Sears is ripping me off!

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BrotherInKrime

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Last July I purchased a Kenmore chest freezer to use as my kegerator. I brewed in early August and used it initially as a fermentation chamber with a simple plug in external thermostat set to 65. Since I am going back to school, work full time, and the wife got on me about laying down some new flooring I didn't get around to kegging the beer until 3 weeks ago. I did check on brew at least once every few weeks and made sure the airlocks were topped off with cheap vodka. So after I got everything kegged and put together I set the external thermostat to 50 degrees. 2 days later I came back and she wasn't cooling down at all. The warranty said it was covered until July 8th. They sent a guy out and they gave me the verdict that the freezer was shot and the warranty was voided. I tried calling customer support but they would not connect me with someone to argue my case. They say because I didn't use it as a freezer the warranty is voided.

Buyer beware. I am sharing my story so that no one else gets screwed out of a few hundred dollars by them.
 
That sucks. I've had mixed interactions with Sears....some good....some not so much.

Funny that they would jump to that conclusion right away, because it never worked as it was supposed to from the beginning. A freezer cool, you were cooling....just not as much....so therefore it should last longer.
 
tojo said:
That sucks. I've had mixed interactions with Sears....some good....some not so much.

Funny that they would jump to that conclusion right away, because it never worked as it was supposed to from the beginning. A freezer cool, you were cooling....just not as much....so therefore it should last longer.
Click to expand...



Exactly, the thermostat set higher means that it runs even less which should mean a longer life. I specifically used an external thermostat because I didn't want to void the warranty.
 
tojo said:
A freezer cool, you were cooling....just not as much....so therefore it should last longer.
Click to expand...

Except the compressor runs a heck of a a lot more when you are trying to maintain a higher temp with an external controller.
 
Man, Sears isn't the only one. Freezers and fridges are buyer beware once you start doing anything to them. That's why Craigslist freezers are a good idea. Or, if you are buying new, just getting a pre built Kegerator isn't a bad idea.

My friends once got a mini fridge for our bar years ago, and like idiots they drilled a hole in top (they were sure there was no risk of damaging the coils beforehand) before turning it on to make sure the compressor worked. Turned out it was a bum compressor, it the warranty was voided once they put a hole in it. They were SOL. Would have been a $300 repair to a $200 fridge. We wound up only using it when we had a party and could put a keg and bags of ice in.
 
IffyG said:
Except the compressor runs a heck of a a lot more when you are trying to maintain a higher temp with an external controller.
Click to expand...



How is it working more? The compressor runs more to cool it down. The greater the differential between the interior and exterior set temperatures would mean that it has to work more.

Ex. If the external temp is 65 and the thermostat is set to 65 theoretically it shouldn't have to turn on to cool at all. If the thermostat is set to 30 then it needs to run much more to maintain that temperature.
 
mojo_wire said:
Man, Sears isn't the only one. Freezers and fridges are buyer beware once you start doing anything to them. That's why Craigslist freezers are a good idea. Or, if you are buying new, just getting a pre built Kegerator isn't a bad idea.

My friends once got a mini fridge for our bar years ago, and like idiots they drilled a hole in top (they were sure there was no risk of damaging the coils beforehand) before turning it on to make sure the compressor worked. Turned out it was a bum compressor, it the warranty was voided once they put a hole in it. They were SOL. Would have been a $300 repair to a $200 fridge. We wound up only using it when we had a party and could put a keg and bags of ice in.
Click to expand...



I couldn't find a chest freezer which is why I bought a new one. I have 4 cornys now but I am just going to get a cheap fridge and deal with that for not. I don't have the stomach to blow that much money again.
 
if the external's diferential is wider than the freezer's, the compressor might run longer cycles but it shouldn't run MORE at all.
With the same insulation, heat penetration is faster with a larger temp difference. It should run LESS maintaining a higher temp.
 
I would get a copy of the warranty and look for the language that voids it if not used at a specific temperature range. Don't take the word of a some on site tech. That excuse sounds bogus to me. A compressor either works or it doesn't. Did he even say what the problem was? Did he check for refrigerant charge? If you could hear the compressor running but it wasn't cooling it may have leaked out which is certainly no fault of anything you did. Its a bad seal or a pinhole leak in the tubing.
 
BrotherInKrime said:
I couldn't find a chest freezer which is why I bought a new one. I have 4 cornys now but I am just going to get a cheap fridge and deal with that for not. I don't have the stomach to blow that much money again.
Click to expand...

I bought an older full size fridge for $75 at a second hand store, came with 30 day warranty.....it easily holds 5 kegs with the CO2 on the outside.

CELLAR2.jpg
 
amandabab said:
if the external's diferential is wider than the freezer's...
Click to expand...

I think that's the key assumption.

If the external controller's range (say, +/- 1°F) is narrower than the freezer's default (say, +/- 5°F) , then the compressor runs a shorter period of time, but more frequently. Not sure if that's still true at 60°F vs 0°F though.

So at 70°F ambient, which cycles more?
+/- 1°F at 60°F
or
+/- 5°F at 0°F

I don't know too much about how these things work, but AFAIK, it's the cycling that wears it out, not the continuous running.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
amandabab said:
if the external's diferential is wider than the freezer's, the compressor might run longer cycles but it shouldn't run MORE at all.
With the same insulation, heat penetration is faster with a larger temp difference. It should run LESS maintaining a higher temp.
Click to expand...

All I could think when I read this is homer simpson saying, "In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"

:off:
 
TyTanium said:
I think that's the key assumption.

If the external controller's range (say, +/- 1°F) is narrower than the freezer's default (say, +/- 5°F) , then the compressor runs a shorter period of time, but more frequently. Not sure if that's still true at 60°F vs 0°F though.

So at 70°F ambient, which cycles more?
+/- 1°F at 60°F
or
+/- 5°F at 0°F

I don't know too much about how these things work, but AFAIK, it's the cycling that wears it out, not the continuous running.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

You are 100% correct.
 
BrotherInKrime said:
Last July I purchased a Kenmore chest freezer to use as my kegerator. I brewed in early August and used it initially as a fermentation chamber with a simple plug in external thermostat set to 65. Since I am going back to school, work full time, and the wife got on me about laying down some new flooring I didn't get around to kegging the beer until 3 weeks ago. I did check on brew at least once every few weeks and made sure the airlocks were topped off with cheap vodka. So after I got everything kegged and put together I set the external thermostat to 50 degrees. 2 days later I came back and she wasn't cooling down at all. The warranty said it was covered until July 8th. They sent a guy out and they gave me the verdict that the freezer was shot and the warranty was voided. I tried calling customer support but they would not connect me with someone to argue my case. They say because I didn't use it as a freezer the warranty is voided.

Buyer beware. I am sharing my story so that no one else gets screwed out of a few hundred dollars by them.
Click to expand...

What did the repair man say was the root problem?
 
did you have a compressor delay built in? otherwise your switch could have been going on off 100 times an hour. which is not good for you motor.. it does make sense to not warranty if your messing with the funtions of the freezer
 

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