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I measured the energy use of my refrigerator (continuously over 16 day using a watt meter) and it is consuming 3x the amount of power compared to the expected consumption by the energy guide!! The energy guide says it is supposed to use 480 kWh/yr. It used 56 kWh over 16 days which means it will use 1280 kWh/yr!!! It also runs 75% of the day. One day I decided to not open it all day and it still ran over 50% of the time. I already turned down the thermostat to 3 of 10. It chills food fine and doesn't over cool the food. In fact the freezer thermometer says it needs to be even colder to be "safe", it is cold enough for me though. What could be the cause? Is it worth fixing or just getting a new one? The refrigerator was new in 2008. I have already checked the evaporator coils, they are clean.  I also checked the door seals with a finger and a infrared thermometer gun and there are no leaks.
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You checked the evaporator coils but did you check/clean the condenser/compressor coils under the unit?
If not do this.
Check/clean the vents in the front kick plate and rear cover.
Check that the condenser/compressor fan is on when the compressor is on.
Check/clean the condenser fan blades.
Check that the evaporator fan is running OK, should be on whenever tthe compressor is on.
Make sure the unit is a few inches away from the rear wall.
You checked the evaporator coils, what was the frost pattern like.
it should be fairly even if the unit has run for about an hour. If there is frost in only one area (usually where the freon enters the coils) then it is probably a sealed system problem. This check should not be done shortly after or during a defrost cycle as you might end up with the wrong conclusion.
The ambient temperature has a large effect on the cooling so if the kitchen is hot the unit will be inefficient.
The freezer temperature should be between 0 and 5 degrees F. |
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Yes I have checked and cleaned all of that.
My mistake in terminology. I have cleaned and checked all of the condenser parts in the back and underneath but I have not checked inside the freezer behind the back plastic covers to see the state of the evaporator coils to see the state of the frost pattern. I will check that next.
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The kitchen temp is around 74F.
I did some searching. I suspect the next thing I should check besides the frost pattern might be the defrost timer and defrost thermostat. What are the chances that the refrigerator is running defrost too often due to a faulty timer?
The top part of my ice creams always look melted and refrozen.
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What are the chances that the refrigerator is running defrost too often due to a faulty timer?
No. It is a mechanical timers so the defrost frequency is fixed.
There is a proviso here that it has not beedn changed since the unit was new.
There is a way that defrost can put too much heat into the freezer compartment.
The defrost time is a fixed time.
Once the frost/ice has melted off the evaporator coils the defrost thermostat should open.
The defrost cycle then continues but the heater is off.
This of coarse depends on the freezer being at the correct temperature to start with (0 to 5 degrees F). If it is too warm then even a good defrost cycle could partially melt food in the freezer.
If a defrost thermostat is deformed/bulged replace it even if it seems to work OK.
A way to check this is put some ice cubes in a bowl if they freeze together after a day or so then this could be the cause.
Not just slightly stuck together but frozen together. |
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Attached is a picture of the evaporator coil, I would say the frost pattern is pretty even. Also pictured is what I think is a defrost thermostat. Thoughts? archery311991 attached the following image(s):
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They both look OK to me.
You may want to try the ice cube test just to be sure that the defrost thermostat is OK.
The cover in the freezer must be on for this test.
If all OK then it is just the nature of the beast. |
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