Desperate to rid yourself of your avocado-colored refrigerator that's accumulating your energy bills? Have an ancient refrigerator that's ruining the feel of your pin-worthy kitchen? Have a spouse who won't spend it until it dies?
Of course, we're all about extending the life of appliances with do-it-yourself repair. But, if you really want to know, here's how kill a fridge:
Option 1
Try to speed up the automatic defrosting process by using a sharp tool or utensil to scrape away the ice in the evaporator coils.
How this kills it: This can puncture the refrigerant line. The repair cost with this will be too high. Replacing the refrigerator could be more cost effective.
Option 2
Turn the unit on and off repeatedly over the course of 30 minutes to one hour.
How this kills it: This will short cycle the refrigerator's compressor – a costly repair. A new unit is frequently the cheaper option. (Note: This really is known to happen during storms by which power is knocked out and restored repeatedly over a short period of time.)
Option 3
Transport the refrigerator on its side or back.
How this kills it: This will cause the compressor oil to leak into refrigerant lines, which could clog up the capillary tube permanently.
Bonus tip: Slowly move the refrigerator to your garage, if you live in the north.
If your garage's temperature drops below 50 degrees, your self-defrosting refrigerator's oil can thicken and cause premature compressor failure.
Option 4
Discover it's an energy hog.
Use a plug-in energy usage meter to trace the refrigerator's energy consumption. Alterations in consumption can indicate problems. Also, you might find that your large, old refrigerator is consuming more energy and costing you much more than it should. If you replace a fridge that's more than 20 years old with a brand new one, the difference in energy consumption can easily be $150/year.
Have a friend with a loathed refrigerator? Share this with her/him!
