Disbale or remove the freezer box of a fridge

[fruitloopy]

I am brewing my own beer and use a pressure barrel to keep it in. I have been given an old fridge to keep it in which will keep it nice and cold during the summer.
The problem is that becuase this fridge has a freezer or ice box compartment I cant quite get the barrel in!

Is it possible to disable the freezer compartment somehow? I can see that it can be easily removed but there is a pipe running from the compressor? which goes into it.

Could this pipe be bent enough to prevent whatever goes through it and stop it freezing the entire inside of the fridge?

I am guessing that if the pipe gets bent and breaks all the gas will leak out and make the fridge worthless…is this right?

[kwatt]

Re: Disbale or remove the freezer box of a fridge

fruitloopy wrote:I am guessing that if the pipe gets bent and breaks all the gas will leak out and make the fridge worthless…is this right?

Correct.

And, if it’s kinked it will not work either.

The ice box cannot be removed as that’s the evaporator which is the part that does the actual cooling.

HTH

K.

[fruitloopy]

Re: Disbale or remove the freezer box of a fridge

Thanks for your response.
I have removed part of the freezer compartment including the door/flap.
The freezer compartment is a single sheet of metal bent in a U shape to create a “shelf” and this metal has channels which I guess allow the gas to go through it all. I have unbent this U shaped metal sheet to allow the barrel to fit underneath it. The problem is that the temperature in the fridge is -7 deg C!

I want my beer to be cold but not frozen! Beer ice lollies maybe?

This U shaped metal is connected to the compressor? via a pipe so I if bend this it should shut it off and stop it freezing?

Thanks.

[kwatt]

Re: Disbale or remove the freezer box of a fridge

The thermostat phial will have to sit at the correct distance from the evaporator or, it be touching, in order for the temperature to be maintained correctly. SOunds as if it’s too far away from the evap plate causing the over freezing.

And yes, the gas does run through those “channels” and if one gets kinked or bust, game over.

HTH

K.

[fruitloopy]

Re: Disbale or remove the freezer box of a fridge

AHA…!
I think I have seen the light!

When you say “Thermostat phial” do you mean a long thin piece of wire which I remember was sitting near this freezer compartment before I made my modifications?
If it is then its probably hanging down towards the bottom of the fridge somewhere. Is this causing the fridge to freeze up because the thermostat or sensor is in the wrong place?
I guess if I move the wire and place it back near the freezer compartments metal plate thing it will work correctly?

[kwatt]

Yep, that’s it.

Don’t kink that either. 😉

K.

[fruitloopy]

Re: Disbale or remove the freezer box of a fridge

Thanks Kwat…I’ll give it a go when I get home later.

[Author]

Posts