Should I call a repair man or just get a new one?
Mine seems to have stopped cooling. We cleaned out under it and found a small dog clogging up the coils, but it’s been 24 hours and it is no better.
The frig. is about 10 years old. Is that about as long as they last these days?
Was it a chihuahua? A miniature poodle? I need details.
It was a Lab/Dane/Hound cross. Not aggressive at all. When we scooped it out from under there it just layed on the floor in a heap. I’d say it was about a cubic foot worth of unpacked dogness.
So, what should I do?
My mom had the same fridge since she got married (harvest gold, yes). It worked for about 35 years, and then it still worked, but not quite as well. When she finally got off her duff to buy a new fridge, the salesguy said plainly “Lady, I can tell you right now that you are not going to have this refrigerator for 35 years. You will have it for 10 years.” That seemed to be the general impression that she got while shopping – that they are building them to last about 10 years these days. Or in other words, they are designed to sell you a new fridge in 10 years.
I just got rid of one that was built in 1965. The only thing I did to it since I got it in the early eighties was replacing the fan in the freezer.
It could have been fixed but I decided on a shiny new one.
One thing to keep in mind is that modern refrigerators are much more energy-efficient than older ones, though I don’t know if the difference between a 10-year-old model and a modern one would be as dramatic as, say, a 30-year-old fridge and a new one. Depending on your energy costs, you could save a not-insignificant chunk of change each month with a new fridge.
Would it be cheaper to fix the thing? Oh, heck never mind, I know the answer.
May I rant for a moment? I recently bought $150 worth of frozen food. It is no longer frozen. I’m going to pick through it and see what I can save, but I can’t eat $150 worth of food right now. I could cook it, then refriger… oh wait.
These blasted things should have a warning light or something. Bleep, flash, flash… your fudgecycles are in danger.
My Foooooooood, ahhhhheeeeee!
I know that these new-fangled refrigerators are fancy enough to have TVs and internet connections in them, but I really don’t want my appliances knowing anything about my fudgecycles. :eek:
Fudgecicles, however, are a different story, but since I hate chocolate, it doesn’t really matter. 
We bought our current refrigerator, which I would guess was manufactured in the late 80s or early 90s, as a used bargain when we moved into our current place five years ago. It was an emergency measure, we only paid $60 for it, and we planned to replace it fairly quickly. Thus far, there’s been no need. But I’m certain we’ll never bother to try to repair this one if it ever goes kablooey.
The Whirlpool fridge in the House o’ Nott is 20 years old, and we’ve been thinking over this same question.
We had a brief problem, probably caused by something that kept the freezer door from sealing. It’s working fine now, but we wondered just how much less electricity a new one would use. Twenty years is a pretty long run for a refrigerator, so maybe we should replace it before it leaves us with a lot of spoiling food on the night before a holiday.
If you want to drop by the library, Consumer Reports rated refrigerators (and several other major kitchen stuff) in the August 2006 issue. The top-rated models are…no, I ain’t tellin’. CR is really fierce about being quoted. Read it for yourself.
I’ve repaired a number of refrigerators whose defrost cycle timers have gone bad. It’s a small motor which periodically tells the compressor to shut off, the defrost timer to turn on, and when done, compressor back on. As you can imagine, if Mr. Motor dies during the timer defrost cycle, the compressor will never get the command to restart. The second choice would be the temp control. It’s a thermostat which tells the compressor to start or shut down. The parts aren’t that expensive, finding someone who knows where they live and how to replace them is. 
In the second sentence, that should have been the defrost “heater”. My bad. :smack:
My current fridge is ten years old. I’ve had fridges much older. The older ones aren’t very complex if you take them apart. If you are handy fixing them isn’t that difficult. I’ve fixed a few for freinds and they seem to be working fine. Both had termostat issues.
I’d expect a fridge to last 15 years. Over 15 years I’d replace it if I had the money at the time. If I was short on cash or it was less then 15 years I’d give fixing it a go.
www.repairclinic.com has a really big databank on how to fix appliances, with detailed instructions and diagrams. Of course, they sell parts, which is why they want to help you. I fixed my dryer and my oven, just as if I knew what I was doing. 
While it’s not on the subject at all, my water heater is 41+ years old and seems to work as well as when it was new, and it has never been repaired or needed it. I don’t plan to replace it until the hot water faucet spews cold water for no good reason.
Now you went and said it. You’ve tempted the patience of the household appliance gods. Prepare to pay dearly. :eek:
My fridge is almost 10 years old and shows no signs of impending death. The one before that was 25 years old and butt ugly. My water heater is at least 30 years old, my dryer is 25+ (and butt ugly). Bah. Appliance longevity? It’s a crap shoot. Unfortunately refrigerators are kind of expensive, so it’s a drag when you have to make the purchase. Plus, too many shiny pretty options. Freezer on top? Bottom? Side by side? Drawer or door? Water and ice? Television? chrome? Arrrrgggghhh!!! It’s all too much.
My grandma has an ancient Philco in her basement that still works just fine. It was old when I was a child, and I’m 43 now. Og only knows how old that thing is. It’s outlived everyone who knew how old it really is, honestly. My grandma says it was old when her father passed away. We think he was the original owner…not positive, though. It just has always been there.
It just keeps going and going.
We just had to replace a refrigerator that was about 20 years old…not because it stopped working, but because one of the seals needed replacing and they don’t stock it anymore. And because the space where it has to go is fixed…not an extra inch of space…we had some difficulty finding a unit that was short enough but big enough. Since we’re very basic people, basic is what we got…the fanciest thing in it is the slide-out glass shelves and the deep door, which now slams shut due to all the extra weight.
I’d vote for fixing yours first, or at least getting an estimate.
I’ve waited for this damn frig to break down for the last five years. it’s 20 year old…
I want water and ice in the door…
The repair website gives me the idea that it may be cheaper to fix it. It looks like the problem might with the defrost cycle like danceswithcats talked about. There’s a bunch of frost on the back of the freezer part. I’m going to call a repair place.