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Thread Number: 41783
Early 90's Whirlpool top freezer getting way too cold! |
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| Post# 616105 , Reply# 2 8/10/2012 at 14:58 (4,285 days old) by dustin92 (Jackson, MI) | ||
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I will try that, I will turn the fridge temp a notch warmer and see what happens. | ||
Post# 616112 , Reply# 3 8/10/2012 at 15:46 (4,285 days old) by DADoES  (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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Post# 616115 , Reply# 4 8/10/2012 at 16:07 (4,285 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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| Post# 616458 , Reply# 5 8/11/2012 at 23:29 (4,284 days old) by dustin92 (Jackson, MI) | ||
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Ok, the refrigerator is set at 4 out of 8, and the freezer is on the warmest setting. The ice cream is still like hardened concrete. I don't have a fridge/ freezer thermometer, and at this point, am not in a position to get one. | ||
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Post# 616484 , Reply# 6 8/12/2012 at 02:16 (4,284 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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 We have a 2008 KA side-by-side with temp display and it maintains a steady 37 in the fresh food section and 0 in the freezer. That's still too cold for ice cream to be easily scooped, so I store it in the door shelves, which tend on most freezers to be the warmest zone (particularly near the bottom of the door on side-by-sides). Ice cream scoops easily as a result.
Additionally, with my '57 GE Combination, the freezer gets very cold -- sometimes below zero. GE apparently knew that was too cold for ice cream and provided designated ice cream storage in the freezer door shelf. You may find that storing ice cream there (or if the container is too large to fit, as close to the front of the freezer as possible) will result in a consistency you can scoop. 
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Post# 616519 , Reply# 7 8/12/2012 at 10:19 (4,283 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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How far toward the warmest setting do you have to turn the cold controls to hear the compressor cycle off? If it does not cycle off, the thermostat is bad. Given the alternatives, it is better to have it very cold than not cooling at all, but it should be repaired. Beautiful GE Ralph. | ||
| Post# 616534 , Reply# 8 8/12/2012 at 11:00 (4,283 days old) by dustin92 (Jackson, MI) | ||
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With the refrigerator set at 4, it cycles on and off normally. The fridge seems to be operating fine. | ||
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Post# 616579 , Reply# 9 8/12/2012 at 14:46 (4,283 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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As Frigilux says ... it's all guesswork until you know what temps are being attained in each section. The fresh food section apparently is not getting to freezing, you've not reported that as a symptom, and now say that the compressor is cycling so that infers the thermostat is at least working in that respect. Assuming the thermostat is in the fresh food section and the freezer control is an air damper, then the way the unit works is that the compressor runs until the fresh food section is at the selected thermostat setting ... with the freezer temp moderated indirectly per how much airflow is directed to the fresh food section. I.E. less air to the fresh food section (freezer control set colder) gives a longer run time for the fresh food section to reach the target temp, which in turn gives more run time to drop the freezer temp. Freezer control set to the warmer temp, more air goes to the fresh food so it cools faster which gives less run time to drop the freezer temperature. The fresh food and freezer section controls are adjusted together for the desired results. Possibly the freezer control is broken, not moving the air damper? Also check that the condensor (on the bottom behind a kick plate?) is clean. Odd behavior can result when it's clogged with accumulated dust. I've heard recommendation to keep the freezer temp at -5°F to avoid ice crystals forming on ice cream ... but I rarely buy ice cream so can't say from experience. | ||
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Post# 616710 , Reply# 12 8/13/2012 at 00:33 (4,283 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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Post# 616713 , Reply# 13 8/13/2012 at 01:09 (4,283 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon) |
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I had a top freezer refrigerator that had similar symptoms you describe. I let it completely thaw for a day with the doors open and everything worked beautifully for about a week until I saw frost on the freezer coils through the back vent openings in the freezer. It turned out the defrost timer was no longer working and it would never defrost and so ice plugged the vent where cold air is supposed to flow into the refrigerator compartment. Thawing relieved this temporarily but after replacing the defrost timer, all was well.
Good Luck - Patrick | ||
| Post# 616755 , Reply# 14 8/13/2012 at 07:59 (4,282 days old) by dustin92 (Jackson, MI) | ||
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The fridge thawed overnight, filling the drain pan. We leveled the fridge this morning and it is cooling again, the refrigerator is getting cold, and it sounds normal again. | ||
| Post# 618212 , Reply# 15 8/18/2012 at 23:21 (4,277 days old) by dustin92 (Jackson, MI) | ||
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Yay! All seems to be well. The refrigerator is keeping things cold as set between 3 and 4, and the freezer is on C (A is coldest, D is warmest.) Everything seems perfectly frozen in the freezer as well. | ||
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Post# 618240 , Reply# 16 8/19/2012 at 00:15 (4,277 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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We had a '70 Whirlpool top freezer frost free model as our drinks/overflow fridge for 20 years until Andy snagged the '57 GE Combination for me about three years ago. The Whirlpool was passed along to Dave's daughter and son-in-law where it's still going strong.
It had similar issues to Dustin's when we first got it, but it wasn't because the defrost timer wasn't working. The drain opening at the bottom of the evaporator kept freezing over and the water had no place to go. I had read on line that wrapping a heavy gauge copper wire (like 10 or 12) around the bottom-most portion of the defrost heating element and directing the other end of it about an inch into the drain would keep the opening warm during the defrost cycle and prevent it from freezing up. That did the trick and there hasn't been a problem with ice accumulation ever since. | ||
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