10 Steps to Help Refrigerators Live Longer

Every summer there are countless refrigerators that die unexpectedly. This is often due to the increase in temperature and the associated humidity. The following are a few suggestions to help your appliance make it through the next summer heat wave.

1. Don’t use as an air conditioner. You may laugh, but this is particularly common with the elderly. They often leave the refrigerator door open in the hope of cooling the room. Or they may stand in front of the refrigerator trying to get cool themselves. A chair left sitting in front of the refrigerator is a sure sign.

2. Don’t overload defrost system. Keep containers of water or juice sealed. Open containers of liquid will increase the amount of moisture deposited onto the cooling coil. This will cause the compressor to run longer. Run times of 16 hours per day are normal for refrigerators. Extra moisture could easily increase this to 20 hours per day.

3. Turn off icemaker. Icemakers will produce a harvest every four to six hours. This is more ice than most families can consume. All the exposed ice cubes will stress the refrigerator in hot weather. Turn off the icemaker until more is required. Depending upon the size of ice bucket, you will probably only need to turn it on every few days.

Put new ice cubes into a sealed container rather than leaving exposed in the ice bucket.

Have even seen a customer turn off icemaker and cover the ice bucket with plastic wrap. They left the front of bucket open enough to grab cubes when needed. Customer claimed this idea made ice cubes last longer, and refrigerator run less.

4. Doors not sealing properly. Gaskets full of holes or cracks allow warm air to enter. Or gaskets that are not clean may not seal properly. Clean surfaces with light detergent and warm water.

To test the gaskets use a dollar bill. While holding dollar bill against cabinet close door so that gasket seals. Pull the dollar bill out. It should have a resistance to being pulled out from under gasket. Use this method to test full perimeter. Resistance felt should be uniform around whole gasket.

5. Door warped. When the refrigerator door closes it should seal along its full length. If it seals at one point, but not another, the door itself may be warping out of alignment. This will need to be corrected by a service company. Until they get there try closing the door firmly (close hard, but don’t slam shut). This will often force door to realign temporarily.

6. Don’t overload. A standard refrigerator can accept about 50 pounds of new food per day. If you are overloading the food may appear not to cool properly. For example: Why add a whole case of warm soda to a refrigerator on a hot day. Add only what is required for that day. Add extra beverages just before bedtime. The refrigerator will have all night to cool them down.

7. Don’t overload door shelves. Modern refrigerators can have extremely large door shelves that are easily overloaded. Heavy items such as glass bottles or large soda containers should be moved inside. The weight may be pulling the door away from the cabinet. This can cause the gasket to stretch until small openings appear at the corners of the gasket. Warm air can enter.

8. Teach children refrigerator etiquette. Children are notorious for standing in front of the freezer door trying to decide which treat to take. Even a few minutes with the door open can cause the refrigerator stress. Every time it is opened the cold air will roll out. As it rolls out the warmer room air will enter the refrigerators interior. This warm air invasion forces the appliance to run longer trying to produce more cold air.

9. Don’t block air circulation. Remove bags, brooms, trays, etc, from the space between outside of refrigerator and surrounding walls. Refrigerator must be allowed to circulate air around itself. Blocking the airflow will cause the compressor to overheat. An overheated compressor can quickly burn out. If refrigerator temperature suddenly becomes erratic suspect the compressor is overworking.

10. Keep level. If not level the cabinet can go out of square. This is particularly important with newer refrigerators because they have very little internal bracing. If not properly leveled the cabinet can start to lean. This will affect door alignment and closing.

Doing the above will certainly help your refrigerator make it through the heat. The last suggestion is to simply keep your fingers crossed. Because, if Mother Nature decides to send us the full strength of her heat wave that is all that may save your refrigerator from joining the others in the great landfill in the sky.

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Why Window Air Conditioners Ice Up

One of the most frustrating problems with a window air conditioner is if it starts to ice up. For the owner of the air conditioner is can be perplexing.

When this problem occurs most people immediately think it is the fault of the refrigerant gas. More often the cause is the result of other difficulties.

It is most often the result of poor airflow.

