Warm Fridge!!!

[bczygan]

Compressor on the back of the fridge has been rattling and making noise for some time.

Last couple of days it has been real quiet, except a fan in the freezer compartment still runs.....and everything is getting warmer in both the fridge and freezer section...

Any fixes?...or is it time to go to Habitat and look for a fridge?

 

[mirrorimg]

When I fist moved in my refrigerator was the able to stay cold. Some research pointed to a faulty defroster I'm the freezer compartment which caused a block of ice to form and prevent the system from working as designed.

I had to remove the shelves from the freezer then the inner rear panel and I was met with the obvious cause. Maybe you have the same problem, maybe not. My fridge is a GE and I read this was common with it.

 

[bob from indiana]

See if the fan in the back is runing. I fixed a G.E. fridge a while back. The lower rear fan had got full of dust and lint. It was running very slowly and making noise. Some cleaning and oil got things working again. The newer units arn't lasting like the old stuff.

 

[bczygan]

Compressor was making noise for a few months. Banging whenever the fridge cycled on. Now just quiet. Fan running in the freezer.

 

[jjjrmx5]

The newer units arn't lasting like the old stuff.

Yep.

I was fridge shopping at the local Sears outlet last month and started talking muscle cars with a clerk after a question.
Got back around to talking fridge's and he said todays unit are only engineered and built to last 6 to 9 years by design.
Durable goods my ***.
They are far more power efficient but, just like many tool lines, have been value engineered.

Certainly not built to last decades like generations before.

 

[p51stang]

Try repairclinic.com you can narrow down to a few specific parts and return the ones that are not needed. I fixed mine that way

 

[Gary S]

I'd say just junk it and find someone else's old one to replace it. Usually you can buy an old used refrigerator for $50-100. A new one would run you $400-500 minimum, and repairing the old one is likely to cost you more than $100.
Take the easy and cheap way out and replace it with another old one that will likely serve you for another 10 years.
I put my kilowatt meter on my new house fridge and my old garage fridge. My old one costs me about $20 a year more in electricity consumption to run in a year than the new one. A new $500 fridge would need to last over 20 years to pay for itself, so I'll keep running the old reliable but inefficient ones.

 

[jerryW]

Making a clunking sound at start up or shut off is a sign of a broken suspension spring, think of it as a motor mount. The noise is the compressor unit hitting the inside of the case.

Replace the fridge unless you are really in love with it. Having a servicer replace the compressor will run as much as a new lower end unit.


jerry

 

[bcradio]

What a concept it would be if someone would build an efficient AND reliable fridge/freezer. I can dream right...

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

as a former refrigerator maker i was told people remodel every 5 years and thats why they are made so cheap. top mounts seam to be the most economical and trouble free from my experience. the newer stuff cost less to operate also but for the difference in operating cost i bet an old beat up fridge would still be the best bet

 

[TireTracks]

Yep, Spring broke, or the motor/compressor fell off the springs. It's a goner once they do that.

Get a different one, unless this one is special to you it will cost more than it's worth to repair.

 

[rancherbill]

Compressor on the back of the fridge has been rattling and making noise for some time.

Last couple of days it has been real quiet, except a fan in the freezer compartment still runs.....and everything is getting warmer in both the fridge and freezer section...

Any fixes?...or is it time to go to Habitat and look for a fridge?

It's bust.

Get a new one, the savings in electricity will probably pay for the difference over a couple of years versus an old one.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Compressor was making noise for a few months. Banging whenever the fridge cycled on. Now just quiet. Fan running in the freezer.

Check if there is a capacitor mounted on / near the compressor. See if it has bulged out or is leaking electrolytic fluid.

Do you have a clamp-on amp meter? You can see if the compressor is even coming on, and if so how many amps it's pulling. You can compare that number to what should hopefully be listed on the compressor tag. Maybe it finally locked up?

 

[firebox40dash5]

What a concept it would be if someone would build an efficient AND reliable fridge/freezer. I can dream right...

