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Home > Archive > Home Repair forum > July 2006 > Defrosting a fridge with a sharp object
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| Author |
Defrosting a fridge with a sharp object
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| aaronfude@gmail.com 2006-07-29, 5:25 pm |
| Hi,
Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
fridge no longer cools.
Is this fixable?
Thanks!
Aaron Fude
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| frosty@home.com 2006-07-29, 5:25 pm |
| On 29 Jul 2006 13:17:58 -0700, aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
>hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
>fridge no longer cools.
>
>Is this fixable?
>
If you can weld aluminum, yes.
| |
| Jeff Wisnia 2006-07-29, 5:25 pm |
| aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
> hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
> fridge no longer cools.
>
> Is this fixable?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Aaron Fude
>
Of course, anything can be fixed, 'cept maybe a broken heart and the
crack of dawn.
Unless it's a very high end model your chances of getting it repaired,
pumped down, and recharged for less than the cost of a new box are slim
and none, and Slim rode out of town yeasterday afternoon.
I've always felt that learning from mistakes is good; Providing they are
other peoples mistakes. Your admission of how you f**ked up your fridge
may provide an education for others reading your post who might not
realize that icepicks went out of sytle for that kind of use about the
same time the iceman stopped delivering his wares to folks' houses.
Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"What do you expect from a pig but a grunt?"
| |
| hallerb@aol.com 2006-07-29, 5:25 pm |
|
frosty@home.com wrote:
> On 29 Jul 2006 13:17:58 -0700, aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:
>
> If you can weld aluminum, yes.
just buy a new fridge. if it required defrosting its likely very old,
new fridge will save you big bucks on electric
| |
| Tony Hwang 2006-07-29, 5:25 pm |
| aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
> hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
> fridge no longer cools.
>
> Is this fixable?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Aaron Fude
>
Hi,
Are you trolling or serious? You just ruined the freezer. Evaporator is
a toast. Maybe buying new one is in order. BIG lesson learned!
Sorry I had to laugh reading your post.
| |
| Dan_Musicant 2006-07-29, 5:25 pm |
| On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 16:30:48 -0400, Jeff Wisnia <jwisnia@conversent.net>
wrote:
:aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:
:
:> Hi,
:>
:> Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
:> hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
:> fridge no longer cools.
:>
:> Is this fixable?
:>
:> Thanks!
:>
:> Aaron Fude
:>
I used to have to do that, and for two refrigerators. The first thing I
did when I bought my house was blow my last $1000 on a new refrigerator.
Haven't had to do that stuff since. I never ruined one, but I hacked
away at a lot of ice. When I started getting nervous (and as I got
wiser), I started using hot water to melt the glaciers. I'd heat big
pots of it and use a baster to soak the ice. Sopped up the big puddles
at the bottom with big sponges. On and on until the job was done.
Frost free is neat, but I'm not sure how good it is for the food.
| |
|
| >Hi,
>Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
>hole in the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
>fridge no longer cools.
>Is this fixable?
I did this MANY years ago. Celled a repairman who welded in some
specialized plastic stuff (looked like a big crayon). He then
evacuated and recharged the system. Total cost, $200. That was
probably 15 years ago.
| |
| jimmy@the.shoppe 2006-07-29, 5:25 pm |
| On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 21:02:55 GMT, Dan_Musicant <man@privacy.net> wrote:
>I used to have to do that, and for two refrigerators. The first thing I
>did when I bought my house was blow my last $1000 on a new refrigerator.
>Haven't had to do that stuff since. I never ruined one, but I hacked
>away at a lot of ice. When I started getting nervous (and as I got
>wiser), I started using hot water to melt the glaciers. I'd heat big
>pots of it and use a baster to soak the ice. Sopped up the big puddles
>at the bottom with big sponges. On and on until the job was done.
If your vacuum allows you to attach the hose to the exhaust end it will make
quick work of ice. I have an Electrosux and I just stick the vac hose in the
icebox.
| |
|
| On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 21:16:12 UTC, jimmy@the.shoppe wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 21:02:55 GMT, Dan_Musicant <man@privacy.net> wrote:
>
>
> If your vacuum allows you to attach the hose to the exhaust end it will make
> quick work of ice. I have an Electrosux and I just stick the vac hose in the
> icebox.
When I had that problem... a very long time ago... I used to shave the
frost/ice with a sponge or whatever. The shavings made for a nice
snowball or ice cone. I lived in Florida at the time. Nothing like
greeting a northerner by having a snowball fight by the pool in 90F
weather. The rest was taken care of in a half hour by a small fan.
The ice broke off in nice slabs.
David
| |
| Bob Bins 2006-07-29, 8:25 pm |
| Go to craigslist.com and buy a new one. I bought a $1100 fridge that was 6
months old for $350. Then I sold my old one that was like 10 years old for
$100.00. So total cost to upgrade was $250.00. Can't beat that. And no
this is not an add for craigslist. You may find the same deal in your local
paper. Between this and the deail I got on my washer I will never buy new
again!
<aaronfude@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154204277.995979.52650@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
> Hi,
>
> Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
> hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
> fridge no longer cools.
