Insulating Around Residential Fridge

I also installed a piece of wood under mine to hold the front feet. They stick out beyond the cabinet. Not a big concern but dont be surprised by it. Iirc I also had to cut down one of the adjustable feet. You may need a piece of wood in the floor of the cabinet to stiffen it up.

I also removed the inner panels in my cabinet as I cut the side clearance. YES, I had to cut all the way around my opening using a circular saw and jig saw. A little of a hack job but not noticeable unless one examines it more closely.

Thanks for the input on condensation coils. I never really thought about different manufacturers having variations on clearance requirements around a residential unit.

My tendency would also be to block out the rear venting especially for colder ambient temperatures.

... Eric

Mine has the coils on the back. I provided the required clearance on the sides and top then sealed the outside plastic vent cover along with insulation in the roof vent. It's treated as if in a house in between cabinets. My Whirlpool manual shows the hinge side requiring 3.x inches IF up against a wall so the door can open but other than that they say 1/2 an inch on top and sides. It is one of the models which allow a smaller clearance and this is as naturist said because of coil on the back. BUT if the sides are insulated I would surely leave the outside vent grill and roof vent open. You are then treating it more like a propane set up and drafting up the chase.

One could argue that in an resi situation the counter top provides deep "notch" area that helps cooling. With that in mind and being nervous about doing this i installed a 4 inch computer fan at the top of my side wall up above my upper cabinets with a switch. I haven't used it after checking compressor temps. If I was in extra hot conditions with full sun on that side of the rig I would probably run it. It pulls air out at the top and into living area.

THIS model for example requires 2" of clearance and is one of the reasons I went with the whirly. Not pushing W, just my decision. Like a lot of our modifications we make some may install these things with less clearance etc and they may work just fine. If so, all is good.



Eternabond tape grill vent

What you have "seen" a couple of times overrides the manufacturer's recommendations? Oh boy.

hugemoth wrote:
Some refrigerators embed the condensation coils in the side walls so if you insulate there the compressor will run all the time and will not cool effectively.

Bingo. It is crucial the residential fridge selected have the condensation coils free to do their job. If you want to insulate around the box, you must pick one with open coils on the back. If you pick one with coils in the sides/top, you can't insulate there.

Some refrigerators embed the condensation coils in the side walls so if you insulate there the compressor will run all the time and will not cool effectively.