Refrigerator removal

Hello all,

The wife and I finally got our 95 Wellcraft Portofino 43 out of the mechanic's slip and into our marina. Now that we have time to dig in, I discovered the refrigerator is kaput. I would like to remove it and replace with a newer (preferably smaller) fridge. The issue is the current one seems sealed in place in the cabinet enclosure. I was looking for ideas of how to get it out. I have managed to remove any anchor screws that I can see, but after an hour of exploring, have only been able to slide it out about half an inch.

Any tips would be appreciated!

I had a similar issue recently with a stereo. Granted it's not as large as a refrigerator but the issue may be the same: it was built into the boat during manufacture. My solution was to get a deck hatch and cut a hole in the boat interior molding for this hatch so I could get to the wiring so I could remove the stereo. Once removed (and a new one installed) I used the deck hatch to fill the hole I had made. Now I can access the wiring any time I need to and the boat still looks as it should.

At least on many fridges there are several screws in the edge face of the fridge main cabinet. May be several per side. For quite a few years they have been face mounted. Are those the ones you removed?

Could there be mounting feet that are bolted to the deck with access to the nuts from below?

Is there any trim, carpet, flooring at the bottom obstructing removal?

Have you removed the door?

You have moved it 1/2"? Before you removed the screws you did find could you move it at all? That might indicate an obstruction below.

Are there any trim strips that can be removed?

A photo or two might help.

Thank you for the prompt replies!

C lectric said:

At least on many fridges there are several screws in the edge face of the fridge main cabinet. May be several per side. For quite a few years they have been face mounted. Are those the ones you removed?

Could there be mounting feet that are bolted to the deck with access to the nuts from below?

Is there any trim, carpet, flooring at the bottom obstructing removal?

Have you removed the door?

You have moved it 1/2"? Before you removed the screws you did find could you move it at all? That might indicate an obstruction below.

Are there any trim strips that can be removed?

A photo or two might help.

Click to expand...

I will be back on the boat tomorrow evening and will get some pictures and try to answer your questions as best I can. I do know I was only able to move it barely after removing the screws I found and got the front two feet of the fridge free of the rust and gunk of the floor.

Yay boat projects!

While removing the refrigerator in our boat I found several 4 inch long drywall screws in the opening for the microwave that went right into the side of the refer. Had to remove the microwave first. Do you have anything beside the refer that might be hiding anything?

A sawzall with a good blade might be noisy but should do the job.

is it a self contained fridge? (no remote compressor) i only ask as most remote compressor fridges can be repaired. even some self contained ones too, depending on how it's built.
you should check the lead time on a new unit too, when i last ordered one (nova kool) it was many months wait for delivery.

GMandGW said:

I do know I was only able to move it barely after removing the screws I found and got the front two feet of the fridge free of the rust and gunk of the floor.

Yay boat projects!

Click to expand...

It looks like you have it free, but the floor is causing it to jam against foreign objects under the fridge case. If there is any space between the fridge bottom and the floor, in which you can slide a tool in and clear that space, you may dislodge whatever is holding it back.
Good luck!

Also possible that the leveling feet in front have been extended and that is what is catching. It is now "bigger" than when slid in to place.

Check for a vent plate on side or back. It is possible that there is a tab on the backside that is screwed down, holding it in place, and the only access is through a vent.

On my AT34, after removing all the wooden trim around the door and one cabinet door, I tip the fridge outward at the top and wiggle the unit while pulling it. I will gain a little, I lean the fridge back and wiggle out the bottom. I do this as many times as necessary, each time getting a little bit more of the fridge out of its hole. Seems to work fine for me.
Of course I empty the fridge first.

Thanks again for all the imput! First time attaching pics so bear with me.

I've removed any screws visible that may be attached at the base, there just isn't much access from any angle. The shelving doesn't appear easily removable nor that area of the plasteak floor.

Do you have any thin sheet metal to slide in at the bottom. Sometimes things will slide on it and not hook. The scrapers may be just a hair to much.

