Best course of action for a fridge water/ice dispenser on the fritz?

[Ralphie ★]

The fridge is only 8 or so years old, so too new to pitch.

Would it be worth taking a chance on a repairman?  It has always stopped working for a little after filter replacement, but up until now we could always coax it back with lots of filter pulls and re-inserts, etc.  And it only liked certain brands of filters.  Ideally a repairman would be quite familiar with what ails it so could fix it readily.

[MickinMD ★]

Just now, Ralphie said:

The fridge is only 8 or so years old, so too new to pitch.

Would it be worth taking a chance on a repairman?  It has always stopped working for a little after filter replacement, but up until now we sould always coax it back with lots of filters pulls and re-inserts, etc.  Ideally a repairman would be quite familiar with what ails it.

When my house was rebuilt, the refrigerator was turned on by the workers before the water was hooked up.

That resulted in a frozen spot in the water line - the fridge's instructions warn about it - and it was necessary to turn it off, let it warm up, then back on.

That's all I've got.  Otherwise I'd call a repairman.

[jsharr ★]

I would use the model number and the googles and some of the 5 gs to procure a repair video.  I would bet it is the fill solenoid and / or air in the system.
 

 

[Ralphie ★]

2 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

When my house was rebuilt, the refrigerator was turned on by the workers before the water was hooked up.

That resulted in a frozen spot in the water line - the fridge's instructions warn about it - and it was necessary to turn it off, let it warm up, then back on.

That's all I've got.  Otherwise I'd call a repairman.

Our fridge is bad for having freezing spots in the fridge compartment, so that seems possible. 

[Ralphie ★]

3 minutes ago, jsharr said:

I would use the model number and the googles and some of the 5 gs to procure a repair video.  I would bet it is the fill solenoid and / or air in the system.
 

Ive watched a few of those but retreated before  trying aything.  Air sounds like a good possibilty given its permanent dislike of filter changes.

[Razors Edge ★]

For one, you can always make ice the old fashioned way. 

And two, get something like an RO system and have good water, not "filtered" water. 

But the pragmatist in me thinks you should just get a new fridge and start over.  

[jsharr ★]

2 minutes ago, Fret Buzz said:

For one, you can always make ice the old fashioned way. 

And two, get something like an RO system and have good water, not "filtered" water. 

But the pragmatist in me thinks you should just get a new fridge and start over.  

That is what I did.  What's $1600?  Chump change right? 

[Razors Edge ★]

2 minutes ago, jsharr said:

That is what I did.  What's $1600?  Chump change right? 

You got the chump and the change right, just in a weird order.  That chump needs to change his refrigerator ASAP.  

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, Fret Buzz said:

You got the chump and the change right, just in a weird order.  That chump needs to change his refrigerator ASAP.  

and for $1600 you get an ice maker, but not a dispener and the water dispenser is inside the fridge.  Have to spend $2000 or more to get all the cool features and $4000 to get all the bells and whistles.  I am cheap.

[Razors Edge ★]

18 minutes ago, jsharr said:

and for $1600 you get an ice maker, but not a dispener and the water dispenser is inside the fridge.  Have to spend $2000 or more to get all the cool features and $4000 to get all the bells and whistles.  I am cheap.

Nothing to break, nothing to clean. Easy peasy.

[Bikeguy]

30 minutes ago, Fret Buzz said:

get something like an RO system and have good water, not "filtered" water. 

That's what we did when we built our home.   The RO system feeds into the fridge and a small faucet in the kitchen sink.  We told the appliance guys not to install the filter in the fridge.

[Bikeguy]

30 minutes ago, jsharr said:

What's $1600?  Chump change right? 

Wow... we paid maybe $500.   Not sure about the labor.  The plumber was here for the entire home.   I'm sure we paid and/or were within our 'allowance' for plumbing.

[jsharr ★]

2 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

Wow... we paid maybe $500.   Not sure about the labor.  The plumber was here for the entire home.   I'm sure we paid and/or were within our 'allowance' for plumbing.

that is for a new 36" stainless steel french door bottom freezer fridge.  I thought it was a good price.

[Razors Edge ★]

13 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

That's what we did when we built our home.   The RO system feeds into the fridge and a small faucet in the kitchen sink.  We told the appliance guys not to install the filter in the fridge.

Yep.  Sadly, our fridge is the total opposite side of the kitchen from the RO and faucet, but we also rarely use ice, so not an issue.

There is only two of us, so a small refrigerator/freezer is fine. It is huge by RV and Euro standards, though. RVs seem to be catching up quickly, though, especially in 5th wheels! 

EDIT - our fridge is also 24 yrs old and has had NO REPAIRS except periodic lightbulb replacements.

[Further]

My fridge quit making cold, every thing in the freezer thawed and the fridge part is cool not cold. I cleaned the coils and cussed at it. No joy

We have never liked this fridge, it is not designed very well and stuff always gets pushed to the back and lost. It isn’t very old, but it wasn’t very expensive, so Mrs ordered a new one.