>
> Is this fixable?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Aaron Fude
>
| |
| Stormin Mormon 2006-07-29, 8:25 pm |
| Sometimes it's possible to patch the leak with epoxy, and then
recharge the freon. Call a couple appliance repair guys, and explain
the situation. Might find one who will come out.
I've repaired knife stabbed evaporators in the past. Sometimes they
come back to life, sometimes there is too much water, etc, in the
system.
Regrets you had an expensive lesson.
--
Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..
<aaronfude@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154204277.995979.52650@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
Hi,
Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
fridge no longer cools.
Is this fixable?
Thanks!
Aaron Fude
| |
| Jeff Wisnia 2006-07-29, 9:25 pm |
| jimmy@the.shoppe wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 21:02:55 GMT, Dan_Musicant <man@privacy.net> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> If your vacuum allows you to attach the hose to the exhaust end it will make
> quick work of ice. I have an Electrosux and I just stick the vac hose in the
> icebox.
A hair dryer works well too...
Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"What do you expect from a pig but a grunt?"
| |
| Don Young 2006-07-30, 3:25 am |
|
"Stormin Mormon" <cayoung61-&spamblock*-@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:wJTyg.12429$1Z5.9391@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
> Sometimes it's possible to patch the leak with epoxy, and then
> recharge the freon. Call a couple appliance repair guys, and explain
> the situation. Might find one who will come out.
>
> I've repaired knife stabbed evaporators in the past. Sometimes they
> come back to life, sometimes there is too much water, etc, in the
> system.
>
> Regrets you had an expensive lesson.
>
> --
>
> Christopher A. Young
> You can't shout down a troll.
> You have to starve them.
> .
>
> <aaronfude@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1154204277.995979.52650@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
> Hi,
>
> Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
> hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
> fridge no longer cools.
>
> Is this fixable?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Aaron Fude
>
One of the first epoxies was for repairs like this. I don't remember the
name of it but I remember it was green and worked really well. You would
still have to have your refrigerator evacuated and recharged. Check around.
Don Young
| |
| Phisherman 2006-07-30, 9:25 am |
| On 29 Jul 2006 13:17:58 -0700, aaronfude@gmail.com wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Seemed like a good idea at the time, but not anymore since we poked in
>hole in the the freezer and heard the sound of some gas escaping. The
>fridge no longer cools.
>
>Is this fixable?
>
>Thanks!
>
>Aaron Fude
Not practical to fix. Next time use a hair dryer and patience to
defrost.
| |
| hallerb@aol.com 2006-07-30, 9:25 am |
| Like I said before, newer fridges DONT require defrosting...
BRAND NEW fridge will pay for iteslf in electric saved, plus you get
new features like automatic ice maker.
Its a no brainer time to buy new refrigerator. Home depot and lowes has
the best prices!
Dont beat up on the OP all of us have done err stupid stuff
occasionally and likely will again although hopefully not the SAME
mistake.
| |
| Steve Kraus 2006-07-30, 8:25 pm |
| > I did this MANY years ago. Celled a repairman who welded in some
> specialized plastic stuff (looked like a big crayon).
There's a kind of two part epoxy (can't recall the name just now) that
comes as a long thumb-thick cylinder and has inner and outer layers
(presumably with some neutral separation layer). You cut off what you need
and then kneed it thoroughly to mix the two layers and will begin to set.
I don't know if that would work but it might. There may be special
materials available for this purpose.
Anything that can withstand the pressure could work. I once had a Honda
Prelude that had a crack in the high pressure liquid line. Still under
warranty but the dealer had to order the part. While waiting I put a piece
of rubber hose material over the crack, put a hose clamp over it, and
recharged the system. Even I was surprised that it held but it did and
kept me cool until the part came in.
Special sealers aside I don't know what would work in this situation. Is
the evap made of two layers of thin aluminum close together with bulges
stamped into it to form refrigerant passages? Is there a way you can pinch
down on the affected spot without destroying the passages? Maybe a piece
of rubber (of a type that stays resilient when cold) over the hole with
some sort of jury rigged clamp arrangement applying pressure?
| |
| Steve Kraus 2006-07-30, 8:25 pm |
| > Not practical to fix. Next time use a hair dryer and patience to
> defrost.
A couple things worth mentioning:
When using a hair dryer don't try to melt the ice over a broad expanse.
Instead concentrate on melting your way through to the metal in one area.
Metal is a far better conductor of heat than the ice is so once you expose
a little of the evaporator you keep applying heat there (don't get crazy
and damage it though) and the warming evaporator will melt the connection
holding the ice in place and it will detach in large pieces. You get done
faster and minimize the chance of food starting to melt.
I presume everyone knows this but in case they dont, there's no such thing
as a truly frost free freezer. Ice still builds up on the evaporator coils
but they are hidden from view so you don't see it. Once a day (hopefully
at night) the refrigeration is shut down and a heating element melts the
ice. Because defrosting is done more often than people generally defrost
manual fridges the buildup is not as great. The water drains to a pan
under the fridge where warm air from the condenser coil will evaporate it.
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