Keg Fridge

[nic0]

I just got a 20 year old Phillips fridge that I am going to use as a keg fridge, I am going to mount the taps on the door. As far as the gas bottle goes, do you guys put the bottle in the fridge with your kegs (it only a small 3 kg one) or drill a hole in the side for the gas line.

What is the safest way to drill the hole in the side of the fridge, will there be any refrigerant pipes in there, I can see the evaporator mounted in the fridge on the back and the condenser coils on the outside back.

 

[Doc]

Hey Nic0,

I used to have a keg fridge and I kept the bottle outside the fridge.
It seems typical that down this part of the world brewers keep the bottle outside, while in North America a lot of the brewers keep them inside.

Basically it comes down to real estate. If you have the bottle outside you have more room inside for kegs, yeast starters etc.

As for pipes in the walls of fridges, each manufacturer and model is different. Being that yours is 20 years old you should be safe, but don't trust me on it. Drill a small pilot hole and poke around inside to make sure there is nothing there, then drill bigger.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Linz]

Or alternately,
Feed the gas hose between the door and body of the fridge on the hinge side and make a small nick(no pun intended) in the door seal.This avoids any chance of ruining the refrigerant lines if any.

 

[Doc]

Or if you are even more lucky look for a plug on the back of the fridge that they use to inject the insultation into the wall cavity. Usually a 10cent size white disc.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Snow]

You should be ok. Just be careful. Refrigerant lines are not the only thing to look out for. See my warning in this thread.

Cheers - Snow

 

[nic0]

Thanks for the heads up snow, I will have to be careful drilling holes in the door for the Taps because there is a switch for the light in the door.
DOC i will have a look and see if I can find that hole.

IF you guys want to defrost your fridges quickly grab your misses hair dryer. I killed my bar fridge using sharp objects, I bit of epoxy and a regas fixed it though.