beanplating fridge replacement in the time of 'rona shelter
April 9, 2020 7:46 PM   Subscribe

2005 basic Whirlpool fridge, freezer on top, has worked mostly ok since I took ownership in 2013. Worried it may expire while we're sheltered. Plus i am one of the middle-aged with multiple underlying conditions. TMI inside.

tl;dr: worth the risk of new fridge, vs. possible contagioning by delivery folks?


all the stuff & q's:

Fridge notes: Never had to service fridge. I keep it immaculate inside and out. Every few months I notice odd noise, but think that's from water line to the freezer. The line isn't kinked. Otherwise it is quiet. Fridge section only starts to creep out of the mid 30F's if I am not careful about distributing food volume in the fridge section (which I try very hard not to do, and keep two thermometers handy to measure fridge coldness throughout).

Freezer section kicks ass and always keeps things near 0F even at its 'medium' setting, a 3 out of 5. I make sure freezer is max around 80% full.

The fridge section is presently about 70% full, and stays in the 30F's set at near maximum (about 4.5 out of 5 on its 'coldness' dial). Over the years I feel like it's slowly needed the dial set colder but I'm not sure. Door seals seem fine.

Two days ago I accidentally filled the fridge section disproportionately after a delivery; few hours later opened the door and noticed temp up to mid 40's. When that happens I redistribute foods pronto, crank the fridge temp down nearly to 5, and then in a couple hours its back down to the mid 30F's again, at which point I move it back to the previous setting. Then it keeps on coolin'.

Sure, it's possible I got some fridge OCD, but after I got bacterial AND viral GI infections at the same time a few years ago (Emergency room doc - "Impressive!"), whether it was caused by a food safety incident of my own, or not, this is what I'm doin'.

Very luckily, I am able to get a new fridge if I have to. but

a) is the coldness dial increase over time a sign of fridge doom? Seals around the fridge door seem fine.

b) My engineer buddy says: "Fridges rarely die." ?

c) I am a near-50 person with multiple underlying conditions, worse than some, not as bad as others. No chance I could corral a fridge even with a helper into a truck and then into my home. My diet is super limited and there is a lot of stuff I have prepared in there for the next month.

Thus, I can order delivery of new fridge - but then that's more people interactions in my home, masks or not. Suspect this is the best choice, tho..

thx as always mefiters of the world : )
posted by bitterkitten to Technology (13 answers total)
 
Is there somewhere else in the home you could put in a new refrigerator with very limited personal interaction? For instance, do you have a garage with room for a new fridge? If you needed delivery of a new fridge and it can go into the garage temporarily, could a delivery person(s) wheel it into the garage, uppack it, take the cardboard and plug it in for you and leave with very little interaction? Or even place the fridge at the backside of the house, under a covered patio plugged in? all these locations would be temporary, you of course would use it and them move it to its permanent place once all this is over.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 7:54 PM on April 9, 2020


If I’m reading this right, the only issue with the fridge is that it “possibly” has needed the fridge dial set cooler over time, but you’re not sure?

The fridge sounds fine. Don’t let delivery people into your home now because of the remote chance that the fridge MIGHT die sometime in the next month or two.

If it DOES die, you can buy a new one at that point, and the risk won’t be any higher than it is now.
posted by mekily at 8:11 PM on April 9, 2020 [13 favorites]


If it DOES die, you can buy a new one at that point, and the risk won’t be any higher than it is now.
I agree with mekily 100%. (Actually the risk is that it cannot be delivered in time to keep the current food safe.)

It would definitely be ok if you have an alternative sight for a 2nd fridge. Seems like a waste of money and you will have to switch them out anyway later. More expense, more risk.

