What is a hard start kit and how do you hook it up?

On 10/27/2017 02:01 AM, wrote:
What is a hard start kit and how do you hook it up?

Before I spent money on a hard start kit, I'd make sure all electrical wiring connections to the fridge are tight.

I'd also check to make sure the refrigerator receptacle is nice and tight when you plug it in.

Then I'd check the breaker panel connections to make certain they were tight as well. This check would include the breaker-to-bus connection as well.

And while the panel cover was off, I'd check the voltages of L1 and L2 to make sure they are within ~7 volts of each other.

Finally I'd check the refrigerator compressor's capacitor.

If all that is good, I'd go to Lowe's Depot and buy a new fridge.

On 10/27/2017 4:35 AM, Jack Frost wrote:
On 10/27/2017 02:01 AM, wrote:
What is a hard start kit and how do you hook it up?

Before I spent money on a hard start kit, I'd make sure all electrical
wiring connections to the fridge are tight.

I'd also check to make sure the refrigerator receptacle is nice and
tight when you plug it in.

Then I'd check the breaker panel connections to make certain they were
tight as well. This check would include the breaker-to-bus connection as
well.

And while the panel cover was off, I'd check the voltages of L1 and L2
to make sure they are within ~7 volts of each other.

Finally I'd check the refrigerator compressor's capacitor.

If all that is good, I'd go to Lowe's Depot and buy a new fridge.



I agree with your assessment except for Lowes. We have a local
appliance dealer with the same prices but much better service than any
of the big stores can offer.

On 10/27/2017 3:35 AM, Jack Frost wrote:
On 10/27/2017 02:01 AM, wrote:
What is a hard start kit and how do you hook it up?

Before I spent money on a hard start kit, I'd make sure all electrical
wiring connections to the fridge are tight.

I'd also check to make sure the refrigerator receptacle is nice and
tight when you plug it in.

Then I'd check the breaker panel connections to make certain they were
tight as well. This check would include the breaker-to-bus connection as
well.

And while the panel cover was off, I'd check the voltages of L1 and L2
to make sure they are within ~7 volts of each other.

Finally I'd check the refrigerator compressor's capacitor.

If all that is good, I'd go to Lowe's Depot and buy a new fridge.


I'd also concur with Jack's assessment up until the last sentence.

The OP has to determine what to do after diagnosing the problem. Too
often/too soon we relegate stuff to the junk pile.

Depends on what the refrigerator is being used for. In our case we had
an older, but not ancient, refrigerator that crapped out. We figured it
was getting about time and so bought the nice, new French Door
refrigerator that SWMBO wanted. I did some checking and found out about
the booster kit while attempting to find an OEM capacitor for the unit.
I picked up the booster capacitor kit for about $20, installed it and
got another six years of use out of that refrigerator as a garage
refrigerator for beverages and food that we bought in bulk.

7 years service for a $20 investment was not bad. YMMV but depending
upon the OP's particular situation it could be the deal of a lifetime. .
.. or not.

On 10/27/2017 10:12 AM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
7 years service for a $20 investment was not bad.Â* YMMV but depending upon the OP's particular situation it could be the deal of a lifetime. . . or not.

Sherbet old refrigerators are energy hogs.Â* Unless you got free electric from solar panel window panes, you might as well get a new EnergyStar model and start saving.Â* After all, you don't want the sherbet to melt.

On 10/27/2017 4:41 PM, Bubba wrote:
On 10/27/2017 10:12 AM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
7 years service for a $20 investment was not bad.Â* YMMV but depending
upon the OP's particular situation it could be the deal of a lifetime.
. . or not.

Sherbet old refrigerators are energy hogs.Â* Unless you got free electric
from solar panel window panes, you might as well get a new EnergyStar
model and start saving.Â* After all, you don't want the sherbet to melt.


Yep, if you buy a $2000 new refrigerator you can save up to $10 a month.
My pencil is broke so I can't calculate the payback right now but I
know is is there.

