On Sunday, July 7, 2013 4:09:44 PM UTC-4, nestork wrote:
Well, Frank, I can't see any leaks in your refrigerant lines that
might explain the "oily" smell.

I am seeing more frost formation on your evaporator, and it
certainly doesn't look like most of the frost is forming at one end
of the evaporator than another. So, I'd call that a more or less
uniform frost accumulation.

From what I can see, there's no clear evidence that the freon charge
on your fridge is getting low, and that means there's no clear
evidence of any leak in the freon system. That in turn means
there's no reason to suspect there's anything leaking out of that
freon system, including an oil mist, so we're no further ahead than
before. Sorry I couldn't have been more help.

I did see that the pipe with the loop in it cleaned up nicely and
doesn't show any wetness now. I guess that oily film in the prior
picture was just brazing flux left behind by the manufacturing
process.

You said that the fan that blew air over the evaporator coil in the
freezer was attached to the panel you removed. If that's the case,
you should at least prop up that panel so that the fan is blowing
air over the evaporator coils. Otherwise you''ll find that your
fridge won't work properly until that panel is put back in place.

From what I can see, there's nothing seriously wrong with your
fridge, and I have no idea what that "oily smell" is. Sorry I
couldn't have pinpointed it's source. There's just nothing wrong in
the pictures you're posting, except for the dented fins on the
evaporator coil, and the dust accumulated on the condensor coil and
condenser fan blades.

Perhaps you could explain to your property management company that
you're smelling an odd smell coming from the fridge, and ask if they
can switch that fridge with one from the next empty apartment they
have?

nestork,

I appreciate the expert advice you've given me on this thread.

Understood that the oil smell cannot be coming from a freon leakage. That's pretty well in line with your advice that such a situation would quickly lead to a nonfunctioning fridge, which hasn't happened.

I'll keep in mind your advice to talk to the landlord. I think I'm also getting use to the smell, since I'm noticing it much less. Maybe it seemed very pronounced simply because I was away from the apartment for a number of days.

Admittedly, that would not explain the source of the smell. I'm not dismissing the possibility that maybe all machinery normally has some trace residue of oil, and I might be one of those people who are very sensitive to that. If that's the case, perhaps acclimatization solves the problem in cases where it is faint enough. I know that there are some less faint cases (fan motors) where acclimatization just doesn't work. But that's a different story.

Once again, thanks.