Which is the bigger risk? Getting 'rona from a delivery of the fridge or your fridge crapping out on you? 'Rona is a health risk that in rare instances is fatal. Food going bad is a financial risk. YMMV, but I would choose the financial risk.
posted by AugustWest at 8:29 PM on April 9, 2020 [3 favorites]


Contractors are super aware of the risks. They need to protect themselves too. I’ve had to have someone over to fix a leak in my washing machine and we stayed 10 ft apart with him wearing a just—donned n/95 mask and gloves the whole time.. They’re taking precautions to protect either themselves or their workers. I think having them install a fridge would be fine. Check ahead about safety measures if you’re worried.
posted by sweltering at 8:43 PM on April 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


I wouldn't be too worried about delivery guys tracking the virus into your house—it's theoretically possible, but I think it's not likely to be an issue. That said, your fridge seems totally fine! I think you're in the 99th percentile for taking-care-of-your-fridge, and you've likely got a lot of use ahead of you.

If it breaks down—I think it's very unlikely it will happen during the coronavirus lockdown—get the fridge then. That'll be a minor inconvenience, in terms of food potentially going bad, but it gives you one less thing to worry about.
posted by Polycarp at 9:23 PM on April 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


b) My engineer buddy says: "Fridges rarely die." ?

Basically, this.

I think you'll be fine if you just keep an eye on it.

Under other circumstances I'd get someone strong to help dust off the coils on the back.

Two days ago I accidentally filled the fridge section disproportionately after a delivery; few hours later opened the door and noticed temp up to mid 40's. When that happens I redistribute foods pronto, crank the fridge temp down nearly to 5, and then in a couple hours its back down to the mid 30F's again, at which point I move it back to the previous setting. Then it keeps on coolin'.

If it's a proper thermostat-like system, it will do this on its own. In the same way that coming back from a trip and heating up a chilly living room back up to 70F won't happen faster if you set the thermostat on 90F as opposed to on 70F.

If you're worried about it temporarily misbehaving after you heavily load it up with food next time, you could put a few ice packs or even ice/water-filled ziplocks near the more perishable stuff, just to make sure everything's ok.
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:21 PM on April 9, 2020


They might not come in to your house even if you buy a new appliance. I bought a fridge in January; the wrong one came in, the right one was ordered, then held up at the border and now the delivery people will only bring it to my front door (which I have declined). So you may trying to make this decision for naught. Hope your fridge is fine.
posted by kate4914 at 11:42 PM on April 9, 2020


I think the build quality of your current fridge is probably better than even most high-end fridges you can buy now.

A friend of mine was complaining to the tech about the the number of service calls she'd had on her Subzero, and he laughed and said they averaged almost once a year on some models.

Then there's the issue of the refrigerant itself. I believe, though I wasn't able to get absolute confirmation through Google tonight, that your 2005 Whirlpool uses freon (R22), but any fridge manufactured today will have R410A, which requires higher pressure to work (about 2x, I think) and is therefore more prone to leaks.

Your current fridge is undoubtedly an energy hog compared to anything you might buy now, but energy efficiency comes at a price: poorer durability, and I've heard but I don't know this for a fact, slower cooling.
posted by jamjam at 11:57 PM on April 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


Every few months I notice odd noise, but think that's from water line to the freezer. The line isn't kinked. Otherwise it is quiet.

That's probably the self-defrost system kicking in. That can make all manner of worrisome noises. It does it a lot more often that you notice.

You're fine.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:54 AM on April 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Your fridge is pretty new for a fridge, and is working perfectly. It's normal for it to be warmer in there after you put a bunch of new warm stuff from a delivery in it. You are not doing anything wrong with the distribution of food or anything else. You can fill it with new food and leave it alone and it will cool the food fast enough. Opening it up and checking the temperature and moving food around is making it take longer.

