good advice; keep your old refrigerator
- Thread starter loneryder
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4WD
$50 site donor 2025
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Or like me - a garage freezer with nothing but ice and chiller blocks …
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
My sister in PA had an old smallish chest freezer in the basement that they kept a few things in. When they got rid of it a couple of years ago their electric bill went down something like $30-40 the next month and thereafter. She said they'd had it over 20 years and it wasn't new when they got it.
It is a double edged sword. These old refrigerators and freezers tend to be very reliable, and last a very long time, particularly if the ice maker is not used. But ones made before the Energy Star program was implemented are usually much less efficient.My sister in PA had an old smallish chest freezer in the basement that they kept a few things in. When they got rid of it a couple of years ago their electric bill went down something like $30-40 the next month and thereafter. She said they'd had it over 20 years and it wasn't new when they got it.
No joke......
As a young man I used to work on those refrigerators. Compressors and such lasted forever. Simple things went wrong. Defrost timer, fans defrost heater. All easily and cheaply replaced. Not like the crop they push out today for ridiculous prices. The appliance repairmen don't even know how to repair some of the new ones. Not kidding.
Yeah they may have cost a few bucks more to run but you will never get your return on investment with a newer one.
Keep the old stuff.
Yeah they may have cost a few bucks more to run but you will never get your return on investment with a newer one.
Keep the old stuff.
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My Whirlpool side by side was purchased new in 1991. It'll freeze stuff on the top shelf where the air comes in from the freezer.
I keep the dust blown off the coils on a regular basis. The Whirlpool seems to appreciate that.
I keep the dust blown off the coils on a regular basis. The Whirlpool seems to appreciate that.
Patman
Staff member
A couple of years ago I was driving past my parents old house and I saw that the current owner had put a fridge out on the curb for the garbage pickup. Upon closer inspection I noticed that it was the same fridge that my parents had left behind in the basement, and that fridge was originally purchased by them in the late 1960s!!! They definitely don’t make them that durable anymore
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Mine is not old and packed full of ice (gallon jugs, etc) not costing $40/month.My sister in PA had an old smallish chest freezer in the basement that they kept a few things in. When they got rid of it a couple of years ago their electric bill went down something like $30-40 the next month and thereafter. She said they'd had it over 20 years and it wasn't new when they got it.
My July bill was just over $200 for 2100 SF - and she’s running that AC at 70° when it’s 95° outside … (and have two refrigerators) …
Old fridges and freezers are electricity hogs.My sister in PA had an old smallish chest freezer in the basement that they kept a few things in. When they got rid of it a couple of years ago their electric bill went down something like $30-40 the next month and thereafter. She said they'd had it over 20 years and it wasn't new when they got it.
Not really. Ive got a 1950 International Harvester refrigerator that uses a third of the electricity my modern refrigerator uses. People seem to think just because something is old it must be inefficient or use lots of electricity and that not always the case. There is a guy that restores vintage refrigerators that has done multiple videos about this.
That is true because the compressors of new refridgerators are half the size. However where is the savings when the new ones are lucky to make it ten years old and you have to replace them?
My dad bought a used, big freezer from the appliane store that my grandfather ( father of my mother ) owned when they were married in 1952. I had to put a new power cord on it about 20 years ago. It still ran and cooled well when it was thrown out about 2 years ago. It was thrown out because it drew 11 amps when running. Today's similar size units draw less than 2 amps.
That thing must have weighed more than 300 pounds with the big heavy door removed. I felt bad for the two nephews who had to wrestle that thing up cellar steps, and out a side door.
That thing must have weighed more than 300 pounds with the big heavy door removed. I felt bad for the two nephews who had to wrestle that thing up cellar steps, and out a side door.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Is that considered “frost free” - ? Don’t think so … Since FF has been around for decades - that seems the basis for comparison …
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A quick look at the data plate will tell you how thirsty that old fridge is. Unless you have an Amprobe.
My grandmother had a Sears regular fridge. Had it 50 yrs. No problems. It outlived her. My mother had a GE fridge from 1962-2017, and sold the house with it, still running when sold. My GE side by side door model was bought in 2017. I have to clean the " coil ball" they made 2X a year with Evap-No-Rinse and canned air. The coil ball gets TOTALLY clogged up with dust. It's insane the way they designed the coils. They should have left them on the back wall of the machine where you could just vacuum the dust off them, then go down to the compressor cooling fan and clean the blades. Easy Peasy. BUT NOOOOO !!!!!! Gotta squish everything inside that box. No external coils allowed anymore. If I didn't clean it, I'm sure it would have been D.O.A. by 2020. Planned absolescense.
A Kill-a-Watt is a great way to know the exact consumption of appliances. Remember the dataplate only reflects the max the fridge will consume. Uses less during maintaining. It's not always running. The idea that compressors use less power today is largely in error. It takes a certain amount of energy to do a certain amount of work. Sadi Carnot will gladly chime in to chat about thermodynamics.
Today's appliances typically have better insulation, the old fridge often used 1 inch of fiberglass, and this was terrible.
R12 and R22 (used in the 1970s) were effective refrigerants with good thermodynamic properties, like high heat capacity and low boiling points, making them efficient at transferring heat.
One thing is true, inverter controlled compressors can be more efficient in practice due to low start up loads, and running at ideal speeds for conditions.
I've enjoyed using the Kill-a-Watt on the fridge. I've gone through a few fridges and despite the claims, all of them use almost 1000kWh worth of energy per year.
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