My 30 year old fridge died

That sucks! I hope that you are able to shop around and find the best deal, though with a dead frig time is definitely of the essence!
 
They sure did! My fridge died recently, at much less than 30 years old. They just don't make new appliances worth a damn anymore. It had a freon leak somewhere, not at the compressor, and both the repair guy and a repair guy on a different forum that I frequent said that by the time you locate the leak, try to fix it, and recharge it, it's not worth doing, especially because the repair has a fair chance of not working anyway.

There's a site called greentoe that you can "make an offer" on things, and legit retailers can then accept or counteroffer. I ended up getting the fridge I needed (it's an odd space so there were only a couple of models that fit there) for about $400 less than all the other places were selling it, but it took a couple of weeks to get shipped here from NY where the retailer that countered my offer was located. Luckily I have a basement fridge as well so wasn't in a rush.

From everything I could find before going with them, the site is legit, and I did get my fridge as promised. I think it's a way for retailers to sell things below minimum pricing rules, or get rid of excess stock or slow moving models. If you have the ability to go a couple weeks without a new one, it's worth checking out.
 
About 3 weeks ago I noticed that the refrigerator portion of it didnt seem as cold as it should be. So I did what any lazy guy would do, and just turned the knob to 'colder', and forgot about it.

A couple hours later I went for a drink, and yep....it was still, just cool, but not cold. So I checked the freezer, which was working like a champ. I noticed that the unit was blowing 'fog' out of the vent in the back of the freezer. So I opened the fridge part, and sure enough, nothing was blowing out of the vents there.

Ok...so....Ice or blockage or whatever. Transferred everything out of the freezer to my deep (chest) freezer. Was quite the Jenga fit to make it all work there. The eggs and butter and cheese and milk...and maybe a couple other things that *need* refrigerated, I moved to a smaller refrigerator we have to keep the soda and tea and such. Luckily, nothing got 'warm', so we didnt lose anything.

Then I unplugged the unit and opened the doors and let it sit over-night. Cleaned everything (amazing how you just dont see the little spills or drops/crumbs, when there's stuff in it)., and plugged it back in. A couple hours later and it was working like new. So back in everything goes.

Fast forward to this past friday. My wife says that the fridge seems to be not as cold as it was. /sigh. So sure enough....its running, but nothing is coming out of the vent in the fridge part again.

Jenga'd everything around again, and unplugged it again. Then started the phone calls to repair places. First and foremost....nobody wants to work on a 30 year old fridge. Second, even if they did there was no guarantee they could get parts. Third, even if they come out and diagnose the issue (correctly), and could get the parts, it would cost several hundred dollars and there would be no guarantee that this would fix the issue.

So.....went back to where I bought this one (local small business - which I prefer supporting over the box stores), and bought the one I linked above. Delivery will be friday.

Went to take this one outside on the porch so I could get the vacuuming and cleaning where the old one has been sitting for 30 years. Heh heh. First....the carpet underneath it was *soaked*. Not to mention filthy. (its on a carpet covered concrete floor - so no worry about wood/floor rot). Then....Of yeah, I have a standard entry doorway....but...I had to take the doors off (which I dont remember when it was delivered that they had to do that to get it in....but they MUST have), to get it out. (Good to know for when the delivery guys come on friday that they will need to do)

Then spent 2 hours cleaning the carpet. Seriously.....I'm glad the new one is going back in the same spot. The stains in the carpet are....well....pretty much permanent. Wet vac'd the carpet as much as I could get...then a couple box fans and a dehumidifier overnight.

Carpet is dry now. Not *AS* stained looking, but still....glad the new fridge is going in the same spot.

I want to have the expectation I'll get 30 years out of the new one. But knowing that *everything* today is made to break to keep you buying new stuff.....I dont have any real hope of getting 10-12 years out of the new one.

@rbbrock - Thank you for this info. I didnt see this until after I'd already bought the new one. However, I will definitely keep this in mind for other appliances that will probably need replaced.
 
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