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RiverCabin
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# Posted: 5 Nov 2019 12:16pm
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So yesterday I got a big surprise with an electric bill for October that was quadruple the usage in September. for reference it went from 40 kw to 161 kw. That struck me as odd as we hadn't been to the cabin for the entirety of October. Thinking that the cabin had been broken into and perhaps had been tuned into a meth lab, I went down last night. Nothing was amiss but some items in the freezer had thawed. We had a cold snap here and that didn't surprise me. I went ahead and cleaned and unplugged the refrigerator.
Will a failing refrigerator suddenly quadruple it's usage? The refrigerator is a two season old 9.9 cubic foot Menards store brand unit. We left it plugged in all last winter and had no problems. The electric usage last year tapered off to virtually nothing and gradually increased in the spring. Of course we don't keep perishable items over the winter. I have no problem unplugging it but never bothered as my electric service includes the first 100 kw whether I use them or not. I also like to keep it plugged in as I typically spend a few winter weekends there and I want the refrigerator to be "beer ready".
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ICC
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# Posted: 5 Nov 2019 02:40pm
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You don't say if the cabin is unheated or if not heated how cold it gets.
A standard household refrigerator is not designed to operate properly in a very cold (freezing) location. This should not cause an increase in electricity use though. I have never heard of a failing fridge using more power. Was the door properly closed?
When the weather turns very cold, especially if it drops to freezing temperatures for at least some of the day, a standard fridge will noy cycle on and off enough to keep the freezer frozen. The thermostat is in the fridge part, not the freezer. If the ambient temperature drops to 40 or less the thermostat will not tell the compressor to run. That allows the freezer contents to thaw.
Do a search for "refrigerators in freezing temperatures".
No real idea on why power use would shoot up though. It could be related to an incorrect reading of the meter if it is one of those that still require a human to read.
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Nate R
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# Posted: 5 Nov 2019 03:16pm
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I had the same size fridge go bad on me after a couple years too. Compressor leaked, I believe. I don't believe there are very many actual manufacturers of these...So it could be that yours is running almost continuously now due to a lack of refrigerant? Or could be that it got stuck in defrost mode....
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RiverCabin
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# Posted: 5 Nov 2019 03:38pm
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ICC: The cabin is unheated. Probably the lowest it has gotten before this incident was 25-30 degrees at the lowest. You hit on it, my biggest question is the power use. The meter is not manually read and is one of the newer self report meters.
Nate: I hate to hear about your experience as it doesn't bode well on mine. It's a shame because that sized of refrigerator is about perfect for a cabin. I'd agree about the continuous run except it never ran while I was down there. Perhaps it's frozen up now (the compressor that is).
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Brettny
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# Posted: 6 Nov 2019 08:09am
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Buy a killAwatt meter and plug it into it. There $20 and can tell you alot about your electric useage.
All frost free fridges/freezers use a heating element to thaw the frost. It could be that the fridge thinks it getting to cold and turns the heater on, could be why things thawed too.
In the back of the fridge there should be a wire diagram. Find the heating element and try disconnecting it.
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drb777
Member
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# Posted: 6 Nov 2019 11:00am
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I too have had the same cabin fridge problems you've described. From my research, a very common problem of auto-defrost fridges is the defrost timer motor. Just like other timer switches, these tiny little motors tend to either get sticky and/or weak after several years. (They aren't repairable, the winding are like extremely fine hairs.) But they are usually rather simple to replace. It wont help the poor freezer performance, but it can help keep the defrost cycle in the correct mode. Good luck.
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drb777
Member
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# Posted: 4 Dec 2019 11:41am
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After catching the fridge not cooling, for the 3rd time, I went ahead and changed-out the defrost timer. What a difference, back to brand new performance. Now I'm back to a consistent 35F & -30F, better than it's been in a couple of years. 'Just took a couple of minutes, with simple plug-in design. BTW, along with poor cooling performance, my symptoms included excessive noise from the original bad timer.
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Aklogcabin
Member
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# Posted: 4 Dec 2019 11:50am
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I believe the defrost cycle was stuck on .
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drb777
Member
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# Posted: 4 Dec 2019 12:02pm
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Quoting: Aklogcabin I believe the defrost cycle was stuck on .
Yes, intermittently. But I could tap it and it would re-start. Sort of "sticky", a weak/defective tiny little motor.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 4 Dec 2019 12:20pm
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For a seasonal cabin or weekend place I would disconnect the defrost cycle. Your not opening the fridge every day and you would just have to defrost it manually and prob not every year.
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Fanman
Member
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# Posted: 4 Dec 2019 12:48pm
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In cold weather the oil in the compressor will thicken and may prevent the motor from starting, but it may use quite a bit of power trying. I was once using an old refrigeration compressor as an air compressor in an unheated garage and it had exactly that problem in cold weather. The motor would try to start, it would buzz until the overload popped, then after awhile it would reset and try again, over and over. In warmer weather it worked fine.
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drb777
Member
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# Posted: 4 Dec 2019 12:59pm
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Quoting: Brettny For a seasonal cabin or weekend place I would disconnect the defrost cycle. Your not opening the fridge every day and you would just have to defrost it manually and prob not every year.
My Frigidaire is either on or off, no option for deleting the defrost cycle as such. And I can't ever remember seeing a fridge with that, but maybe some do.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 4 Dec 2019 03:31pm
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They don't have that option. You have to break out the wire diagram.
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drb777
Member
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2019 11:49am - Edited by: drb777
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Just in case anyone cares to do their own diagnosis:
From partselect.com: The defrost timer is an electro-mechanical timer that operates a set of contacts that control both the compressor circuit as well as the defrost heater circuit. Most timers will activate a defrost cycle every 8-10 hours of compressor run time. This normally occurs about once every day or two. The defrost timer will normally terminate the defrost cycle after 20 to 30 minutes and the compressor and fans will start again.
How to test a refrigerator defrost timer with a multi-meter:
Disconnect your appliance from the power source and locate your defrost timer. It can be located behind the refrigerator's lower kickplate, in the refrigerator's control panel, or even behind the refrigerator on its back wall.
After locating it, remove the defrost timer from the appliance in order to test it
Using a multi-meter on the Rx1 setting, with one probe touching the common terminal (it should be labeled "3" or "C"), touch the other lead to the other three remaining terminals, one at a time. Testing the first pair should produce a reading of zero, or near zero, denoting continuity. The second pair may also result in a reading of zero or near zero. Testing the third pair of terminals should produce a reading of infinity.
If you do not receive these readings, you will need a replacement defrost timer.
Fridges that use these mechanical timers are either older or more basic models.
(BTW, my old timer tests bad, continuity readings were opposite from the above.)
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