Video on planned obsolescence.

[james_s]

I think the issue in this case, was that he was worried that a bad compressor had spewed metal particles all over the place.

With the fridge declared uneconomical to repair, I had a go myself and changed the SSR that powers the compressor...   - the fridge is still working fine today!

Well that's just faulty diagnosis. It makes no difference whether those components can be replaced if there isn't anything wrong with them. Any fault in the hermetic system normally means a refrigerator is uneconomical to repair. Fortunately only a very small percentage of real world faults have anything to do with that. The closest it gets is usually a failed PTC starter.

[SilverSolder]

I think the issue in this case, was that he was worried that a bad compressor had spewed metal particles all over the place.

With the fridge declared uneconomical to repair, I had a go myself and changed the SSR that powers the compressor...   - the fridge is still working fine today!

Well that's just faulty diagnosis. It makes no difference whether those components can be replaced if there isn't anything wrong with them. Any fault in the hermetic system normally means a refrigerator is uneconomical to repair. Fortunately only a very small percentage of real world faults have anything to do with that. The closest it gets is usually a failed PTC starter.

In defense of the technician, he did change the SSR but when it still didn't work after that, he concluded there was something wrong with the compressor.  Being a cynical believer in planned obsolescence, I didn't trust that the component was any good out of the box (an extreme form of planned obsolescence!) - and that turned out to be true! 

[tom66]

I've never had a fridge die from a condenser or evaporator leak, or any kind of refrigeration leak.  I'm sure this would be considered a more serious concern if fridges did this because the gases inside fridges are pretty bad for the atmosphere, and they're flammable which could cause a house fire in the right circumstances.

In two cases of fridges I've owned, it's been the thermostat.  Understandable, given it's switching an AC universal motor with almost no inrush protection.  But, it's a relatively easy repair to accomplish.  On one fridge I replaced the thermostat with a digital controller, which keeps the temperature more precisely around 1-2C.

[james_s]

I've never had a fridge die from a condenser or evaporator leak, or any kind of refrigeration leak.  I'm sure this would be considered a more serious concern if fridges did this because the gases inside fridges are pretty bad for the atmosphere, and they're flammable which could cause a house fire in the right circumstances.

In two cases of fridges I've owned, it's been the thermostat.  Understandable, given it's switching an AC universal motor with almost no inrush protection.  But, it's a relatively easy repair to accomplish.  On one fridge I replaced the thermostat with a digital controller, which keeps the temperature more precisely around 1-2C.

There is only a tiny quantity of gas in a fridge, you're not supposed to just vent it to the atmosphere but that has not really been a problem since back when R12 CFC Freon was used. While not legal in the US, a lot of European refrigerators use propane, butane or other hydrocarbon that is not a problem to release. It is flammable, but again it's only a very small amount of gas.

Refrigerators don't use universal motors, hermetic compressors use induction motors. Either way they are hard on thermostat contacts as you point out.

[Zero999]

1) A fridge compressor used to come with a 10 year or more warranty.  Now they come with a 1 year warranty, so are they worth the effort to replace compared with just buying another fridge?

Quite often it is worth replacing the compressor, with a better one, even if the cost is not far off the price of the fridge. My mum once had her fridge repaired, because the compressor went. The technician say, I can replace it, like for like, or with a more robust compressor, with a 10 year warranty and she smartly chose the latter. The fridge is still working some 25 years later.

[Miyuki]

1) A fridge compressor used to come with a 10 year or more warranty.  Now they come with a 1 year warranty, so are they worth the effort to replace compared with just buying another fridge?

Quite often it is worth replacing the compressor, with a better one, even if the cost is not far off the price of the fridge. My mum once had her fridge repaired, because the compressor went. The technician say, I can replace it, like for like, or with a more robust compressor, with a 10 year warranty and she smartly chose the latter. The fridge is still working some 25 years later.

Just wonder. If I look at compressor prices. Electrolux one for fridge cost about 100$ (Is it a good brand, I don't know, but prices wary 50-200$) How can you get to the price of a new fridge for something that is less than 1 hour work?

[SeanB]

In my experience the gas circuit is a pretty reliable part, though in general your compressor will almost never fail, unless you have had a period of sustained overvoltage, as the typical failure mode is built in, as the manufacturers use a steel welded wall pipe to make the refrigeration system, using the steel for all the evaporator and condenser circuit, except for those small parts that might be in the freezer with a coated aluminium coil. Invariably the steel pipe will rust, especially in the condenser and evaporator, hidden under the urethane foam, which in the condenser breaks down with time to form an acid sludge which rusts through the coil. You will see, once you destructively strip the case, the rusted section by the hottest part of the condenser, and a similar part by the evaporator start, where water condensed to corrode the steel.

This is impossible to repair, as the coils are foamed in place during assembly, and the only copper in the system is perhaps 20cm of 6.3mm tubing joining the compressor to the steel, and 30cm of capillary tube by the drier to provide the expansion device. Once they start to leak, you are going to buy a new one, though I can still get the condenser coils for old chest freezers, and the evaporator on them is copper pipe, which lasts a long time.

New fridge or freezer, the coils are integrated and the whole appliance is disposable, though I tend to keep the compressor around after pinching off the entries, as just in case spares for testing. Yes the PTC starter can fail, though they are common, and you can tell it is dead if it rattles, as the PTC element inside has shattered.

Inverter fridge or freezer there is a 10 year warranty on the compressor alone, because the manufacturers absolutely know the faulty ones will fail in the first week, and then the unit will be replaced complete. After the 1 year statutory warranty the most common failure is the electronics, which are as expensive as a new fridge, so they are rarely replaced. Most manufacturers will only sell you a new inverter board with a compressor, and you replace both, as they are unable to guarantee the board otherwise, as a failing board will send off the compressor, and likewise for the compressor. Your spares then com in at 70% of the cost of a new unit, and there is no warranty the rest of the unit will last another 5 years then, as the steel pipe will be well corroded.

Yes flammable refrigerant, but in most cases the same volume of refrigerant as in 3-8 cigarette lighters, around 60- 150g, and you can buy lighters in packs of 50 all over at the China mall, where the pack is cheaper than buying 5 retail. Plus any leak is in general slow, 1g a day at start, so you find the unit starts cooling poorly a week before it stops entirely.