Two issues here...
Side by side freezers are inefficient. The cold air literally "falls out"
when you open the door. And the design means that you don't have enough room
in either the freezer or the fridge.
But there's also energy consumption. Old refrigerators burn a lot more
electricity than today's models and at current power rates, that's a factor.



"Joe-46er" wrote in message
...
When is it time to toss away a refrigerator? My 9 year old
side-by-side GE 21 cf was doing fine, then all of a sudden it began to
fail. Not completely (yet).

Right now the freezer section works as follows: 22 degrees at the
bottom and 32 degrees at the top. (I don't know why the discrepancy.)
The non-freezer section maintains a 52 degree temp. These are when set
at max cold.

The fins are dust-free. I've turned the controls on and off several
times.

Is it worth calling in a repairman? I figure that the worst problem I
could have is a bad compressor. So what might that cost? Is it
cost-effective to repair or should I just go get a new one? The
original was $900 at the time. I can get an equivalent today for
around $700.

This brings up another issue...finding an honest repairman. I recall
seeing a TV consumer special about how unscrupulous some are.

Thanks.



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"Take a little 5FU, leucovorin and oxaliplatin for thy stomach's sake." --
1 Timothy 5:23 (adapted)