On 10/27/2017 04:53 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/27/2017 4:41 PM, Bubba wrote:
On 10/27/2017 10:12 AM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
7 years service for a $20 investment was not bad.Â* YMMV but depending upon the OP's particular situation it could be the deal of a lifetime. . . or not.

Sherbet old refrigerators are energy hogs.Â* Unless you got free electric from solar panel window panes, you might as well get a new EnergyStar model and start saving.Â* After all, you don't
want the sherbet to melt.


Yep, if you buy a $2000 new refrigerator you can save up to $10 a month. Â*My pencil is broke so I can't calculate the payback right now but I know is is there.


Oh good grief!Â* A refrigerator is a box that keeps food cold.Â* No need to spend $2k.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Whirlpool-1...-STAR/50304471

On Friday, October 27, 2017 at 1:01:45 AM UTC-5, wrote:
What is a hard start kit and how do you hook it up?

Search engines work great for such a question but here are some links with an explanation and even instructional video. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/starter...tor-83425.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-47kVjzurF4

https://www.freedomhvacal.com/blog/t...ard-start-kit/

https://www.applianceblog.com/mainfo...hard-start-kit

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=what+is+a+... =v83-1&ia=web

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucAThz114xg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v9W7fiu1cA

[8~{} Uncle Refrigerator Monster

replying to siscob66, Iggy wrote:
Jack Frost is absolutely right. A hard start kit (capacitor booster) will most
likely not fix your problem and you should either Call-in an Appliance
Repairer or get a new fridge. Today's appliances (of this decade+) are hit or
miss and if you don't have a warranty or aftermarket extended warranty, you're
playing with fire.

Even with the warranty, you're looking at a lot of wasted attempts and very
much wasted disruption to your life. The other problem, as seen in the early
flat panel TV DECADE, is that manufacturers are being allowed to NOT honor
their warranty or Contract at all. It's silently been approved for you to keep
buying new replacements until you finally get one that works as it should.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...r-1148619-.htm

On Friday, October 27, 2017 at 9:44:06 AM UTC-4, Iggy wrote:
replying to siscob66, Iggy wrote:
Jack Frost is absolutely right. A hard start kit (capacitor booster) will most
likely not fix your problem and you should either Call-in an Appliance
Repairer or get a new fridge.

Maybe not, depending on what the problem is. But a kit can be had
for $20, what's the cost of a service call or new fridge? If it's
tripping the breaker occasionally when starting, that would be a sign
that a HS kit could work.

replying to trader_4, Iggy wrote:
Sure, a HSK might fix the problem today, but what about next month when the
HSK fix fails or you discover it's not cooling or leaking water or not
defrosting or not making ice, etc. $150 to for a Service Repairer's overall
assessment and maybe install of the correct HSK would be well worth it.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...r-1148619-.htm

On Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 10:14:06 AM UTC-4, Iggy wrote:
replying to trader_4, Iggy wrote:
Sure, a HSK might fix the problem today, but what about next month when the
HSK fix fails or you discover it's not cooling or leaking water or not
defrosting or not making ice, etc. $150 to for a Service Repairer's overall
assessment and maybe install of the correct HSK would be well worth it.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...r-1148619-.htm

Maybe it's well worth it to you, I'd go with the $15 hard start
kit, provided it had symptoms of a hard start problem. I did that
with my previous central AC and got another 15 years out of it,
no problems at all. And no reason to believe paying someone $150 to
put one in is going to be any better. It also depends on the age
of the fridge, if it's old, I wouldn't spend $150 to find out
what's wrong with it.

In article ,
says...

Maybe it's well worth it to you, I'd go with the $15 hard start
kit, provided it had symptoms of a hard start problem. I did that
with my previous central AC and got another 15 years out of it,
no problems at all. And no reason to believe paying someone $150 to
put one in is going to be any better. It also depends on the age
of the fridge, if it's old, I wouldn't spend $150 to find out
what's wrong with it.


I have a Trane heat pump. Looking at the paper work on it, there seems
to be some models that come with the factory installed hard start kit
and some that do not. All are for the same basic unit but slightly
different models.