My fridge has been very loud for probably a month. I was pretty sure it was going to be the compressor, because Samsung fridges are lousy with compressor issues. The the type of sound was a loud, mechanical buzzing. After playing around with a frequency generator, it sounded about 120 Hz. That wasn’t a diagnostic tool, I looked it up just now to try to convey the noise to you.
Anyway, after pulling the fridge out and getting my ears back there, it was clearly not the compressor. But it was coming from the bottom of the fridge. So, it pretty much had to be the blower in the freezer. The hardest part was getting the drawer out. I saw tutorials where they just lift out the plastic bins, and there was no way I could get mine out. Mine did not fit out when the drawer was pulled out. I checked the manual. It says they just lift out. The manual also had dimensions of the drawer when pulled out, and I found my drawer was short by 6 inches! The stupid telescopic rails were stuck! I gave it a really good yank, and the drawer pulled out the entire 21 inches. I have no idea how long we have not had full drawer access. Makes getting ice cubes out a lot easier.
So, got it pulled apart, found the blower. Tested that it was the noise. It was. And I looked for a replacement. The OEM blower assembly was $143! I was taken aback. I found a third party blower on Amazon for $25. Went with that. That came last night, and I installed it during lunch today. Took 45 minutes.
I have a neighbor with nearly the same fridge, that had nearly the same issue. Except it was the circulating blower in the upper fridge portion. His wife insisted they call Samsung to come out for the repair. It cost them $1000.
Nice! Fridges are built like shit these days and servicing them is neigh impossible, so it’s great you were able to DIY a fix for yours.
I think, for most people, this would have required Samsung’s preferred fix of buying another $2k fridge that’ll only last a few years, ideally with a built in
billboardentertainment system.Samsung’s preferred fix of buying another $2k fridge that’ll only last a few years
Fuck Samsung.* I have never owned a product with more absolutely blatant and egregious planned obsolescence than a Samsung front-loading washing machine. One day it started making a horrible banging noise and the drum stopped spinning. I replaced the machine (with a cheap used Bosch off Craigslist that’s still going strong, BTW), stuck the broken Samsung in my basement, and eventually took it apart to salvage parts and also see what went wrong. As it turns out, the “spider arm,” the support bracket and bearing that attaches the drum to the motor that spins it, had corroded to the point that it broke apart, only a year or two out of warranty.
And that’s when I realized the worst part of this story: every other piece of water-exposed metal in the machine was stainless steel, and was pristine. The spider arm, on the other hand, was made of, IDK, zinc or some shit. In other words, they made the main support bracket, which basically destroys the entire machine when it fails, into the GODDAMNED SACRIFICIAL ANODE!!!
(* I almost said “fuck Samsung in general, and their appliances in particular,” but their electronics are designed just as evilly, e.g. by being infested with DRM and ads.)
Wow. That is insane. They spent extra time engineering it to fail in a specific time frame, it looks like! Just awful. Looking up some pictures of those, they just seem to crumble! Awful design. Yeah, I’m not too keen on Samsung products either. Hopefully by the time I replace this fridge, I will be able to find something better in this size.
My wife said she’s glad I’m not afraid to take things apart, she would have just called the service number.
I detest those stupid screen fridges. Why does a fridge need an entertainment system? Or any smart features? I just want a box that stays cold to put my cold things in.
I honestly wonder sometimes how hard it would be to compete in the fridge market. It seems like everyone I talk to has problems. My dad’s first fridge lasted him 20 years. Second 10. His latest is having issues at the 3 year mark.
All according to plan, I’m sure. Can’t increase profits if you sell somebody a fridge one every two decades.
That’s exactly what I told my pah on the phone today. They want to sell more widgets, as long as it outlasts the warranty period they’re happy.
Nice! You know what the best part of this story was? The telescopic rails. I don’t know why but that’s very satisfying.
Oh, it was. It is so nice to get all the way to the back of the drawers again. It has probably been like that for years.
I hate OEM pricing for replacement parts. They need to be affordable so that we’re not constantly throwing appliances out that can be fixed. I bet if there was legislation that made them affordable, appliance reliability would magically improve.
Another commenter’s favourite part was the telescopic rails? Mine was the amount of money saved.
Yeah, I think that’s mine as well. It was a significant savings
Congrats for the $118 saving! That money will be more useful for something else.
Thank you! It sure will.
More power to the owner! Nice job part sourcing and saving some serious cash. We’re starting to look at viking refrigerators, apparently they will last A LOT longer than the POSes we’ve been sold to from the brick and mortar stores.
Viking has a good reputation. Miele is another high end appliance to look at if you are already in that price range.
Oh, those look really nice. I didn’t really want the Samsung, but it was basically the only one that fit in my space constraints and had an icemaker that I could find. And find quickly, as my previous one died. The next appliance on my list is the dishwasher. Hear any recommendations on those?
Very USA specific advice - may vary wildly outside the US:
Best recommendation for dishwashers - don’t buy the “middle of the pack” units. Either get the cheap cheap one and come to terms with how loud it is going to be, or be prepared to drop $1k and up. The middling priced units are trying to do more than they can at that price point and end up sucking a lot. Cheap cheap ones, basically any brand will be pretty OK, they will usually work fine if you follow instructions. Might not last as long, but are generally pretty simple to work on as a trade off. You won’t want to carry on a conversation in the same room as it while running. If at the other end of the spectrum, Miele and Asko are both pretty solid machines. Maybe a high end Bosch or KitchenAid if you can’t find Miele or Asko in your price range, but again, don’t look at the middling priced ones.
Also, be prepared for dishes to be wet when the cycle ends. I don’t care what fancy mumbo jumbo the thing you are looking at claims about “superior drying technology” using magic rocks (seriously) or highly specialized fans and ducts… It will not dry dishes as well as a pre-2012 unit that got hot enough to cause you harm if you grab stuff bare handed at the end of a cycle. Some will be worse than others, but none of them truly “dry” dishes anymore.
Just to add on to this comments last point. I have a high range Bosch and it opens after the wash cycle and that dries them really well. Better than the magic rocks the next one up came with at the time.
Bosch 800 series
That does look really nice. I will make a note of that.
Viking doesn’t make their own fridges - most are just re-branded Electrolux units. If you have the money and want something that lasts, look at Sub-Zero.
My Bosch fridge celebrates his 17h birthday this month, btw.
I totally forgot about the Sub-Zero they are also on our watch list once our LG kicks the bucket.
The most frustrating thing is how parts like this do not even increase the efficiency of the fridges. They are literally money pit sinks for the manufacturer to sell OEM parts. And create planned obsolescence. Older design used the heat transfered from the evaporator coils and a tray to dry out the condensation.
Yeah, now they (or at least Samsung) have two blowers AND a fan. The fan being on the condenser side. Crazy.
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I also have a noisy Samsung fridge. One of these days I’ll pull it out - it’s really hard to locate the noise when the whole thing’s inside a wooden almost-cupboard.
