[Willie The Wimp]

Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

[Nate Nagel]

Willie The Wimp wrote:
Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

possible. I had an old dehumidifier that used to clunk and rattle when
it shut off.

Does fridge have an icemaker? Might be the pipes knocking when the
water shuts off.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

[Oren[_2_]]

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:51:43 -0600, Willie The Wimp
wrote:

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?


I've heard them rattle :-)

Any other ideas?

Check the compressor mounts and see if something is broken.

[[email protected][_2_]]

Willie The Wimp wrote:
Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

I had a Sears that did what you describe - I doubt that it did so from
day one, but it died just a little past the five-year warranty on the motor.

[Willie The Wimp]

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:03:33 -0500, Nate Nagel wrote:

Does fridge have an icemaker? Might be the pipes knocking when the
water shuts off.

I didn't get the icemaker. Figgered it'd be a headache sooner or
later.

[Stormin Mormon]

Yes. usually within the compressor, and not much you can do.
Goes clunk when the compressor turns off. Part of the
personality of the house.

I live under a walnut tree, it sounds like hand grenades
being thrown at a Quonset, or a field shelter in Vietnam.
I'm not a vet; good thing. I'd be psychiatric over the
personality of my place.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Willie The Wimp" wrote in
message ...

Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly
original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of
the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard
it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters,
possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may
never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good
service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I
can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

[zxcvbob]

On 12/24/2009 4:51 PM, Willie The Wimp wrote:

Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie


I have an old Sears upright freezer that's started doing that when the
compressor cuts off. It still seems to work OK, and I put a wattmeter
on in and it's all still in spec. (probably a compressor mounting bolt
broke or rusted off)

Bob

[Phisherman[_2_]]

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:03:33 -0500, Nate Nagel
wrote:

Willie The Wimp wrote:
Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

possible. I had an old dehumidifier that used to clunk and rattle when
it shut off.

Does fridge have an icemaker? Might be the pipes knocking when the
water shuts off.

nate


We had a refrigerator going on 30-some years of use. It always
sounded like someone was frantically typing on an old manual
typewriter, stopping and starting occasionally, almost haunting...

[Willie The Wimp]

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:19:49 -0500, " wrote:

I had a Sears that did what you describe - I doubt that it did so from
day one, but it died just a little past the five-year warranty on the motor.

Only 5 years?
You don't know who made it for Sears, do you? Whirlpool or ????

[hr(bob) [email protected]]

On Dec 24, 4:51*pm, Willie The Wimp
wrote:
Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

* Thx,
* Willie

You should be able to get under the unit and with a piece of wood
jimmy the compressor very slightly and leave it in its new position.
Then see if that makes any difference. If not, set up a bed in the
kitchen and see if the noise really comes from the fridge.Please
report back here what you find. Please start a new subject "report on
refrigerator clunking" so that we see it again, otherwise it will be
so far down in the list most of us will not see the results.

[The Daring Dufas[_6_]]

Willie The Wimp wrote:
Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

Another possibility is if the fridge has a condenser fan underneath.
When the thrust washers/bearings wear, the shaft will pop back and
fourth when power is applied or removed from the motor. It can make
a clunking sound. As far as the compressor goes, hermetic compressors
have the motor and pump actually suspended or sitting on springs inside
the can. Over the years, the springs can weaken and allow the compressor
to bang against the inside of the can when it starts or stops. There can
also be bearing wear in the compressor itself much like what happens
with a fan motor, the shaft can move longitudinally and make a thumping
sound when the compressor motor cuts off. I found a PDF file that has
an exploded view of a small hermetic on page 71 that shows the springs:

http://eprints.utm.my/2627/1/71811.pdf

Here's a link to an excellent video about small hermetic compressors:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAZGkny8g64

TDD

[terry]

On Dec 25, 6:54*am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Willie The Wimp wrote:
Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

* Thx,
* Willie

Another possibility is if the fridge has a condenser fan underneath.
When the thrust washers/bearings wear, the shaft will pop back and
fourth when power is applied or removed from the motor. It can make
a clunking sound. As far as the compressor goes, hermetic compressors
have the motor and pump actually suspended or sitting on springs inside
the can. Over the years, the springs can weaken and allow the compressor
to bang against the inside of the can when it starts or stops. There can
also be bearing wear in the compressor itself much like what happens
with a fan motor, the shaft can move longitudinally and make a thumping
sound when the compressor motor cuts off. I found a PDF file that has
an exploded view of a small hermetic on page 71 that shows the springs:

http://eprints.utm.my/2627/1/71811.pdf

Here's a link to an excellent video about small hermetic compressors:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAZGkny8g64

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Our bog stanadard 30 something year old Sears fridge sometimes
'rattles' when it starts up and the house is quiet. Figure the
compressor is mounted on rubber washers or summat and after all this
time one of those might be somewhat worn and there might be metal to
metal contact? Also the cooling pipes on the back are close togther
and there is either a rubber block missing or it was made that way.
Years ago tied something around the two small pipes about same size as
car brake lines and they didn't rattle gainst each other any more!

