The stuck fridge revisited--It's out!

[LVSteve]

I bet you all thought I'd slunk off to get a carpenter and/or a tile guy to fix my house after failing to get the fridge out. Nope.

Process #1 was to remove all the insulation before doing any metal cutting. First, the foam insulation is likely flammable, and second, it was blocking my view. There is little that makes mess like foam insulation cut with a saw, so I used a long box cutter, a painter scraper, and a large screwdriver. It was time consuming, and where the insulation had stuck well, wrist tweaking like full house Magnums in a model 65 with combat grips.

Once all the foam was gone, then I had to decide how to cut the top 6"-8" off the top of the fridge. I had thought of renting a disc cutter/angle grinder, but then I realized I might go way too deep and snag whatever was either side, especially when trying to get in the corners. A sawzall was out of the question, no space down either side.

Can you guess what I used? Yes, it was that hated weapon of the Wile E Coyote School of Gunsmithing (WECSOG), the DREMEL tool. Got some metal cutting discs and the quick release gadget to hold them at Lowe's and let rip today. I had no clue it could be such a destructive device. The results of my labors can be seen below.

The replacement fridge fit after removing the feet. Now where to scrap the old one.

 

[SMSgt]

I'd have used a couple pounds of C4.

 

[tops]

Cut in small pieces that will fit in trash can. It won't take many trash days and it will all be gone. Larry

 

[oldbrownhat]

...that hated weapon of the Wile E Coyote School of Gunsmithing (WECSOG)...

The other acronym/abbreviation that came to mind (courtesy of another recent thread) is "WWRGD"? - What Would Red Green Do?
(On second thought, perhaps better not to ask )

 

[A10]

I've used those discs a couple times on metal rod that I needed to shorten. They are surprisingly fast cutters.

 

[LVSteve]

I'd have used a couple pounds of C4.

I guess that would have moved it...and a whole bunch of other stuff through the outer wall of the house on the left of the first picture.

 

[LVSteve]

I've used those discs a couple times on metal rod that I needed to shorten. They are surprisingly fast cutters.

OMG, and the sparks!! I had that old white towel shielding the remains of the foam wetted down. I was wearing leather work gloves, long sleeves, eye protector that fit over my glasses, and a do-rag made from a tea towel on my to save what is left of my hair. When cutting the left side, all the sparks were coming out, so I used a spare piece of metal to contain them from flying at my face and who knew where in the room.

 

[whitestang]

I like the large hammer method for removal myself.

 

[DWalt]

There are few power tools as versatile for so many tasks as the Dremel tool. I can’t count the number of times that the Dremel was the best or the only device which was capable of doing what needed to be done. Many of those jobs involved the use of the abrasive cutting discs.

 

[Onomea]

Steve, I'm impressed! (Especially about you're being in such superb shape that you could actually get down in there and work at length, and then, mirable dictu, get back out and upright! Very impressive!)

How about a pic of the new fridge in situ?

 

[taz666]

... and it only took a couple weeks. I'd be proud, too.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Just don't be putting stuff into your garbage container, that does not belong,
according to the garbage , curb side truck, company, rules..........

You will be getting a letter in the mail with a PICTURE, taken by the truck,
of what they saw, coming out of the container, that was a no,no !!

Have fun.

 

[mchom]

Impressive

You need to add to your footer
“Where there’s a will there is a way “

 

[Rule3]

Around here, just put anything metal by the curb and scrap guys with beat up pick ups will snag it!
(unless you have a HOA)

 

[6518John]

Dremel on steroids!

Steve—you need to get yourself an angle grinder. If you like a Dremel, you will LOVE an angle grinder. My son after watching me fire it up said, “you can tear some **** up with that bad boy!”

 

[LVSteve]

... and it only took a couple weeks. I'd be proud, too.

LOL!! I had other things going on, so the job was done in multiple small stages. Getting the foam insulation out with minimal mess was the biggest pain.

 

[LVSteve]

Steve, I'm impressed! (Especially about you're being in such superb shape that you could actually get down in there and work at length, and then, mirable dictu, get back out and upright! Very impressive!)

How about a pic of the new fridge in situ?

Thank you. I'm 5' 11" and 185 lbs, and I suspect I am a bit more lithe and supple than most men in their mid-60s. Even so, careful planning to minimize pain pays off.

See that wall to the left in the first picture? Trick when getting the insulation out was to get seated on the floor with my back against the wall as much as possible. When it came to the cutting, preparing a good knee pad before starting was essential. The big thick towel you can see in the bottom of the fridge saved my elbows when really getting in there to cut.

Now, for my next trick, I will change the spark plugs on a stretched limo via the tailpipe.

 

[JohnRippert]

Thank you. I'm 5' 11" and 185 lbs, and I suspect I am a bit more lithe and supple than most men in their mid-60s. Even so, careful planning to minimize pain pays off.

See that wall to the left in the first picture? Trick when getting the insulation out was to get seated on the floor with my back against the wall as much as possible. When it came to the cutting, preparing a good knee pad before starting was essential. The big thick towel you can see in the bottom of the fridge saved my elbows when really getting in there to cut.

Now, for my next trick, I will change the spark plugs on a stretched limo via the tailpipe.

I still have my kneeling pad from back when I was working on copiers for a living. Also saving all of Mom's old gardening kneeling pads. Old pillows taking up room? Save them! Never know when you will be laying down under the sink replacing a disposal, or working under the dash of your car/truck/van. At 62, in three days, I need all the help I can get.

 

[oldbrownhat]

...Now, for my next trick, I will change the spark plugs on a stretched limo via the tailpipe.

There was a joke about this...

A colorectal surgeon, in retirement, decided he would like to be a mechanic, something he always wanted to be. So he signed up for an auto mechanics class. The final project was to completely rebuild the engine of one of the shop's cars.

When he was done, the teacher scored him at 200%, an A+++. Shocked, the former doctor asked how he had scored so high being that several other students also completed the task. "Well," said the teacher, "before you, nobody had ever done it all through the tailpipe."​

 

[LVSteve]

There was a joke about this...

A colorectal surgeon, in retirement, decided he would like to be a mechanic, something he always wanted to be. So he signed up for an auto mechanics class. The final project was to completely rebuild the engine of one of the shop's cars.

When he was done, the teacher scored him at 200%, an A+++. Shocked, the former doctor asked how he had scored so high being that several other students also completed the task. "Well," said the teacher, "before you, nobody had ever done it all through the tailpipe."​

Where do you think I got the inspiration?