Side by side for about a thousand, no fancy stuff, ice cubes will be made in a tray.

At work the other day, I happened to notice an old fridge in a break room, it still has the locking latch type door. I know those were banned in the early 60’s so that fridge has to be 60 some years old. Living in a steel mill, just humming away pumping out cold, year after year. Shame they won’t build them like that anymore 

 

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, Further said:

My fridge quit making cold, every thing in the freezer thawed and the fridge part is cool not cold. I cleaned the coils and cussed at it. No joy

We have never liked this fridge, it is not designed very well and stuff always gets pushed to the back and lost. It isn’t very old, but it wasn’t very expensive, so Mrs ordered a new one.

Side by side for about a thousand, no fancy stuff, ice cubes will be made in a tray.

At work the other day, I happened to notice an old fridge in a break room, it still has the locking latch type door. I know those were banned in the early 60’s so that fridge has to be 60 some years old. Living in a steel mill, just humming away pumping out cold, year after year. Shame they won’t build them like that anymore 

Is the one in the breakroom a Norge?

[Further]

Just now, jsharr said:

Is the one in the breakroom a Norge?

I think it is an old Whirlpool, the one’s with the rounded corners on the door, and a big latching handle 

Maybe Fridgidair

[Bikeguy]

41 minutes ago, jsharr said:

that is for a new 36" stainless steel french door bottom freezer fridge.  I thought it was a good price.

Next time I'll read things better.  

34 minutes ago, Fret Buzz said:

Yep.  Sadly, our fridge is the total opposite side of the kitchen from the RO and faucet,

All of our RO stuff is in the basement.  They just ran the RO pipe thru the basement and then up into the kitchen were needed.

[Kirby]

Last time I got a new refrigerator I wanted to avoid the ice and water dispenser figuring it was one more thing to break, and it was hard to find a small refrigerator (needs to fit in the cabinet space) that doesn't  have extra stuff.

[Bikeguy]

1 hour ago, Ralphie said:

It has always stopped working for a little after filter replacement, but up until now we could always coax it back with lots of filter pulls and re-inserts, etc.

So is air trapped in the system after a filter change?   It won't just flush out when you try to get water?  

[jsharr ★]

20 minutes ago, Further said:

I think it is an old Whirlpool, the one’s with the rounded corners on the door, and a big latching handle 

Maybe Fridgidair

That is a very fetching house coat Mrs. Lupner.  By the way, I have a buddy that plays in a band called The Lupners.  At one time Stuart had a Norge sticker on his amp.

[Ralphie ★]

2 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

So is air trapped in the system after a filter change?   It won't just flush out when you try to get water?  

I think It used to sputter for a while after a change and then start working but no more. 

[Bikeguy]

Just now, Ralphie said:

think It used to sputter for a while after a change and then start working but no more. 

Kink in the water line?

[Ralphie ★]

6 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

Kink in the water line?

Didn’t see any. 

[UglyBob]

When ours went out a few years ago I took it apart and hit the local appliance parts store where the local repair people get their parts. They had the solenoid valve and motor in stock, so I was able to fix it the same day. They only charged 10% over wholesale for the parts instead of double like the repair people do, and no labor charges. 

Anyone with any mechanical skills can do it, even an engineer... 

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

30 minutes ago, Further said:

I think it is an old Whirlpool, the one’s with the rounded corners on the door, and a big latching handle 

Maybe Fridgidair

My parents had one of those.  After many years of use the part that unlatched the door when you pulled on the big handle broke and you couldn't open the door.  Of course, all parts were obsolete.  The fridge still worked and the door would still close and latch normally.  So my Dad made a mechanical cam lever with a handle on it, and bolted it to the outside of the fridge. When you pulled the handle forward - with very little effort - the cam would pop the door open.  Then just push the handle back over center and it would stay put, out of the way, when you wanted to close the door.  They kept it another7 or 8 years more until they sold the house.

[Ralphie ★]

Ahh, being a renaissance man runs in the family.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

5 hours ago, Further said:

My fridge quit making cold, every thing in the freezer thawed and the fridge part is cool not cold. I cleaned the coils and cussed at it. No joy

We have never liked this fridge, it is not designed very well and stuff always gets pushed to the back and lost. It isn’t very old, but it wasn’t very expensive, so Mrs ordered a new one.

Side by side for about a thousand, no fancy stuff, ice cubes will be made in a tray.

At work the other day, I happened to notice an old fridge in a break room, it still has the locking latch type door. I know those were banned in the early 60’s so that fridge has to be 60 some years old. Living in a steel mill, just humming away pumping out cold, year after year. Shame they won’t build them like that anymore 

Having had appliances that lasted 30 year or more I was saddened when told that modern stuff will probably fain in 10 years or so.  Motors, pumps, compressors are all cheap.  During the time I worked as an appliance salesman after P&W I learned that our "big brand" was cheaper to sell than xyz stores model because our company specified a cheaper pump.  That's why you see different SKUs on what appear to be identical appliances in different stores.  Your basic $1000 fridge would be over $2000 if built to 60's standards and it would look like a plain vanilla fridge right out of the 60's

[Ralphie ★]

6 hours ago, UglyBob said:

When ours went out a few years ago I took it apart and hit the local appliance parts store where the local repair people get their parts. They had the solenoid valve and motor in stock, so I was able to fix it the same day. They only charged 10% over wholesale for the parts instead of double like the repair people do, and no labor charges. 

