Saturday, October 05, 2024

The Silence of the Refrigerator

One of my first memories in our house, about 7 years ago now, is sitting at the dinning room table and thinking the fridge was about to explode. It was loud and rattly and given that the previous owners never seemed to use the right tool to fix the job, I assumed it was just going to die any day.

We did eventually get someone in to look at it and learned that we could get the seal on the door to be much better if we gave it a once over with a hair dryer. He also got it quieter. Given that the fridge was quieter and that neither of us owned a hair drier, we filed that away as a "thing we should do" and went on with our lives — with the regular urge to really squeeze the fridge door shut (sorry if we're visiting).

Time went on, as time does, and eventually the fridge got noisier and nosier. I'm not always the best at getting chores done and so despite having some idea that I aught to "clean the compressor coils" from time to time, I didn't and slowly the fridge arrived back at a level of loudness where we couldn't ignore it any farther.

So I searched, to find out how to make your fridge quieter and "clean your compressor coils" was the largest answer. I was able to figure out roughly what the model of my fridge was and that the coils are in the bottom at the back.

I unplugged the fridge, pulled it out found the ... cardboard that was screwed to the back (I'm not sure if that's Mr. Wrong-tools at work or just some old fashioned enshitification in fridge design), unscrewed it and found, a fair bit of dust. I cleaned it out. Screwed the panel ... cardboard ... back on, plugged the fridge back in and the fridge got quieter.

The bottom-back of a refrigerator. On the left is a big black pot, some copper pipes and some wires, on the right is a (surprisingly small) stack of fine tubes. Everything is covered is a heavy layer of dust.
Yes, this does need cleaning.



Hooray!

Then the fridge got louder. A lot louder. It was hard to talk to each other in the kitchen if the fridge was running louder and the fridge was always running.

Back to Google and ... compressor coils, compressor coils, and then one entry on evaporator coils, which are in the freezer. They can get ice on them (and the fan can get ice on it) which can be *really loud* and sound like it's coming from the freezer.

That of course make sense. I do actually know how heat systems work (thanks Technology Connections) and of course you need compression on the one side and evaporation on the other. I just took the consumer electronics at their face value and went, well that's a smooth panel, nothing to be done there.

But that's a lie. And it's a lie google reinforces. When I search for how to clean your evaporator coils Google (and YouTube) will *only* return pages about compressor coils. So I knew I had to deice (and maybe clean) the evaporator coils, but unlike the compressor coils I couldn't find a video.

So, we went and bought a hair-drier, a thing neither my partner nor I have ever done. Fortunately if you only want it for "Hot Air" purposes the drugstore hair-drier isle is fairly manageable and so we found one that's pretty good for hot and air without too many weird marketing words attached. (Ours is still double ceramic... we're not barbarians...).

Unplugged the fridge, emptied the freezer into bins and covered with blankets, and there was the back.

Discovery one, serviceable screws (and the same size as the ones on the back.)

Discovery two, temperature control, set the absolute maximum (we probably should have looked at this like 7 years earlier).

Discovery 3, the rack in the freezer is held in place with a little rubber stopper. Immovable. Until you heat it up with a hair-drier and then you can pop it right off and lift the rack out.

I unscrewed the panel on the back and carefully — there were wires from the control and the fan — moved the panel out of the way. There were the evaporator coils and the fan, covered in ice. (Also a hose clamp covered in spray foam, doing ... something, but that's Mr. Wrong-tools' calling card, so I know he was in here at some point.)

The back of the freezer behind the white panel. A series of aluminum tubes with fine fins attached. The fan is on the panel to the left and there are wires connected across the back to the panel and tubes hooking up the compressor.
So there it is, slightly moist now I think I was mostly through melting when I took this.



I went to town with the hair-drier. I put a couple of towels in and there was also a drain (which I think goes) and all of the ice melted out. I got the fan running freely when I blew air on it. Nothing exploded or released any gas, so I guess Mr. Wrong-tools at least got a seal with his clamp, and things seemed pretty good.

I got the panel seated again, screwed everything back together put everything back and lo-and-behold the fridge ran almost silently. Also it ran way less frequently.

It seems like, when I unplugged it to clean the compressor coils, the ice partially melted and then refroze (especially on the fan) which is what made the fridge so loud.

So, that's what I learned about my fridge. And if your fridge is loud and you can't figure out why, then ignore Google and take a look at your evaporator coils — if you can (enshitification of fridges continues I'm sure). Be gentle with the fins, they're really thin. As far as I can see if your freezer is self-defrosting and not very prone to making noise you may never need to do this, but if it comes up it might be worth trying to clean it up.

Now our fridge runs quietly and not that often and peace mostly rules our house again. Although we will still squeeze the hell out of a fridge door if given the chance.


As a bonus I was able to turn the freezer down to a much more believable level and now we don't freeze thing if we put them too near the top of the fridge.

