Mad at my fridge
timeOday
It fell to a broken compressor, which apparently is the #1 cause of
fridge death. Why don't they make it easier to replace the compressor?
Shouldn't be that much harder than replacing the power steering pump on
my car, should it? But apparently it is, everybody says just throw it out.
The companies think they are getting off scot free because their
warranties are short, but I tell you, I'm never buying an expensive
fridge with a fancy fascia or features, so long as they put short-lived
mechanicals in them. Neither will I spend more blindly hoping to get
what I pay for. I would pay a couple hundred extra for something with a
10 year warranty though.
Anthony Matonak
> My Kenmore fridge just broke, it was only 5 years old. There goes $800.
>
> It fell to a broken compressor, which apparently is the #1 cause of
> fridge death. Why don't they make it easier to replace the compressor?
> Shouldn't be that much harder than replacing the power steering pump on
> my car, should it? But apparently it is, everybody says just throw it out.
A fridge is a relatively simple device. The only moving part is the
compressor so it's not remarkable that this is the part that fails.
I imagine replacing the compressor isn't any more difficult than
replacing the air conditioning compressor in a car. You'll probably
need to do the same purge and recharge of the freon (or whatever they
use these days).
Anthony
PaPaPeng
What broke in your compressor? They have been around for ages and
there are no design features to tweak anymore that can screw up its
reliability.
The only problem I can think of is your fridge was transported to your
home lying on its side. That position can cause the compressor to pop
out of its spring mounting. There are four springs that position the
compressor in the middle inside the canister. If one mount (friction
fit rubber grommet) popped free you will hear a clunk everytime the
compressor starts or stops as the mounting is unbalanced. Over time
that flexes the electrical cable and fractures it resulting in a short
circuit. Its not repairable.
Jeff
> My Kenmore fridge just broke, it was only 5 years old. There goes $800.
>
> It fell to a broken compressor, which apparently is the #1 cause of
> fridge death. Why don't they make it easier to replace the compressor?
I was little surprised about that not being feasable to fix so I did
some looking.
<URL: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/sears_refrig.html/>
It looks like sears is buying some dogs.
You can find out who made it here:
<URL: http://www.appliance411.com/purchase/sears.shtml />
Now, I would normally think that you should just find an appliance
repair place that was able to deal with whatever problem your fridge
had, but it may make more sense to not pour money into a pit.
> Shouldn't be that much harder than replacing the power steering pump on
> my car, should it? But apparently it is, everybody says just throw
it out.
I don't know about the "new" refrigerators (they have become much
more efficient), but the in the old ones the compressor was always easy
to get to. They do have to be brazed in and evacuated and refilled so
it's not a home type repair. Unless you are fearless.
>
> The companies think they are getting off scot free because their
> warranties are short, but I tell you, I'm never buying an expensive
> fridge with a fancy fascia or features, so long as they put short-lived
> mechanicals in them. Neither will I spend more blindly hoping to get
> what I pay for. I would pay a couple hundred extra for something with a
> 10 year warranty though.
How will you know? And in the case of Sears, people with warranties
still had to pay substantial labor costs. It sounds like your plan is to
spend even more money. I'd try to get over being pissed off and do
something frugal, since this is what this group is about.
Jeff
Dennis
<timeOda...@theknack.net> wrote:
>My Kenmore fridge just broke, it was only 5 years old. There goes $800.
>
>It fell to a broken compressor, which apparently is the #1 cause of
>fridge death. Why don't they make it easier to replace the compressor?
> Shouldn't be that much harder than replacing the power steering pump on
>my car, should it? But apparently it is, everybody says just throw it out.
I had a similar experience with my KitchenAid refrigerator -- the
compressor failed just outside of the full coverage period of the
warranty. The KitchenAid came with a longer parts-only warranty, but
warranty repair required a "factory authorized" repair shop. The
quote for the in-warranty repair from the authorized shop and the
non-warranty repair from the local guy were both right around US$450.
I went for the repair rather than replacing the whole refrigerator
(which we were otherwise happy enough with). Maybe that will turn out
to be a mistake -- time will tell.
BTW, replacing the compressor is fairly involved. They have to purge
(and properly contain and dispose of) the old refrigerant, replace the
compressor, including cutting and replumbing the lines without leaks,
and recharge the refrigerant.
Dennis (evil)
--
My output is down, my income is up, I take a short position on the long bond and
my revenue stream has its own cash flow. -George Carlin
timeOday
>> I would pay a couple hundred extra for something with a
>> 10 year warranty though.
>
> How will you know?
How would I know if it came with a 10 year warranty?
> And in the case of Sears, people with warranties
> still had to pay substantial labor costs.
I hadn't thought of that; sounds like the "parts only" portion of the
warranty should be ignored.
> It sounds like your plan is to
> spend even more money. I'd try to get over being pissed off and do
> something frugal, since this is what this group is about.
The only money I'm spending is:
1) paid a repairman $50 to read the old fridge its last rites (I debated
this, but it was still partially working - only about 7 degrees too hot
for several days - so I thought it might be fixed).