It would probably be an economically horrible idea. They'd be really expensive, few would buy them, and very few would buy them twice.

My dad has been building his house for a few years now and was fridge shopping a year or so ago. Since he didn't have the kitchen built yet, I tried to talk him into Craigslisting a Sub Zero... worst part of the old ones (aside from probably not being terribly energy efficient) is that they use R12, and the most common problem seems to be refrigerant leaking out. He bought a S&D LG from the Depot instead. Bummer.

 

[bczygan]

Just home from fridge shopping.......oy vey!

Boy are they expensive!

Looking on CL.

Existing one is a side by side 26

Wife loves the 2 door and 2 drawer french door ones, but the prices!

Samsung seems like good ones.

Thinking about smaller one for just the 2 of us.

Maybe 21CF.

Maybe even a 1 door bottom freezer one. There's a new one at an outlet for $650, but almost out of warranty.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Defrost timer may be stuck in the defrost mode.

Are you hearing any other noises, such as a click, followed by about 20 or 30 seconds of silence and another click, this repeating on and on? This would indicate a locked up compressor, with the overload kicking it off, cooling off, kicking it in, overload heating up from locked compressor, again dropping out..... etc.

Charles

 

[bczygan]

Defrost timer may be stuck in the defrost mode.

Are you hearing any other noises, such as a click, followed by about 20 or 30 seconds of silence and another click, this repeating on and on? This would indicate a locked up compressor, with the overload kicking it off, cooling off, kicking it in, overload heating up from locked compressor, again dropping out..... etc.

Charles

Compressor and coils are room temp. No noises other than the fan in the freezer and the lights and display inside come on.

It's a Frigidaire.

I'm going to unplug for a while and plug back in. Also look more carefully at the stuff around the compressor.

I may happily get another. This was a used unit, missing a couple of door bins. It's too big to fit through the kitchen door, so has sat in the living room. My kitchen door is 29" clear from face of stop to face of stop.

 

[warmpancakes]

I have one like this i hate it, cant find **** in the freezer, stuff falls behind drawer

 

[bczygan]

Thank you warmpancakes. Very good to know.

It's looking like a smaller french door might be the answer.

 

[John316]

Thank you warmpancakes. Very good to know.

It's looking like a smaller french door might be the answer.

The french door models look nice, but, but many people regret that the freezer drawer configuration leaves you to pile your freezer goods on top of each other and have to dig through items to find stuff.

Samsung does make nice refrigerators though. I have a side by side and am very happy with it. I will say that many traditional appliance repair outfits (at least in this area) do not like Samsung claiming they are hard to work on, but our company (which is overwhelmingly an electronics company) works on them and our guys laugh about that and say they are the easiest product out there.

 

[bczygan]

So it sounds like we're back to Samsung side by side, maybe in a counter depth, so I can get it through the kitchen door, and 22CF or thereabouts.

 

[cburnscrx]

So it sounds like we're back to Samsung side by side, maybe in a counter depth, so I can get it through the kitchen door, and 22CF or thereabouts.

Counter depth. I love mine, but they are not for everybody. Be aware they don't have as much storage space as the standard depth even if the sq ft say's they're the same. That being said, the look and space of them are fantastic

 

[bczygan]

Went to the Sears Outlet Store. They had TONS of fridges. Lots of them looked like they had been shot with BB guns. Slightly better prices than the clearanced units at the store.

Went to see a black 25CF Samsung side by side with ice and water in the door that was on CL. It was a scratch and dent that these people bought at a Sears outlet store that closed. They bought a bunch of fridges from that closing.
It is missing the door handles (Can get from Samsung or Sears)and grid for the ice and water shelf. Out of warranty, but never used. She wanted $650 but got it for $550. Not the fanciest model. Plastic coated wire shelves in the freezer. But for the price...

Hauled it home on my folding HF type trailer.

It is 1/10 of an inch narrower than my door opening. Time to remove the stops from the casing.