Tuesday, October 01, 2024

The Books I Read - September 2024

Again, Critical Role cut down on a lot of my reading, especial audio books. The three books set in the inter-war period were interesting counter points and I have to say that Anna Lee Huber writes in a style I really enjoy. Garth Nix's Left-Handed book sellers was a lot of fun, a little more elegance in crafting the front half, but a good action novel in the second. As always Martha Wells' Murderbot is outstanding.


Stats for August - (Year to date)

Reading Stats

Books Read - 5 (90)Pages Read - 1431 (29541)

Collage grid of the covers of the 5 books listed above.September 2024 Covers

Authors

Unique Authors: 5 (42)

Author - books read - pages read

Adrian Tchaikovsky (1 - 592) Amanda Cross (1 - 186)
Andrea Penrose (6 - 2,096) Andy Weir (1 - 481)
Ann Leckie (1 - 397) Anna Lee Huber - 1 - 306 (3 - 1,122)
Ben H. Winters (1 - 322) Bowles, Burns, Hixson, Jenness, Tellers (1 - 288)
Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel (1 - 293) Carola Dunn - 1 - 261 (9 - 2,230)
Charles Todd (1 - 352) CLAMP (4 - 1,934)
Daniel O'Malley (1 - 688) Deanna Raybourn (3 - 996)
Dennis Duncan (1 - 339) Dorothy L. Sayers (1 - 132)
Elly Griffiths (12 - 4,359) Garth Nix - 1 - 408 (1 - 408)
Hanna Hagen Bjørgaas (1 - 258) Heather Fawcett (1 - 320)
Ian Rankin (1 - 241) Ilona Andrews (2 - 668)
Jacqueline Winspear (1 - 352) James Ogilvy (1 - 201)
Katherine Addison (1 - 448) Katherine May (1 - 212)
Katie Mack (1 - 237) Louise Penny (4 - 1,418)
Margery Allingham - 1 - 208 (1 - 208) Martha Wells - 1 - 248 (6 - 2,240)
Mary Robinette Kowal (3 - 841) Milan Kundera (1 - 314)
Nicholas Eames (1 - 464) Oliver Burkeman (1 - 290)
R. Brian Stanfield (1 - 242) Sherry Thomas (1 - 364)
Shonda Rhimes (1 - 337) Suzette Mayr (1 - 224)
T. Kingfisher (1 - 114) Tomohito Oda (1 - 192)
Toshikazu Kawaguchi (1 - 227) Vernor Vinge (1 - 555)
Victoria Goddard (1 - 110) Yoshiki Tanaka (5 - 1249)

Word cloud of the authors I read in September, with the size based on the number of words read. Carola Dunn is in the middle in a medium font, Margery Allingham is above and a little smaller and Anna Lee Huber is above that in a larger font, Garth Nix is below Dunn in the largest font and Martha Wells is below in the smallest font.September 2024 Author Cloud

Publication Decade

1920s - 1 (2) 1960s - (1)
1980s - (7) 1990s - (11)
2000s - 1 (5) 2010s - 2 (39)
2020s - 1 (25)

Source

Audible - (4) Author's Website - (1)
Borrowed From Friend - (3) Kobo - 1 (22)
Libby - 2 (46) Libro fm - 2 (8)
My Library - (1) Shared - (5)

Formats

Audio Book - 2 (39) Blog Post - (1)
eBook - 3 (41) eBook Comic - (5)
Hardcover - (2) Paperback - (2)

Friday, September 06, 2024

The Books I Read - August 2024

I didn't read much in August, which was again party due to watching a lot of Critical Role and partly I just wasn't in the right mood. Anna Lee Huber's Lady Darcy books are a good balance of Scottish murder mystery and romance and I found a Grave Matter really fun. Petty Treasons was a lot of fun and the fact that it starts in second person more or less makes sense and works.

I added a bunch of books to Libby and my Kobo, Libro.fm and Owls nest wish lists so I think I'll be back to my usual reading speed as summer ends.


Stats for August - (Year to date)

Reading Stats

Books Read - 5 (85)Pages Read - 1520 (28110)

Collage grid of the covers of the 5 books listed above.August 2024 Covers

Authors

Unique Authors: 5 (42)

