On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:32:12 -0700, wrote:

They made self-defrosting units for a long time with coils in the
back. The one I have now from mid 80s is made that way and I know
they were made in the 70's with auto defrost and coils too. Not sure
when the non-exposed coil units first appearerd, but I would guess
90's?

Definitely better, as you don't have to worry about the exposed coils
in back when moving it and it goes back close to flush.

But there's a down side.
Cleaning the under-fridge heat exchanger is a real pain.

I still have to pull out the fridge and unplug it..
Then, crawl on the floor,
remove half-dozen hex sheet-metal screws from the back cover.
( this exposes the fan and the coils ( sort of ) )
Lots of dust.... worse if you have a dog or cat
Squeeze the shop-vac hose into all the nooks and crannys.
Try not to bend, break or disconnect anything.
Replace access cover
Rassle fridge back in place, and plug it in.

How many average households will do this
once or twice a year ?

How many will have poor performance
or shorter appliance life due to clogged coils...

It was alot simpler when Momma could roll out the fridge,
run the vac hose over the ( exposed ) coils, and roll it back.

clogged heat
rj