Shop Fridge

Heyseed

Member
I have an older Kenmore fridge in my workshop. The fridge section just started not chilling well. The freezer is working fine, so I think the Freon and compressor are not the issue. Could it be the thermostat control?
Thanks for any ideas.
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Take a look at the coils underneath or on the back and see if they are covered up with dust. Amazing how much crude those things collect.
Richard
 
If it is a frost free type good chance the fan is not working or the defrost timer has gone bad. I have a side by side that I have the manually turn the defrost timer every few days or the freezer side will not stay as cold as it should.
 
Also make sure that the tube between freezer and fridge isn't iced up. Easiest way to clear is unplug for a day or two and let it melt away.
 
The refrigerator-freezer in my shop since 1993 quit working awhile back, so I unplugged it for two days while thinking about replacing it. Not sure why but I plugged it back in and it's been working fine ever since, and hasn't acted up anymore.
 
(quoted from post at 09:57:04 06/10/18) Also make sure that the tube between freezer and fridge isn't iced up. Easiest way to clear is unplug for a day or two and let it melt away.

X-2
 
The freezer is cold so you are right, the unit is fine. Either the air flow between the freezer and the refrigerator is blocked or the fan that moves the air has quit or frozen up. Check your model on YouTube,it will be an easy fix.
 
Hello hayseed,

You did not post the model? But it sounds like it is stuck on defrost, unless the condenser coil it's pretty much blocked,

Guido.
 
(quoted from post at 15:22:23 06/10/18) The freezer is cold so you are right, the unit is fine. Either the air flow between the freezer and the refrigerator is blocked or the fan that moves the air has quit or frozen up. Check your model on YouTube,it will be an easy fix.
heck the inside fan....you should be able to hear it.
 
I had such happen. There is a fan down in the freezer section that feeds air up to the top vent whereby freezer air drops down upon your ref's contents. No fan, no cold air dropping down on ref's contents. Mine had a frozen stator....mechanically frozen due to lube wearing out, not frozen from the environmental temp. Ebay has replacements.

I thought you were going to ask what's in your shop fridge? I still have a 30 pack of Bush beer in the bottom of mine, wrapper still intact. Feb 17, 2015 I went to the doctor for a checkup. Doc said my BS was 136. Said that Type II diabetes starts counting at 130. The beer I had Feb 16 was the last alcoholic beverage I have had of any kind. Funny, when you get away from it, you can get along just fine with a tasty glass of tea......like some other things you think you need and can get along just fine without. I'm getting along well without the Type II also. BS is well under control.
 
we had that happen once and it was nothing more than a piece of freezer paper blocking the the passage way between the fridge and freezer -- good luck -- Roy
 
We had a fridge stop cooling on a Sunday. We pulled it out and brushed off the coils on the back and it didn't help. In a panic we went out and bought a new fridge. When I got the old fridge out to the shop I washed the coils with a power washer and when it dried I plugged it in and it cooled fine again. Now I've got an extra fridge I don't really need taking up space in a warehouse.
 
Hello heyseed,

One other thing that I forgot to mention. Make sure the evaporator drain is not clogged. It will ice up the evaporator if it is, and would also affect the freezer temp, although items may still be frozen. Check the freezer temp too. I am guessing that is probably higher then normal.
You will need to take of what ever is covering the evaporator,

Guido.
 
Dirt, clogged or failed fans, clogged drain are all possibilities.

In my working days I serviced some refrigerators. In my experience Defrost timer failures were at the top of the problem list.

If the defrost timer fails in defrost mode the compressor will not run and it will stop cooling altogether.

If the defrost timer has failed in run mode thus not going into defrost cycle, the evaporator coils will ice up, block air flow and give the symptoms you mention. As Old writes, you can advance the timer manually to defrost. Let it set on defrost for 30 minutes and turn back to run, then repeat again in about 8 to 12 hours and see if that helps. It could all so be a defrost heater failure.


If you are mechanically inclined you could unplug it, remove the cover plate to the evaporator coils and see if they are iced up. If so a good hair dryer can be your friend.
 
Thanks for all the ideas, I will try some of these fixes tomorrow. Just got home and have no energy to mess with it tonight.
 
"Just got home and have no energy to mess with it tonight."

It has been my habit to get-r-done today if at all possible (correctly). Nowadays, what you said applies to me too. Not all that hard to put things off till tomorrow. Getting used to the idea....taking naps too...great stuff. Grin
 

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