Vacuuming Refrigerator Condenser Coils

[rp2813]

Hi Guys,
I know it's always been a routine maintenance item to vacuum the condenser coils on the bottom of a clean-back style refrigerator. When I got my new KitchenAid side-by-side a couple of years ago, the owner's manual said vacuuming isn't necessary. My sister just bought a new frig because her old one died since she never in 6 years vacuumed under it and the compressor burned out. The salesman told her that it's been several years now that they've been making friges that don't need to be vacuumed. What's the story on this? I'm tempted to vacuum under my KA anyway because it's been so hot and I have never vacuumed under it yet. Anybody have an explanation for why it's supposedly no longer necessary?
Thanks for any info,
Ralph

 

[brisnat81]

In our new fridges

The condensor coils are located in the walls of the cabinet.

They've replaced the old electric outer cabinet moisture control, with the condensor coils.

You cant see them, they're integrated under the outer skin of the fridge.

I dont know what it does for efficiency, as in summer the cabinet can get too hot to touch, but our power bill has dropped since we replaced our 10yo Fridge and even in summer it is cycling on and off no more than you would expect.

 

[DADoES]

I found this illustration of a GE "jelly roll" condensor, which supposedly does not need cleaning "under normal usage conditions." Presumably it's what's on my Arctica.

 

[rp2813]

Interesting so far. I guess that coils in the walls routine eliminates that "power miser" feature they used to put on all the friges.
That term "under normal conditions" has me wondering if maybe an occasional vacuuming would be a good idea regardless of what the owners manual says.
Thanks guys, I'll keep checking to see if there's more input here.

 

[toggleswitch]

My understand is that Maytag had a patented condenser coil for its home refrigerators that did not need cleaning in that they owned a commercial refrigerator and freezer line and "borrowed" the technology.

Anyone have more details?

 

[Cybrvanr]

That jelly roll condenser looks sort of like a central AC unit turned on it's side. Neat design, but I think it still will need vacuuming, since it is still forcing air through it with a fan. Are those spine-fin coils like in GE & Trane's air conditioner line?

I like the idea of the condenser coils along the outside of the fridge's walls. I guess this is as effective as the rear mounted coils, and it saves the energy required to run a fan. It would require good insulation between the food compartment and the condenser though! It does however solve my gripe about bottom mounted condenser coils that get all dirty, and require fans.

 

[rp2813]

It's always seemed to me that units with coils on the bottom were quieter than those with coils on the back. We're talking frost free here, I know the old manual defrost friges with coils on back are all fairly quiet since they don't have all the extra fans inside & out. Maybe it's because the clean back/bottom coil types can be stuck into a space where they don't need room around them and that keeps the noise level down. I don't mind vacuuming once in a while in exchange for a few more precious inches of space in my kitchen that the frig won't protrude into.
Sounds like the jury is still out on whether vacuuming under the newer friges is necessary or not. I think I'm going to have to take a look under mine and if it's dusty, I'll break out the Kirby.

 

[nasadowsk]

I suspect that 'no vacuuming needed' is because manufacturers figured people hated doing it, and it made the thing last longer anyway...

Kinda like how Muntz used to advertise their TVs didn't have a fine tuning control, implying it wasn't needed. Well, it wasn't that, it's just that getting rid of the knob saved 'em 50 cents.

In any case, it sure can't hurt to peek under there every now and then and see if there's dirt or not. If not, hey, maybe they're right. If it's dusty? Well....

 

[thor]

Maytag condenser

I have a 29' Maytag side by side refrigerator and the user's manual also states "no cleaning of the condenser is necessary". Anyway, I removed the back plate and took a look inside the lower back of the refrigerator, and I found this "laberinth wound" condenser plate.

Just imagine a steel plate about 6 inches wide by 6 foot long (at least) with the a gas pipe welded to this plate repeating 3 or 4 times a back and forth pattern, from one end of the plate to the other. Then this plate with the welded pipe is bent into a square laberinth form, starting with a low radii and evolving around into a larger radius. The condenser fan is mounted on one of the ends of this laberinth, pulling the air through it. This design is supposed to avoid the deposit of dust. I vacuumed it anyway, and a lot of dust came off!

Emilio

 

[rp2813]

It has definitely crossed my mind that the advice that no vacuuming is needed could be a strategy to shorten the lifespan of the unit. You just can't trust corporate America on anything these days.

Emilio, your description sounds like a variation on the GE illustration above. It'll be interesting to see if modern day refrigerators that employ this new design will last as long as their predecessors.