Author - books read - pages read

Adrian Tchaikovsky (1 - 592) Amanda Cross (1 - 186)
Andrea Penrose (6 - 2,096) Andy Weir (1 - 481)
Ann Leckie (1 - 397) Anna Lee Huber - 1 - 432 (2 - 816)
Ben H. Winters (1 - 322) Bowles, Burns, Hixson, Jenness, Tellers (1 - 288)
Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel (1 - 293) Carola Dunn (8 - 1,969)
Charles Todd (1 - 352) CLAMP (4 - 1,934)
Daniel O'Malley (1 - 688) Deanna Raybourn (3 - 996)
Dennis Duncan (1 - 339) Dorothy L. Sayers (1 - 132)
Elly Griffiths - 1 - 350 (12 - 4,359) Hanna Hagen Bjørgaas (1 - 258)
Heather Fawcett (1 - 320) Ian Rankin (1 - 241)
Ilona Andrews (2 - 668) Jacqueline Winspear (1 - 352)
James Ogilvy (1 - 201) Katherine Addison (1 - 448)
Katherine May (1 - 212) Katie Mack (1 - 237)
Louise Penny - 1 - 376 (4 - 1,418) Martha Wells (5 - 1,992)
Mary Robinette Kowal (3 - 841) Milan Kundera (1 - 314)
Nicholas Eames (1 - 464) Oliver Burkeman (1 - 290)
R. Brian Stanfield (1 - 242) Sherry Thomas (1 - 364)
Shonda Rhimes (1 - 337) Suzette Mayr (1 - 224)
T. Kingfisher (1 - 114) Tomohito Oda (1 - 192)
Toshikazu Kawaguchi (1 - 227) Vernor Vinge (1 - 555)
Victoria Goddard - 1 - 110 (1 - 110) Yoshiki Tanaka - 1 - 252 (5 - 1249)

Word cloud of the authors I read in August, based on the number of words read. Anna Lee Huber is largest and at the top, then Elly Griffiths below and a little smaller then Louise Penny about the same size. Yoshiki Tanaka is off to the left and quite a bit smaller and Victoria Goddard is smallest and tucked in to the bottom right.August 2024 Author Cloud

Publication Decade

1920s - (1) 1960s - (1)
1980s - 1 (7) 1990s - (11)
2000s - 1 (4) 2010s - 1 (37)
2020s - 2 (24)

Source

Audible - (4) Author's Website - (1)
Borrowed From Friend - (3) Kobo - 2 (21)
Libby - 3 (44) Libro fm - (6)
My Library - (1) Shared - (5)

Formats

Audio Book - 1 (37) Blog Post - (1)
eBook - 4 (38) eBook Comic - (5)
Hardcover - (2) Paperback - (2)

Saturday, August 24, 2024

The Books I Read - July 2024

I'm late updating things for July, so I don't know that I have a lot to add. I did start watching through Critical Role, (from the very begining) and that's cut down on my Audio book listening quite a bit. I ended up picking up a lot of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes books since they were kind of easy to pick up and put down. In case you're interested, they're written -- or translated -- very dryly and I find it's very helpful to read them in the voice of Dan Carlin.


Authors

Unique Authors: 6 (41)

Author - books read - pages read

Adrian Tchaikovsky (1 - 592) Amanda Cross (1 - 186)
Andrea Penrose (6 - 2,096) Andy Weir - 1 - 481 (1 - 481)
Ann Leckie (1 - 397) Anna Lee Huber (1 - 384)
Ben H. Winters (1 - 322) Bowles, Burns, Hixson, Jenness, Tellers (1 - 288)
Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel (1 - 293) Carola Dunn (8 - 1,969)
Charles Todd (1 - 352) CLAMP (4 - 1,934)
Daniel O'Malley (1 - 688) Deanna Raybourn (3 - 996)
Dennis Duncan - 1 - 339 (1 - 339) Dorothy L. Sayers (1 - 132)
Elly Griffiths (11 - 4,009) Hanna Hagen Bjørgaas (1 - 258)
Heather Fawcett (1 - 320) Ian Rankin (1 - 241)
Ilona Andrews (2 - 668) Jacqueline Winspear (1 - 352)
James Ogilvy - 1 - 201 (1 - 201) Katherine Addison (1 - 448)
Katherine May - 1 - 212 (1 - 212) Katie Mack (1 - 237)
Louise Penny (3 - 1,042) Martha Wells - 2 - 891 (5 - 1,992)
Mary Robinette Kowal (3 - 841) Milan Kundera (1 - 314)
Nicholas Eames (1 - 464) Oliver Burkeman (1 - 290)
R. Brian Stanfield (1 - 242) Sherry Thomas (1 - 364)
Shonda Rhimes (1 - 337) Suzette Mayr (1 - 224)
T. Kingfisher (1 - 114) Tomohito Oda (1 - 192)
Toshikazu Kawaguchi (1 - 227) Vernor Vinge (1 - 555)
Yoshiki Tanaka - 3 - 725 (4 - 997)

Word cloud of the authors I read in July. Yoshi Tanaka and Martha Wells are largest and the others, Dennis Duncan, Katherine May, Andy Weir, James Ogilvy surround them.July 2024 Author Cloud

1920s - (1) 1960s - (1)
1980s - 3 (6) 1990s - 1 (11)
2000s - (3) 2010s - 2 (36)
2020s - 3 (22)

Source

Audible - (4) Author's Website - (1)
Borrowed From Friend - 1 (3) Kobo - 5 (19)
Libby - 1 (41) Libro fm - (6)
My Library - (1) Shared - 2 (5)

Formats

Audio Book - 2 (36) Blog Post - (1)
eBook - 6 (34) eBook Comic - 1 (6)
Hardcover - (2) Paperback - (1)

The Silence of the Refrigerator

One of my first memories in our house, about 7 years ago now, is sitting at the dinning room table and thinking the fridge was about to expl...