Questions About Refrigerators
As a repairman I get a lot of questions about refrigerators. Here is a list of
the most frequently asked questions that i get.
I have a GE side-by-side refrigerator and the icemaker makes so much ice
that it lifts up the top shelf above ice bin. Is there anything I can do to
prevent this?
This is an annoying thing about These refrigerators. When the feeler arm
touches the ice it’s supposed to stop to cut the icemaker off when the ice bin
is full. But in some cases the feeler arm will not stop so the icemaker
continues to make ice, causing this problem. GE recognized this problem and made
a special feeler arm that is curbed so that it will stop when it reaches the ice
and the icemaker will stop making ice. This part is easy to install, just remove
one screw to remove the old feeler arm making sure you don’t loose the spring.
Then just reinstall the new arm. Make sure the spring is in place or the
icemaker will not work. The part number for this feeler arm is WR49X10103. This
new feeler arm can be found at AppliancePartsPros.com.
Is it ok to lay a refrigerator down to haul
it?
I get this question about refrigerators a lot. Yes, as long
as you let it sit up for a few hours before plugging it up. This will give the
oil a chance to settle back down in the compressor where it should be.
What should the controls in my refrigerator be set to?
This is one of the most frequently asked question about
refrigerators. In most of the world, 5 and 5 or midway is a good setting. But on
some refrigerators with sensing bulb cold controls you may have to turn the
control down if you live above 5000 feet above sea level. Also note that if your
refrigerator has been working fine and all of the sudden you have to adjust the
controls there is something else wrong with the refrigerator that must be fixed
or it will get worse. For help on this refer to my refrigerator repair
guide.
How often should I replace my water filter?
Most owners’ manuals say 6 months and I agree if you are on a
well system. But most city or county water systems are clean enough to only have
to replace the filter once a year. I always tell my customers that no filter is
a lot better than a dirty filter. Refrigerator water filters can be purchased at
AppliancePartsPros.com.
How do I clean the condenser and how often
should it be cleaned?
I use a long round skinny brush that you
can buy at Wal-Mart and a vacuum cleaner. On refrigerators with the condenser
under the bottom just brush the coils off then vacuum the lint off the coils
that you loosened with the brush. On some refrigerators you must remove the back
to see the condenser coils but you clean them the same way. This should be done
at least once a year especially if you have hairy household pets.
The door on my refrigerator won’t stay closed what can I do?
Make sure there is not a package blocking the door. Rub a thin
layer of Vaseline on the entire door gasket. If this doesn’t work there may be a
spacer missing on the door hinge. On side-by-side refrigerator there are two
cams under each door, one on the hinge and one on the door. If one of the cams
is broken, the door will not close properly. This page should help Refrigerator
Door Repair
What should the temperature in my refrigerator
be?
The fresh food section should be between 34-40 degrees
Fahrenheit with 36 being the best. The freezer section should be between 0-10
degrees Fahrenheit
Why is the food in the bottom of the fresh
food section freezing when the top is not?
This can be one of
the hardest things about refrigerators to understand but, I’ll explain it as
best I can. If the refrigerator sits for long periods of time without the door
being open, the temperature in the bottom half of the fresh food section can
reach below freezing. You can fix this by turning the freezer up a notch or two
so that the refrigerator runs longer before reaching desired temperature. Note
that if the food is freezing at the top of the fresh food section doing this may
make it worse.
Why does my freezer door pop open when I close the
fresh food door of my refrigerator?
This is normal because when
you open the fresh food door, warm air fills the cavity of the fresh food
section. Then when you close the door you force the warm air up into the
freezer, forcing the freezer door open. Most of the time the door will close
right back but if it doesn’t, adjust the front leveling feet to make the
refrigerator lean back so that the door will close on its own after this
happens.
Do refrigerators have to be level to operate properly?
No, when I deliver a refrigerator I always adjust the front
feet up so that it leans back a little. This causes the door to swing closed
easily.
When my refrigerator drains where does the water
go?
The water goes down a drain into a pan under the
refrigerator where it will evaporate.
My refrigerator seems to
be running continuously, is this why my electric bill is so high?
No. Refrigerators cost about $5 a month in electricity when
operating properly and refrigerators run about 80% on average of the time when
operating properly. So if it were running 100% of the time, it would only be a
20% increase and your electric bill would only go up about $1.00 a month.
However, if your refrigerator is running all the time, there is something wrong
click
here to learn more about this problem.
This is the most misunderstood thing about refrigerators.
My refrigerator is
not that so old why is it broken down already?
I get this
question about refrigerators more than any other question and my answer is
always the same. Every appliance breaks down some on the same day you buy it and
others in 20 years. Also appliances have always broken down. Yes I will agree
that appliances are not made as good as they used to be. The average life of
most appliances now days is about 8 to 12 years, whereas it used to be about
10-20 years. But you have to think that the cost of appliances now is about the
same as it was 20 years ago, yet labor and materials are higher. So the only way
they can still sell appliances at low prices is to cut quality. Also appliances
do more than they used to therefore, more to go wrong.
If you have any
more questions about refrigerators you can contact me and I’ll gladly answer. I
may even post it on this page.
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