Frigidaire Deep Freezer Sound - Concerned??

[JHZR2]

We upgraded deep freezers at the end of the summer. We had a very small chest type which served us well, but we wanted more volume to keep our berry crops and other food we prepare and keep.

I picked a Frigidaire, ~17cu ft (IIRC), upright model. I got the most efficient one that I could which had no frills - i.e. manual temp control, is a manual defrost design, etc.

The compressor runs a lot, but the unit is very well insulated, and I think the undersized, long-running compressor is probably part of why its efficiency is higher. It has never been particularly noisy, ad in the videos below, take the compressor noise with a grain of salt, the compressor motor type sound is no louder or different than it ever has. It sounds quite loud because of the acoustics in the basement, coupled with the phone microphone I guess. It is not that loud in real life.

But its the other sounds. One is a flowing noise (I get it that refrigerant can flow like a liquid in the coils and can make sound as it is undergoing phase change in flow), and the other is more of a squeaking noise, The sounds are definitely coming from the upper areas in the freezer, I listened closely all around and behind, and can tell that they are coming from the upper coils.

The compressor is warm/hot(ish) to the touch, as is the high pressure line. But nothing extreme, my hand could be on it all day long without worries.

The system does shut off sometimes.

The system is level in both axis.

So, here are two videos to get the sound, FWIW...

In this one it sounds like when a big bubble rises in a water cooler. That is actually more of a squeak sound in real life. The other primary noise you hear in this one is the flow noise that Im hearing. It like the compressor noise, is much amplified for whatever reason...



This one has much more of the compressor noise in it, which isn't actually that loud in real life. The other sounds are pretty well captured...



Any ideas?? Should I be concerned? Its a bit long for it to be a leak or infant mortality. The ambient temperature in the space is about what it always is. There is no new thermal load inside or outside the unit.

 

[crazyoildude]

I bought one of their refrigerators for one of my tenants and it is the biggest piece of junk, it hums and grinds and the freezer door does not seem to close tight and the freezer freezes up and it is 4 months old. It is not their cheapest either. The old GE lasted 25+ years. These days it is all junk!

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
I bought one of their refrigerators for one of my tenants and it is the biggest piece of junk, it hums and grinds and the freezer door does not seem to close tight and the freezer freezes up and it is 4 months old. It is not their cheapest either. The old GE lasted 25+ years. These days it is all junk!


This one hums and grinds, but its not offensive (until I heard these odd noises tonight for the first time), its in the basement, and on this freezer, the insulation must be 2" thick, and the door seals TIGHT. it requires quite the firm pull!!

Our inlaws' new Kenmore inverter compressor bottom freezer has to be the noisiest compressor Ive heard. It almost sounds like an old garbage disposal when it starts up! The frigidaire deep freezer is nowhere near as loud, and the compressor and piping are all exposed in the rear (with plenty of airspace to amplify).

 

[Rolla07]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
I bought one of their refrigerators for one of my tenants and it is the biggest piece of junk, it hums and grinds and the freezer door does not seem to close tight and the freezer freezes up and it is 4 months old. It is not their cheapest either. The old GE lasted 25+ years. These days it is all junk!


Took the words right out of my mouth...i have a hand me down I was thinking of replacing to reduce energy costs..wonder how much it uses..but dont feel like it knowing how junky stuff is today. My whirlpool fridge door handle is all cracked and the freezer drain clogged...cheap plastic and bad design...

OP, hard to tell based on noise but all you can do is see if its working right or if the noises are different from what they used to be.

 

[spasm3]

I have a whirlpool that started making the same sound. Inside the freezer, a third of the way down is a panel , i removed it and inside was a small fan. The plastic fan had moved on the shaft and was rubbing the motor housing. I took it off and used some silicon and glued the fan blade back on the shaft so it would not rub or move.

I hope that is what is going on with yours as it sounds EXACTLY like mine did.
Even if yours is a different make , perhaps both companies used the same vendor for the fan.

Good luck

Bryan

 

[spasm3]

This shows how to get to it. As i said i did not have to replace anything, only move the fan on the shaft and silicone it inplace.

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVmRCm1MVEI#t=60[/video]

 

[JHZR2]

Thanks. Ours uses the shelves as the coils so there is no fan that I could note...

And the past few days I've not been able to hear the sound... Weird...

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
These days it is all junk!


That pretty much sums up the conversation that I have had with the last two repairmen who have visited the house.
The first repairman said that it doesn't matter what brand you buy, that you may as well buy the cheapest because it is all junk.
The second repairman, who has been out twice to repair a brand new Bosch dishwasher that I bought in June, pretty much said the same thing.
Both seemed to think that I should repair (rather than replace) the 22 year old Maytag washer/dryer set that we have (which the only thing that I have done to is replace a belt on the washer) saying that nothing is made anymore that will touch the quality of both.
Yesterday, I bought a new Whirlpool upright frost free freezer to replace a 20 year old Gibson built Kenmore. We ended up with this model because it was the only one that could be sourced that will accept a built in ice maker. This became necessary because the brand new $1400. Whirlpool we bought this summer fails to produce enough ice for two people.
I have mixed feelings about replacing our freezer because of the lack of quality but we need more ice plus I am tired of defrosting the old one.
Enough of a rant. It is a shame that that you can't buy quality anymore.

 

[supton]

My Kenmore fridge has been making noises off and on for at least 5 years now. I figure, since it is like 28 years old, it's allowed to make some noise.

 

[Neely97]

Bosch is junk . I should know we have a kitchen full of their junk.
Fridge went out after 6 years , while on vacation of course, nothing like that smell to welcome you home.

The best ones going now are Samsung .

The days of 20 year old kitchen appliances are history.

 

[dishdude]

Whirlpool and LG make some good units too.