Fridge Wont Seal Now :s

[Prawned]

Just finished putting in my first tap for my keg fridge today, All seemed to go fine i think other than the fridge doesnt want to seal properly now.. I wanted to rip out the plastic door card or whatever its called (the thing with the shelves in the door) just for that little bit more room.. not too sure but i think that could be what is causing the fridge to leak? I didnt think it was leaking until i went to get a drink and it was rather warm! It is only keeping stuff at 10c and the motor is running non-stop! Going to have to get this fixed asap but im not sure what to do, i dont really want to put that door card back in, but if i have to i guess i will...


http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh254/m...nt=S4010045.jpg < there is a picture of it

 

[sah]

prawned,

This doesn't sound good. A door that seals fairly well but not completely won't cause these problems.

It sounds like it is out of gas (from a leak).

Any chance you damaged any of the plumbing? Have you used it before or did you buy it second hand?

I hope I'm wrong.

The Celli looks awesome by the way.

Best of luck.
Scott

 

[reVoxAHB]

I've done a few fridge conversions and had the seals go a bit wonky at reinstallation. Did you make sure you reinstalled the seal right side up (as it came off the door)?

I know it's a pain in the ass, but if you completely remove it and start over refitting the seal carefully, it might help. It's worked for me before.

The last fridge I did was not sealing in the lower right corner (seal was elevated and no matter what I did, I couldn't reseat it properly enough to where the door would close all the way) so forced it closed (pressing hard with my foot), then put some heavy bricks in front of the area.. left it that way for a few days and it molded back nice and tight on it's own. dodgy, but it worked and fridge seals up nice and tight all the way around.

If you do think it's the seal not sitting properly, try removing and soaking it in a bath of hot water, then reinstall when it's pliable.

reVox

 

[mika]

You gotta be careful of the beer line pushing the fridge door open. Common problem with my setup, if I don't make sure the lines are layed out in the right way. Might be worth installing a latch on the door to hold it closed, but because you're drilling into the side of the fridge, the chance of hitting a gas line increases dramatically.

Good luck.

 

[tomtoro]

There is really no aspect of a fridge seal that can't be fixed with an occy strap.



But like SAH has mentioned, it sounds like it could be something more sinister than just the door.

Does the fridge have a freezer part as well? If so, check if it's cold in there. Sometimes frost build up can cover the vents at the back of the freezer which slows the pumping of cold air from the freezer into the fridge. It means you get a freezer at -18 but a fridge at about 10 degrees. The remedy is just to turn the thing off for a day or so with the doors open to let the ice melt.

 

[Insight]

I am by no means handy, and when I built mine I suspected that my four thumbs wouldn't be able to make the fridge seal back up properly after removing the plastic skin. So I kept the plastic moulding and took to any bits that protruded too far into the fridge with a hacksaw and then a file. Turned out pretty well, and I still have some shelves for bottles, yeast and other miscellaneous.

 

[bonj]

I took the slightly easier way out when I discovered how many tedious screws I'd need to remove to take the lining off the door of my fermenting fridge, so I did the old hacksaw blade trick too.

edit:spelling

 

[J.T]

Prawned,

As you know, inside the fridge seal there is a magnet running all the way around the door.
To get the fridge seal to 'seal' again. Get a heat gun and gently heat up the rubber part while gently pulling the magnet away from the fridge door. As you heat the seal up it will become more flexible.
Do this the whole way around, you have to work quick so that that the seal is warm and flexible all around the door.
Then shut the door, and tape the door firmly shut. Leave it for half hour or so and as it cools it will form a much better seal.

There are no refrigerant lines in the fridge door. So unless it had a prior gas leak, you should be fine there.

Hope this helps.

 

[Screwtop]

Prawned,

As you know, inside the fridge seal there is a magnet running all the way around the door.
To get the fridge seal to 'seal' again. Get a heat gun and gently heat up the rubber part while gently pulling the magnet away from the fridge door. As you heat the seal up it will become more flexible.
Do this the whole way around, you have to work quick so that that the seal is warm and flexible all around the door.
Then shut the door, and tape the door firmly shut. Leave it for half hour or so and as it cools it will form a much better seal.

There are no refrigerant lines in the fridge door. So unless it had a prior gas leak, you should be fine there.

Hope this helps.

This is an old fridgy trick, use SWAMBO's hair dryer.

Screwy

 

[J.T]

This is an old fridgy trick

That it is!