Whirlpool Top Freezer Condenser Fan Issue

[philcobendixduo]

Hello, AW readers. I'm hoping someone out there can tell me what might be wrong with my Whrilpool top freezer refrigerator model W1TXNMFWB01 which built in April 2010 and went into service in May 2011.
For the past few days, I have noticed that the condenser fan is running all the time - even when the compressor is off. Temperatures in the freezer and the refrigerator are within normal ranges. Evaporator fan is turning on and off with compressor as it should. I don't have any pets so I don't think that there could be much buildup of "gunk" on the coils underneath this soon but I haven't removed the lower grille to check them as of yet. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[philcobendixduo]

That's odd - and coils ARE filthy!

Just now, the compressor shut off and so did the condenser fan! Maybe it's in defrost mode. I'll have to wait and see if the water starts dripping into the collection tray and the usual POPPING noises start. I took a flashlight and looked at the coils through the lower grille. They are FILTHY! Hard to believe that much "gunk" could collect in "only" 18 months! I'll clean them and see what happens.

 

[rp2813]

Forced Draft Condenser Coils Are Not Maintenance-Free

That's contrary to what the salesperson may have told you.  I just vacuumed the condenser coil on our 2009 KitchenAid side-by-side over the weekend -- something I do at least once a year.  For the past several years, consumers have been being advised that it's no longer necessary to clean the condenser coil.  I disagree.

 

I noticed that when we replaced our 80's Whirlpool a few years ago that the condenser coil design had been reconfigured.  The newer design is such that the "fins" on the front section of the coil tend to catch and collect dust, preventing most of it from accumulating on the section of coil further back.  We have no indoor pets, by the way.  I still think that leaving a huge layer of dust on that front section causes the machine to work harder.  It might be my imagination, but after vacuuming off the dust and using the crevice tool to pick up what dust I could further back, the already quiet refrigerator ran even more silently.

 

[mark_wpduet]

It is AMAZING how filthy

the coils get.

I have a WP side by side and the way the coils are designed makes it impossible to clean other than blowing. I have to use my rainbow on blow mode to clean them about every three to four months, then go around and vacuum up all the dust.

What's even more crazy is in the WP manual, it says there is no need to do this!

I disagree and do it anyway (just to be safe)