I say this gently: this is an anxiety problem, not a fridge problem. It's normal to be anxious in this shit situation we are all in! Look to your relationships for support. We are all leaning on our friends more! Some phonecalls, or video calls if that's your thing, can really help.
posted by fritley at 6:29 AM on April 10, 2020 [7 favorites]


Best answer: If it does come to needing a replacement, that is doable in a safe way. Our 20 year old fridge died last week. At the appliance store, we were the only customers and the staff kept their distance. If you shop online you can minimize the time spent in the store or avoid it entirely. Bring your own pen for the contract.
Delivery does require people coming into your home, but the will have masks and gloves. If it's feasible, maybe they install it in your garage for now?
posted by Horselover Fat at 7:43 AM on April 10, 2020


Our fridge is making sad noises and my son and I are on restricted diets. We’re getting a new fridge (today!) and having it installed in the garage so no one has to come in our house. Would that be an option?
posted by bananacabana at 8:30 AM on April 10, 2020


Best answer: There is no need to turn your thermostat up for a short period if your fridge is warm because of a high load but generally working otherwise. Domestic fridge cooling systems aren't variable devices, they are either 100% on or 100% off and if your fridge is functioning at all turning the thermostat up won't make it work harder it'll just freeze your veggies if you forget to turn it down.

There are a few reasons that you might need to set a fridge at 4 today when it only needed to be set at 3 ten years ago. One is mechanical thermostats can wear. Another is very few refrigerators have separate fridge and freezer cooling systems. Generally there is a single coil that cools the freezer and a fan blows some of the cold air into the fresh food compartment. Depending on where the temperature sensor is located a reduced efficiency fan, a dirty coil or a minorly obstructed air passage can cause less of the cold air to make it into the fresh food compartment without the thermostat noticing and therefor a higher (more cold setting) being required.

None of these this things would require immediate replacement. Run the thing until it can not maintain interior temperatures at safe levels.

Then there's the issue of the refrigerant itself. I believe, though I wasn't able to get absolute confirmation through Google tonight, that your 2005 Whirlpool uses freon (R22), but any fridge manufactured today will have R410A, which requires higher pressure to work (about 2x, I think) and is therefore more prone to leaks.

Freon was a DuPont now Chemours trademark and classically referred to F-12 (r-12 generically). It was outlawed by the Montreal protocol before 2005 so the fridge in question won't have that. However Chemours continues to use the word Freon to refer to many different types of refrigerant so the trademark name isn't any indication of any particular fridge's physical refrigerant composition.

At any rate residential fridges are hermetic systems and leaks due to higher internal pressures aren't really a thing regardless of coolant used1. Even old R-12 systems had high side pressures of upwards of 150 lbs per square inch.

Your current fridge is undoubtedly an energy hog compared to anything you might buy now, but energy efficiency comes at a price: poorer durability, and I've heard but I don't know this for a fact, slower cooling.

While this was undoubtedly true in 2005 it is much less true in 2020. New efficiency standards went into place in 1993 and were updated in 2001 but the minimum requirements haven't changed since then and the latest voluntarily Energy Star ratings only require a 15% efficiency gain over the energy use of a bare minimum 2001 model. While modern fridge costing about $5 a month to run would save over $100 dollars annually compared to a 1973 model (basically paying for itself over ten years), replacing a 2005 fridge might net as little as $10 annually.

They generally will have "slower cooling" because one of the reasons for efficiency gains is in better, thicker insulation materials which allowed for lower capacity systems but unless you are regularly dumping a 6 flats of beer in your fridge or something that shouldn't really be a problem.


[1] Engine driven systems aren't hermetic. The external drive system requires a seal on a shaft and these can leak (bad seals being a common though not exclusive source of leaks in automotive systems requiring annual "top-up"). This may be where folklore of the leak proneness of different refrigerants originates. Old R-12 systems that were converted to newer refrigerants often experienced leaks which were blamed on the refrigerant. For the most part these leaks were because of already worn systems forced to change because of non-availability of R-12 and generally the only reason to change to a new refrigerant was because the old refrigerant had already leaked out (see top ups). A vanishingly small number of customers for automotive coolant replacement were proactive. Or the problem was caused by not replacing an incompatible oil that reacted with the new coolant creating an acid that ate the seals.
posted by Mitheral at 1:51 PM on April 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


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