Does Your Refrigerator Cycle On and Off?

…A refrigerator is a jungle in which I am easily lost. ~ Edward T. Hall

If you think about it, you will gain new respect for your refrigerator as it is one of the few appliances in your home (if not the only one) that never gets a rest or vacation or vacation pay. It is always there, keeping your food and whatever else you dare to place inside as cool as a cucumber and cooler if necessary. But what happens to your cool and frozen world when your fridge keeps turning on and off? What does it mean and how can it be fixed?

Refrigerators do need to start and stop at regular intervals so that an even temperature is always maintained. This happens especially if the weather is very hot and humid or if you place a lot of food that is very warm in the fridge. Sometimes a few hours can elapse before the temperature returns to your original settings.

Bear in mind that if you own a new refrigerator, it may need as much as 24 hours of constant running time to stabilize its interior temperature. You can help it along by keeping it half full at all times. You can use jugs of water as ballast, which will help to maintain even temperatures and compensate for those times when the door opens and closes, which is what happens many times during the course of an average day.

A dirty condenser coil can cause the thermal overload to trip without warning. This can be avoided by vacuuming the condenser coils on a regular basis, which prevents clogging. Keeping the area around the fridge clean can save you from having to call in an appliance repair specialist. This is especially true if there are pets in the house, which only adds to the buildup of hair. In addition to appliance repair costs, your electricity bill will also increase because the compressor has to work even harder than usual to keep your fridge running.

Your refrigerator should have ‘room to breathe’ on all sides. Many refrigerators have a condenser coil in the back, which requires enough room for the heat to radiate away from the coils. Your thermostat will turn the compressor on and off if it is in proper working order. In an ‘on’ state, it will run the internal temperature until it becomes lower than the setting of the thermostat. If this fails to happen, you will need to call in an appliance repair specialist and replace the thermostat.

Despite all the loving care you can muster, there will come a day when you will need help with your runaway appliance because nothing lasts forever. When this happens, don’t panic. If you live in the New York-Bronx-Westchester areas of New York, the man to call is Anthony at the Appliance Doctor. He is always there to take your distress call and he and his highly trained staff of technicians can tackle any appliance repair problem. Give them a call at: 1 800 339-0353.