Refrigerator Selection and Maintenance

For Whats its Worth ....

Over the last few days, I have been trouble shooting a defrost issue on my side by side Whirlpool refrigerator. The common failures here are the bi-metal defrost thermostat, the defrost heater and the defrost heater control board.

This exercise and associated research made me realize that if you replace your refrigerator or if you are purchasing a used coach, make sure that as many parts as possible are accessible from the FRONT. There is really no room on a no slide coach to pull the refrigerator out and easily access parts that are on the rear. Several youtube videos of other refrigerators showed control boards etc. on the back side. Fortunately for me, all three of these parts are accessible from the front on mine.

Also, one reputable parts site said that the bi-metal defrost thermostat behaves like a thermistor. You check it by measuring resistance at room temp and in ice water. At least for me, this was NOT correct and delayed the diagnosis. My bi-metal tstat works like a switch. It is open at 45 degrees F (55.6 kohms) and closed (0 ohms) at well below freezing. There is a code on the bi-metal that shows the open and closed temperature (sometimes in degrees C.) The first number is the open temperature and the second number has to be subtracted from the first to get the close temperature. The close temperature is in the single digits F. and is way too cold to be activated in ice water. It will only activate in a freezer or perhaps with a can of freeze spray, etc.

I ran into similar issues trying to get information on resistance of the defrost heating element. Some said that it could be 0 to 50 ohms, some said 21 ohms to 27 ohms, a manufacturer rep said it had to be 45 ohms period or it was bad. Mine measured 27 which fit 2 of the 3 sources so I assumed it was fine. My assumption is that if it fails, it will fail full open.

In the end I sprung for the control board. When I pulled it out, there was a burned spot on the board and my change filter light came back on ... so fingers crossed, problem solved.

I just finished installing a new fridge in my Galley. The fridge in here had a locked compressor along with cracks on the inside, It was original, so i took it out and replaced it with his one. I wanted to find something that i didn't have to take the windshield out for, and something big enough for 2 people with good reviews. The wife and I were at Home Depot and we saw this 12 cubic foot retro style refrigerator. It's always nice to add something vintage into a remodel so we decided to give it a try. It went right thru the front door no issue and into the existing space. I had to frame in the width and height as this one was a little smaller than the original, and it sips 120 VAC power. I also added external temperature station, and on/off switch, and a power station that i can monitor power usage.

http://forum.prevostownersgroup.com/...id=17147&stc=1
http://forum.prevostownersgroup.com/...id=17148&stc=1

Here are links to what i used:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How did u get the old one out? Sawzall?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joe Camper

How did u get the old one out? Sawzall?

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Yes, I took the doors off, the shelves out, and I cut the body in half.

Love the retro look.

As the lovely Mrs Fratto would say .... that is adorable! Nice job.

HaHa well Tell her thank you. I have a black old rotary dial phone I was thinking of mounting on the wall next to the fridge. :cool:

Attachment 17157

Where would u have ever come up with an idea like that?

That's what I am talking about!

Mike my 84 Hickox was way ahead of its time it was an all-electric coach. However the refrigerator was ACDC and it was the size like you have bought so I couldn't have put a bigger one in there if I wanted to without really doing some major stuff. It also had a cooktop that was 220 volt. The fridge was toast cooktop badly stained. I yanked both of them and actually put propane on the bus took it backwards and put a propane cooktop and oven and a propane and 110 volt fridge everybody thought I was crazy but that's because I am. It was a nice fridge had an ice maker work good plenty big enough and it reduced the camper to A 1 inverter bus, that's all I needed. Number 2 was backup. Somewhere back in the archives there's a thread with pictures the way I did it. It's a versatile cost-effective solution for older stuff with people with limited money and does a good job.

I would love to read up on it, i will search the forums. This is so much fun, i am not sure what i am going to do with myself once i get all this work done.

Mike,
I hate to burst your bubble, but I can assure you that you will never 'get all this work done'. There's always something to fix/improve/modify/investigate. Wait until you start fixing stuff you'd already fixed previously.
But I like your optimism.

LOL, I like your Can Do Attitude! HaHa.