Desperately need advice on refrigerator situation!

[b0xy]

I have two fridges in my townhouse (renting out most of the rooms to students). The downstairs fridge has what appears to be a broken defrost timer and has built up white ice all throughout the condensor coil compartment below the freezer (top-freezer style fridge). The ice is too thick to scrape away so I'd have to unplug it and let it melt to get access to the compartment. I have yet to find where the defrost timer actually is so I'm thinking it's under the ice somewhere.

I don't know where to find replacement defrost timers in Mississauga (near UTM right now, no vehicle of my own :(). Does anyone have any recommendations?

Also, if I can't find the timer component soon, I'll have to get a new fridge before new tenants arrive. Without a vehicle, I have very few used choices (most require pickup). My budget is around $400-500 for a regular sized fridge (16-18 cubic feet I'd guess).

If anyone has any fridge purchasing experience or repair advice I'd be greatly appreciative of your comments. :)

Thanks in advance,
Jason

[Linutor]

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0770HDS0010071069&catid=19536&logon=&langid=EN

$530 at Future shop

http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B0014W8QT0/sr=1-23/qid=1251042884/ref=sr_1_23/180-9195284-1040241?ie=UTF8&searsBrand=core&mqnodeid=396510011

$490 at Sears

[b0xy]

Have you used either of those models before or are they just the only ones in my price range? I wouldn't be surprised if the latter :lol:

Sears has an 18c.ft by the same maker for 499 which seems reasonable. I think I have found a place to purchase the defrost timer for my fridge so Ill probably put the effort into fixing our current one.

[TrevorK]

When buying a cheap fridge for tenants don't make the same mistake I did and buy one where it only has one control for BOTH the fridge and freezer. My tenant tells me that he can't get it perfect in both (it's either too cold in the freezer causing icing on his frozen food or too warm in the fridge), and he's measuring both with a thermometer.


When I came across the situation you are in I just replaced the fridge because I didn't charge my tenant for electricity, and by replacing the fridge I was able to reduce the bill. Granted, I should have spent $400 instead of $300, and gotten a fridge that was a little better, but either way it provides great peace of mind.

I've found that repairing these old appliances sometimes isn't worth the time and effort.

[l69norm]

... I have yet to find where the defrost timer actually is so I'm thinking it's under the ice somewhere....I don't know where to find replacement defrost timers in Mississauga ...Jason

Look very carefully at the back of the fridge, near the bottom.
There will be an access hole about a 1/2" in diameter with a plastic shaft inside. The plastic shaft will be about a 1/4" in diameter . The shaft could be white or brown in color. This is the shaft of the defrost timer (see blue arrow):

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee149/l69norm/482493.jpg

Use a screwdriver to spin the shaft clockwise about a dozen times to see if you can free up the motor (red arrow). That usually fixes the problem for a little while, but the motor will freeze up again eventually.

MABE on Dixie, north of the 401 has parts.
http://www.geappliances.ca/parts/index.jsp

If it's a Sears (Kenmore) fridge, you can order the parts over the phone via 1-800 for delivery to your address or a Sears store.

There's Reliable on Dundas near Erin Mills Pkwy:
http://www.reliableparts.ca/locations/ON#Mississauga

[b0xy]

Fantastic info norm! Thank you!

I turned the defrost timer clockwise and the heater started (yay!) so that only leaves the defrost timer or the thermometre as the culprits correct?

I'm not exactly sure where my defrost thermometer is. The fridge is a top-freezer style GE "15" with MOD and SER numbers in the fridge area. There's a bunch of styrofoam underneath the metal freezer floor plate and then the condensor coils underneath the styrofoam.

[sunnybono]

I have two fridges in my townhouse (renting out most of the rooms to students). The downstairs fridge has what appears to be a broken defrost timer and has built up white ice all throughout the condensor coil compartment below the freezer (top-freezer style fridge). The ice is too thick to scrape away so I'd have to unplug it and let it melt to get access to the compartment. I have yet to find where the defrost timer actually is so I'm thinking it's under the ice somewhere.

I don't know where to find replacement defrost timers in Mississauga (near UTM right now, no vehicle of my own :(). Does anyone have any recommendations?

Also, if I can't find the timer component soon, I'll have to get a new fridge before new tenants arrive. Without a vehicle, I have very few used choices (most require pickup). My budget is around $400-500 for a regular sized fridge (16-18 cubic feet I'd guess).

If anyone has any fridge purchasing experience or repair advice I'd be greatly appreciative of your comments. :)

Thanks in advance,
Jason

Future shop will install new fridge and take the old one, if you go this route!!

sk

[Narci]

Future shop will install new fridge and take the old one, if you go this route!!

sk

They charge $50 for delivery and $30 for removal for each old appliance.