Fridges, freezers and plumbing

There are 18 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 384 times. The latest Post (September 9, 2026 at 10:54 AM) was by Rice.

    The shower spray valve in the bidet needed replacing because hardly any water was coming out and I knew it would be a struggle because I had already replaced the hot and cold valves last year. I say a struggle because over the years the water reacts with the metal and things get stuck. For example, the chrome tap that you turn is screwed to the top of the valve with a brass screw which has a tiny slot at the top, as opposed to a crossed Philips. Anyway, this one was impossible to remove, especially since the slot gets destroyed after too many attempts. In the end I had to drill the top off the brass screw in order to remove the chrome tap handle, otherwise you can't get to the valve and it's an odd looking valve which fortunately I managed to buy in the local plumbing shop for $23k cash.

    Putting it all back together was simple and I used PTFE tape around the valve thread, cleaned all the joints with a drop of oil and put a tiny bit of oil around the thread of the new brass screw.

    Works like a charm now and a satisfying job to do.

    Two Italian influencers visiting Argentina made a post showing their surprise in finding bidets with the spray faucet from the bottom of the bidet. From the comments, it turned out that we had them in Italy, too, but they were banned for hygienic reasons (the water spray crosses the "dirty" returning water before hitting your private parts again.

    Since then, I never use the bottom faucet anymore.

    Yesterday I defrosted the small Patrick fridge because it was nice and warm, although it still took about six hours. The door to the small top compartments broke off, hence the ice. I did enjoy the ice though.

    Fortunately, our massive, 30 year old twin door GE fridge freezer never frosts up. Well, it used to until I fixed it.

    Quote from Splinter

    Yesterday I defrosted the small Patrick fridge because it was nice and warm, although it still took about six hours. The door to the small top compartments broke off, hence the ice. I did enjoy the ice though.

    Fortunately, our massive, 30 year old twin door GE fridge freezer never frosts up. Well, it used to until I fixed it.

    I spoke too soon. The General Electric fridge freezer in the garage has stopped working. It runs but doesn't cool or freeze, so we've asked a reliable man to see if he can fix it.


    The freezer section is enormous as is the fridge area, so if it can't be fixed (it must be over 30 years old) we'll have to get something like this because we don't have much room.

    Fingers crossed!

    Our Whirlpool fridge freezer was here before me so over 26 years old. It has started playing up the last year or two. Water gathers below the fruit and veg trays. I make sure the drainage hole above is always clear so it's not that clogging up that's caused the problem. I suspect it must be the settings not working as they should be.

    If it costs too much to fix we'll just buy a new one. It's served us well so we can't complain.

    Quote from UK Man

    Our Whirlpool fridge freezer was here before me so over 26 years old.

    I replaced ours this year. Electrolux that was 20 years old. It was still working fine, but the freezer section had been frosting too often which limited space. I was annoyed it required constant defrosting. Happy now with a bigger BGH. Double the freezer volume, that is the newer no-frost tech, with about the same fridge volume. Inverter tech to be more efficient. Half the price of what I paid for one in US last year.

    Quote from aficionado

    I replaced ours this year. Electrolux that was 20 years old. It was still working fine, but the freezer section had been frosting too often which limited space. I was annoyed it required constant defrosting. Happy now with a bigger BGH. Double the freezer volume, that is the newer no-frost tech, with about the same fridge volume. Inverter tech to be more efficient. Half the price of what I paid for one in US last year.

    Yes our freezer section has the same problem. Shall pass on the info about the BGH one to the missus. :thumbup:

    Quote from UK Man

    Yes our freezer section has the same problem. Shall pass on the info about the BGH one to the missus. :thumbup:

    Newer no-frost is an extra option with every brand now. Not only BGH. Something I only learned about in recent years, though maybe has existed for many.

    It has been around for a while, but here in Argentina it is an option only with premium brands/models. We have one in the STR for convenience. In our home, we still have a regular SIAM which we bought when we arrived with the idea to stay for 2 years. We defrost it twice a year.

    Quote from aficionado

    Newer no-frost is an extra option with every brand now. Not only BGH. Something I only learned about in recent years, though maybe has existed for many.

    She bought a new one for the BA apartment which I suspect must be no frost. Many months later the freezer section doesn't have any ice build up. :thumbup:

    I found a GE specialist and he turned up on time - a miracle. Anyway, the fan that cools the compressor had stopped and the relay had got stuck but was not broken, so the only thing that needs replacing is the fan motor. He left it running overnight with one of our portable fans next to the compressor and the fridge/freezer worked perfectly, so not that expensive fortunately. New machines are over 1m pesos.

    Some pics of the current situation and hoping the bloke will return!

    Edited once, last by Splinter: Merged a post created by Splinter into this post. (September 8, 2026 at 9:49 AM).

    If the repair man can fix your 30-year-old G.E., you are ahead in the game. Our most recent refrigerator installer (we have had several in the past 20 years) told us that 30 years ago, refrigerators were built to last a lifetime, but today they are built to last 5-10 years.

    Quote from Rice

    If the repair man can fix your 30-year-old G.E., you are ahead in the game. Our most recent refrigerator installer (we have had several in the past 20 years) told us that 30 years ago, refrigerators were built to last a lifetime, but today they are built to last 5-10 years.

    The same kind of remarks was made to my mother when she called in a repairman for her Bosch washing machine. It wasn't really old, but he said that the current models are done so cheaply that they are made to not last and to keep repairing her current model for as long as possible.

    Having watched some YouTube videos I think our problem could be not defrosting the freezer section as often as we should. Fortunately we have a chest freezer in an outhouse to keep the frozen stuff during the process. So I shall give it a bash and see if that cures the problem.

    Quote from Splinter

    He turned up on time again, changed the fan motor and together we put everything back together. $240k and it could have been a lot worse. It's actually working better than before, now!

    His charge seems very reasonable, and you seem to have found someone who is competent and honest. Hang on to his contact info!

    A much better outcome than having to buy a new fridge with a design you don't like as well as yours, that wouldn't last as long as yours, at a price higher than the cost of the repair.

    Reason to celebrate! 🥳