Cutting The Freezer Out Of Fridge

[mark.farrell1]

Good afternon brewers

My fridge section is not keeping the fridge cold enough so i am thinking about cutting out the bottom layer of my freezer as this works perfectly. Its a Norge 370 cyclic defrost, (if that helps any one). Also i have looked at some pics of some AHBwers fridge setups, and some of the setups have the beer tap coming out of the freezer. Is that because the bottom shelf has been removed from the freezer or do they have there freezer set at a higher level as to not freeze the beer lines?

I would just like to know any thoughts and any ideas on the frrezer cutting plan etc etc

Thanks fellers

 

[glennheinzel]

I was just searching for something else and stumbled across the following thread which may be of use...
Linky

Edit: The post initially asks about nitro, but it does lead into some basic info that may be of use to you.

 

[paul]

Give it a go and report back your results. The floor in the freezer may have refridgerant running through it so check before cutting.

 

[mark.farrell1]

Give it a go and report back your results. The floor in the freezer may have refridgerant running through it so check before cutting.

no worries but how do i check that it has refridgerant in the floor i am a refridgerator mechanic virgin..!!it feels evenly cold on all sides of the freezer.

 

[Sammus]

Unplug it and wait till its warm - make sure its clean and dry, then turn it on. I've noticed (on my fridge at least) that wherever the refrigerant lines are frosts up first.

 

[mark.farrell1]

Unplug it and wait till its warm - make sure its clean and dry, then turn it on. I've noticed (on my fridge at least) that wherever the refrigerant lines are frosts up first.

thanks will give it a go

 

[kirem]

I took the door off the freezer part and put a fan/blower in there. I used this one,

http://secure.oatleyelectronics.com//produ...2136f81acbf0106

You then have a basic fan forced fridge. It stops the freezer freezing and then dripping water everywhere and keeps the whole of the fridge at the same temp.

Either hook it up to a separate mains and have it on all the time or do what I did and hook it up to the fridgemate

It works very well.

 

[J.T]

Mark,

What you have described, indicates a gas leak in your fridge.
You may find that going to all the work of cutting and shutting may be wasted, as eventually the gas will leak out and the freezer section wont work either. But that depends how big the leak is.

JT

 

[sah]

What you have described, indicates a gas leak in your fridge.
You may find that going to all the work of cutting and shutting may be wasted, as eventually the gas will leak out and the freezer section wont work either. But that depends how big the leak is.

JT, I was just about to make the same comment. I lost my ferm fridge a couple of weeks ago to this problem. It is a beauty too, no freezer section so I could fit three fermenters in it. Now it is sitting unused and I'm wondering if it is worthwhile trying to get it fixed. How successful are the mechanics at finding and repairing leaks? How much does a regas cost?

On a tangent, my father was disappointed yesterday that I didn't jump at the offer of a free fridge that he'd discovered sitting out the front of someone's house for disposal. He'd spoken to its owner and she'd said the fridge works well, it's just that the freezer won't keep things frozen anymore.

The compressor will be running for longer and it costs more in electricity.

regards,
Scott

 

[J.T]

JT, I was just about to make the same comment. I lost my ferm fridge a couple of weeks ago to this problem. It is a beauty too, no freezer section so I could fit three fermenters in it. Now it is sitting unused and I'm wondering if it is worthwhile trying to get it fixed. How successful are the mechanics at finding and repairing leaks? How much does a regas cost?

On a tangent, my father was disappointed yesterday that I didn't jump at the offer of a free fridge that he'd discovered sitting out the front of someone's house for disposal. He'd spoken to its owner and she'd said the fridge works well, it's just that the freezer won't keep things frozen anymore.

Scott, leaks are usually painfull to fix. It depends where they are, they are usually either where the copper pipes join the aluminimum evaporator (the cold bit inside) or inside the walls of the fridge. A fridgy could find the leak in 5 minutes and have the fridge running within an hour.
But also, could spend hours searching for the leak and still not find it. They would probably charge around $40-60/hr.

The one on the footpath may be easier to fix. From that I assume its a frost free, it could be a number of things from a crook fan or defrost system. Or as simple as one i had once, the door switch wasnt engaging properly, which resulted in the fan not turning on when you close the door = no cooling! Might be worth while asking if shes had it looked at.

 

[sah]

The one on the footpath may be easier to fix. From that I assume its a frost free, it could be a number of things from a crook fan or defrost system. Or as simple as one i had once, the door switch wasnt engaging properly, which resulted in the fan not turning on when you close the door = no cooling! Might be worth while asking if shes had it looked at.

Cheers mate, I can sus it out for those problems fairly quickly.

Scott