Amana compressor problem

[patweb]

Hi I'm a house wife with a broken Amana side by side fridge frezzer - it just stopped working - all the food defrosted and its not making a sound but the light is still on. The engineer said it the compressor was the fault - and would cost £600 to repair. So he recommended that I scrap it but a new one is so expensive and if he is wrong I will have thrown out a good fridge/freezer. Any help appreciated? Thanks

[frank]

Hi Patweb.

I had a similar event a few years back with my Amana side by side.

The refrigerant in what we call R134a and it has a tendency to cause the oil in the system to flock, i.e. turn into a waxy substance. Over time, this clogs up the capillary tube which acts as the metering device in this type of fridge. With the capillary blocked, the compresser continues to run, but in a vacuum, so it's motor doesn't get any cooling and it eventually burns out.

As the capillary is buried inside the suction gas pipe which in turn is buried deep in the insulation that makes up the cabinet of the freezer, it isn't easy trying to carry out a repair.

I ended up convincing the supplier that the unit had failed under warranty (only 13 months old) and managed to get a new unit from him. The first thing I then did was to remove the R134a refrigerant and replace it with Iseon 49. Been working fine now for over 5 years.

I now it hurts, but the engineer who advised you to scrap it is correct.

Is your spoilt product covered under your home contents insurance? - it should be.

[icecube51]

the problem is that R134a can not work properly under mineral oil,it has to be ester oil.
Ice

[nike123]

. The engineer said it the compressor was the fault - and would cost £600 to repair. So he recommended that I scrap it but a new one is so expensive and if he is wrong I will have thrown out a good fridge/freezer. Any help appreciated? Thanks

You could buy here new side by side FF (beko 15609 W) for £600!

[lowcool]

G,day ice ive noticed more frequent residue constricting capillaries on poe 134 systems with high condensing temperatures.noticably on ice makers under a bench or locked in a room with insufficient airflows.was wondering pat or frank if the mullion/heating coil around the door frame ran fairly warm

[icecube51]

Yep Lowcool, that the major problem,VENTILATION and (fresh)airflow.
thats why the oil reach his triple point and becomes useless.

Ice