Summer and the Death of your Refrigerator


More refrigerators fail during the summer than any other time of the year. It is a fact. But why?

Because: just like humans, a household refrigerator can suffer a premature death due to the heat and humidity.

A domestic refrigerator is designed to operate in a maximum ambient temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Exceed this temperature and the refrigerator begins struggling. Even with room temperatures below this limit strange things can happen inside the refrigeration system Things that can lead to its demise.

Firstly, it will begin having trouble removing the heat generated inside the refrigeration system itself. If the cooling components start failing the internal pressures become erratic. Consequently, the temperature in the food compartments may also become erratic, leaving the food warmer than usual.

Next, the compressor will begin to overheat since it cannot dissipate its own heat fast enough. If too hot the compressor can actually shut itself off in the hope of avoiding destruction. This off period could last minutes or hours, causing the machine to operate very strangely.

If this scenario continues the compressor can overheat until the refrigerant gas passing through it actually starts to decompose. This will produce highly corrosive acids that can destroy the compressor and lead to a condition known as, a burnout. Early stages of a burnout will make the compressor inefficient. The compressor valves, which act much like your heart valves, will not close properly and further compound the problem. For example, the machine appears to be cold inside, but will not fully freeze the food. Overall the refrigerator will act lazy.

I use the analogy that since a compressor works like a heart then an inefficient one would be equivalent to a person with heart disease. That is, everything works well if the patient simply walks on level ground (like the refrigerator on a cool day), but ask the patient to run up a flight of stairs and they