Anyone with any mechanical skills can do it, even an engineer... 

I just have a feeling that if I replace all the parts that it still might not work. 

[Square Wheels]

We had a fridge repair once.  Fridge was maybe 10 or so.  Was some kind of thingy located in the freezer.  Was more likely just ice build up that he cleared.  Offered to not replace the part, but we already paid the 80 dollar visit, part was only another hundred or so.  Replaced that part, never another issue.  Left it for the new owner at over 15 years old.  He told us our fridge should last at least 20.  It was a nice Kenmore.

Repair guy felt very honest.

Same guy came to fix a washer.  He said he had no idea what it could have been.  Maybe it was as complicated as a new board which would be at least 600 just for the part, or maybe it's as simple as a loose wire somewhere that might cost 600 in labor to hunt down.  Recommended against fixing it.

Spend the service call and see if you like the repair person.  

[Rattlecan ★]

Our fridge has a coil of plastic hose way in the back that the water to the dispenser passes through to chill. If it is set a little too cold, the coil will freeze. Has not happened in a long time but I cleared it by heating with a hair dryer.

[smudge ★]

Our ice dispenser quit working a few months ago. I googled. I took it apart a little bit, put it back together, repeat. Noticed the little tray that dumps the ice into the container was catty whumpus. Since the section with the ice maker is basically its own little freezer section, I figured something was frozen. Turned off the ice maker for a few days to let stuff thaw, turned it back on, has worked beautifully ever since. It's only been a few months, but hey it's working well!

Tinker with it. It's only the ice maker, not the whole fridge. #firstworldproblems

👍

[Rattlecan ★]

The solenoid valve on our water/ice dispenser sprang a leak a number of years ago. Fortunately, I noticed it before any damage was done, but it could have been catastrophic if we had been away.

 The repair was pretty straight forward with a hundred dollar part, and seven years later, it is still holding.

 I made a video.

 

 

[petitepedal ★]

#1.Talk nice..asking it to pretty please start working..end the conversation with..it is only gonna get worse if you don't work.

#2 Kick it

Or you could try rebooting it..unplug it for a minute and plug it back in 

[Bikeguy]

I've never like these kind of pipe connections.   

[Rattlecan ★]

11 hours ago, Bikeguy said:

I've never like these kind of pipe connections.   

I'm not really crazy about them either, but it was a convenient way to tap into the line when I installed our water dispenser. I would never put one out of the way where it was hidden from view, but out in the open, it has never been a problem, and it makes for a quick shutoff when we are going to be away for a while.

[shootingstar]

I have something

On 3/24/2023 at 3:56 PM, maddmaxx said:

Having had appliances that lasted 30 year or more I was saddened when told that modern stuff will probably fain in 10 years or so.  Motors, pumps, compressors are all cheap.  During the time I worked as an appliance salesman after P&W I learned that our "big brand" was cheaper to sell than xyz stores model because our company specified a cheaper pump.  That's why you see different SKUs on what appear to be identical appliances in different stores.  Your basic $1000 fridge would be over $2000 if built to 60's standards and it would look like a plain vanilla fridge right out of the 60's

That is what my good large appliance repair guy told me about recent manufactured large kitchen appliances with all the bells and whistles, and he's been doing the work for past 20 yrs. locally.  He himself refuses to buy a dishwasher because of what he knows about their short lifespan.  I like his frankness and experience.

Because I had a major flood with dishwasher breakdown, I am willing to pay $120.00 for him to do minor fixes before it become very damaging later.

 

[Airehead]

Well what did you do?

[Ralphie ★]

1 minute ago, Airehead said:

Well what did you do?

You only get one guess!

[Ralphie ★]

On 3/24/2023 at 5:56 PM, maddmaxx said:

Having had appliances that lasted 30 year or more I was saddened when told that modern stuff will probably fain in 10 years or so.  Motors, pumps, compressors are all cheap.  During the time I worked as an appliance salesman after P&W I learned that our "big brand" was cheaper to sell than xyz stores model because our company specified a cheaper pump.  That's why you see different SKUs on what appear to be identical appliances in different stores.  Your basic $1000 fridge would be over $2000 if built to 60's standards and it would look like a plain vanilla fridge right out of the 60's

I was very hesitant to replace our tank-like 80s fridge just because the new ones used less than half the juice.  Same with AC, although that was leaking Freon so an easier choice.  But sure enough the new AC was a total loss after 7 years due to a serious manufacturing defect that was not QUITE covered by warranty.  Bah, humbug!