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Bought a $40 thermal leak detector and found my fridge was running twice as hard
Picked up one of those infrared thermometer guns on impulse at Harbor Freight and turns out my 5-year-old fridge had a bad door seal that was letting all the cold air out. Has anyone else found something simple like that that was costing them way more in power than they thought?
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drew_hart41mo ago
Not just dust on the back coils, but the little drain hole inside the fridge that lets condensation out... that gets clogged with mold and slime over time. When that happens, water pools under the crisper drawers and the fridge runs longer trying to cool wet air instead of dry air. I cleaned mine out with a pipe cleaner and a little bleach water, and my compressor cycles way less now. It's something nobody warns you about but it makes a difference.
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phoenix_lewis2d ago
Wait, @mianelson, you mean there's more than one thing I can neglect on a fridge?
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harper9141mo ago
My buddy Mike found out his fridge was costing him an extra $20 a month just because the little light switch inside the door was stuck. The light would stay on even when he shut the door, heating up the inside all day. He only figured it out because his kid left the door open one time and he noticed the light never turned off when he closed it. Replaced the switch for like 8 bucks at an appliance parts store and his power bill dropped noticeably the next month. Such a dumb little thing that probably ran for years without him knowing.
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mianelson1mo ago
Did you check the temp on the back of the fridge too? A lot of people miss that. The coils back there get caked with dust and pet hair and the fridge has to work way harder to push heat out. I vacuum mine every six months now after I saw my power bill drop like 15 bucks. It's one of those things you don't think about until you actually look. Plus if the door seal is bad you can sometimes fix it with a hairdryer to soften the rubber and get it to seal better. Might be worth trying before you shell out for a new fridge.
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