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Amana Strikes Again
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We have a full size, house style, 120volt Amana side by side refrigerator in our motorhome. The M/H is 16 years old and I presume the refrigerator is original, hence 16 years old.
The model number is SBD2054E.
Any suggestions on trying to trouble shoot why it isn’t cooling? When I flip the “Refrigerator” breaker I can hear a fan start and run. I think this is a fan because when I turn the breaker on it draws only about 1 amp.
Before I call a technician in to rouble shoot it, is there anything I can do to try to figure out what the problem is? The refrigerator is raised up off the floor about 6″ so I have to build a platform just for the tech to pull it out to look at it; its built into the cabinetry.
Tom mentioned replacing the defrost timer, thermostat and defrost heating element. I presume the problem is NOT any of those three devices since the “fan” seems to run. If the thermostat is bad, I presume the fan would not go on. I might be wrong.
Tom … do you know if the refrigerator you replaced is the same model as mine? If so, I’m encouraged that there is an almost identical replacement available at Sears if I have to go that route. I presume the only way to replace the refrigerator is to go out the pax window as even without doors and interior parts the refrigerator won’t go through the side door.
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I have done the Amana repair dance. First the condenser fan. Then the evaporator coil. Then the evaporator fan.
When it quit the last time we found a Bosch refrigerator at Sears that was almost a perfect fit. It needed about 1/8 inch of material around the opening removed and rather than botch up the Vitricor I had Russell Coach do the trimming and assist with the removal and installation.
Biggest mistake we made was in delaying the replacement. My free advice is to treat the Amana as junk, go buy the replacement of your choice and be done with it.
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Dick,
Misery loves company…..There must be something in the air !
We can share the same pain as our 15 year old Amana (original) has failed.
In my case it was a spring restart after refrig storage shut down last fall. As per Truk4u this spring I replaced all 3 items he suggested. Prior to doing that I simply turned on the refrig for a couple of minutes, heard a fan run, thinking all is good. Pulled the plug and replaced all 3 items. That only took about an hour and with the feeling of doing the right thing restarted it.
It goes down hill from this point as it never got cold. Calling my friend Sam who has a full time appliance tech. He owns several hundred apartment units around KC. Long story short a 15 year plus is not worth repairing and also believes it’s not worth spending “any” money to repair. Cause of failure is loss of freon which in his experience is about 5 years extra life in 15 years of service.
We also have a raised floor that requires building a platform to slide prior to removing doors.
We are making arrangements for replacement.
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Dick,
I tossed the Amana books and don’t have a clue as to model number. Your biggest problem will be the newer fridge’s have high door hinges. The one I used in my post had the lowest hinges I could find.
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Jon said: “Bosch refrigerator at Sears”
Do you recall the model number? Thanks.
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No. The refrigerator and the books went with the coach when I sold it.
The model number is not going to mean much. What is important is to find one that fits in the hole the Amana fits in.
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Jon wrote: “What is important is to find one that fits in the hole the Amana fits in.”
That is a real challenge, but one that provided me with an education too. I have learned there are two depths of refrigierators: stand (the deepest) and counter depth (more shallow). I appears the refrigerator in the coach is a counter depth.
I can find a number of good candidates with the right width (35 1/2″ … give a 16th or two) but it appears that over the last 16 years refrigerators have grown an inch or more taller.
The Kenmore model 51789 that Tom provided the link to is actually the closes we could find, but even then it might be a touch too high and the opening could require a little massaging.
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There are two problems. The first is the width dimensions given by the refrigerator manufacturer do not reflect the slight bulge that results from the foam insulation expanding as it is filling the space between the interior and exterior walls. A 1/16″ expansion is more than enough to prevent the refrigerator from sliding into the opening. Be prepared to sand, file or rout the opening wider.
In Dick’s case if the refrigerator is taller installation is going to require the header over the top of the current refrigerator to be cut down in size. It sounds so simple, but Liberty has installed their ceiling in such a way that the header cannot be removed and the cut made on the bench. The cut has to take place with it in place and the risk of damage to the ceiling or the Vitricor is substantial and someone that knows what they are doing should make the cut.
Here’s the free advice: The refrigerators are going to have to be stripped and moved in and out through the windshield. At the very minimum that is a 4 man job and involves a lift, such as a forklift or some other device. Ship the new refrigerator to a shop that does coach interiors so the skills required to modify the opening are available, and let the shop do the work. I could easily remove and strip my refrigerator. I gutted my dining area so I had room to move it where I could strip the doors, shelves and drawers. I removed one sofa and the passenger seat and provided a clear path to the windshield. But at that point I needed the manpower, lifting device, and the person capable of modifying the opening so I did not damage it.
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Good advice. Even though we have not had to replace a refridgerator, I’ve seen enough of them done at Parliament to know that it is one of the the jobs not worth doing yourself. I think Truk would agree….We saw his being done, and if some idiot hadn’t glued the windshield in previously, he would have been gone by lunch. Spoke to Dick the other day and trying to figure the best place for him to go up here (Wi). Geo.
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Dick,
We also removed the rollers from the bottom of the fridge and used a piece of laminate to slide the fridge in place. It gave us just enough height for the job. With the new fridges, it’s not so much the height of the box, but the external hinges for the doors.
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All good advice. Thanks!
This is obviously more than getting four or five neighbors to come over, borrow a tractor with a bucket, find a moonlighting glass guy, and two cases of beer.
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That might work, especially by the time the beer is gone the job might look pretty good.
The problem is how the job will look the next day when everyone is sober.
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Here’s a couple pictures showing the hinge height I mentioned.
Top of Kenmore I used.
With door open.This is what most of the new fridges with high hinges look like, requiring more height than the old style Amana’s.
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We had to replace ours during the past winter. The unit started to give us moretrouble than it was worth. When compresser finally started to go out, time for replacement.
Did a lot of research and finally found one that required minimal sanding to fit into the opening of the old Amana.
We had Parliment do thework, and they did great job, started i the morning after new one delivered there late the day before. Had everything done by noon.
We replaced with Samsung model RS22HDHPNSR. Dimensions 35 7/8 X 30 X 70 1/8.
This model is classic double side by side doors, not the model with freezer o nthe bottom and double doors for refrigertor on top. We wanted older style of double doords freezer and refrigerator.
We purchased from Lowes.
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Our twenty year old Amana is on it’s last legs, there is a new GE stainless one sitting at Jeff’s place. His crew is going to instlall it the Wednesday before the POT in July. Y’all are welcome to critique his install. (-:
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