Viking Refrigerator Repair

[Whimsey]

Can anyone recommend a good appliance guy? My refrigerator is freezing my fresh food despite being at the warmest temperature settings.

My regular guy took one look at the refrigerator and said he had no idea where to start and suggested I call an authorized service center. Bay Street Discount is listed, but they said they lost their repair guy and recommended calling Viking. Viking suggested a firm in Kennebunk, ME. There must be a better answer than that.

[TomC]

Might be worth calling these guys. They carry all the top end applianaces like sub-zero, wolf, viking etc

http://www.baronsmajorbrands.com/

They are on Rt 3 in laconia (among other locations)

603-524-0163

[ApS]

If it keeps running and running while it freezes your fresh food, it's likely a leak in the system. The leak will have to be located, the system evacuated and recharged. A likely spot for a leak is the evaporator, which is located in the freezer section. A copper-to-aluminum joint at the evaporator is most often the culprit.

I didn't know this offhand, but my BIL (member Neanderthal Thunder here) is a Maytag repairman and is reading over my shoulder. :look:

[Kamper]

Sears claims to service everything but since the local store closed, that might not do you any good. I you know how to change out the temperature controller they might be able to get the part foryou.

Good luck!

[SteveA]

I had a problem w/ my oven last Saturday. Problem was it didn't work.

I called Alpine Appliance at their Laconia number. (They are in the Yellow Pages). They answered the phone on a weekend, and the owner, Barry, came to the house on Saturday and fixed it for a very reasonable price.

I was very impressed with the service, the price, and the professional way he handled himself. His business card says he does all types of home appliances.

I have his number on the fridge at home, I'm away and not at home so I can't give you the number, but he is in the yellow pages.

Nice guy, very professional. And.. on a Saturday? WOW

[Whimsey]

Thanks for the recommendations.

Unfortunately Alpine doesn't service Viking refrigerators although Barry called me back promptly. I've found out that it was purchased at Barons, and they said they would have Viking call me to set up an appointment. Of course it was Viking who referred me to someone in Maine. We'll see. If this doesn't work, I I'll try Sears. Thanks again.

[Toyorelle]

Sears claims to service everything but since the local store closed, that might not do you any good. I you know how to change out the temperature controller they might be able to get the part foryou.

Good luck!

Although the Gilford Sears closed, they are now in the old channel marine building in belmont. You should still be able to try them if all else fails!

[DickR]

If it keeps running, with too low a temp in the fresh food part but not cold enough in the freezer part to shut down the unit when it gets cold enough there, then my first guess would be an iced-up evaporator coil. I have had this happen to my Kenmore side by side a couple of times over the last few years.

That coil is in the freezer compartment. It will be protected by a metal or more likely plastic panel. There will be a fan under there as well. You'll have to remove the frozen food and any shelves in the way, plus maybe the lightbulb and any plastic cold air routing panel above the coil if the fridge is a side by side. The removal of stuff may take you a few minutes to figure out, but it may be just a few screws and perhaps popping off a press-on panel. Turn off the unit, of course.

A giveaway clue is if you see frost or ice covering the panel over the coil. That usually means direct contact between the panel and the coil by means of ice buildup. You may have slots in the covering panel that let you see part of the coils themselves, so a buildup of ice may be apparent.

What would lead to this is one of several things. One, the defrost timer could have failed, so the thing never defrosts itself. You could have something inside preventing the door from closing all the way, so that the freezer is acting like a dehumidifier for the whole room. If that's the case, the condensate freezes instead of dripping off as liquid water. Or, you could have put some hot uncovered liquids into the other side, and the vapor came out as frost on the evaporator coils. I've wondered if an auto icemaker can do this also, as it exposes additional water to the air circulating through the unit. Overloading the coils with frost can result in the inability of the defrost cycle to melt it all off in the time allowed by the design. Then you just add to the buildup with more frost as the refrigeration cycle restarts.

If there is a buildup of ice clogging the evaporator coils, the first thing to do is remove it. The slow way is by leaving the freezer door open and letting it melt off as the unit warms up from room air. You can speed things up by setting a fan on the floor or a chair. The turbo approach is to use a hair dryer; that can do the whole job inside of an hour. You'll have to sponge up the melt water as it drips down. I'd suggest covering the outlet from the drip tray under the coil with a sponge or cloth and let it hang over into a container lower than the tray.

