5 replies to this topic

[PCM2]

I recently moved into a new apartment, which has a basically brand-new refrigerator. It's a General Electric GTS16KBR, purchased in September 2004, according to the papers in my cupboard. My problem is that this thing is amazingly obnoxious! The manual cautions me that "newer refrigerators sound different than old ones" -- but to me that seems like no excuse; technology must be marching backward at an alarming pace if this is what people are putting up with from refrigerators these days.

As a child, I remember being pretty much oblivious to the function of the refrigerator. You opened it, cold things came out of it. End of story. This thing, though ... I think I have been consciously aware of it every time it has turned on since I've moved in here -- and it turns on for about ten minutes every half hour.

"WHIRRRRRRRRRRIIRRRIIRIRIRRRR!" That's all I can say about it. It's not a totally unnatural sounding noise -- meaning, it doesn't sound like anything's grinding or breaking. It's just a ridiculously obnoxious appliance. When it turns on, I sometimes have to turn up the TV to be able to hear dialog. When I'm in the bedroom, I need to close the door not to be able to hear it. It's actually about as noisy as my Maytag dishwasher (which, I might add, is a remarkable example of technology making something quieter -- but the dishwasher doesn't run all day long, the fridge does!)

So my question to y'all is: Does this jibe with your understanding of modern GE refrigerators? Are they all this loud?

I guess I'm holding out the vague hope that there's something wrong with it that can be corrected. The manual says, "you may hear the fans spinning at high speeds. This happens when the refrigerator is first plugged in, when the doors are opened frequently or whan a large amount of food is added to the refrigerator or freezer compartments." Well I hear high-speed fans all the time! But I don't want to spend a couple hundred bucks to have a repair guy come out here just to tell me that I have a crappy, noisy fridge.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Even the best writers struggle with conveying sounds to their readers; this is even more difficult when trying to convey a subjective opinion about a sound for diagnostic purposes.  But, the good news is that in this age of the Internet, you don't have to even try!  Use the free AudLink service record the sound with your phone.  The post the link to that recording here so we can all listen to it.  Add whatever information you think would help us assess it in the recording.

Obviously a phone recording will be low quality.  If you have another method of recording the sound and uploading an mp3 of that recording, that would be preferable.

[PCM2]

I tried recording the sound, but a whirring noise is too subtle for the microphone to pick up. Basically, it switches on -- CLICK -- then you hear a normal refrigerator type noise for about a second, and then this fan sound starts up: wwhhHHHIIIIRRIRRRRRRRIIIIRRRRIIRRIRRRRRRR

Believe me, there has not be one single time that I have been at home when the refrigerator turned on and I was not aware of it. When I'm watching TV I find myself glancing at the clock to get ready for when it turns on again. Everybody else I know says they've never noticed their refrigerator -- and I've never noticed mine before either. But I sure notice this one. It's like having a roommate. I can hear it from my bedroom when I'm going to sleep.

The problem is, everywhere I read about new fridges, there's this disclaimer saying "new fridges sound different than old ones" ... but if that's the truth then I'd almost rather live without a fridge. I guess it's a technology we are no longer capable of building, like rockets to the moon.

Seriously, I'm only renting this apartment but it's annoying enough that I'm considering buying a new fridge and getting rid of the old one somehow. I hate to think that's the only course of action open to me, but I can't even tell if this is a "normal" noise or not -- maybe buying a new one is no good, maybe they're all like this now? Do new GE fridges normally sound as loud as new dishwashers when they turn on (because my fridge is as loud as my dishwasher)?

[exsearsguy]

It sounds like something might be in the condenser fan. Maybe a piece of insulation.Fan motor is in back on the bottom,check and see. Also, next time your box comes on,push lightly at each corner on the top of the box and see if the sound changes.Could possibly just need to adjust the legs on your box.

[Pegi]

See if the sound is from the bottom back where the condensor fan motor is or from inside of the freezer.  Both motors have fan blades and either one of them could be hitting something.  You could have freon lines vibrating against each other near the compressor,  Your defrost drain pan underneath the frig may not be in its rails right and this can set up a very bad vibration.  Start tracing where the sound is coming from and try each area to eliminate the noise.  We do hope it is not coming from inside of the compressor..........

[denrayr]

the fridge is still under first year warranty tell the landlord to call for warranty service to come check it out.