[SteveBell[_2_]]

Willie The Wimp | 2009-12-24 | 4:51:43 PM wrote:


Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while
in the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

It's from 1984. Is it a frost-free model? The defroster might be
turning on, then off.

The defrost cycle (if it has one) is just a few minutes blowing heated
air through the freezer to melt the ice. On some machines, that
involves opening and closing baffle doors, I understand.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX USA

[Dick Adams[_2_]]

Willie The Wimp wrote:

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

My house use to have one refrigerator upstairs, one downstairs,
and three freezers downstairs. All were gotten for FREE from
freecycle.org. They were all 25 to 30 years old. When the
upstairs fridge was replaced with an energy efficient fridge
from Sears. Cost: 1700. Saving: $384/yr.

My wife got on my case about all the refrigeration downstairs.
My claim was it was needed for brewing beer and storing deer
meat. But over a year, I replaced two standup freezers with
a larger one aas well as the fridge - the new ones were energy
efficient. Cost: ~$1600. Savings: $418/yr.

The costs include the Sears Servive plan which has been used twice.

Think about replacing it.

Dick

[Twayne[_3_]]

In ,
Nate Nagel typed:
Willie The Wimp wrote:
Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the
kitchen. Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've
heard it while in the dining room as well. Never while I was in the
kitchen. I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

OH gee, this is a trip down memory lane for me! Back when I was "almost a
teen" and felt like a man, I slept right next to a wall that had, get this,
a 1948 Amana Fridigaire on the opposite side! This would have been 1954 and
later. I always wanted to keep that sucker because it seemed to just run
and run with never a problem except one time it sprung a freon leak; luckily
it stank to the high heavens so Dad was able to figure out quickly what it
was!

Amyway, that fridge would definitely "clunk" when it shut off! Not always,
but often enough to get your attentiong.
And occasionally an additional thump a few minutes later, further assumed
due to the hi-pressure side pressure leak-down for easy-start next time. It
was sort of muffled a little sound, but at the same time loud enough to hear
all over the camp and even outside if you happened to be around. Kind of
like, IMO, wrapping a piece of steel in a towel and dropping it onto
something real hard.
Dad always said it was the compressor head banging on the side of the
cylinder sleeve when it stopped at its lower-most point, and it wouldn't
hurt anything. If it did, we'd get a new one; after all, it came from a
junkyard in the first placeg. It served us for over a decade of all-summer
living and was still working when the camp was finally sold.
Once or twice we thought we'd beat it by carefully levelling the fridge,
but ... nope, it came back eventually! lol, I hav en't thought about that
in years!

There was another strange noise up there that we never did figure out. When
I was around 16 or 17, fairly during the night, there would be a "bong"
sound, like a piece of sheet metal being bent. It seemed to come from under
the camp; it was build right on bedrock, raised a bit by 5 gallon cans of
cement piers. But we never found anything under there that would/could make
that noise. There were no heat vents, just a very large kerosene space
heater to heat the place.
It had to be critters walking on something, but we never figured out
what. My Mother called it our own personal ghostg. NOT a lot of help at
that still gullible age!

Nostalgia; it used to be so great!

Twayne



Thx,
Willie

possible. I had an old dehumidifier that used to clunk and rattle
when it shut off.

Does fridge have an icemaker? Might be the pipes knocking when the
water shuts off.

nate



--
--
We've already reached
tomorrow's yesterday
but we're still far away from
yesterday's tomorrow.

[Twayne[_3_]]

In ,
Jeff The Drunk typed:
On Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:13:48 -0500, "Twayne"
wrote:

Amyway, that fridge would definitely "clunk" when it shut off! Not
always, but often enough to get your attentiong.

Compressor is suspended by springs inside allowing the guts to clunk
against the inside of the sealed container if the high side valve
doesn't close causing the compressor to turn backwards then stop
suddenly.

Hmm, that makes sense. Might explainj a "kickback" that creates a second
clunk, too. Sometimes I love these little asides!

Cheers,

Twayne`

--
We've already reached
tomorrow's yesterday
but we're still far away from
yesterday's tomorrow.

[Willie The Wimp]

I can't find the origin of the CLUNK. All evidence is inconclusive. I'll
keep looking, but ...

Responses are, however, much appreciated.

