How To Find Out If Your Fridge Needs Freon

Freon is a gaseous product used in air conditioners and refrigeration units as a refrigerant. Typically, it’s contained in your refrigerator’s sealed system, circulated by the unit’s compressor to generate the frosty cold temperatures needed for you to store your food. With that said, when freon leaks out of this sealed system, it can cause your refrigerator to malfunction and not cool down as it properly should.

Below, we’ll be taking a look at how to diagnose whether or not your fridge needs freon and what you can do to resolve the issue.

Warning: Your refrigerator is an electrical appliance that uses a high-voltage current. Therefore, it’s important to always unplug or turn the power off at your home’s main electrical panel before attempting to disassemble any of your unit’s parts or components. Failure to do so may result in injury or damage to your unit.

Other Things To Check If Refrigerator Is Not Cooling

Typically, unless you’ve damaged your unit while moving it, it’s not all that common to experience a freon leak.

So unless you’re certain that you leak, it’s best to troubleshoot your refrigerator first by checking that the thermostat is properly set and checking the condenser coils to make sure they’re not gummed up with dirt, dust, and other household debris like pet hair.

If you’ve ruled out these issues, it may be possible that your unit is low on freon.

Wait For A Day

If your refrigerator has been in storage or is only installed for the first time, it can take anywhere between 24 to 36 hours for the unit to cool down properly.

However, once it has reached the correct temperature, the unit should maintain this by only kicking on now and again.

So if your unit seems to be constantly running, or if it was cooled down properly and now it isn’t, there may be a more serious issue with one of the appliance’s internal parts.

Change Temperature Settings

Ideally, your refrigerator should be set to a temperature at or below 40° F (4° C). Any warmer than this, and you risk having your food and drink products spoil, but too much colder than this, and you might end up with frozen goods.

It’s also a good idea to make sure that your fridge isn’t directly placed next to your oven or any heater or radiator. This can cause the unit to work extra hard to maintain the proper temperature setting.

If you need help diagnosing why your refrigerator isn’t cooling properly, don’t hesitate to contact the appliance experts at Denver Appliance Repair today!

Clean The Refrigerator Coils

As we’ve already mentioned, a fridge that isn’t cooling properly can also be caused by condenser coils that haven’t been cleaned in a while.
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Over time, these coils can collect dirt, dust, and other household debris like pet hair. Eventually, this can impede the coils from properly radiating heat away from the unit, causing it to work extra hard to maintain its temperature.

That’s why we recommend cleaning or having your condenser coils cleaned at least once or twice per year.

This ensures that your refrigeration unit will be able to function at its maximum capacity while also helping you save money on your electricity bills.

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Ensure The Compressor Is Working Properly

In some sense, the compressor is a refrigerator’s heart. It pumps freon throughout the unit’s condenser coils, which allows it to generate cool air inside while also dispersing heat away from the fridge. With that said, when the compressor fails or is on the verge of failing, you might experience issues like a fridge that doesn’t cool down properly.

Lastly, once you’ve ruled out all other possible problems with your refrigerator, you may need to purchase a freon refill kit from a local appliance repair shop. Essentially, you’ll need to re-pressurize the closed system with new freon gas so that your unit will be able to function properly once again.

While these kits can be purchased and used on your own, we often recommend contacting a professional appliance repair company to ensure that the job is done right.