https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREADM.cgi?91066_2 [PUSH] [Log-In] New members click here to sign-up +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ |+-------------------------------+| | ||Imperial ||+------------+ | || |||Register | | ||-------------------------------|||------------| | ||Deluxe |||Forum Topics| | || |||& Rules | | ||-------------------------------|||------------| | ||Super |||Picture of | | || |||the Day | | ||-------------------------------|||------------| | ||Shoppers Square |||Manuals & | | || |||Literature | | ||-------------------------------|||------------| | ||As the Tub Turns |||Vacuumland | | || |||------------| | ||-------------------------------||| | | ||Dirty Laundry ||+------------+ | || || | |+-------------------------------+| | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ [INS::INS] +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Thread Number: 91066 | | | | | [Down | | |Tag: Refrigerators | to |[2010sS]| | | Last] | | |Declining quality of consumer-grade products - | | | |2009 fridge compressor autopsy... | | | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ eBay Watch scroll >>> for more items +------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Post# 1155699 8/1/2022 at 09:25 | | | |by turbokinetic [upgradesta] (Northport, Alabama | | | |USA) | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| |Checkrate/Likes | |[checkplus] | | | |9 | | | | | | | |I know what you're thinking.... another "old guard" geezer posting| |about how bad things are with nothing but anecdotal evidence that | |this is actually the case. Before you judge me, please watch the | |video. I don't believe unhappiness is unreasonable when one is | |forced to accept concepts such as "throw-away society" and "poor | |value / high overall ownership costs" and "bad ownership | |experience" in the name of "progress." | | | | | | | |The back-story to this video is as follows. A couple years ago a | |local gentleman brought his 1947 GE fridge to me for rewiring and | |re-gasketing. That job went well and he has been using that fridge| |ever since as a beverage fridge. | | | | | | | |Fast-forward to last week, and his main kitchen fridge stopped | |working. Without warning, it started clicking on and off on the | |compressor overload, as if the compressor was stuck. I normally | |don't work on modern appliances; however this is local and the | |owner was able to bring it over in the back of his pickup with | |little effort on his part. So I agreed to look at it. | | | | | | | |The compressor would not start. I tried boosting with higher | |voltages, adding capacitors etc. and nothing would break it free. | |So, I ended up putting in a salvaged compressor to get his going. | | | | | | | |Here is a video where I tear it down and inspect it for root cause| |of failure. Again, I need to repeat that I am not saying | |everything "old" is better just because it's "old." I am saying | |that this compressor, and its application, show clear engineering | |choices made, which sacrificed its life span in the name of some | |modicum of energy savings. These marginal design choices are not | |the only way to get an efficient unit, since the fridge | |compressors from the 1940's and 1950's era were very efficient, | |while having consistently longer lives. This failed unit is purely| |an example of doing just enough to get by until it is someone | |else's problem. When it becomes a problem, it goes to the dump | |where all the foamed-together plastic parts will not be feasible | |to separate nor recycle. | | | | | | | |Sincerely, | | | |David | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 [ ] | |View Full Size | |To view photos you must turn on Javascript (then refresh the | |page). | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | [INS::INS] | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Post# 1155703 , Reply# 1 8/1/2022 at 10:11 | | | |by combo52 [upgradesta] (50 Year Repair Tech | | | |Beltsville,Md) | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| |Checkrate/Likes | |[checkplus] | | | |4 | | | |Modern refrigerator compressors | | | |combo52's profile picture | |Hi David love the teardown always love to see the insides of | |things and how they work. | | | |Our small appliance repair company works on around 1500 | |refrigerators a year, and we are not seeing more than one bad | |compressor in a years time this is very rare on a new refrigerator| |in fact the compressor is probably the one really good part of a | |new refrigerator lol. | | | |Nobody appreciates the quality that went into old compressors and | |motors and things more than I do but the reality is you could not | |have a $2000 compressor as part of a new refrigerator nobody could| |buy them or afford them. | | | |You might remember about three years ago I cut open an Embrco | |compressor that had locked up