while drilling for a tower, we breached a coolant line :(

[mrpena]

is there anything I can do to salvage it? or was that a mini fridge down the drain? Followed these instructions which led us to drill more towards the back, and thats where we hit the line.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Kegerator-GE-WMR04GAVBB-45-cu-ft-compact-fridg/

 

[audger]

unless you want to chop out the condensor and compressor, and fabricate a new evaporator and refill the thing with refrigerant and build another insulated box to put it in...

its scrap now. if you were in the area i would offer you a 12 pack to haul it off your property, as i could use a compressor to play with, but unfortunately you arent.

 

[wyzazz]

Not worth the cost and effort to fix it. Pick up a new mini fridge and start over. Use the Cornstarch & Vodka test to find the lines next time and you should be good to go.

 

[BARBQ]

JB weld it and turn it on and see if it cools before you do anything else.

http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php

 

[wyzazz]

JB weld it and turn it on and see if it cools before you do anything else.

http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php

You're kidding right? If the coolant line has been knicked open then the refrigerant is gone, or at least mostly gone. I suppose anything is possible (and it's a nice thought) but I don't think I'd spend any more time on it if it were me.

 

[Bean]

the pipe in that unit is to thin for the j-b weld and you would still need to get a clamp on it.

Spend your time on craigslist vs. messing with it.

 

[wildwest450]

Why such a giant hole for 2 beer lines to pass through? It's toast btw.


_

 

[purplehaze]

Yeah, I would say the same and just scrap it.

When I drilled mine with a hole saw I just barley cut through the top. I then used a butter knife to gently cut into the insulation making sure there were no coolant lines. I did use the cornstarch and alcohol method, just didn't trust it 100%.

Try and find a cheap used one on craigslist.

 

[mrpena]

Why such a giant hole for 2 beer lines to pass through? It's toast btw.


_

my friend that did the drilling opened up the hole to see what He hit. originally it was just the small hole in the middle to put the lines thru. we hit the coolant line drilling for the mounting screw

 

[sakeyfour]

I jbwelded mine when I hit a line in the top. JBwelded a valve and put coolant back in using one of the kits from walmart for cars. about $30 bucks in to repair and it worked for a little over a year then crapped out.

Was told to scrap mine, but thought what the hell.

 

[P-J]

Wish you lived closer. It would take me about 1/2 hour to fix it. (IF you know how - it can be done easily.) However, an ACR guy will cost you about twice the value of the unit to fix it.

As side note. Do not even think about using JB weld. It will not give you an effective repair of refrigerant lines. Never.!

P-J

 

[CanadianQuaffer]

Why such a giant hole for 2 beer lines to pass through? It's toast btw.


_

While we're on the subject, what size hole should be drilled?

I was planningon 2-1/2" but should I go smaller? I thought a larger whole to allow for cold air to get up in the tower would be good...

 

[sudsmcgee]

Why such a giant hole for 2 beer lines to pass through? It's toast btw.


_

I run a coolant hose in mine and it barely fits into a 3 inch hole with two beer lines.

 

[BARBQ]

i mentioned the JB weld becuase for 3-4 dollars you could try something as opposed to scraping it. Buy it, apply it, plug it in. If it doesnt work or the refrigerant is out then at least you tried something before scraping it.

Believe it or not I drilled a 1/2" stepdown bit into this one and was able to run the two lines down. To prevent the sheet metal from cutting into the lines I razor cut a slice into a small wire jacket and used it to line the freezer sheet metal hole. Then I put a duct tape jacket around the plastic beer line where they would be rubbing in the hole. Worked like a charm. Then I just drilled hole for the tower mount flange per bolt size.

 

[Hang Glider]

Tongue-in-cheek:

Really? This chest freezer had coolant lines running in the lid???? the flexing of the line as it comes out the back must be tough whenever the lid is opened...!



You're protecting your beer lines thru the lid - the OP was dealing with high-pressure refrigerant lines. Different animal.

The Sanyo/GE dorm-style refrigerators have coolant lines running in the tops, but the top doesn't move, it's part of the structure -

 

[audger]

i mentioned the JB weld becuase for 3-4 dollars you could try something as opposed to scraping it. Buy it, apply it, plug it in. If it doesnt work or the refrigerant is out then at least you tried something before scraping it.

sorry, but thats just an effort in futility. you might as well set your $4 on fire now and save yourself a trip to home depot. if all you do is slap some expoxy on the hole, its absoloutely, positively impossible that it will start working again. unless you can epoxy the hole shut in under 1/10th of a second, all the refrigerant has already escaped by then.

if you had a vacuum pump, replacement refrigerant, and could braze in a new section of copper, you certainly could fix it. epoxy has nothing to do with fixing refrigeration systems, though. JB weld is kind of like duct tape; it works for so many things that people use it for everything, even stuff that they really shouldnt.