Over the past few days I noticed my cellar cooling unit was starting to cycle for long periods of time, though it was still maintaining the temperature set-point. The unit is now 19yrs old and I figured it's time to install the spare unit I bought "used" back in late 2015. The new unit is a CellarCool and is slightly taller than the old Vintage Keeper, so I had to modify the wall opening accordingly. Since the unit is used, I figured I better open it up and have a look before installation. It turns out the case is riveted together, so to remove the cover I had to drill out the rivets. After cleaning I put the cover back on with small sheet metal screws, but during installation it then dawned on me why they used rivets. The unit is designed to be shoehorned between the standard stud spacing, so the screw heads were just large enough to prevent the unit from fitting between the wall studs. Remember, I'm doing this work by myself, standing on a ladder trying to jam the 81 lb unit into the opening, needless to say no go, I had to remove the front screws, slide the unit in, then put the screws back in. I managed, but WTF, I used tiny #6 sheet metal screws and the heads were still too thick. So far, I'm living and still learning.
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