Fighting with a stuck refrigerator compressor fan vs just replacing the whole fan assembly, what's your breaking point?

I used to spend an hour cleaning and oiling seized fan motors on older fridges but after 3 calls last month where the bearings were so shot the shaft had wobble, I started swapping in a new $25 fan assembly instead and saved myself the aggravation, so has anyone else shifted from repair to replace on this one part?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sandra14d ago

Honestly, isn't it kinda wasteful to toss a whole fan assembly over some dried up bearings? A little WD-40 and elbow grease usually buys me another couple years, and I feel better keeping stuff out of the landfill.

derek99415d ago

Yeah, I hear you. I used to fight with those things too, pulling them apart, cleaning, oiling, hoping to get another year out of them. But after a few times where it failed again in a month or two, I just got fed up. Now I pretty much swap them out right away if the motor feels rough or the blades look warped. The $25 for a new assembly is worth my time and the peace of mind that the customer won't call back. I think it's smart to know when a repair is just going to be a temporary patch. You're not alone in making that switch.

blake69115d ago

Don't you hate when you spend an hour cleaning one up and it craps out two weeks later @derek994? I had the same realization after the third time a "rebuilt" one came back on me... now I just skip all that hassle and swap the whole assembly. That $25 saves me a headache and keeps my weekends free.