Edit: don't try to pick off the ice pieces with a tool or your fingers. The aluminum fins on the coils are very sharp! Let the melting do the work. Some pieces of ice may drop off on their own; those you can pick up and toss. Just keep the fingers off the sharp fins.

After the ice removal, reinstall the panels, shelves, lightbulb, etc., and turn the thing back on. Give it a few days of running to see if the defrost cycle is keeping the coil free of buildup. All this assumes you found ice buildup on the evaporator coil, in which case the problem is the defrost timer or heating element it runs, or else just a temporary overload that your manual defrost effort has got you around. If the auto defrost is the problem, you'll know in a few days or so of running and the original symptoms return.

If ice buildup was not the problem, then then you could have a leak of refrigerant, so that you get some refrigeration, but not enough to make the freezer part cold enough to turn off. If this is the case, eventually you won't get enough refrigeration even to keep the fresh food side cool. This you can't fix on your own.

[Whimsey]

Thanks for all of your input. thought you might like to know how it ended.

After striking out with everyone in the yellow pages, Google searches and discussed on this thread (no one will touch a Viking fridge), I got Barons to call the Northeast distributor they get their product from. There is one outfit that is an authorized Viking repair service, Delia Inc out of Connecticut (888-884-0389 if someone needs the number). At $149 for the first half hour, they weren't cheap. But their local repair guy, Matt, (who happens to live in Wolfeboro covers all of NH and half of ME) was a pro and knew exactly what the problem was. And at least he showed up, unlike Sears...but that's another story.

Turns out that there is a design flaw in the fridge...Viking over estimated the amount of cold air to put in the fridge side. Solution was to tape over one of the lower ducts and put a redesigned grill over the main blower. Working find now.

You would think Viking would cover this repair since it was a design flaw. Nope. Doubt I'll pick Viking for future appliances. Today I'm just happy to have it fixed.

[tis]

You know, I can't believe a supposedly quality appliance like Viking has so many problems. I have a Viking oven which I had trouble with when it was brand new. The person I bought it from came and tested the temperature and said it was ok. Well, it still didn't work. Finally Viking sent an authorized person from Portsmouth I think it was and he said it was dropping in temp. a lot more than it should so put a new thermostat in. I have heard of other people with similar issues. I know there are lemons everywhere but it seems like Viking has more than their fair share.

[SteveA]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/345161

[tis]

Wow, it is good to know we are not alone! Thanks Steve. I knew a few people who said they also had problems but didn't realize it was that bad. Seems noone likes them.

[Little Bear]

I have a Viking range, Viking fridge and Viking dishwasher, all 2 years old and all of which have needed repairs. The broiler on my range is now broken for at least the 3rd time, and the "authorized" Viking repairs keep adding up. All of the units are past warranty, so they just keep charging and charging for the same repairs. Serious money paid for these Viking appliances, but the quality is lacking for sure. Better to go with Wolf/Subzero appliances.

[Lakepilot]

On that note, we have a Sub Zero Fridge and a Wolf oven and stove top. All have run perfectly. Highly recommend both.

[Irish mist]

Wow you guys.......I'm happy I just put in a cheap GE Hotpoint stove:) .
________
Volcano vaporizer review (http://vaporizer.org/reviews/volcano)

[Redwing]

We have had the same Kelvinator refrigerator in our cottage since 1960 and it still works like a charm! It is extremely quiet (sound-less!) and works as efficiently as ever. I do not have the heart to replace it, and will likely let it die a natural death before doing so.

[old coot]

We have had the same Kelvinator refrigerator in our cottage since 1960 and it still works like a charm! It is extremely quiet (sound-less!) and works as efficiently as ever. I do not have the heart to replace it, and will likely let it die a natural death before doing so.

A natural death can come very slowly to a refrigerator, Redwing. You may not have enough time left to allow your 1960 Kelvinator to "die a natural death." We're still making use of the 1927 General Electric Monitor Top refrigerator that my grandfather bought new. (He's been dead since 1947!) My parents are gone, and I'm 63. I'd bet that it will outlive me too.