Kenmore fridge banging noise

[micmak]

Hi Folks, New to this forum so let me get right into it! I have a Kenmore fridge that is about 12 years old. It has given no trouble all through the years. However, lately it makes a banging sound when it shuts off. I opened the back to see if there was anything obvious. I assumed there was a motor and one of it’s rubber mounts were gone or something. But there was nothing like that. There is a round black component Shown in the pictures attached, and when the fridge shuts off it is as if there is an internal part of this component that bangs against the outside. If I push against this component to try to shake it, I get a similar sound though not as severe as the noise it makes when the motor shuts off. What could be wrong and what is the solution? Can anyone advise me, please?

Thank you.

......Mike.......

[taz24]

Hi Folks, New to this forum so let me get right into it! What could be wrong and what is the solution? Can anyone advise me, please?

Thank you.

......Mike.......

Hi Mike.

The black thing is the compressor.
It is an electric motor driven pump suspended on
springs inside the steel container you see.

From your description it sounds like one of the springs that
suspends the internal workings has broken and when the comp
stops and starts you can hear it banging on the inside of the shell.

If it is not too anoying, leave it, it could last for another 12 years
or it could fail tommorow, no one knows but it is quite common and
somtimes with fridges a lot younger than yours.

All the best taz

.

[desA]

@taz24:

Is it common to see cooling fans in North American fridges? Interesting.

[multisync]

@taz24:

Is it common to see cooling fans in North American fridges? Interesting.

Yes it is common.

[desA]

Thanks, multisync.

From the South African fridges I came across, I never saw a fan. We generally had an auto-defrost catch pan on top of the compressor. The water in this seemed to keep the compressor cool as it evaporated.

Perhaps some of the larger models had them... New to me.

[taz24]

@taz24:

Is it common to see cooling fans in North American fridges? Interesting.

Yes it is common.

As Multisync says

A lot of domestics and small commercial do use a catch tray on the
comp to evaporate the drain water, but I do not know how much
cooling that will do. Most hermetic compressors rely on the cooling
effect of the return gas to maintain constant temp in the compressor.

Cheers taz

.

[desA]

Thanks taz24... much obliged... learn something new each day.

[Andy]

@taz24:

Is it common to see cooling fans in North American fridges? Interesting.

It would be common in the UK on intergral, built in Fridges. But would be a very good idea in any Fridge that is built in or semi built in.

Kind Regards Andy

[desA]

Thanks Andy. Makes excellent sense.

[micmak]

Hi Mike.

The black thing is the compressor.
It is an electric motor driven pump suspended on
springs inside the steel container you see.

From your description it sounds like one of the springs that
suspends the internal workings has broken and when the comp
stops and starts you can hear it banging on the inside of the shell.

If it is not too anoying, leave it, it could last for another 12 years
or it could fail tommorow, no one knows but it is quite common and
somtimes with fridges a lot younger than yours.

All the best taz

.

Hi Taz,
Thanks for the reply. The noise is not annoying for me personally because the fridge is in a rental unit! My tenant is complaining about it!!! I will talk to him and see if it really is a big issue for him. If so, I guess I will need to get someone in to replace it. Is it an expensive job to replace a condenser?

Thanks for your response.

......Mike......

[desA]

^ Replace the compressor, not the condenser...

May be a good time to replace the fridge unit completely - would be more efficient, anyway.

[taz24]

Hi Taz,
Thanks for the reply. The noise is not annoying for me personally because the fridge is in a rental unit! My tenant is complaining about it!!! I will talk to him and see if it really is a big issue for him. If so, I guess I will need to get someone in to replace it. Is it an expensive job to replace a condenser?

Thanks for your response.

......Mike......

I don't know about Canada but in the UK it can be as
cheap to replace the whole fridge for similar cost of
replacing the faulty part.

12 years is old for a fridge and if the noise can't be
tolerated then it may make more sense to buy a new
modern more energy effiecient fridge.

If the rental tennent can't tollerate the noise do not throw
the fridge. It could go in a cellar or garage and give sombody
many years of service.

All the best taz.

.

[micmak]

^ Replace the compressor, not the condenser...
May be a good time to replace the fridge unit completely - would be more efficient, anyway.

Oops yes my mistake. I meant to say compressor NOT condenser!!!!
Thanks.

......Mike......

I don't know about Canada but in the UK it can be as
cheap to replace the whole fridge for similar cost of
replacing the faulty part.
12 years is old for a fridge and if the noise can't be
tolerated then it may make more sense to buy a new
modern more energy effiecient fridge.
If the rental tennent can't tollerate the noise do not throw
the fridge. It could go in a cellar or garage and give sombody
many years of service.
All the best taz.
.

Thanks Taz. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but if replacement is the only realistic solution, then so be it. The darned fridge looks new otherwise!!! You would never know it was 12 years old. I will talk to the tenant and go from there.
Thanks Guys.

......Mike.......

[Yuri B.]

if replacement is the only realistic solution, then so be it. The darned fridge looks new otherwise!!! You would never know it was 12 years old.

Don't throw away the old fridge. Provide it with a flexicord with built-in thermostat, and keep the products that need low positive (in C grades) temperatures outside - under shed - at winters (what is more energy efficient in your climate than doing it in a fridge, indoor).