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Video on planned obsolescence.
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james_s:

--- Quote from: SilverSolder on April 19, 2021, 08:03:43 pm ---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!

--- End quote ---

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:

--- Quote from: james_s on April 19, 2021, 08:36:16 pm ---
--- Quote from: SilverSolder on April 19, 2021, 08:03:43 pm ---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!

--- End quote ---

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.

--- End quote ---

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!  :D
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:

--- Quote from: tom66 on April 19, 2021, 08:51:19 pm ---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.

--- End quote ---

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:

--- Quote from: SilverSolder on April 19, 2021, 12:05:28 pm ---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?

--- End quote ---
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.
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