Whirlpool fridge corrosion (?) model GX5SHDXVB01

[Heimhenge]

My 13 yo 2-door (bottom freezer) hasn't been cooling consistently. Had a guy up here to look at it and he said it was time to replace it. Said this green corrosion visible on the compressor lines was evidence of a refrigerant leak. I always thought that green was a normal oxidation patina for copper. Does his "analysis" make any sense to you?

[Vance R]

The green stuff in your pictures is corrosion but from the looks of it is dry - no oil.  Hard to tell from your pictures, the tube going through the defrost drain pan is the one that usually leaks due to corrosion from the water. Any frost build up in the freezer? Measure the amp draw of the compressor and report back. 

[Heimhenge]

Finally got around to making that measurement. But first, allow me to point out that the guy who did the diagnostics did NOT make that measurement. He claimed that a "thermodynamic measurement" was his preferred method for ruling out the compressor. I saw him using one of those remote thermometers to measure the temperature of the refrigerant going into and out of the compressor. He said there should be around a 20°F difference, and claims he only saw a 5°F difference, and so assumed there was a pinhole leak because of that green corrosion. Not so sure I buy that explanation. Especially since the fridge seems to be cooling properly now that I cleaned the dog hair and dust off the heat exchanger (which was really clogged). Been running fine for two days now. I suspect he was just trying to sell me a new compressor.

That said, I plugged the fridge into my Kill-A-Watt meter and measured a draw of about 2 amps. That seemed low to me since the label on the fridge claims it uses 7.1 amps. So then I used my inductive ammeter to double check the current at the breaker panel. Didn't want to open up the fridge to access the compressor wiring directly and it was the only thing running on that circuit. Again, I got around 2 amps when the compressor was running.

Does this info provide any additional insights? Thanks for your help!

[Vance R]

10 hours ago, Heimhenge said:

Does this info provide any additional insights?

The amp draw of the comp from the tech sheet is spec at 1.6 amps full load. So if the comp was running usually mean there are 2 fan motor running so 2.0 amps is in the ballpark for the comp doing some work.  20 deg f over room air temp is the ideal temp. Measuring with a non-contact thermometer can be tricky. So if you cleaned the condenser and the refrigerator is working correctly it the best proof.  

[vee8power]

18 hours ago, Heimhenge said:

That said, I plugged the fridge into my Kill-A-Watt meter and measured a draw of about 2 amps. That seemed low to me since the label on the fridge claims it uses 7.1 amps.

The refrigerator would only use that 7.1 amps(about 850watts) if every load in the refrigerator were running at the same time which is not normal operation. The biggest load in this refrigerator is the defrost heater at 470 watts whereas the compressor only uses 112 watts while running. During start up, the compressor uses more than 7.1 amps by itself for a second or two; how they come up with a seemingly precise number of 7.1 is a mystery. I don't think that number is technically useful except to let the consumer know it may not be a good idea to plug it in the same 15 amp circuit with a microwave that uses 13 amps.

[Heimhenge]

Thanks to Vance R and vee8power for the feedback. Sounds like the compressor is fine then. I never installed the ice maker or water line, so the only thing running was the compressor and a couple fans. The "problem" was just that the lint and dog hair accumulated (hadn't cleaned it in 3 years, my bad) was limiting the heat exchanger.

Also good to know that the green corrosion isn't necessarily indicative of a pinhole leak in the refrigerant lines. I now have no doubt that the guy was just trying to sell me something I didn't need. This happened over the Christmas holiday ... worst timing ... so I wasn't able to get my usual trusted appliantologist up here, and I went with the first guy I could find who could get up here asap. Lesson learned.

[Nathaniel Peterson]

On 12/30/2023 at 1:09 PM, Heimhenge said:

Thanks to Vance R and vee8power for the feedback. Sounds like the compressor is fine then. I never installed the ice maker or water line, so the only thing running was the compressor and a couple fans. The "problem" was just that the lint and dog hair accumulated (hadn't cleaned it in 3 years, my bad) was limiting the heat exchanger.

Also good to know that the green corrosion isn't necessarily indicative of a pinhole leak in the refrigerant lines. I now have no doubt that the guy was just trying to sell me something I didn't need. This happened over the Christmas holiday ... worst timing ... so I wasn't able to get my usual trusted appliantologist up here, and I went with the first guy I could find who could get up here asap. Lesson learned.

While he could test the way he did to determine efficiency it was useless since he didn't bother cleaning the condenser. That's like checking someone temperature that's standing next to a heater. Was he trying to sell you a compressor,hard to say he probably just doesn't know about his testing methods well enough to give an honest conclusion. I wouldn't necessarily say he was trying to rip you off he just probably didn't know his job that well. Could be an honest mistake too. It's hard to find an appliance tech that knows how to diagnose every appliance correctly. I know I don't but that's why I'm here trying to get better at what I do. Just some thought.