Worst day I've had in 15 years of fixing fridges

Last Tuesday I went to swap out a compressor on a Kenmore in Smyrna, Georgia. Got the whole thing done in about 2 hours, pulled a vacuum, and when I went to charge it the service valve snapped right off the compressor. Lost all the refrigerant and had to order a whole new unit. Has anyone else run into bad batches of compressors lately or was this just my rotten luck?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_wilson7820d ago

Wait, was it the actual valve stem that snapped or the whole brazed connection? I've seen those cheap Chinese service valves crack right at the base if you torque them even a little too much. Maybe it's just me but I always put a backup wrench on the valve body now before I attach anything to it. Did you notice any kind of casting flaw or rough spot when you looked at where it broke?

green.mason19d ago

Angela's got a good point about the backup wrench, that's a solid habit. But was it one of those newer "high efficiency" compressors with the stubbier service ports? I've noticed those have way less metal around the valve base compared to the old Copelands, and that's where I've seen them snap clean off on a couple calls. What brand compressor did the replacement end up being?