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I have a GE standup freezer FUF20DMERWH manufactured on 10/2002 that is not cooling enough. The coldest I can seem to get it is about 24 degrees Fahrenheit. I accessed the evaporator section and it is only about 50% frosted over. The fan is working, the heater is not on, the compressor is running constantly and it is not in the defrost cycle. I am about to conclude that it is a sealed system problem and beyond economic repair but I wanted to post this to see if there are any suggestions out there before I go and purchase a new one.
Thanks!
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That certainly does sound like a sealed system issue, if after 45-60 minutes the evap isn't pretty frosty you probably have a slow leak somewhere.
A quick test though can make it more certain. Set the evap panel back into place to restore airflow. You can then slowly advance the timer into defrost and then back out into compressor run. It may stop on the overload a few times before starting but once it is running if you don't see a full frost pattern in 30-45 minutes it is probably running a low charge due to a leak.
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Drew,
Thank you for your reply. I advanced the defrost timer just like you suggested the other day and I got the same results. The evaporator only gets frost on about half of it. While looking around I think I found the smoking gun. There were a couple of lines chaffing on each other and I think that is where the small leak may be. It's funny, the factory put some foam insulation around one of the lines and the other line wore right through it over the years. I just bent the two lines apart carefully by hand to separate them and investigate.
Why the factory would have these two lines touching each other is beyond me. It was basically a ticking failure. Makes me mad to be honest with you. If it weren't for that poor workmanship the freezer probably would have lasted many more years.
I'll tell you what. I can't do anything about it now because the warranty expired years ago but when I buy a new freezer I'll buy a Whirlpool/Maytag this time and not from the GE/Kenmore side of the house.
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That is common practice, if it is where the large and small lines come out of the cabinet into the freezer it is called the heat exchanger. Essentially the 2 lines run side by side to ensure no liquid refrigerant makes it back down the larger tube to the compressor where it can cause issues. Heat exchanger failures are common enough, some models are known for them.
As for what to buy next-- I don't think GE makes any more Kenmores. Kenmores are largely whirlpool and LG now. Here's the way you can tell in refigerators and sometimes other types:
106,464,596 = Whirlpool or it's sub brands like maytag and amana.
111 = Daewoo... NEVER buy one
401 = Samsung
417 = Frigidaire
795 = LG
If you are in a Sears and branded as a Kenmore the sales people should be able to tell you who actually manufactured it. It's not a secret so they have no reason to hide it.
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Test......I have tried replying but I keep getting the below message.im not sure what the problem might be except it was rather lengthy. Let's see if this goes through it
vBulletin Message
Post rejected because of a score of: 20 Rejection set to: 20.
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Drew,
I'm not near the freezer now but if you are looking at the back of the freezer the lines were on the far right side and I believe both of them went into the evap compartment. One seemed to come from the compressor and one seem to come from the cooling loop that went into a black cup. Don't quote me because I'm not going off of memory.
Anyway, like I said in an earlier post I separated the lines and wiped the damaged one off really well. Using an inspection mirror I couldn't tell if it was wore completely through or not so I sprayed some soapy water on it. That didn't have any blantantly obvious results either so I wiped the line down again. I came back about 24 hours later and there was a drop of fluid at that spot. I got the drop on my finger and rubbed it between fingers. Definitely oil based. Refrigeration/compressor oil more than likely.
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Now I'm trying to enter the replies in shorter sections but the last one went through but nothing else will. I keep getting that error message. I'll keep trying.
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If you are getting oil out of a pin hole that's your leak. Its probably on a suction line where its low pressure or you'd hear it too. Or up in the foam somewhere. Low pressure leaks happen over a few weeks, high pressure leaks are usually a few days.
If you want to know for sure that it's that spot you might be able put liquid soap on it and see it bubble.
If you get a creative repair tech he/she might be able to fix an exposed leak, but it'll be a few hundred $ still as the system will need to be evacuated, vacuumed down and recharged like any sealed system work. If that oil smells horrible don't bother as that indicates a large amount of moisture has contaminated the oil and it's over.
I get that same vBulletin error once in a while, no idea why.
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Originally Posted by: PNWDrew  If you are getting oil out of a pin hole that's your leak. Its probably on a suction line where its low pressure or you'd hear it too. Or up in the foam somewhere. Low pressure leaks happen over a few weeks, high pressure leaks are usually a few days.
If you want to know for sure that it's that spot you might be able put liquid soap on it and see it bubble.
If you get a creative repair tech he/she might be able to fix an exposed leak, but it'll be a few hundred $ still as the system will need to be evacuated, vacuumed down and recharged like any sealed system work. If that oil smells horrible don't bother as that indicates a large amount of moisture has contaminated the oil and it's over.
I get that same vBulletin error once in a while, no idea why. Yeah, I'm still getting that error and I can't post everything I wanted to right now. Long story short, it's pretty much beyond economic repair and I've ordered another freezer. Thanks for all of your help!
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