BUILDING THE KEG FRIDGE

Ok, so the email came around the workplace saying the old breakroom fridge is shot and everyone is being asked to pitch in for a new one.  OK, I'm in, since I keep a 12 pack of sodas in it so I don’t have to pay the inflated price of the vending machines.  But what's going to happen to the old one?  I mean, is it really in that bad of shape?  For goodness sake, there's ice on the outside of it near the freezer' s hinges!  The thing has got to be cooling.  Hey, I'll take it if you're just going to throw it out…

Thus I inherited a full size Fridgidaire 166, and visions of a draft beer cooler danced in my head.  It sat on the loading dock for about 6 hours until I could load it in my pickup.  With temps in the 90's and both the refrigerator and freezer doors open, the slab of ice on the coils *still* hadn't thawed.  I hauled it home and put it in the garage.  Two days later I checked and I couldn't see ice anymore.  I plugged it up and sat a thermometer inside.  The next day it was holding at around 34 degrees in the refrigeration compartment.  I sent an OT post to RMH looking for any ideas on what might have caused it to freeze up.  A couple of helpful replies came in from "Repairman" and Matthew Lundberg about checking the defrost timer.  They described the beast, but I figured I should get the freeking manual.  I found a generic refrigerator fix-it book online, along with a nifty 2" remote reading temperature gauge to mount on the outside.  That way I could keep an eye on the inside temps without opening the door and warming it up.