because another service technician | |had put stop leak in the sealed system to try to fix an evaporator| |leak problem. | | | |I sawed the compressor open and freed it up it still runs fine | |today it s like the one you just cut it open. | | | |When you look at the extremely small failure rate of modern | |compressors I sincerely doubt that compressors in 1939 didn t have| |an even higher failure rate, but no way to prove that today. | | | |I have no doubt that many compressors made after 2000 will be | |going strong in 50 years in the basic refrigerators And freezers. | | | |John | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Post# 1155720 , Reply# 2 8/1/2022 at 14:21 | | | |by turbokinetic [upgradesta] (Northport, Alabama | | | |USA) | | | |------------------------------------------------------------------| |Checkrate/Likes | |[checkplus] | | | |2 | | | | | | | |Hi John. I do remember that compressor! That one was a slightly | |older model, with a larger body design. I remember the cast iron | |cylinder frame in the compressor was different and much larger | |than what this failed one has. The one I salvaged to get this | |fridge going was also like yours you cut open. It is the older | |model. I think it was marked 1998. | | | |While I do agree that compressors are generally very reliable, | |it's clear that some poor engineering choices were made in the one| |I took apart. Thankfully the ones like you cut open and the one I| |installed into this fridge rarely ever go bad. If I have a bad one| |of similar size, it will be interesting to compare the surface | |area of the main bearings versus this 2009 failed one. | | | | | | | |The very early (30's and 40's) ones were less consistent in their | |life spans. I've seen a document on this somewhere and will share | |it if I run across it again. They didn't have the automated and | |consistent manufacturing processes like we have today. Some of | |them did go out early. The ones we still have today from the early| |days are the ones which were especially good, and are still in the| |long flat bottom of the failure bathtub curve. | | | | | | | |What I foresee killing off many of the 2000's compressors are the | |lower engineering margins in the design. It takes less of an | |incident to go beyond that margin into the region of damage and | |failure; as compared to earlier compressors with a larger | |engineering margin. | | | | | | | |All things being equal, eventually something will go wrong with | |the whole system. Things like condenser fan failures, leaks and | |running without refrigerant, voltage excursions, etc. The larger | |engineering margins in the early designs allowed them to better | |tolerate system fault conditions. They can survive a certain | |amount of abuse, before catastrophic damage happens. With a | |larger surface area in the bearings, the oil could be overheated | |or diluted to a greater degree before lubrication film failure | |occurred. With a larger stator-rotor air gap; even if there was | |wear in the bearings, it would have to be much more severe before | |a rub appeared. | | | | | | | |I'm sure you're right that some of these post-2000's compressors | |will still be around. However I expect it will be the ones which | |have not been exposed to any abnormal operating conditions. | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | [INS::INS] | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Return to Super Index | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- [Buzzer_Sounding2] [AutomaticL] Comes to the Rescue! The Discuss-o-Mat has stopped, buzzer is sounding!!! If you would like to reply to this thread please log-in... [PUSH] [Log-In] New members click here to sign-up +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ |+-------------------------------+| | ||Imperial ||+------------+ | || |||Register | | ||-------------------------------|||------------| | ||Deluxe |||Forum Topics| | || |||& Rules | | ||-------------------------------|||------------| | ||Super |||Picture of | | || |||the Day | | ||-------------------------------|||------------| | ||Shoppers Square |||Manuals & | | || |||Literature | | ||-------------------------------|||------------| | ||As the Tub Turns |||Vacuumland | | || |||------------| | ||-------------------------------||| | | ||Dirty Laundry ||+------------+ | || || | |+-------------------------------+| | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- automaticwasher.org Audio Downloads Vintage washer/ home Picture of the Day dryer/dishwasher to Discuss-o-Mat Forums Patent of the Day sell? Vintage Brochures, Photos of our Technical/service Service and Owners Collections questions? Manuals The Old Aberdeen Farm Looking for Parts? Fun Vintage Washer Vintage Service Manuals Website related Ephemera questions? See It Wash! Digital Millennium Video Downloads Copyright Act Policy Our Privacy Policy web analytics