Thanks for everybody's input. I'll be pulling off the panel and vacuuming under my frig sometime in the near future, regardless of what KA has advised.

Ralph

 

[rp2813]

Well guys, I pulled the front grille off the KA and found the condenser had a thick coating of dust much like a dryer's lint screen that's been ignored for too many loads. You can't get to all of the condenser. It's sideways from the old school way of doing it, so since you can't access it from the side, you can only vacuum off the front. It seems to be in a wave form, going up and down from the front of the frig to the back. I think their theory is that the front part will catch all the dust and the rest of the coil stays fairly clean. That's fine, but I say, if the fan is supposed to draw air across the coil, how's it going to do that if the front of it is covered in dust? So I vacuumed it real good and will continue to do so on a regular basis. Just FYI for anyone else with a KA/Whrilpool that has "no need to vacuum" in the owner's manual.

 

[DADoES]

Blow it out with a compressed air tank.

 

[gansky1]

The condenser in my Sub-Z is up on the top of the unit and easily accessible through the front grille - I try to vacuum it every couple of months, usually when the outside decorative grille gets dusties on it...

My sis has a BOL Hotpoint fridge, I asked if she'd ever vacuumed the coils underneath and she looked at me like I was speaking in tounges! I don't think most people ever give this a thought. A client of mine never did and just had a compressor replaced on an early 90's GE side x side. The repair tech told her to do it once a year minimum, more often if you have pets.

 

[westytoploader]

I wonder if ours has the jelly-roll condenser as well? Probably does...

Apparently my parents never vacuumed the coils under the Whirlpool until I was 4 years old, when it started rattling for no apparent reason. They got the Eureka Bravo out, pulled the front grille, and sucked out what seemed like BLANKETS of lint. After that, we cleaned the coils regularly and never let it build up like that again.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

Back when I worked for GE I went out on a service call on a 9 month old fridge that was not cooling. The customer was angry/nasty that the fridge would quit so soon and wanted a new one, she didn't want me there at all. Her German Shepard was sleeping ini front of the intake grill, so I got the dog to move and took a peek behind the grill. I asked the customer if I could use her vacuum for a minute, she was not happy and said I should carry my own. I cleaned the condenser, told her to read the manual, and charged here for a service call, customer misuse is not in-warranty.

brisnat81 mentioned that some of the new fridges have the condenser in the cabinet walls. I know that Kelvinator made freezers like this about 1950. If it's a good idea, it's more than likely not a new idea.

Ken D.

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, my sister had to replace her 6-year old Amana because she never vacuumed the coils once and she has cats. The compressor burned itself out because the coils were covered in cat fur. She replaced the Amana (bottom freezer model) with a Maytag wide-by-side (she liked the look of only having one door handle) and I've already told her, cats or no cats, she should still vacuum under that thing regardless of what the salesman or owner's manual advises.

In my opinion, the principles of refrigeration haven't changed regardless of what the manufacturers have done with coil design. I'm convinced that cleaning the coils will help any frig provide many years of reliable service. My mom's main frig, a 19 cf BOL Coldspot side-by-side from 1975 is still doing fine as a result of regular vacuuming underneath.

Thanks to all of you for your input and sharing your experiences.

 

[thor]

Wide-by-side

Ralph, if the design of the Maytag wide-by-side is consistent with the design of my 29' Maytag side-by-side, then the vacuuming of the condenser should be performed from the back of the unit only, and then after removing the lower back plate. The "snail" wound condenser I described in my previous post in this thread is not accesible from the front.

Emilio

 

[rp2813]

Thanks Emilio, I will advise my sister but it was already a stretch thinking she'd ever take off the front grille to do the vacuuming, so probably slim chance she'll ever take off the back panel to do it, but I will still tell her that it might help to prevent her from having to buy another frig in 6 short years which might motivate her.

 

[thor]

Ralph, once the unit is moved away from the wall this is a very easy task to carry out. Just advise your sister to unplug the unit first and then remove the back panel, after unscrewing something like 6 or 8 hex head screws from the perimeter of the panel. Before removing the screws you could tell your sister to mark the location of each screw with a piece of chalk or a permanent marker. After removing the screws the panel comes off very easily.

She will easily locate the condenser, which is the "snail" wound gizmo with the fan located to the right of the compressor. The dust is very easy to clean off the condenser and compressor with a standard vacuum cleaner nozzle. Also advise her to properly reinstall the panel once she's finished with the vacuum cleaner.

I don't think any special skills of any kind are needed to perform this easy job, but then I am an engineer, LOL.