Thanks,
Willie

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:51:43 -0600, Willie The Wimp wrote:


Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

[Nate Nagel]

Well, geez, just set up a deck chair in the kitchen one night and curl
up with a good book and/or television, and just wait for the clunk?
What's one night's sleep worth compared to all of us worrying about you
living in a haunted house? :P

nate

Willie The Wimp wrote:
I can't find the origin of the CLUNK. All evidence is inconclusive. I'll
keep looking, but ...

Responses are, however, much appreciated.

Thanks,
Willie

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:51:43 -0600, Willie The Wimp wrote:

Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie


--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

[Stormin Mormon]

Sleep in the kitchen, with your head resting on the fridge
compressor?

Fridge compressor is a good place to start.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Willie The Wimp" wrote in
message ...
I can't find the origin of the CLUNK. All evidence is
inconclusive. I'll
keep looking, but ...

Responses are, however, much appreciated.

Thanks,
Willie

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:51:43 -0600, Willie The Wimp
wrote:


Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly
original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of
the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've
heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters,
possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may
never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good
service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but
I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

[Oren[_2_]]

On Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:06:48 -0600, Willie The Wimp
wrote:

I can't find the origin of the CLUNK. All evidence is inconclusive. I'll
keep looking, but ...

Responses are, however, much appreciated.

Thanks,
Willie

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:51:43 -0600, Willie The Wimp wrote:

Don't be silly! Get yourself a stethoscope.

[Twayne[_3_]]

In ,
Willie The Wimp typed:
I can't find the origin of the CLUNK. All evidence is inconclusive.
I'll
keep looking, but ...

Responses are, however, much appreciated.

Thanks,
Willie

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:51:43 -0600, Willie The Wimp
wrote:


Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the
kitchen. Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've
heard it while in the dining room as well. Never while I was in the
kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

Thx,
Willie

Time to put a mic in various places and compare the sounds afterwards. Say a
night each at each piece of equipment. Keep the record levels constant. Your
computer would likely do the job well plus record the events for
comparisons, etc..




--
--
Cats land on their feet.
but Toast lands PB side down;
A cat glued to some jelly toast will
hover in quantum indecision forever.

[DerbyDad03]

On Dec 27, 7:06*pm, Willie The Wimp
wrote:
I can't find the origin of the CLUNK. All evidence is inconclusive. I'll
keep looking, but ...

Responses are, however, much appreciated.

* Thanks,
* Willie

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:51:43 -0600, Willie The Wimp wrote:





Little brick bungalow in midwest US, built in 1954. Mostly original
stuff. Floor-boards creak a good bit. I'm alone here.

Every night, in bed, I hear a CLUNK from the direction of the kitchen.
Often a second one, not too long after the first. I've heard it while in
the dining room as well. Never while I was in the kitchen.

I orignally figgered it was in the studs or rafters, possibly
where they attach to the forced-air ductwork. If so, I may never
find the cause.

Fridge is an Amana built around 1984. Has given very good service.

It sometimes sounds like it is coming from the fridge, but I can't
tell for sure. Do they CLUNK when the compressor shuts off?

Any other ideas?

*Thx,
*Willie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Unplug the fridge. It'll stay cold overnight (If it doesn't, get a new
one. You're throwing money away.)

If you don't hear the thump, it's the fridge.

If you do, it ain't.

[Willie The Wimp]

On Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:20:47 -0800 (PST), DerbyDad03 wrote:


Unplug the fridge. It'll stay cold overnight (If it doesn't, get a new
one. You're throwing money away.)

If you don't hear the thump, it's the fridge.

If you do, it ain't.

It's not the fridge.

There's at least 2 thump/clunk sources.

One sounds to be in the vents, often audible 20-60 sec's after gas valve
opens, burners fire.

The other sounds like it could be in the kitchen floor-boards/rafters.

I could likely id the vent-clunk. Dunno what to do about the other.

Willie

[Willie The Wimp]

On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:42:47 -0600, Jules
wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:23:16 -0600, Willie The Wimp wrote:

On Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:20:47 -0800 (PST), DerbyDad03 wrote:


Unplug the fridge. It'll stay cold overnight (If it doesn't, get a new
one. You're throwing money away.)

If you don't hear the thump, it's the fridge.

If you do, it ain't.

It's not the fridge.

There's at least 2 thump/clunk sources.

One sounds to be in the vents, often audible 20-60 sec's after gas valve
opens, burners fire.

The other sounds like it could be in the kitchen floor-boards/rafters.

Is that second one related to furnace timing, too?

It seems not.

The (plastic pipe)
exhaust vent for our furnace always 'thumps' a little while after the
furnace shuts off and the pipe cools and contracts.

Also maybe condensate drain pump, if you have one...

80% furnace vents to typical metal flue.

Thx,
Willie