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Sub Zero Noise SOLUTION!

14 years ago

My brilliant repairman figured out how to stop the fan from running all the time, even when both compressors are idle.

I have a 20-year-old Model 550.

What my repairman (Terry from MasterTech in Ann Arbor, MI 734-521-2400) did was install switches between the fan and both compressors. Some of the newer models already have this, I believe, but not the older ones. His $100 fix was worth every penny.

Now the fan only turns on when a compressor is working.

There are times now in the kitchen when it's actually quiet. No humming from the fan. VOILA! FANTASTIC!

All it took was a knowledgeable person who believes his job is to discover solutions rather than figure out how to tell you why something can't be done.

Good luck to all.

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Comments (6)

hidroman
14 years ago
Thanks for sharing your experience.

A fan running 24/7 seems a little thing .... but suppose compressors run 6 hours per day, so 50 Watt (fan) x 18 hr = 0.9 Kwh per day x 365 = 328.5 Kwh saved per year
gbsim1
14 years ago
Hmmm... I wonder if you've had something wrong all this time. I've got a 601 (36" all refrigerator) that is more than 20 years old and the fan has always only run when the compressor is on. Maybe I've just been lucky? Glad you got it fixed though!
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castiron
14 years ago
OP djg58 is correct in that the condenser fan of many older Sub-Zeros runs continuously. The evaporator fans that circulate cooled air Â one for each of the refrigerator and freezer compartments Â only run when the doors are closed (and the lights are out). The condenser fan of my 1991 model 511 runs continuously Â except during a power outage of course.

My only concern about linking the single condenser fan to the compressors is that any residual heat in the condenser will not be dissipated after the compressor(s) shuts off, possibly reducing the life of those components. Besides, with Sub-ZeroÂs dual-compressor design the condenser fan is needed to remove heat from either the refrigerator compressor or the freezer compressor Â or both, as they run independently of one another. IÂm not an HVAC expert, but it seems that the power savings of linking the fan to the compressors would result in negligible power savings at the potential expense of heat-related failure of other expensive components.
wa8b
14 years ago
I'm somewhat baffled, too. I've had a number of Sub-Zeros (including 550's and 650's) over the last 35 years in various homes. I've never had one with a fan that ran continuously. The fan has come on when either the freezer or refrigerator compressor was running, but otherwise, they've all been perfectly silent during periods of no activity.
CullenF
12 years ago
I removed the top freezer drawer 700 TC Built-in and sprayed some WD 40 from a can that had the thin red tube between the blades of the circulation fan and onto the end of the fan shaft and that TOTALLY QUIETED the loud noise the fan had been making. Now all I hear is the compressor noise, which is about the average level of compressor noise made by most refrigerators.
CullenF
12 years ago
I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID IN MY PREVIOUS MESSAGE. THE WD-40 QUIETED THE CIRCULATION FAN FOR MAYBE ONE DAY. THE NOISE IS BACK NOW, LOUD AND ANNOYING AS EVER!

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