Refrigerator Repair Service in Orange County, CA
One of the most costly appliances to break. Nobody is happy when the refrigerator stops cooling. 100s of dollars lost on food and now we have to pay a costly repair man. At New Life Appliance Repair, we understand. All of our technicians are highly trained not only in appliance repair but in customer service as well. From a Subzero Refrigerator not cooling to a Kitchenaid refrigerator not making ice, any problem you have we can repair it with ease.
“Our refrigerator is not cooling, I think it might need so more freon.” Classic response from a customer when their unit isn’t cooling properly. Thirty years ago, that might have fixed those units, refrigerators today have more electrical problems than anything. Thermostats, starting device, and bimetals are just some of the few electrical issues that could go wrong.
Refrigerator repair service can fall into a couple different categories. There are numerous different issues that could be occurring within your unit. There are over thirty different refrigerator brands out there and each brand, every year puts out so many different models each with their unit parts and problems. Even though there are many factors involved, refrigerators have common issues that appear across the board. Also, these individual units can have specific issues that are more specific to the unit itself. The top issues that we as repair technicians are as followed:
- Airflow
- Defrost
- Control
- Sealed System Issues.
Airflow
Airflow is essential in all refrigerators. Normally there are two fans in each unit. One is used to circulate the cold air inside the freezer. This fan is called the evaporator fan motor. The function of this fan is to draw air over the cooling coils. Also, this fan circulates the air inside the freezer as well as blows air into the refrigerator. The refrigerator section is like an ice chest, it produces no cold air it just holds it. In between the freezer and the refrigerator, there is a door that is controlled by either a board or a thermostat. When the refrigerator needs more cool air, the door opens and the fan turns on. The other fan is on the outside of the unit. This fan cools the compressor and the coils called the condenser. This fan is called the condenser fan motor.
Defrost
Defrost issues are the most common issues that cause refrigerators not to cool. Why does your refrigerator need to be defrost? Let’s think about it. In the air, there are tons of moistures particles. When we open the door to the freezer we allow air to get in as well as new moisture. Over time, this moisture builds up on cold coils that are called the evaporator. It forms ice and blocks airflow inside the freezer. If you remember, over 40 years ago we used to have to manually defrost our refrigerators every couple weeks or it wouldn’t cool properly. Over the years, they created a system that automatically defrost your unit every 6-18 hours. When the unit is in defrost a couple different components are used: a control, a safety switch called a bimetal and a heater. Depending on how much electronics your unit has, the control either counts past time or detects how much ice is on the evaporator. When it has too much ice, the refrigerator shuts off and a heater turns on and melts the ice down. The bimetal is a sensor that senses if the freezer is cold, just in case the heater tries to turn on even when there is no ice.
Control
Control repair is our next topic of discussion. The two main types of controls are Thermostats and control boards with thermistor. Thermostats are basically gas in a tube with electrical contacts. The gas changes pressure at different temperatures which causing the contacts to shut off power to the motor when the refrigerator is cold enough. The board and the thermistor works similarly. The thermistor is inside the refrigerator and it sense the temperature. While the board reads the temperature and controls if the refrigerator is running or off.
Sealed System Repairs
Finally sealed system repairs. There are many different parts that are in the system that allows the freon to produce cold air, we are going to discuss only a few. The Compressor is the main motor that pumps the freon through the systems. The Evaporator is a set of coils that allow the freon to get cold and allow air to cool. The Condenser is a set of coils next to the compressor that allow heat to be released into the ambient air. The filter drier is a filter inside the system that takes out oil and particles that shouldn’t be inside.
Preventative Maintenance
Is there any preventative maintenance you can do to make your refrigerator last longer? Yes, clean your condenser coils. Unusually, these coils are located next to the compressor, under the refrigerator, or on the backside of the refrigerator. Dust builds up on the coils, not allowing heat to be released. Once a year I would recommend cleaning these coils via vacuum or solutions to lengthen the life of your refrigerator.
Which brands are better than others? Subzero is the best out of all the high ends. Kitchenaid, Whirlpool, and Maytag are the kings of the mid-grade/low ends. Brands to avoid: Thermador, Viking, Bosch, Samsung, and Dacor. If you have a refrigerator on the avoid list don’t worry, we can take care of all your appliance needs. Just because they aren’t built as well as the others doesn’t mean they are trash (except Samsung).