Any time the airflow through an air conditioner is restricted the cooling system becomes affected. If taken to extremes the critical pressure-temperature balance of the cooling coil can be changed. If they drop too low the cooling coils surface temperature can drop below the dew point temperature of the room. When this happens the cooling coil will begin to operate as a refrigerator rather than an air conditioner. Rather than simply cooling the air it will collect and hold moisture. The moisture will freeze onto the cooling coil where it will appear as ice.

The primary job of an air conditioner is to de-humidify, not refrigerate, the room air. By removing the moisture from the room air it gives us a feeling of comfort. To do this though the temperature of the cooling coil must always be higher than the room’s dew point. If it is allowed to drop below the dew point the air conditioner will start to produce ice.

With this information in mind the following are a few problems that can result in your air conditioner icing up:

1. Dirty filter. To avoid this replace or clean your filter every couple of weeks of the cooling season. If a smoker do it every week. To clean filter remove from air conditioner, wet thoroughly, and lay in bottom of a sink. Sprinkle detergent (laundry detergent works well) onto filter surface. Allow to sit for a few minutes. Add warm water to sink so that filter is completely covered. Soak for 15 minutes. Remove from water and rinse. Allow to air dry.

2. Dirty or blocked cooling coil. An air conditioner requires regular maintenance. Usually every two or three years. Every year would be best, but this can be costly unless you do it yourself. During cleaning the cooling coil should be degreased and washed to remove accumulated dirt and debris. Degreasing is important to remove any coatings on the coil. If not done greasy residue can trap and hold air borne particles. They will build up on the coil and affect heat transfer. If left too long this can result in the cooling coil becoming partially blocked. This will produce a lower airflow.

3. Dirty or blocked condenser coil. The condenser coil is the one at the rear of the air conditioner. Its job is to dissipate the heat that is being removed from the room. Just like the cooling coil it too must be cleaned every few years. Since the condenser is on the outside of the home it becomes exposed to a lot of dirt, pollen, and smog. Since airflow direction is from inside to outside it is the inside surface of the condenser that becomes dirty. Therefore to clean this part the air conditioner must be completely disassembled. If not cleaned regularly an airflow blockage here can even burn out the compressor. Before this happens though the lowering of airflow will affect the overall operation. This can result in the compressor efficiency dropping, the internal pressure-temperature relationships being affected, and the resultant production of ice on the cooling coil.

4. Inefficient compressor. As describe above an inefficient compressor can cause icing up. If the compressor is not able to pump the refrigerant properly the cooing coil may not get cold enough to shut off the cold control. It can hover just above the cut off point. When this happens the cooling coil will begin to refrigerate. Ice on the cooling coil will result. If the compressor itself is at fault the air conditioner will have to be replaced. But note that many icing problems are misdiagnosed as bad compressors when they were actually one of the other faults discussed in this article.

5. Not enough refrigerant. Too much refrigerant. Both scenarios can result in and icing condition. If your air conditioner was repaired recently suspect too much refrigerant. Mixed with an airflow problem this can be difficult to diagnose. If not repaired recently then suspect airflow problems before considering a refrigerant imbalance.

6. Outdoor temperature too low. Icing can occur if the outside temperature falls below 60 Degrees Fahrenheit. If the outside temperature is too low the air conditioner pressure-temperatures can be affected. When the outside temperature falls the cooling coil temperature will also fall. So much that the coil will refrigerate the room air. This will result in the cooling coil beginning to produce ice. This problem is more prevalent in the fall. If it is hot during the day but cold at night suspect this problem as the cause of icing up. If this problem is suspected try running the air conditioner in the fan only position. Leave the re-circulating vent open. This will circulate the room air without cooling it, while bringing in a small amount of outside air during the night.

7. Oversized air conditioner. If the air conditioner is too large for the room size icing up can result. If oversized the air conditioner can short-cycle. This condition is usually seen as the air conditioner starting and stopping every few minutes. Even though it runs almost constantly the air conditioner will give poor cooling. Use a sizing chart to determine what is the proper air conditioner size for that particular room.

8. Cold control not shutting off. If the cold control does not shut off the cooling coil surface temperature will drop below the room’s dew point and begin to refrigerate. This will allow ice to build up onto the cooling coil.

9. Cold control bulb broken or loose. As in the previous paragraph this will result in the cold control not shutting off and ice to build up on the cooling coil. If this is suspected remove the front grille and inspect the bulb. If broken replace cold control. If bent, kinked, or not securely fastened suspect a problem here.

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