Freezer recommendation
 

Hi we just discovered our four year old upright kenmore freezer is not working. What is people's experience ....throw it away? If I do that is there a go to brand of freezer we could count on to buy?

Try and fix it? Unless the compressor is bad or you've leaked all your refrigerant out its probably fixable. Might as well open it up and have a look...Id be checking the compressor relay, any start capacitors, fuses and the thermostat.

Assuming youve already done basic troubleshooting like ensuring the condenser and evap coils are not clogged/frozen.

There are many self-repair books/guides available over at amazon.com along with some well-stocked appliance repair parts houses online. If it were me I would set both a dollar and a time limit for myself. Say, $200 in parts and four hours of my time. If it appears the repair will take more money and time than that, time to buy a new freezer! Also, better to purchase a manual defrost freezer for longevity. Only one issue, you HAVE to regularly defrost a manual defrost freezer. I use about eight insulated coolers to place the food items in while I defrost mine. If you don't regularly defrost your freezer, it will certainly wear out faster.

As far as brands to purchase, best to read freezer reviews on homedepot.com and lowes.com. From what my sources say, you should get at least ten years of life out of a refrigerator or freezer.

Buckle your seatbelt before pricing a new freezer…

$750 13 CF pickup at store. I'll have to do something with the old one....sounds like it might be repairable.

Oh yeah, made in Tailand.....is that better than china?

A few of the common freezer killers....

The thermostat goes bad. This is an easy fix.

The heating coils in the defroster loop fail. This can be a timer issue or a heater issue. You coils freeze up and the fan cannot blow the cold air past them and into the food area.

On buying a new freezer....

Upright ones are the easiest to use and the least prone to freezing up. Chest units freeze up more often but they hold the cold in better. When you open the door on an upright the cold air falls out. On a chest freezer the weight of the cold air keeps it in the freezer.

Is it self defrosting? Much more complicated if so. I would hardwire the compressor bypassing any controls to see if it starts. There is always a wiring diagram somewhere on it or on the net. The non self defrosting freezer causes more freezer burn than self defrosting.

Whatever you do, please don't hire these people. They ripped me off COLD (that's a joke, get it?) for $250 and didn't fix or diagnose my refrigerator properly. I figure I can screw up the same deal for half the money........

https://www.mrappliance.com/

You got that right; these post-covid prices are a budget killer.....

Check on the net if you already have not. Make and model may show a common fault.

Also if you repurchase check brand quality. Some brands specific products are really bad today in general.

We have a 27 cubic foot chest freezer that is pretty scary.

It has been running fault free for over forty years now. I put a temperature alarm on it some years back. I have a feeling it just may survive me.

Whatever you do, you should fill it with mammoth steaks :)

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/woolly-mammoth-extinct-revival-diet-b2140707.html

A true story.....

I inherited a freezer that was built by International Harvester. It was a giant chest type and weighed a bit over a million pounds. It actually took eight large men to move it. That or one large forklift.

When I got it I was told it was over thirty years old. And it worked perfectly.

I kept it for another twenty years and then donated it to a food bank.

I have a 1950 Frigidaire fridge I rescued from a house being torn down. Cleaned it up and grounded it with a 3-prong cord on it and it runs perfect. I'm going to use it in my "mancave". I had a 30's era GE fridge that also ran perfect but it did not make the move.

My ~1950’s Frigidaire that I got with a recently purchased house says “General Motors” on it. Does yours too? My plug is also fraying. So I will replace it. Mine is already moved out of the basement of the house and into the garage. It works well, but is not currently plugged in.

I recently had a refrigerator from ~2006 go bad in a rental property. The main circuit board was bad. Ultimately I fixed it with a $39 board from eBay. I learned a lot, like exactly why the old board most likely failed, bad capacitors from ~2000-2010. You can replace them preventatively if you can solder.

I already owned an acceptable replacement refrigerator for the application, so I sure as hell wasn’t going to buy another for this rental property. I put the suitable replacement I own in the garage so it’s ready for next time… sort of like a car guy with cars. I guess maybe I’m a refrigerator guy too.

