a April 12th, 2009

  1. Everything I Know About Refrigerators I Learned From My Brother

    April 12, 2009 by MyEye

    I didn’t make it to Easter breakfast with the kids because my brother Marc was able to squeeze in a trip into town.  Here’s the deal.  Because the fan had lots of hair and dust on it and froze up, it couldn’t pull air across the coils.  However, the compressor kept running and a thick layer of ice formed in the cavity between the upper freezer and the refrigerator.  The layer of ice extended beyond the plate that heats when the beast automatically defrosts — and the ice kept getting thicker so no air could blow into the refrigerator compartment.

    Marc used a real compressor (not canned air) to blow out the fan and refrigerator compressor.  Then he manually turned on the defrost cycle (there’s a little hole in the back and you use a screwdriver . . .), then we used my hair dryer to warm up that divider area between the freezer and refrigerator, at the same time the defrost cycle was running.  That cycle runs for about twenty minutes.  Now the compressor is back on.  In a few more minutes, I have to stick a screwdrive in that little hole and restart the defrost cycle.  Hopefully one more defrost will allow the air to freely flow into the refrigerator and all will be well.

    But now I have to run upstairs and find some butt-crack jeans so that I can properly complete this chore.  Marc said if I’d worn those when I started this project, it would have been no sweat!

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  2. Do I Need Jeans That Hang Low in the Rear?

    April 12, 2009 by MyEye

    How do most people begin their Easter mornings?  I’m guessing Church, maybe a family breakfast, perhaps an Easter egg hunt . . .

    Not here.  The refrigerator was still not cooling, the compressor was just running for no apparent reason.  So, at 7:00 I called my brother, the Refrigerator/HVAC whiz. “Hey, Marc, the refrigerator still isn’t cold enough and the compressor continues to run.”  Says Marc, “Is there a cover on the lower part of the refrigerator?  Me, “Yes.  It goes about three quarters of the way across the bottom.”  “Well,” he says, “that is covering the fan, which is probably full of dog hair and not spinning to pull the air across the coils.”  [I swear he did not mention this yesterday.]  “Once you get the dust and hair out of the fan, the refrigerator should be fine.”

    So, I started Easter morning armed with a pliers to unscrew one of those screws that has no slots in it, the shop vac, a flashlight.  Sure enough when I took off the back cover, the fan was full of Cardi hair.  So, I cleaned it out thoroughly and called Marc.  “Okay, while it’s away from the wall and the back is off, is there something else I need to do?  Should I just leave it out in the middle of the kitchen until I know it’s working?”  He said, “Nope, that should do it.”

    I’m just not that sure yet that it’s okay.  To do the job right, you need all the correct equipment.  I don’t have those jeans that display a butt-crack, so I may have failed again in the refrigerator repair category.

    Now I’ll get dressed for breakfast with my son, DIL, and granddaughter.  Happy Easter to you all.

    PS  That was not the answer.  Marc will have to come down the mountain and look at the recalcitrant refrigerator.  This is only happening because I am trying to get all my stuff together to leave on Tuesday morning!

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