i finished my installation of the whirlpool 9.7 cu foot fridge. it turned out great. as usual i spent way too much time on it but i am glad i did. i dont think you could tell it wasnt original.
1. the new fridge was taller and wider. so i had to cut the sides and cut the top and lower the platform it sits on by 4". that meant i had to make the drawer shorter and shorten all the supports underneath including the plenum for the heat in the bathroom. i made a jig out of aluminum stock to cut straight since it was so close to the wall.
2. i used black edgebanding since the fridge is black. and painted the inside with flat black. it blends perfectly.
3. i drilled five 1" holes across the top for ventilation and painted the inside of the holes black.
4. i made a small plenum about 12" high and mounted a 3 speed computer fan on the top pointed at the bottom of the coils on the back of the fridge. i ran a switch to the inside back of the cabinet over the dinette. just for extra ventilation if needed when really hot.
5. i did the same as yours with full sized house fridges. i made a piece of wood go across the top just behind the hinges that i used the front levelers of the fridge to "jam" the fridge up against to hold it steady. i also put 2 wood screws on the bottom plate of the back of the fridge into the platform. it aint going anywhere
6. i sealed up all former openings to the outside. the roof and the side access panel for the old propane fridge. i made the outside one removable to get at the back of the fridge.
7. i wired the fridge into the inverter circuit.
7.5 i disconnected the fridge defrost circuit. we dont live in it full time so it gets defrosted by turning it off. besides, it consumes 400 watts. the fridge is only 1amp with the compressor running and 2 amps at startup for a few seconds. i am trying to keep it as low a power as possible. the uline icemaker i have draws 2 amps....not counting the heater to loosen the ice cubes before it dumps them out.
8. installed it and turned it on. got from 85 ambient to minus 4 in the freezer in a few hours. love it.
i have to say that it was way more work than i expected, but the results are outstanding.
tom
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