2) Buy a new fridge. It's no better than the old one, but figure $750 +
tax + delivery, and you're easily over $800.
3) Replace all the ruined food. (I was going to eat all those frozen
leftovers any day now, honest).
What could I avoid? I checked craigslist for used options, but the only
people selling decent fridges were overcharging by far.
Dennis
Did you get a quote for replacing the compressor?
Dennis (evil)
--
The honest man is the one who realizes that he cannot
consume more, in his lifetime, than he produces.
Jeff
> Jeff wrote:
>
>>> I would pay a couple hundred extra for something with a
>>>10 year warranty though.
>>
>> How will you know?
>
>
> How would I know if it came with a 10 year warranty?
>
>
>>And in the case of Sears, people with warranties
>>still had to pay substantial labor costs.
>
>
> I hadn't thought of that; sounds like the "parts only" portion of the
> warranty should be ignored.
>
>
>>It sounds like your plan is to
>>spend even more money. I'd try to get over being pissed off and do
>>something frugal, since this is what this group is about.
>
>
> The only money I'm spending is:
> 1) paid a repairman $50 to read the old fridge its last rites (I debated
> this, but it was still partially working - only about 7 degrees too hot
> for several days - so I thought it might be fixed).
That surprises me, compressors tend to either leak or just not run or
run way too hot. Partially running is odd unless the valves went bad.
There's lots of other things that can go wrong with a fridge that keep
it from cooling correctly.
>
> 2) Buy a new fridge. It's no better than the old one, but figure $750 +
> tax + delivery, and you're easily over $800.
>
> 3) Replace all the ruined food. (I was going to eat all those frozen
> leftovers any day now, honest).
>
> What could I avoid? I checked craigslist for used options, but the only
> people selling decent fridges were overcharging by far.
Check the local paper or even a used appliance store. Refrigerators tend
to get left behind during moves and breakups.
You might also google your model number and see what is said about
your model. It may be that an after market compressor could have put you
back on the road to cool.
Jeff
timeOday
> Did you get a quote for replacing the compressor?
> Dennis (evil)
Yes, it was $600.
$600 is less than $800 for a new one, so I probably would have thought
about that for a while. But I was out of town and my wife just got a
new one. I don't fault her, the difference is small enough that I could
go either way.
Dennis
Yeah, that's close enough to make just cutting your losses and buying
new more attractive. In my case, $450 to repair vs. $800 to replace,
it was a little tougher call. I may yet regret going with the repair,
but it has worked fine so far.
timeOday
> On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:24:53 -0700, timeOday
> <timeOda...@theknack.net> wrote:
>
>> Dennis wrote:
>>
>>> Did you get a quote for replacing the compressor?
>>> Dennis (evil)
>> Yes, it was $600.
>>
>> $600 is less than $800 for a new one, so I probably would have thought
>> about that for a while. But I was out of town and my wife just got a
>> new one. I don't fault her, the difference is small enough that I could
>> go either way.
>
> Yeah, that's close enough to make just cutting your losses and buying
> new more attractive. In my case, $450 to repair vs. $800 to replace,
> it was a little tougher call. I may yet regret going with the repair,
> but it has worked fine so far.
>
> Dennis (evil)
I got back from my trip and saw the new fridge my wife got today, which
was $850 installed, and it's not as nice as the old one. Funny, I don't
remember spending so much on the old one. Chalk it up to inflation I
guess. But like I said, I'm not spending extra for in-door dispensers
etc. again until/unless they start putting in more reliable compressors.
After seeing the new fridge I think we probably should have fixed the
old one after all. No use worrying now though.
timeOday
>> The only money I'm spending is:
>> 1) paid a repairman $50 to read the old fridge its last rites (I debated
>> this, but it was still partially working - only about 7 degrees too hot
>> for several days - so I thought it might be fixed).
>
> That surprises me, compressors tend to either leak or just not run or
> run way too hot. Partially running is odd unless the valves went bad.
> There's lots of other things that can go wrong with a fridge that keep
> it from cooling correctly.
Yeah, I actually wish it had died entirely, so I wouldn't have wasted so
much time trying to diagnose it, then having a repairman look at it, all
to no avail.
The Real Bev
> 3) Replace all the ruined food. (I was going to eat all those frozen
> leftovers any day now, honest).
Handy hint: if your freezer or refrigerator dies, ask your local
supermarket if you can store your stuff in their facilities until the new
one is delivered. Friends did it.
--
Cheers,
Bev
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No lawyering. Prosecutors will be violated.
Don K
news:IH54j.83$fs6...@newsfe02.lga...
>
> Handy hint: if your freezer or refrigerator dies, ask your local supermarket if you can
> store your stuff in their facilities until the new one is delivered. Friends did it.
Or clean it up and lay it out flat on your living room rug and invite all your
friends over for a memorial service. After the viewing (open "casket")
have your guests consume the remains while exchanging heatwarming
anecdotes about what a cool fridge it was.
Don