Same deal with my sister’s rental property. When using the icemaker or water dispenser on the front of the fridge, this cracked hose would spray water out the top/side of the fridge. Repairman said it can’t be fixed and the part isn’t available, so the fridge will have to be replaced. Clearly, they aren’t a resourceful trade anymore.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...35c1728745.jpg


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Yes on the chrome badge it says "Made only by General Motors". I installed a 3 prong cord and grounded the fridge so I would not get shocked if it shorts out.

Actually I finally decided yesterday to not pick up the freezer. Since the Mrs threw everything out we don't really need one at the moment. We'll get a new one when it is more convenient.

Oh sure! Lead us on then drop us like a hot potato!

I have a frigidaire commercial that has been going strong for around 17 years. I defrost it regularly. I also added two large bags of ice, one on the top shelf, one on the second from top shelf to help keep things cold since I don't have the freezer packed with food.....

I also have these special refrigerator and freezer thermometers which really help determine when something is amiss. I don't know how I lived without them before......

https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-Refrigerator-Thermometer-Temperature-Customizable/dp/B07XD68GX6/ref=sr_1_5?crid=CGP3QSBN7B22&keywords=freezer+thermometer+with+alarm&qid=1660144622&sprefix=freezer+ thermometer+with+alar%2Caps%2C296&sr=8-5

Refris & Freezers
 

Having a deep freezer can really lower your food co$t$ .

I too remember when most older refris / freezers would easily last 40 + years, those days are long gone .

A guy I know rented a fancy - schmancy house over looking the Pacific Ocean it had a "Sub Zero" that wasn't old yet it was dead like a door nail .

I have never had nor needed a freezer, my last refri lasted over ten years, since long before my divorce so when it dies I decided to try one of these new 'energy star' refris, it weighs close to nothing and is chugging along fine close to ten years later, it's also -much- smaller, as a single guy who's culinary skills are minimal I don't need much space .

I notice the newer refris don't have any way to clean the accumulated dust off the condenser coils ~ maybe that's why they don't last as long .

You tube is jammed full of handy videos of how to diagnose and repair appliances, just be sure to check several as often one will be very bad indeed .

I have a Frigidaire upright. Think it’s like 13 cubic feet. Working for seven years now.

Since you all like old ones ....
 

I also know a frigid uptight woman. She is like a piano, when she is not upright she is Grand!

Awhile back there was a television special that talked about special deep freezers built for the seafood restaurant business. Check out their Cryo Freezers.....105 BELOW ZERO.....talk about ICE ICE BABY!!

https://www.ligfreezer.com/product/45c-blast-freezer-ultra-freezer/

here's one of these bad boys on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334528492028

Once we had an event at work with Grilled food, etc, picnic style. For dessert there were ice cream sandwiches. The person in charge packed them in dry ice thinking he was doing something great. They were so hard no one could eat them. We had ice cream sandwiches in our office for a month.

Compressor failure on some brands seem to be quite the issue these days. Common enough to stay well away from some brands now.

which brands?

About 30 years ago, I bought a chest style freezer from 'Sears'. It was made in Italy, still works fine. A hinge spring broke, I have to prop it open with a stick, but other than that, , ,
The Italians also, back then, made excellent welding equipment, wire feed/mig.

Enzo's Freezer shop?

We had the compressor fail on our Kitchenaide built in fridge after 7 years. They replaced the entire refrigeration unit under warranty. Was still running when we sold the house 20 years later.

I've found when something fails it is usually:

1. Defrost Timer
2. Temperature control
3. Compressor.

Both #1 and #2 are fairly inexpensive, around $150 for both. The compressor can be a bit more money.......

My old italian freezer:

Manual defrost! Have not defrosted it in 3 - 4 years, it is due for one.
Temp = allus plenty cold, no settings.
Chest style, all that cold doesnt 'fall' out everytime you open it.

Modern Refri's
 

Well ;

Many years ago I inherited a 1969 GE refrigerator with ice maker and cold water dispenser, I never did hook up the water line, it lasted well into the 1980's before the compressor began to make noise, eventually it got so loud I'd shut it off when I went to sleep, the repair guy told me for $150 he'd replace the compressor , flush the coils and so on, I wish I'd done that .

The small refri in my Sweet's bed room is beginning to age out, I guess I'll measure *exactly* how tall it is then go buy another, it's only ten years old at most, maybe less .

Good idea.