Safe to drill side of fridge?

[Glideman]

I have a Miele upright fridge / freezer which I've converted into a kegerator. Problem is I need to mount a three way gas feed from the outside & need to get three pipes in. Can I just drill the sides or are there any pipes inside it?
I managed to get four kegs inside without any shelves so it's quite a neat build. I've got three kegs on C02 and one on a Nitro 70/30 mix going to my stout faucet. I'll post some pics when it's finished. This is it with just the two kegs & gas inside. The taps are Perlic which I got from the States with the drip tray. Sample of my homebrew stout in the last pic :drink:

 

[Muddydisco]

There may not but to be safe make a small hole and poke around with a screwdriver to make sure before drilling all the way through with a larger bit :thumb:

 

[puravida]

I drilled into the side of mine for the same reason and let all the coolant gas escape.
Ruined the fridge.
Doh!!!

 

[Glideman]

I drilled into the side of mine for the same reason and let all the coolant gas escape.
Ruined the fridge.
Doh!!!

Thanks for that, must be somewhere to drill without hitting the pipes. Maybe the bottom of the fridge would be safe. The fridge is almost new so I don't want to try drilling a pilot hole if it's got a chance of hitting a pipe.

 

[pittsy]

I drilled into the side of mine for the same reason and let all the coolant gas escape.
Ruined the fridge.
Doh!!!

Thanks for that, must be somewhere to drill without hitting the pipes. Maybe the bottom of the fridge would be safe. The fridge is almost new so I don't want to try drilling a pilot hole if it's got a chance of hitting a pipe.

the only safe place to drill is the door , i too have ruined a fridge (at work , kitchen fitter) :cry:

 

[zgoda]

My Whirlpool one has safe top, but both sides are full of little pipes with coolant.

 

[richc]

Turn it down really cold, spray around a bit of water inside and then leave for a while. You can usually see where the coolant is going because ice forms where the pipes are.

This isn't foolproof but can give some indication of what is going on.

 

[Runwell-Steve]

I think the roof is normally free of any pipes, that's what I have found in all of my fridges anyway.

 

[scott78]

last year, while trying to be clever, i defrosted the freezer. in an effort to speed things up i placed 2 tealight candles inside to get things melting a bit faster. things went well until i wanted to move it along faster still. i now know that a candle sitting 6 inch below the roof of a fridge will melt a nice round hole in the internal plastic and remove the insulation through to the external plastic top. if you place the fridge on its side i'm sure you can burn away the insulation from the inside, drill knowing your missing pipes.

 

[Vossy1]

Nice looking build

As a general rule of thumb (if there is such a thing) standard fridges have a chiller plate at the back and the piping runs at the back. Freezers chill through the walls and usually have coolant lines all round the sides (usually at a certain height) richc has it right to find them. Then there's the posh fridges (possibly yours :grin: ) where the coolant lines and plate are built into the walls/back...making life very hard for you I'd be tempted to drill through the outer wall and then pick the foam away like md suggested, if you do hit lines you shouldn't have to make the hole that much bigger to get round them.
Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

[Glideman]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Wonder if a pipe/wire detector as used by DIY'ers would find the pipes? They could be alloy though

 

[zgoda]

And sides are of steel...

 

[Dieseljockey]

For what it's worth...I've just got around to doing my ferm fridge and I took a cable through the drain hole. You may be able to open the same area up to take your pipes.

 

[Dave1970]

Following on from this, has anyone drilled a Bosch fridge and know where's ok to drill?
I have a tall Bosch larder fridge that's destined to become a kegerator. I'd much prefer to keep my gas board outside so I need to run 3 gas lines into the fridge. I will probably be using the drain hole for a heater cable.
At the moment I'm thinking of going in through the bottom in the hope that when tipped up I'll be able to see where the pipes are.

 

[Glideman]

Good point Dave, I'll have a look at whats under mine.