I hate to say it but it looks to me like the Plasteak was laid after the fridge was installed.

Can you carefully angle cut or file the Plasteak edge , maybe at the top also.

Any chance you have a flex wand camera that you can push in to have a bit of a look?
Or borrow one?

I agree that the Plasteak may be the problem. Like putting a dishwasher in and then laying tile in front of it. Had that happen in a previous house, had to do a remodel to change the dishwasher.

Can u lift the counter top?

Steve1.0 said:

Can u lift the counter top?

Click to expand...

I am going out to check again today. I do not believe the counter will lift without major demo but will double check. As always I appreciate the feedback from everyone!

Only guessing. Rock the unit back, slide cardboard under the feet.... wiggle the unit forward onto the cardboard, repeat.

Feet appear adjusted up, pretty good chance it’s the floor as noted. Looks like there is a piece of the cabinet facing that runs above the fridge. I’d cut that out and gain the space you need, then repair it after. Not a lot of other options. When you do pull it out, remember to push it back in a little first, those feet will probably try to lip under the new flooring.

ghost said:

Feet appear adjusted up, pretty good chance it’s the floor as noted. Looks like there is a piece of the cabinet facing that runs above the fridge. I’d cut that out and gain the space you need, then repair it after. Not a lot of other options. When you do pull it out, remember to push it back in a little first, those feet will probably try to lip under the new flooring.

Click to expand...

This is what I am going to try next. I believe if I can remove a half inch to inch of the piece of cabinet above I can get the fridge out and protect the floor (definitely more attached to the floor than the cabinet). I currently have just a hacksaw. I have a bit of a budget for tools so any ideas for a good tool for this job? I have some experience with drills but almost none with saws.

It depends on how much access you have and what you want the cabinet to look like when you are done. You might use a jigsaw, but it won’t give a good looking cut easily. I have a circular saw that has a small blade, maybe 3.5” and has some very narrow kerf blades. Personally if I had room to access and wanted a good looking cut when I am done I would use a router and set up a jig to guide it. But I like routers since they can give a really nice cut. I probably have 6 routers for different needs. My wife says I have never met a tool I didn’t need…

Use a vibrating saw such as Dremel makes.
The kerf is very thin.

OldDan1943 said:

Use a vibrating saw such as Dremel makes.

Click to expand...

Yes, it will do the cut but it will be almost impossible to get a nice cut the width of a refer.

"Yes, it will do the cut but it will be almost impossible to get a nice cut the width of a refer."


Thats why trim was invented.

Managed to remove about half an inch of the plywood above the fridge (thanks @ghost) using a handsaw (very carefully as the cabinet seems solidly installed). I was able to slide the fridge out a couple of more inches. What am I looking at dealing with connection-wise as I pull this out -very slowly-? I am guessing power and water, at least.

Unless it has a built in icemaker then power is the only thing.

Possibly both AC and DC power connections back there.

Success!!!

Removal of the refrigerator is complete. Many thanks to all the advice here! Managed to remove with minimal damage to the existing cabinet. Now to find a ‘fitting’ replacement.

Glad to see you got it out.

You may not find an exact match but should come close.

I can't really see but is there adequate venting for the heated air the fridge will expell into the fridge cavity. If not then consider installing a fan to force that heated air out of the cabinet. It looks like the end of the cabinet would be a good place to do that.

Mount it as high as possible so it blows out. Muffin type fans, computer, do a good job, are quiet with some searching. Just figure out how to drive the fan only when the fridge is operating so the power draw stops when the fridge stops.

Lots of threads about this.

If you don’t have an intake vent low and an exhaust vent high, then add them, they will improve the efficiency tremendously. On our last boat the freezer would not keep ice cream hard. I added the vents and a fan mounted low blowing air into the cabinet. It was powered off the compressor control board so it only ran while the compressor was running. The fan I used was extremely quiet and only drew 50 mAmps. I got it on Amazon.

Noctua NF-F12 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (120mm, Brown)