You might be a redneck if...

We've been having recent problems with our side-by-side refrigerator, so I decided to search the net for help. It wasn't long before I had a solution in hand.

The problem was the interior cabinet edge, between the freezer and refrigerator, was getting hot. I don't mean warm; I mean hot. Plus the bottom of the freezer would fill with water, then freeze in place. It wasn't long before we realized that items placed on the freezer door shelving were melting, such as ice cream. The water making its way to the bottom of the freezer turned out to be the ice cubes melting in the door compartment.

So I decided to get to work. I put on 2 pairs of reading glasses and got my tool box. Next I pulled off the front vent, and looked around. It was kinda dusty from 8 years of dust bunnies collecting. But I could not see an easy way to reach the condenser coils with my canister vacuum cleaner. So I pulled the fridge out and removed the back cover. More coils clogged with dust were exposed, but still no easy way to clean them off. But I soon found the core of the problem... the condenser fan motor wasn't working. It would spin slowly, but that was about it.

Back to the coils. I tried everything I could think of to clean them off, but I was getting nowhere fast. I even used a pencil thin extension for the vacuum cleaning with no luck. Hmmm. I grabbed a 3rd pair of reading glasses and put them on. I could see better, but that was about it.

I finally went to the garage and pulled out the big guns. Yep, the 20-gallon air compressor topped off to 120 psi. Ha ha! Using the 50-foot hose, I easily reached the refrigerator and blasted the bottom with compressed air. This had two ill effects. One was the atomic dust ball that exploded in the kitchen. The second is that I scared the holy bejeebers out of the cat, Coconut. In all my life, I have never seen a cat move like that. Never.

There seemed no other way to clean the coils other than with the compressed air. So I continued my reckless path. I put my 16-year-old daughter on the opposite side of the fridge with the vacuum cleaner as I blasted things in her direction. After about 10 minutes, the coils were spotless as far as I could see. But the fan was still sitting there dead in the water, mocking me.

I surveyed the damage in the kitchen and I said to myself, "Oh, crap. I have to get this cleaned before my wife gets home." I no sooner said that to myself, when I heard the car pulling into the driveway. Oh, crap. Thankfully my wife has a sense of humor and has long ago accepted that I am a total and complete idiot.

The kitchen eventually got cleaned, but I still had the problem of the fan motor not working. I realized that it would be a few days before the needed part would arrive ($112 - ouch), so I left the back cover off and put a small floor fan behind it and pushed the fridge back in place. Well, almost back in place. It's currently sticking out about 12" since there's a floor fan running back there. But it's pushing out the heat better than ever and the fridge is working properly again.

Scuzzy; my dad would be so proud.

You are such a maroon.  I would have kept my normal glasses and called "the guy."  I mean, that's why they're there.  That or move everything to an ice chest.  As long as you remember to fill it, you can just go with a manual refrigerator/freezer instead of those powered units.

I would've called Pat.  He probably could've redone your kitchen plus installed a toilet, while you were fiddling with the floor fan. 

I am sorry to hear about Coconut.  From all accounts he/she is still alive, and in a cat stories I always look for a sadder ending.  The pencil thin vacuum attachment sounds like it would be handy for a computer cleaning; where'd you find that?

ace; I hope he poasts phoatos of this whole thing.  With any luck, he'll spray Great Stuff along the back to keep the fan in place, and then use his fingers to spread it.

I agree that I should have called Pat, but he doesn't come across as the good Samaritan. More like, "Are you having a problem?" Then he'd turn and walk away. Or drive off.

As for the attachment, it came with the vacuum cleaner when I bought some 25+ years ago.

We live in the dust bowl of Colorado. Along with all the activity in the house (grand kiddos, pets, etc.) is impossible to keep it dust free. The constant winds in the area just add to our woes.

I tried what I could with the fan motor. I took it out, cleaned the sealed unit as best I could and lubed it to no avail. It is obviously a throw away part.

It seems the motor not starting up is a common problem with that unit due to low amperage. The old motor draws 48mA; the replacement I ordered draws 57mA. The low torque of the aging motor has difficulty getting the metal fan spinning from a dead stop. Once the fan is spinning, it's okay as long as it doesn't stop. But it is designed to shut off with the compressor.

The new part arrives this Wednesday.

Scuzzy; next I'll use Great Stuff on Coconut.

Well, don't move.  Don't abandon ship.  Or house.  Or kitchen.  I don't want you to take a fondness for the Eden that is Michiana, and show up here.
Look, without phoatos, I have to guess.  What is the motif of this fridgerator device?  Appliance White? Black? Stainless? Avocado?
We went with black, with the demise of our old whitey which I wouldn't deign to attempt to fix.  We have black cabinet doors, and faux granite counters, so it's in the mood. 
My folks had avocado appliances.  How 60's.  How kitschy.
It appears if your fan ran continously all would be well.  Although your milk would be 12 degrees, and icecream would form a glacier to take out The Springs. 
I wonder if the cat planted a hairball, and that was what clogged the compressor.  It's sort of the nature of cats to do things like that.  I can't think of a "famous much loved cat" out there.  I mean, you've got Rin Tin Tin and Tin Tin and Lassie and Sounder and any number of heroic dogs.  Cats, not so much.

I used to eat coconut.  I called it "spinach" as Popeye would.  I don't, now. 

Ace; we do use olive oil, though.

I am not moving to Michiana to fix your refrigerator, your garbage disposal, or your neighbor's cat whose name is Spinach.

I like avocados. Avacodos. Whatever. They taste good mixed in with my salads, and they give guacamole that guacamole taste. It wouldn't be the same if the prime ingredient in guacamole was eggplant. Or spinach, for that matter.

If my fan ran continuously I'd have to catch it before it got away.

Did you hear of the bovine that ate a grenade? It was a bomb in a bull.

Scuzzy; the fridge is black with "stainless steel" doors. So I'm told.

The new motor arrived yesterday while I was at work, a day earlier than expected. I arrived home about 3:00 am after work, and the new motor was installed while everyone slept.

The refrigerator is working properly again and life is back to normal.

Scuzzy; somewhat normal.

I'm pretty sure I read an article recently from ExtremeTech that suggested strapping a refrigerator fan onto the back of your PC would aid in cooling and overall efficiency.

So what color of fan did you get?  Black?  Stainless? Avocado? Appliance White?  Putty? 

Ace; not that anyone's going to see it, I guess.

It's beige.

You have me thinking that I can cool my PC using a combination of thermal hoses connected to the freezer, and to the air compressor to keep the dust bunnies at bay. Or at least all over the kitchen.

Scuzzy; famous last words, "Hey! Watch this!"