Putting gas in my fridge…

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Question:

Drill a hole. HOWEVER – it’s possible to hit a freon line. If you do, you get to buy another fridge. The type of fridge you want to look for is the older style that has no freezer door on the outside. If the freezer is accessed by opening the door, then opening the freezer, it is PROBABLY an older fridge with no cooling coils in the walls. If the bottom of the freezer compartment is a big wad of ice, and the inside is aluminum, chances are that the freezer itself is the cooler for the entire unit. This kind *SHOULD* be OK to drill. The newer style has a seperate door on the front and often have coolant coils in the walls of the fridge. I wouldn’t suggestr drilling this kind. The fun part is trying to drill the old models. Mine was old enough that the fridge was made of enameled steel, not plastic. Drilling a 3" hole in enameled steel is a PITA. Difficult, slow, hard on bits and drills… Enjoy, Tackett No, not some new internal combustion driven lager machine! Simply, I would like input as to how those that do get CO2 into their refrigerators. I have been putting the whole bottle in with the Corny but with all those hoses and the thing tipping over…it’s a hassle. I was hoping for some sort of through-wall gas barb but haven’t been able to locate one. Do I shoot for elegance or just drill a hole in the side and fill the gaps with foam insulation? DW

– Tackett Austin

Response:

Just curious why you needed such a big hole. You could just about fit the cylinder through that MikeS

Response:

I have been putting the whole bottle in with the Corny but with all those hoses and the thing tipping over…it’s a hassle.

Try doing what I did. Use a bungee cord to secure the tank to the keg. The combination is very stable. Alex

Response:

No, not some new internal combustion driven lager machine! Simply, I would like input as to how those that do get CO2 into their refrigerators. I have been putting the whole bottle in with the Corny but with all those hoses and the thing tipping over…it’s a hassle. I was hoping for some sort of through-wall gas barb but haven’t been able to locate one. Do I shoot for elegance or just drill a hole in the side and fill the gaps with foam insulation? DW

Response:

Let us refine the hole drilling technique. A 7/8 inch hole saw will let you insert a piece of 1/2 inch PVC water pipe or electrical conduit. This pipe will just fit the gas hose that I use (without fittings). Caulk with silicone and you have a nice sanitary installation. Mark Crain Redwood Coast Brewers Santa Cruz, CA

Response:

: : : The fun part is trying to drill the old models. Mine was old enough that : the fridge was made of enameled steel, not plastic. Drilling a 3" hole in : enameled steel is a PITA. Difficult, slow, hard on bits and drills… : : : Just curious why you needed such a big hole. You could just about fit the : cylinder through that Maybe he meant 3" deep Inside walls (not door) are typically enameled steel, not plastic. Freon lines in the side walls is uncommon. Drill a small hole only deep enough to go through the one sheet of steel. Feel around with a nail. If there are no obstructions (other than the insulation), start blasting. I made a 5/16" hole and inserted a 3" double-ended 1/4" male flare tube and used nuts and silicone washers to make a seal. All my hoses terminate in female flare fittings, so I just screw on the lines coming from the cylinder. Inside, a hose runs to a 4-way gang valve. By keeping the gas outside, I can fit 6 corny tanks in my fridge and I have four faucets mounted on the door. (Actually, I have tandem regulators on my CO2 tank and a second gas line through the side of the fridge like the other; this enables me to serve things that require different dispensing pressures (like ales and lagers, dry stouts and softdrinks, etc.).) Back five years ago when I built it, it was all gee-whiz stuff…now it’s commonplace. I’ll have to upgrade. Dan

Response:

The fun part is trying to drill the old models. Mine was old enough that the fridge was made of enameled steel, not plastic. Drilling a 3" hole in enameled steel is a PITA. Difficult, slow, hard on bits and drills… Just curious why you needed such a big hole. You could just about fit the cylinder through that MikeS

Well… the fridge in the house wasn’t big enough for all my beer and a hot summer was approaching. I didn’t want all my hard work from spring brewing to overheat. So I found a fridge. Then I wanted to do a little lagering – an award winning dopple bock our brewclub "Hoppers of the Holy Ale" made. So I put the carboy in the fridge, and had to take all my beer back out. Grrr. So I made the fridge bigger by making a 3′ wide, 3′ high, 2′ deep insulated box and placing it next to the fridge. The 3" holes are for the exchange of air with a little help from a mini computer fan. Now I can have 20 gallons in the box, along with 4 or 5 kegs (I just found a great deal on a set of used taps – 7 for $30!!!) and beer in the fridge. Now that I took all the beer out of the house fridge, there’s room to put some back in. I think I have enough storage – for now. ; Tackett — Tackett Austin

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – No, not some new internal combustion driven lager machine! Simply, I would like input as to how those that do get CO2 into their refrigerators. I have been putting the whole bottle in with the Corny but with all those hoses and the thing tipping over…it’s a hassle. I was hoping for some sort of through-wall gas barb but haven’t been able to locate one. Do I shoot for elegance or just drill a hole in the side and fill the gaps with foam insulation? DW — Tackett Austin

Fox Equipment makes a thing called a "bulk head adapter". It comes in two lengths costs about $5.00 or $6.00. It has a 1/4" MFL connector on each end so that you can use a 1/4" nut w/stem on the end of your gas line, and if you want to get fance you could get the parts for quick disconnects for the inside and outside. There is an adapter that screws onto the 1/4"MFL that allows you to info. Hope this helps Mark Hafterson Don’t let your beer be a stranger. HOMEBREW!

Response:

What I did was to use a short piece of copper tubing, 1/4" OD. I put this tubing through the side of the fridge, and clamped plastic tubing to the copper, one piece to the regulator and another piece to a manifold in the fridge. This way you only need a small (1/4") hole in the fridge. I saw someone say a 3" hole, which would be hard to do. To drill the hole, I pulled one of the prongs off of the inside of the fridge. These are the prongs that hold up the shelves, which you don’t need anymore. With the prong off, I had a hole in the inside wall, through which I could poke around for the dreaded freon lines. I didn’t find anything in the side (between the walls) except insulation, so I took a punch and punched the outside wall through this hole in the inside wall. This gave me a small dent, which told me where to drill from the outside. a 1/4" hole was easy to drill, and I was all set to dispense draft beer. - Bryan nashville, tn.

Response:

Yes & no. I borrowed a bit from someone else when i got mine. He’d already done two holes with it. My first wasn’t two bad. The second got through more by my pushing then cutting. Turned out it was a hole bit for wood. I returned it to him even more jagged then it came (i hadn’t realized they were supposed to be straight). Next time around, he had a metal hole bit. Cut through like butter . . . oops, you said 3". these were 1" . . . anyway, the point is to make sure that you have a metal hole saw, rather than one for wood. — R E HAWKINS

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