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Came up with a new pro tip for the lounge this weekend.
Last Thursday, I noticed stuff in the fridge side of my refrigerator was not as cold as it should be. The freezer side seemed fine. I gave it a day. On Friday, I went full inspection mode. I noticed the jambs (not sure the actual word here) were very hot. They are supposed to be warm to keep the door seals from icing up, and the design also allows for dispersement of heat from the compressor. But when they get hot, hot, you have a problem. So I pulled the fridge out,
removed the back panel, and saw that the compressor fan was kaput. I threw the breaker, removed the fan motor, got the numbers, and ordered a replacement. That was Friday, but the delivery is supposed to be today. The problem was that the compressor life goes down drastically if you allow it to run hot for too long.
Soooo...I decided to try putting a regular plug in fan back there and aim it at the compressor. After a few hours, you could feel the jambs were cooler. After a day, all the stuff inside was as cool as before, and the jambs were down to just warm. Pretty cool trick. Now, hopefully, I get the new motor, slap it in, and get a few more years out of this fridge.
Posted: 05/04/2026 at 02:10 PM ET
Thread Replies (15)
Came up with a new pro tip for the lounge this weekend.
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-- Coach McGuirk
May 04, 2026 at 02:10 PM ET
Coach McGuirk
•
05/04/26 02:10 PM ET
@Coach McGuirk sorry this is a late reply. I had that problem many years
-- AZHokie59
May 08, 2026 at 08:41 PM ET
AZHokie59
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05/08/26 08:41 PM ET
Love this...good work, Coach!
-- MP4VT2004
May 04, 2026 at 06:05 PM ET
MP4VT2004
•
05/04/26 06:05 PM ET
Ehh, I don't know. It's 13 years old and has been giving me all kinds of
-- Coach McGuirk
May 04, 2026 at 06:20 PM ET
Coach McGuirk
•
05/04/26 06:20 PM ET
40+ years old>13+ years old>anything new**
-- MP4VT2004
May 04, 2026 at 06:30 PM ET
MP4VT2004
•
05/04/26 06:30 PM ET
And another update. Fan is running!!!!! YAY!!! Yay! Yay!
-- Coach McGuirk
May 04, 2026 at 06:24 PM ET
Coach McGuirk
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05/04/26 06:24 PM ET
I just take the ice out of the freezer and put it on the fan to cool it off
-- Vtskier1
May 04, 2026 at 05:53 PM ET
Vtskier1
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05/04/26 05:53 PM ET
I remember back in the day the starter went on my '73 Honda Civic. I
-- Brown Water
May 04, 2026 at 04:42 PM ET
Brown Water
•
05/04/26 04:42 PM ET
I had to use the same hack senior year at Tech
-- VTNateRx
May 04, 2026 at 04:31 PM ET
VTNateRx
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05/04/26 04:31 PM ET
Didn't have that problem with men K&E slide rule**
-- Galenahokie
May 05, 2026 at 09:58 AM ET
Galenahokie
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05/05/26 09:58 AM ET
Youse is injeenyus beyond yer yeers, Coach**
-- PhotoHokieNC
May 04, 2026 at 03:34 PM ET
PhotoHokieNC
•
05/04/26 03:34 PM ET
The drive to survive is alive. Well done.**
-- MikeVT85
May 04, 2026 at 03:19 PM ET
MikeVT85
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05/04/26 03:19 PM ET
Screw the new motor. Keep that fan. WVa style refrigeration. **
-- Stork
May 04, 2026 at 02:30 PM ET
Stork
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05/04/26 02:30 PM ET