My 5-year old Gorenje fridge started misbehaving, so I contacted official service and they told me that most probably it just needs gas refilling (as I suspected) and to call to make an appointment.
Did anyone have their fridge serviced recently? What kind of cost can I expect? And more important, do I need to go with official service or can I call any fridge repairman (since it should be an easy fix)? Are there any price differences? Any recommendations in Zurich/Winterthur area?
As you can see I have a lot of questions, since I have never dealt with this sort of service.
I think in CH you generally just replace a misbehaving appliance rather than getting it serviced/ repaired.
And be careful when getting different companies over - We had a dryer that just stopped working. So called the local electrician. Spent 5 minutes to tell us he can’t do anything and we should contact the manufacturer. He later sent us a bill for CHF 85. Thank you very much! Then Bosch came over, charged CHF 150 for the visit and advised us that à some thingymajig would cost CHF 600 to replace.
After spending (85+150) as “consultation fee” , we decided to go for a new machine. Which means we now have a better machine with better energy efficiency. Still, it hurts to know we spent over CHF 230 to come to that decision.
The next white goods that die on us will definitely be replaced with a new one.
It may not only be a cost issue. Or at least for me I'd also have to factor in the retraining of the less practically minded user(s). The telephones and washing machines are not as simple as they once were. But probably a new fridge or freezer would not present such a big problem.
There are some tell tale signs if the gas needs refilling. E.g. the compressor running almost continuously. Is your fridge showing these signs? You need to be quite sure because otherwise you will spend additional amounts if the technician has to make a second visit.
In any case, get an estimate before you confirm any appointment.
At the risk of becoming part of a throw-away culture, you can pick up a new Gorenje refrigerator across the border in Germany for around EUR300-400, and it will come with a warranty. I'm a big believer in Gorenje, which provides great value for money and are generally well-built and mechanically simple, but I'm not sure that I'd put much effort into repairing a 5-year old refrigerator at Swiss labour rates.
To reply in one message, as there were several questions about it:
The compressor runs constantly 0/24 and the ice is forming on the back side. These are most common indicators that gas in the system is low so apparently switch-off temp can not be reached. This is what I was able to find out via google.
I would like to have it fixed instead of replaced for several reasons, most important that it's a big red unit with matching freezer (both standalone units) so finding something similar will be neither easy nor cheap. Also I'm a big fan of repairing instead of throwing away. And it's only 5 years old.
What I cannot figure out is why the gas is low? Yes, I moved to CH 2,5 years ago and yes it moved with us, but then I would expect a leak in the system much sooner.
For now I'm using it with a smart switch and turn it off during the night, which reduces both strain on compressor and forming of ice.
But apparently in this country this will not be either easy nor cheap to resolve. :/
A defective thermostat can produce the same symptoms and only costs a few francs.
A faulty door seal is also worth checking. Put a torch in the fridge, close the fridge door and turn off the lights (works better at night). If you can see any light from the torch then check the door seal.
Yeah, didn't mention that, but I've done both already. New thermostat is in and door seal seems to be OK (I've tested with a piece of paper instead, moving it around and trying to pull out once fridge is closed).
If the cooling capability is such that ice forms on the (inner) back of the fridge then it would seem there's sufficient gas in the system. Have you cleaned out drainage holes and cleaned dust off? Are you sure the thermostat was fitted correctly and the wriring is in order?
I suppose you could run the fridge on a timer and see if it otherwise performs ok (to check if the gas is ok).
That's the part that I was confused as well, how can it simultaneously form ice inside but not reach shut-off temp for the thermostat?
That's a good idea, haven't thought of that. Hopefully tomorrow I'll find time to pull fridge from it's position and do a clean-up of drain and from the back.
I changed thermostat myself, not much could go wrong there. Wiring is same as on the previous. Don't think anything could've gone wrong there.
Not sure what you mean by this. Currently it's on a smart plug which also has power consumption measuring, it's running constantly and power consumption is 28-30W- so basically constant.
Hahaha, goldfish Good idea, as stated up I haven't thought of that but will clean it this week and report back!
That's a good idea, haven't thought of that. Hopefully tomorrow I'll find time to pull fridge from it's position and do a clean-up of drain and from the back.
It's easier from inside if you have about a meter of single strand electrical cable, just make sure you stretch the plastic outer so the copper inner is well covered, a bit of bleach down the drain when it is clean also helps.