The bottom freezer section of my 10 year old Amana BX20S5 refrigerator appears to be nearing the end of its ropes. For example, even though it can freeze ice cubes O.K. with the thermostat set on coldest, the ice cream looks more like vanilla pudding. Which option is recommended: (1) try replacing all gaskets; (2) buy a new refrigerator; (3) have a commercial repair; (4) try DIY repair? THANKS! digger
I would classify every dollar I have spent on fridge repairs to be money thrown down the toilet.
YMMV.
I'd be looking at a new one.
Steve
I'd tend to agree, but defrost timers, fans, and such are usually pretty simple repairs. There isn't much repairable in a refer. Usually when anything more is wrong the thing has just about had it anyway. His problem *could* be one of these.
Go for DIY, but keep it simple. Clean out all the dust bunnies underneath, open up the defrost drain, try to monitor the run time to get a feel for whether the efficiency has gone south. There may be a marginal circulating fan, etc. Talk to experts at repairclinc.com for clues on what and where to test. If it turns out that your best option is a new box, get the Consumer Reports ratings and pick several models that you like and go look at them. Good luck.
Joe
If you can DIY any of those problems, it is worth the fix. A service call + parts can be half the cost of a new modest refrigerator though. It may be good for another 10 years, but something else can let go next week. Tough call on a 10 yo machine.
Go for DIY, but keep it simple. Clean out all the dust bunnies underneath, open up the defrost drain, try to monitor the run time to get a feel for whether the efficiency has gone south. There may be a marginal circulating fan, etc. Talk to experts at repairclinc.com for clues on what and where to test. If it turns out that your best option is a new box, get the Consumer Reports ratings and pick several models that you like and go look at them. Good luck.
Joe Also check that it defrosts okay and there is not a buildup of ice. Sometimes emptying the unit and letting it set open for a few days will defrost and dry out everything and restore operation but you would need to check the defrost and drain systems to find out why it iced up to begin with.
Don Young
Try manually defrosting it, ie move the food out and let it warm up. It's possible the heating system for the self defrost has failed and is packed with ice, preventing proper air movement. If it works again for a couple months, that gives you an idea of what the problem is.
Amen. Its winter now. If its cold enough outside use it to keep your fridge stuff cold. Leave all the doors of your fridge open and the fridge switched off for two or three days to defrost the firdge throughly.
Your fridge compressor works. The problem is certain parts don't get cold enough. It is likely simple air circulation blockage by ice or perhaps sensor misreading due to permanent ice. I undid the sheet metal panels in my freezer compartment. There was a solid wall of ice that formed around the lower freezer coils. Thawed that and my 30 year old fridge works fine now. I don't see any manual defrost button on my fridge.
New Energy Star refrigerators us a lot less electricity. I would get a new one.
I've lived for so long with frost-free refrigerators that I completely forgot about the problems caused by freezer ice buildup.
Good reply, good post, thanks!
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