Refrigerator sealed system leak

[drcoastline]

Anyone ever repair the system? I have a few year old refrigerator a week or so ago it began acting up. Sporadic cooling. Repair guy says it has a sealed system leak. Not worth repairing. OK, no problem. My $1,200.00 refrigerator a few years ago is now $2,000.00. How much could it cost to repair this problem?

Repairing this must be considerably cheaper than buying new?

[billybek]

It depends on where the leak is located.
Your repair guy probably has seen 50 fridges just like yours fail in exactly the same way.
More than likely it is repairable but there may just be too many labour hours on the clock to make it worthwhile.

What type of refrigerator is it so we know what manufacturer to avoid!

[Scott Douglas]

When our refrigerator was new it quit working within the first two weeks. Sealed system. They came out and repaired it for free since it was under warranty. Been working ever since without a problem and I'm sure that's going on 10+ years by now.
I think the biggest problem is finding the leak since it's a sealed system. Not quite sure I remember how they found our problem but they just broke into the system and recharged it.
I would think it's cheaper to repair than a new one, especially now days when you can't even find some appliances to buy.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by billybek

It depends on where the leak is located.
Your repair guy probably has seen 50 fridges just like yours fail in exactly the same way.
More than likely it is repairable but there may just be too many labour hours on the clock to make it worthwhile.

What type of refrigerator is it so we know what manufacturer to avoid!

Whirlpool, apparently the leak is in the freezer. He took the inside back off, initially looking for a clogged drain. When he removed the plastic cover there was a block of ice in the upper ight corner. He said this is bad, What we wanted to see was an even frost across the coils, this is sealed system leak, the refrigerant is leaking out. It looked similar to this.

[drcoastline]

[QUOTE=Scott Douglas;11293262]When our refrigerator was new it quit working within the first two weeks. Sealed system. They came out and repaired it for free since it was under warranty. Been working ever since without a problem and I'm sure that's going on 10+ years by now.
I think the biggest problem is finding the leak since it's a sealed system. Not quite sure I remember how they found our problem but they just broke into the system and recharged it.
I would think it's cheaper to repair than a new one, especially now days when you can't even find some appliances to buy.[/QUOTE]

My thoughts exactly.

[Bill Douglas]

A different country, but I'll mention it anyway...

In New Zealand we have strong consumer protection laws (consumer guarantees act etc). Something such as a fridge, particularly yours being a high end item, is expected to last 10 years without a major breakdown. So the supplier has to replace it or pay you out. Although it has a 12 month warranty "It is reasonable to assume" it will last 10 years.

It may be worth talking to the supplier, or research premature failure of appliances in your small claims court hearings.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

A different country, but I'll mention it anyway...

In New Zealand we have strong consumer protection laws (consumer guarantees act etc). Something such as a fridge, particularly yours being a high end item, is expected to last 10 years without a major breakdown. So the supplier has to replace it or pay you out. Although it has a 12 month warranty "It is reasonable to assume" it will last 10 years.

It may be worth talking to the supplier, or research premature failure of appliances in your small claims court hearings.

Thanks Bill, I will look into it. On second thought can't I just move to New Zealand?

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

Thanks Bill, I will look into it. On second thought can't I just move to New Zealand?

We would love to have you here!

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

We would love to have you here!

Thank you I would be honored to be invited. This is one of my favorite Youtube channels. I think the host is a new Zealander? Australian anyway.

This set up would be perfect.

[Mark Henry]

21 years ago we were paying a huge mortgage to fast track early payment and had just had our daughter when the fridge died. Not having any extra cash we bought the cheapest White-Westinghouse we could and not even a month later it died. They installed a new compressor and the repair guy said whatever we do don't sell the fridge, because the replacement compressor is a commercial unit worth more than the fridge itself. We were all mad at WW because it took almost 6 weeks to get our new fridge repaired. I asked the repair guy why so long and he smiled and said this expensive compressor was the only one they could find to fit...and WW didn't want to spring for it. He figured they were trying to wait me out and that my calling them daily finally made them cave in.

So 20 years later we're not so poor, our kitchen needs a redo, we have this beautiful Garland (later became Bluestar) pro/residential gas range, but a cheap white fridge.
I'd love to surprise the wife with a new modern fridge...but every time I start looking my research points to how big of a POS even the high end new fridges are.

Maybe I'll just keep the old fridge, put it in a cabinet and mount new door faces on the old fridge doors.

[red-beard]

We just had a dryer serviced(fuse!), and the repair man stated not to get rid of them. There was a big consolidation in the industry and most everything is made by Haier.

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by red-beard

We just had a dryer serviced(fuse!), and the repair man stated not to get rid of them. There a big consolidation in the industry and most everything is made by Haier.

Not new, last time I checked there was only 5 appliance manufacturers left.

[GH85Carrera]

There are saddle taps can be added to the refrigeration lines. Often just top it off every few years, like the old 911s with non barrier hose.

I replaced all the hoses on my 911 so I don't have to top it off for many years.

We bought a fridge when we moved into this house 21 years ago. It has been flawless. The ice maker works great, and it doesn't not have the silly filter that has to be changed regularly.

Our old fridge was Harvest Gold, from the 1970s. We gave it to a friend with a cabin at the lake. It still works great.

The prices for new fridges is mind numbing, and they all seem to have lousy reviews. It blows me away that at least one manufacturer just does not make a fridge that will last. I understand designed obsolesce, but the market is ripe for a manufacturer to make a top quality, appliance that will last 30+ years.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I understand designed obsolesce, but the market is ripe for a manufacturer to make a top quality, appliance that will last 30+ years.

The repairman above stated that even the "high end" appliances are just pretied up lower end crap. My parents have had their "GE Monogram" oven fixed 3 times in 2.2 years.

It reminds me of a story my dad used to tell. Back in the 1950's, one of the other engineers was having trouble with his starter on his Ford. At some point, he installed a "Lincoln" starter and never had anymore trouble.

Of course a starter for a Lincoln and a Ford would be exactly the same, except for maybe the price. The repairman basically said the cutoff date is around ?2014??? Kind of a before and after.

We also recently bought a GE Refrigerator, basically identical (except cheaper materials) to a GE Profile from 2004. The Profile became unreliable. Some days it wouldn't cool and let the freezer go above freezing while the main compartment went to 50+. I had the technician look at it. It was just a coil clogged with dust. He asked if I had an air compressor, and then used my air and a nozzle to blast the dust out. It has been working fine since. It may go back into the kitchen. The shelves are much sturdier

[nota]

just fixed my icebox a few months ago a huge 3 door unit WP made branded amana

there was a ice build up like your picture

there are heaters to auto defrost and a simple control unit

the control is a thermostat that can fail the ice build up blocks the fan ducks and the unit gets hot

the control unit was 100 to 20 bucks on line dependent on who had it

eazy two wire remove and replace once the covers were off U-tube has step by step instructions

worse case your unit has copper lines if it really has a leak it can be fixed
and for far less then a new refrig will cost