Upright Freezer Issue (again)

@billandsuz

 

Your condenser is not condensing based on your report of sides not being warm. But that could be from the compressor not compressing the refrigerant properly or even lack of refrigerant. Blowing ambient air indicates no coolant is expanding in the evaporator. The failure could be anywhere in the refrigeration cycle.

My experience is like yours . . . chest freezers last for years (and counting). I bought one used upright unit; it looked good and tested great at -20F. It lasted less than 2 months. Hard to explain why placing the hinges on the side (versus top) causes failures.

If you pursue a warranty claim I would not mention the Inkbird controller as that's considered a "modification" (which is bullshit, but nonetheless).

EDIT: What sort of run cycle did you have, i.e. time running and rest time? What was controller setting for cooling cycle time?

 

They just don't make them like they used to. A few years, and they go.
My Frigidaire had a 5 year warranty, which is pretty generous. But 1 year on the sealed components aka the business end of the thing. So hinges and shelves I guess are covered, but when it stopped cooling in literally 13 months - tough luck. So it's not you. Everyone has bad luck from what I hear. I personally believe they are under-designed so that the appliance meets the energy efficiency standard and gets a favorable yellow card to display. But if you buy one every three years that hardly efficient.

The local appliance tech stopped servicing refrigerators. He said it's just not worth the service call to charge a unit and have it last another year or two. The build quality is so poor they leave the factory with a pin hole leak and once it is plugged in it dies in a year.

Now my 1980 bottle fridge is still going strong. A power hog but at least it actually works.

That did not answer your question I know.
/rant

 

Is the reliability issue a freezer vs. refrigerator thing? Are the appliance manufacturers just 'cheapening' the construction of freezers?

Cheers!

 

I have no explanation why chest freezers seem to be more reliable than the upright fridge/freezer.
Maybe the efficiency requirements are less stringent?
Anecdotally, yes, appliances are much less reliable than before.

But there are also many more features on new appliances that did not exist even a few years ago. Bluetooth, digital thermostats, sliding trays, french doors. All that stuff is just more junk to fail. And $10 worth of LED lighting can come right out of the copper coil. Who looks at the compressor when buying a fridge, right? Seems like chest freezers are just as low tech as they were 20 years ago.

Here is a good example showing why some improvements are a good idea poorly executed.
A standard furnace is about 80% efficient. That is, 20% of the heat produced escapes out the flue. There is a good reason they top out at 80%. The flue gas needs to be over 212F in order to remove the water vapor produced by combustion.
High efficiency furnaces are over 90% efficient, up to 98%. A second heat exchanger is used to extract the heat from the flue gas. That heat is used to heat the home, not the outside. Great.
But there is also a condensate pump and piping to deal with the corrosive liquid water. And also an electronic ignition. And also a variable speed fan. And also a sealed combustion chamber. And also a control board to make it work. And a highly trained tech to understand it all, with a stack of parts in a truck too. Not to mention the testing equipment.

So when one of those parts inevitably fails and you have a $120 service call with a $300 part it seems like all that savings is lost. And the initial cost of a high efficiency is quite a bit more than the standard efficiency.

Don't get me started on the $11 LED bulb that supposedly lasts 25 years and is replaced in less than 2!

 

I very much hear you here. When I had my furnace replaced a number of years ago I emphatically told the contractor I did not want a high efficiency furnace specifically for the reasons you stated here. I sincerely hope that the government does not mandate I purchase a 90+ % efficient furnace for my next replacement.

Cheers!

 

I had an experience with my regular refrig freezer not staying cold. Watched a Youtube for things to check. Had to get a simple multi tester for $5 to eliminate things. Turned out to be if I remember the name for it, a round capstan in the freezer near the copper that had opened up. All I did was put some crazy glue on it and closed it with pliers gently and had no problems since. It's been 3 years since no problem. I think moisture gets in this thing and helps pop it open. But it had to be closed for the cyclying to work. Hope that helps.