O,T, Side by side refrigerator/freezer

IA Roy

Well-known Member
I have this old Amana side by side. The air circulating fan motor in the freezer had the bearings going out, so I went to the appliance parts place. The old one was discontinued. The fridge is a 1976 model that came with the house when it was manufactured. The appliance place had one listed that might fit, so I had them get one in. The rotation was wrong, so I disassembled it and swapped the guts from one side to another to correct that. Several other things had to modified which I did. Since I put this in, it does not get cold enough in the fridge side. I turned it down to the max several days ago and just looked to see that the shelf second from the bottom is 46 degrees. Could it be that the motor rpm is less than the original. Any other thoughts on what it might be? there seems to be some airflow thru the crossover channels, but I am thinking about making another larger one. Thanks, in advance, Roy
 
Did you reuse the fan blade assembly? and is it in the same location in regard to the opening it sits in. Rpm could change air flow but smaller blades with less pitch and even the wrong direction of the blades them selves can cause low air flow.
 
2 things come to mind.

#1 if you switched the direct the fan motor spins but kept the fan blade that came on that fan then it is not working as it should since fan blades are made to so in one way and if you reverse the direction the motor spin the blades do not work well

#2 if it is frost free the defrost timer may not be cycling like it should and the cooling fins are iced up and not letting the air flow like it needs to
 
A fridge that old you would have saved money by getting a new one. they use about half the electricity and the elect companies around her would give you a $100 just for your old one.
 
I go with the reverse fan being the problem. Don't let them brow beat you into a newer fridge with all that energy cheap crap. They will not cool as well if it warms up some. The freezer we have will not pull it back down if I put a lot of unfrozen meat in like when we butcher. It needs to be frozen first. Dad's freezers being older have better cooling for pulling it down with non frozen meat in it. I believe the cheaper operating is a smaller compressor so it will hold it if it is already frozen.
 
I admire you for trying to fix it. But i think its time to pony up and get a new one. I think you'll end up wasting money trying to fix a fridge that is basically is in fatigue and more than likely go bad anyways. 40 years is a pretty good ride for a fridge. Dont let anyone tell you the newer ones are not better because they are.
 
Shoot my mom has a fridge that is older then I am. The old rounded off top and it is still working just fine
 
And i understand that and thats great. But will you try to fix it if it was to crap out next week or bite the bullet and buy a newer one. Now it was a tractor i say rebuild it if its that old lol.
 
I have an old side by side that I have fixed. Was going to give up on it but figured why not play with it and see if I can make it work. I did at first replace it but then I messed with the old one and it too is working fine. Bad thing is now we have a pair of side by side fridges in the kitchen
 
I would ask if the fan is turning proper direction and sufficient size, is it in the the shroud/housing correctly? Too deep or too shallow made a lot of difference on the reefer units I worked on. Just a thought.
 
I have a IH refrigerator that was bought about 1947 that still works just fine, only thing is the door gasket has rotted away and leaks, the compressor is so quiet you can hardly hear it run.
 
TWO questions, does the compressor run continuously, and does the evaporator freeze up between defrost cycles which could be indicative of low airflow.

Which brings up another point, are the defrost timer, the defrost thermostat, and the defrost heater(s) functioning properly?
 
I used the same fan blade and made sure it was turning the same direction as the old motor did. I will re-check, hope I didn't dismantle the old one yet. Hopefully I can report a successful repair. I only spent about $25 on the new motor. I do have a smaller fridge in the garage that is not being used. I could bring it in to avoid buying another one. Thanks to all the replies.
 

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