# Drilling Holes In Freezer Without Hitting Lines



## Greg Lawrence (13/9/08)

Does anyone have any suggestions/methods for drilling holes in the wall of a freezer without hitting the refrigerant lines.
The Freezer is a Frigor (Danish) so I havent been able to find any technical info on it with regards to where the lines are running.
Are there any tricks to find out where the lines are?
Can anyone tell me if the lines are just beneath the inner/outer lining, or more in the centre of the wall?

My freezer also has a seperate section above the compressor with a dividing wall. Do these walls generally have lines in them?

I dont want to build a collar, so please, dont reply telling me DONT DRILL THE FREEZER, it will only end in tears!
I am sure there is someone out there with some good, positive suggestions.

Greg


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## newguy (13/9/08)

If you use a rotary hole saw, you can set its depth of cut to be the thickness of the freezer's steel skin. A rotary hole saw is kind of like a tiny router, and they all have an adjustable depth-of-cut collar. Use it to cut out a piece of the skin, then carefully dig out the styrofoam insulation to reveal the coils. The coils will be adjacent to the inner wall of the freezer, so there is little chance of hitting them if your depth of cut is just a hair more than the outer skin's thickness.

Just keep a spray bottle full of water handy just in case you start a fire. The bit and what you're cutting do get very hot.


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## Greg Lawrence (13/9/08)

Thanks for your reply Newguy, but the link didnt work for me. It took me to the site but I had to enter my post code and I couldnt seem to find the holesaw. Can you possibly post a picture of it?
Good to know that the lines are just under the inner lining. I have a dremmel which I could possibly use to cut away the outer wall.

Greg


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## buttersd70 (13/9/08)

here you go.
View attachment 21138


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## newguy (13/9/08)

Sorry about that. Try this link instead.

Dremel make a hole saw (I have one). It's like a beefier version of an ordinary "hobby" rotary tool.

Edit: Beaten to the punch!  That's the tool I had in mind.


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## kirem (13/9/08)

I drilled a 1/2inch hole in a fridge side with a standard hole saw that you put into an electric drill. I also drilled a couple of small holes to fit a shelf to the side of the fridge for my beer engine.

I did something simialr to what is suggested above. I drilled a hole in the thin metal sheet with the hole saw and then took out the insulation and had a look in th hole to see if the coils where in danger of damage.

A picture is posted under show us your beer engines thread.


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## white.grant (13/9/08)

In this video on Youtube  the guy talks about using a mixture of corn flour and rubbing alcohol to find condensor lines in a fridge. It may save you a bit of drilling  .

cheers

Grant


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## Greg Lawrence (13/9/08)

Thanks fellas

Can someone confirm that my following understanding of lines is correct.

There are many cold lines just under the lining of the freezer.
There are a few hot lines just under the outer skin of the freezer.

Greg


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## Guest Lurker (13/9/08)

Work from inside out. Cut a small square hole in the plastic liner with a stanley knife. Gently dig out the foam insulation with a small screwdriver. If no lines, drill steel skin. You can drill that from outside if you want a better finish. There are rumours that there are no lines in the side of a fridge. There are at least 2 posts buried on here somewhere from people who drilled lines in the side of the fridge and wrote off the fridge.


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## kirem (13/9/08)

I think there atleast two types of fridges, I have one that has freezer box in the top of the fridge, I installed a fan to 'fan force' the cool air around the fridge. I drilled a hole in the side of this fridge and although I did it slowly and carefully, I didn't find any pipework.

I have seen a friend of mine go at it gun-ho and he ruptured some pipework, result Fridge is now U/S.

Use the advice in this thread to decide to do it or not and take it slow.

cheers,

kirk


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## Jazzafish (13/9/08)

Guest Lurker said:


> Work from inside out. Cut a small square hole in the plastic liner with a stanley knife. Gently dig out the foam insulation with a small screwdriver. If no lines, drill steel skin. You can drill that from outside if you want a better finish. There are rumours that there are no lines in the side of a fridge. There are at least 2 posts buried on here somewhere from people who drilled lines in the side of the fridge and wrote off the fridge.




Agree with this... it should be a law!

Inside a chest freezers walls look kinda like an copper immersion chiller surrounded by foam. It is very easy to clip one of these cooling coils if doing the pot luck method.

I went through the back of the lid on mine. Just drilled straight in from the back, then another from inside the fridge to meet it at a ~90* angle. Works for me.


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## leeboy (13/9/08)

I used my stud finder. I worked remarkably well. Call me an idiot for trying it but now I have marked exactly where the lines run.


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## dicko (13/9/08)

Jazzafish said:


> Agree with this... it should be a law!
> 
> Inside a chest freezers walls look kinda like an copper immersion chiller surrounded by foam. It is very easy to clip one of these cooling coils if doing the pot luck method.
> 
> I went through the back of the lid on mine. Just drilled straight in from the back, then another from inside the fridge to meet it at a ~90* angle. Works for me.



The drilling in the back of the lid is the way to go.
I have made three separate bar fridges for mates using this method.
I drilled a hole in the back of the lid in each case so that a rubber grommet from a fermenter would fit the hole.
I then passed the gas line in through the grommet and the wire for the temp sensor beside it in the same hole.
From there it is optional for inside wether you have a gas manifold ot T pieces to supply the kegs.
"Easy as" and no risk of damage and no collar.

Cheers


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## KGB (14/9/08)

If you spray the insides with a mist of water sometimes the will condense/freeze where the coils are in the walls.

I'd just build a collar.


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## yardy (14/9/08)

get yourself a HB & just grab a stanley knife, remove a piece of the plastic moulding that covers the outside/inside skins, *gently* remove enough foam to clearly see there are no lines and drill the required holes, 30 min max.

cheers
yard


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