Found out that over 60% of fridge compressor failures are from voltage spikes, not age

Pulled that stat from a manufacturer's service bulletin last Tuesday after diagnosing a 2019 Samsung that should've run another 5 years at least, anyone else seeing more surge damage in older homes?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryh201mo ago

Oh man, that's rough. I feel for your buddy, alice_kim - losing a fridge to a surge is such a bummer, especially when it's preventable. And yeah, old homes are basically asking for trouble with voltage spikes. I've seen it with clients too, their fridges or washing machines kicking the bucket way too soon because of shoddy wiring from the 60s or 70s. A basic surge protector on the outlet feels like a no-brainer once you know the stats, but most people just don't think about it until it's too late. It's wild how many of those failures could be stopped with a simple plug.

alice_kim1mo ago

That 60% stat makes total sense honestly. I helped a buddy swap out his fridge last month and the compressor was fried from a surge during a storm. His house is from the 70s and the wiring is ancient, no surge protection anywhere. My own place is from the 80s and I just added a whole-house surge protector after my washing machine died last year. Old homes just don't have the modern grounding to handle those spikes. If you live in an older house, a simple surge protector on the fridge outlet is cheap insurance against that kind of failure.