Dead Garage Fridge

[Skooterj]

I have an older LG French Door refrigerator I bought used. It has worked great for the last 5 years, but I accidentally left the door open and am now having all kinds of problems.
So after I left the door open, the freezer was still working, but the fridge would not cool. I figured the coil had frozen over, unplugged it, let it sit for about a day, plugged it back in and it worked. And somehow about 2 weeks later, the door was left ajar again, but not for very long this time. So I just closed the door and the refrigerator section got back down to temp, but now the freezer wouldn't get below 20 degrees. So I unplugged it again and let it sit overnight to defrost. I plugged it in again yesterday and after a full day, nothing got below 60 degrees. So last night I got serious. I unplugged it again and took off the panel covering the compressor. I cleaned all the dust and cobwebs out and made sure the fan was spinning. Then I took the back panel off from inside the freezer and checked the coils. I blew them all out and made sure the fan in there was working. I then plugged it back in and waited a couple hours. Barely any cooling. So I checked the coils again. The pipe leading to the coils was completely frosted over, but the rest of the coils were completely clean of any frost.
So I started looking some more. Being used, I have no idea on the history. I did see that a puncture valve had already been installed, so I assume it has been refilled at some point. So maybe it has a leak? Or had a leak? But I got 5 years out of is. So I'm thinking of trying to refill it again and see if I can get another 5 years. Other than that, I have no idea what else to check. I'm assuming since the one tube frosted up that the compressor is working. Any techs out there?

Model LFC23760ST

 

[ratflinger]

You probably can buy another used fridge cheaper than the repair bill.

 

[chinboys]

The pipe going away from the evaporator coil frosting up is indicative of a low refrigerant charge.
Having the door opened only means the call for freezing and cooling is never satisfied equating to high power use.
Find out what type of refrigerant is used ( i looked it up and its r 134a) and get the hose kit to refill at the valve.
You might find small cans of r 134 in automobile part shops or Harbor Freight.
Slowly add the refrigerant in vapor not liquid to the suction side of the system provided the tap is there.
You might not need much as this systems don't use a lot of refrigerant.
And don't slug the compressor with liquid refrigerant as it will lock it up and destroy the internal seals or worst liquid lock the piston of scroll.

 

[65ranchero]

If using the small cans, you can increase the vapor pressure by putting the can in a pot of warm water.
this is to make sure the vapor pressure is greater that the suction. This will be dependent on ambient temp.

 

[Skooterj]

The pipe going away from the evaporator coil frosting up is indicative of a low refrigerant charge.
Having the door opened only means the call for freezing and cooling is never satisfied equating to high power use.
Find out what type of refrigerant is used ( i looked it up and its r 134a) and get the hose kit to refill at the valve.
You might find small cans of r 134 in automobile part shops or Harbor Freight.
Slowly add the refrigerant in vapor not liquid to the suction side of the system provided the tap is there.
You might not need much as this systems don't use a lot of refrigerant.
And don't slug the compressor with liquid refrigerant as it will lock it up and destroy the internal seals or worst liquid lock the piston of scroll.

I figured having the door open let a lot more moisture in since it has been super humid around here lately, causing the coil to initially frost over. And maybe stopping and restarting it twice did something to accelerate any minor leakage. Figure $30 for a can of r135 and a hose is cheap, even if it doesn't work.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I've avoided the "put a fridge in the garage" bug up until now. All the old people I know have a fridge in their kitchen and another in their garage. Case in point....my mother-in-law. Lives alone. Can't possibly survive without 2 full size refrigerators.

And those old fridges use a lot of power, especially in a hot garage. It could add $20 to $30 per month to the power bill.

No thank you.

 

[fitter30]

Refrigerators are critical charge. Name plate will tell how many ounces it holds.

 

[fitter30]

Refrigerators are critical charge. Name plate will tell how many ounces it holds.

 

[Skooterj]

My wife bakes. Like, a lot. Every birthday at work, weddings, graduations. So we need the cold storage. We actually have 2 in the garage. One for beer and such, one for her baking. It's not that old, energy star rated at $82 a year. So less than $7. She more than pays for that in cookies alone. I've been watching some YouTube videos about refilling it and am going to give it a go. Worse case I'm out a can of R134.

 

[micromind]

Take it out in the desert and blow it to smithereens.......this will remove any doubt that it needs to be replaced........

 

[Skooterj]

I added about 1 ounce of R134a and now it is working great. If I have to add a ounce every year or so, I'll take it.

 

[nadogail]

I've avoided the "put a fridge in the garage" bug up until now. All the old people I know have a fridge in their kitchen and another in their garage. Case in point....my mother-in-law. Lives alone. Can't possibly survive without 2 full size refrigerators.

And those old fridges use a lot of power, especially in a hot garage. It could add $20 to $30 per month to the power bill.

No thank you.

Solar panels will provide very cheap electricity

 

[kj_mustang]

Bought an LG french door for the new house about 9 years ago. It lasted 2.5 years and the compressor dies from low freon. The second repairman that LG sent told me he had worked on so many LG fridges that he could tell me where the leak was before he started looking. He was dead on. The coil has the connection end brazed on and they had some crappy work doing it. Fridge interior has to be totally taken out and replace the coil and compressor.

 

[amgent57]

One of those 4.5 cu ft mini fridge/freezer is perfect for a garage.
Not too big/ not too small.

 

[Jazz1]

My $20 garage fridge died after 5 years,i picked up a good working full size fridge for $100..

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Solar panels will provide very cheap electricity

Not buying a solar panel for a refrigerator I can live without is free.