Upside down fridge as kegerator

[Tangle Foot]

Hi all. I’ve just moved house and, as part of the process, sold my old DIY kegerator which was built from a cheap fridge I got off Gumtree.

I’ve now got an upside down Fisher & Paykel fridge with French doors that I’m considering converting. The nice thing is that it holds 6 kegs and the freezer will still be usable. I’m planning on 3 or 4 taps on the left door which means that the water dispenser should still be usable as well.

Questions I have are:
• has anyone used a fridge like this before for a kegerator? If so, how’d it go?
• is there any issue if the taps are physically lower than the tops of the kegs - will siphoning cause me a problem?
• if anyone has used a fridge like this one, did you have a problem drilling the doors for taps?
• and also, any tips on best place to drill my gas line entry?

Cheers,
Badger.

 

[MHB]

Had a couple of upside down fridges and have set up several. I like them and found they work well.

To take your questions in order
I would put the taps above the kegs, might be a bit higher than you planed but its way easier. Nothing to do with syphoning; any keg that is in there and connected to a tap is probably going to be pressurised. the flow under pressure will be a lot more than from symphonic force.

Drilling the doors shouldn’t be a problem. Tho i did once wind the power wire from a butter compartment around the hole saw.
I use a hole saw, drill through the inside plastic panel, have a good feel around with a screwdriver or similar, before completing the hole.

With the gas line, in a modern fridge there is usually a foam grommet if you do a bit of snooping around its usually possible to find a place where you can shove a gas line through rather than drill a hole.
If you have to drill a hole, again, do the inside plastic first, check there is no Oh **** waiting.

One tip for you, if you use good commercial taps they have an adaptor between the tap and the beer line. You can get a 90 Degree one.
Like this one on eBay.

I would invest the money. Direct all the beer lines toward the hinge side of the door. Go along the side and around the back. Make sure you have enough slack so you can open the door, without lines tangling around a keg and pulling one or two out and landing them on your toes (big ouch).

If you plan to fit the taps lower than the keg tops, just make sure there is enough room to close the door without the taps hitting the kegs.
Mark

 

[Tangle Foot]

With the gas line, in a modern fridge there is usually a foam grommet if you do a bit of snooping around its usually possible to find a place where you can shove a gas line through rather than drill a hole.
If you have to drill a hole, again, do the inside plastic first, check there is no Oh **** waiting.

Holy resurrected thread Batman. It’s been a crazy year, and I never got round to building this fridge.

Planning to have a crack at it tomorrow so I’ve got beer in time for Christmas.

Just wondering if you’ve got any tips on where to start poking around to find this grommet. Keen not to drill if it don’t have to. If anyone’s done a Fisher and Paykel fridge before a clue as to where to find an access point would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[MHB]

Best to try and follow the metal pipe from the compressor to where it goes into the fridge.
A good feel around with a Phillips head screwdriver might help, as does cutting the end of the gas line at an angle (like an hypodermic needle).
Can be fun but a bit of work and you can often score a touchdown.
Mark

 

[Tangle Foot]

Sound like a plan. Let’s see if we get lucky!