So I got to the overload protector: It's a bimetal disc like a drumhead or actually a cymbal; one pole in the center, the second on the perimeter. Enough heat, the bimetal bends, switch makes. With all the making, and scant cooling, the perimeter pole vaporized a bite from the disc.

No I don't quite get it but it seems evident, replace this overload protector for a start.

Is it worth spending the $50. for the part to make the repair. Have never isolated the KitchenAid to measure electricity consumption, but bill-figuring
guesses $30/month. Cleaning the condenser will improve some of that. But the 424 KwH/year consumption of the 22cf Kenmore [as given on the yellow card], at Central Hudson rates, figures to $7/month. Is that true?

Is there a 22cf top-freezer superior to the Kenmore.

OK. Before asking so many Q's, learning from these forums got me resolved. Thanks.

Thank you, sir. But this LG refrigerator is branded Kenmore, sold by Sears. [Identified as LG by the source code in the Sears model number. More importantly, by the 22 cuft LG at the Home Depot, identical except for a plug on the front header where the Kenmore has a vent through for "door cooling".]

A left-hand door top freezer is by far the best design for our kitchen layout. What I've seen comes down to the
Whirlpool 21.1, the Frigidaire 20.6, and the Kenmore.

Both the Whirlpool and the Frigidaire have Embraco compressors. The condensers are horizontal under the front compartment, with no chassis floor beneath. The back cover is fiberboard.

The Kenmore, seen from the back, has the compressor on the left and the condenser mounted vertically at the back, on the right, in front of the exhaust fan. There is a chassis floor underneath the cabinet at the front, none at the back.

I thought we might have a cleaner shot with the floor in front and the coils in back, slightly elevated, more accessible, though nearer the compressor and behind it in the airflow.

The customer reports on Whirlpool, and those on this site, including your own, keep me away from this brand. We have a Frigidaire upright freezer, frost-free. Without a strong supporting report, I'd stay away from another.

GE Profile and GE report a sealed "never clean" condenser. Is this worth looking into?

If there is a model you'd recommend, I am grateful. Thanks

Thank you, sir. I have not yet looked closely at the GE, but I have noticed their prices. Quality has value, which puts integrity really at a premium. I'd note that the Whirlpool Gold refrigerator is the LG.

I bought the overload protector from APP. Arrived next day. None of the connectors provided fit the leads on the relay. I disassembled the leads from the relay. The inside ceramic insulating disc was all crumbled and burned. The inside tension vanes on the leads that hold the disc in place, the set on one lead were melted and blackened, and the plastic case of the relay was bubbled, scorched and blackened. The hydrocarbons we smelled.

Learning has integrity. Thank you. So, I'm thinking another $55 for the relay, on a machine that's always gonna cost minimum $15 more per month to run is a bridge too far. Particularly as who knows the effects upon the capacitor. I'd needed a triple meter, and I bought one, but those cracks scared me, and I haven't yet taken the leads off the capacitor. [I don't need the power on to test it, just take the leads off, short the leads or discharge with a resistor, then set the meter to capacitance and measure?] Hard to reach as it is.

OK, some questions. Why do they even need the relay. What's the function of those spring feelers between the leads and the ceramic disc they hold. You couldn't just straight-line connect line, capacitance and overload to the compressor leads? [I am sensible, safety-minded, risking nothing I don't understand]

Now, the overload pole on the perimeter that melted the bimetal was the line pole. Assume the relay pole that melted was line as well. I can chew this for the next hours, but I gotta go look at refrigerators.

Remember we had a condenser with cooling impeded by fur and dust. What was the functional route of this breakdown. What happened and how. There were some metal residues and blackening on the shards of the ceramic disc.

On first thought I'd assume the overload bimetal releases contact with heat. But somehow it seems that it did make contact and stay in contact unto melting, and then the heat built up in the line terminal on the relay, and melting.

I am ignorant; can't think about this , gotta go out. I'm not asking that you go beyond your job. I'm grateful for the help you've given me. Look forward to coming back and learning. Thanks.