Kegerator build

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I can honestly say I've never encountered a fridge with tubing in the sidewalls and/or the door, freezers are a bit different though.
Perhaps standards for UK fridges are different than our Swedish ones, but the main reason kegerators are recommended over keezers here are that you can put holes through the side of a fridge without worry but not a freezer. You should however never drill through the back wall of a fridge though.

I've got pipes in side walls in my brew fridge. Thankfully I drilled just the outer skin then made it bigger and poked about. A pipe was about 1/2 cm above where I'd drilled.
 
Dedicated fridges.

Eric this is a thing. Really. Honestly.

"Refrigerators generate heat during the process of making cold air. In order to cool this heat down, heat dissipation pipes are installed on both outer walls of the refrigerator, so when the product is operated, heat is generated on the side walls of the refrigerator."

Attrib: Samsung

Google "what are the pipes for in refrigerator wall for"
 
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The pipes that dissipate the heat are usually on the back of the fridge.
It wouldn't make sense to put them in the walls.
FH02FEB_FRIDGM_04-1379531305.JPG
 
Dedicated fridges.

Eric this is a thing. Really. Honestly.

"Refrigerators generate heat during the process of making cold air. In order to cool this heat down, heat dissipation pipes are installed on both outer walls of the refrigerator, so when the product is operated, heat is generated on the side walls of the refrigerator."

Attrib: Samsung

Google "what are the pipes for in refrigerator wall for"
Yeah I belive you, I just have never experienced it myself or heard of anyone I know who brews over here who have experienced it either, wich makes me wonder if it's some UK specific standard or something.
As someone else posted those pipes are often found at the back of the fridge with the compressor etc.
 
In my experience (pretty limited when it comes to drilling holes in fridges, 3 fridges and 6 holes) there is always one pipe in the side of a fridge and it's the thermostat sensor usually with electrical cables close by for the fridge light. ALWAYS disconnect from the mains (UNPLUG) and go slowly from the outside (easier to see what's going on). I use a centre drill to make a small hole without penetrating too deep, then fiddle with a needle file to 'feel' what's in the insulation before drilling through and enlarging the hole.
Screenshot_20240522-140604~2.png
 
I looked it up a bit more.
Essentially, if your fridge has all the machinery and cooling coils at the back, you can make holes in the side walls, if not use caution.
There may be a thermostat cable running in the sidewalls(mine is going inside the insulation in the ceiling of the fridge).
 
It's worth noting there are condenser coils, evaporator coils. And combinations of expansion, receiver, suction, pipes etc.

One coil does not a fridge make.
 
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I decided on a full height larder fridge that popped up on Marketplace for £60. Used a heated bradawl to get through the sidewall inside plastic skin, then poked around until I was happy there were no pipes before drilling through the tin outside skin.
Taps are on the door.
The advantage to me of a full height is that I can fit 4 keys at the bottom then 2 shelves for bottles above, door shelves for keeping hops and yeasts chilled.
My gas is outside with a 4 way manifold so I can control gas to 4 individual feeds to the kegs.
Took a bit of planning and work, but it works well for me.
 
I used 3/16 tubing to feed the gas through the drain hole and then have a manifold and secondary regs inside the fridge. The only holes I drilled were in the door for the taps
 

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