would be to create a fan-driven air loop that pulls air from the evaporator chamber behind the wall and returns it.
And I wouldn't expect a mini-fridge to have the btu handling to be up to the task, going to need something bigger...

Good luck - and take pictures!

 

[bfish]

Initial thought---that would be cool, like way cool.

Secondary thought--- won't the brick just act like a big old heat sink? Even if you can figure out how to cool, I would be concerned about condensation issues with the wall (both inside and outside the refrigerator space).

Tertiary thought--- glycol loop through your shelving, ala ice bar (frost rail).