Mike S. wrote:
My parents have a refrigerator that is nearly 20 years old. There was
a problem with the door so my father tried to fix it. He ended up
taking the plastic part off the door where the food goes but left the
gasket loosely hanging on the door. We closed the door as tight as
possible but it most likely wasn't sealing correctly and allowing the
cold to escape.

I noticed three months later that the refrigerator was running nearly
constantly. The temp. would fluctuate between 40-60 degrees and the
inside was sweating but there were also ice formations in the back. My
father claims it's because the door isn't on tight. He got another
door without the gasket and put that up there to test, and it formed
nearly an airtight seal (better than before). However, the
refrigerator is still running constantly.

What we can't figure out is if it's running constantly because the
proper door isn't on there or because it's old and on it's last legs.
Any thoughts? The answer is what decides if we should get a new
refrigerator or not. I figure that with new refrigerators being more
energy efficient, we'll end up saving more money in the long run. My
father doesn't think about/understand things like that so he
disagrees. I'd love to hear opinions on this.

The poorly fitting door seal likely allowed enough moisture to get in to
form so much ice that it is now blocking air flow. All that ice needs to be
melted before it will start functioning properly. The last time that
happened to me it took several days to thaw out properly. If the new
current seal is not properly sealing it may just freeze up again.

Frankly your father has spent more time and money on the frig than I
would have. A twenty year old fridge would not get much effort on my part.
I would be looking for a new more efficient one.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit