My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been told
it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted £500 to
replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit steep, and
he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I think
there is a lot more to it than it looks.

Also can anyone recommend a honest refrigeration engineer in Surrey

Thanks in advance
Jen

"Jenny" wrote in message
...
My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been
told it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted
£500 to replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit
steep, and he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I
think there is a lot more to it than it looks.

This isn't usually a DIY-able task
....You will probably need...
A vacuum pump
A cylinder to put the current gas in (if it hasn't escaped)
A Braising torch
Braising rods
a sweiging tool
The refrigeration gas reclaimed from before, plus some more (maybe)
Pressure gauges
A new compressor.

So unless you are, have been, or know a refrigeration engineer, you are
unlikley to have the tools to do it!

How old is the Fredge/Freezer?

"Jenny" wrote in message
...
My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been
told it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted
£500 to replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit
steep, and he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I
think there is a lot more to it than it looks.

Also can anyone recommend a honest refrigeration engineer in Surrey

Thanks in advance
Jen

Probably cost slightly more to purchase a new one. The £500 will be mainly
labour charges.

Jenny wrote:
My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been told
it is the compressor.

Are you _sure_ it's the compressor? The usual thing to go is the
thermostat. Did you see the engineer test that?

Making sure he knows where not to put fingers with the power on (unless
you are looking for a new husband too get him to short out the
thermostat microswitch contacts (if they can be found) and see if the
compressor starts. If so, and assuming it's not a new-fangled
complicated microprocessor-controlled fridge, replacement thermostats
are available for a few pounds on eBay. Google this group for further
advice on fitting.

Chris

Jenny wrote:

My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been told
it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted £500 to
replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit steep, and
he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I think
there is a lot more to it than it looks.

Also can anyone recommend a honest refrigeration engineer in Surrey

Thanks in advance
Jen

Just been looking at prices, a bit over £100 for compressors for
standard ffs, so somewhat more for yours. His £500 probably isnt too
far off.

If its a partial short, compressors can often be got going again
without repairing them by modifying their electrical feed. It is a
bodge, but it works and saves £499, so sometimes its the only
practical choice.

Like you I dont know how trustworthy your eng is, so it might be worth
doing a few checks with a meter to confirm the diagnosis. If it were a
bimetal cutout that would be very cheap.

Does your hubby know enough to do it? Does he have the tools?


NT

"Jenny" wrote in message
...
My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been
told it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted
£500 to replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit
steep, and he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I
think there is a lot more to it than it looks.

The price sounds realistic. I have yet to have a fridge freezer compressor
failure where it was cheaper to repair than to replace. I also would not
consider replacing the compressor to be a DIY job.

Colin Bignell

"Sparks" wrote in message
...
"Jenny" wrote in message
...
My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been
told it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted
£500 to replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit
steep, and he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I
think there is a lot more to it than it looks.

This isn't usually a DIY-able task
...You will probably need...
A vacuum pump
A cylinder to put the current gas in (if it hasn't escaped)
A Braising torch
Braising rods
a sweiging tool
The refrigeration gas reclaimed from before, plus some more (maybe)
Pressure gauges
A new compressor.

So unless you are, have been, or know a refrigeration engineer, you are
unlikley to have the tools to do it!

He knows that now, he had a quick look on the internet.

How old is the Fredge/Freezer?

6 years old, it cost £1600 new.

"ABC" wrote in message
...

"Jenny" wrote in message
...
My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been
told it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted
£500 to replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit
steep, and he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I
think there is a lot more to it than it looks.

Also can anyone recommend a honest refrigeration engineer in Surrey

Thanks in advance
Jen

Probably cost slightly more to purchase a new one. The £500 will be mainly
be labour charge

I had a quick look on ebay and they are selling brand new ones for £550

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:12:08 +0100, Jenny wrote:

The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted £500 to replace it,

Ouch, I had a bof standard fridge freezer fitted with a new compressor in
my home and had chnage from £80, this is a good few years ago mind and a
UK fridge so a "generic" compressor was used. Done properly with old gas
collected etc.

Took no more than a couple of hours, maybe only one. So if a new
compressor is £100 and a few quid for gas what is this chaps hourly rate?
I'm sort of assuming that this is the makers service department, never a
cheap option... Another factor is this being a US device, maybe none of
the (cheap) UK generic compressors are suitable, I do find that unlikely
though. Have a wander through yellow pages for a local refridgeration
companies and get a few quotes.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Jenny" wrote in message
...
My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been
told it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted
£500 to replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit
steep, and he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I
think there is a lot more to it than it looks.

Also can anyone recommend a honest refrigeration engineer in Surrey

Thanks in advance
Jen
Its been a few years now since I retired But I cannot remember ever charging
more than £150 to change a compressor.

Phone around and get a couple of quotes in first. You never know it may
just be the stat or starter.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:12:08 +0100, "Jenny"
wrote:

My Admiral American fridge freezer has stopped working and we have been told
it is the compressor. The engineer who arrived this afternoon wanted £500 to
replace it, he was so rude when I told him I thought it was a bit steep, and
he said "take it or leave it", so I left it.
What would be the more realistic price I would expect to pay for a
replacement compressor and fitting. My husband said he could do but I think
there is a lot more to it than it looks.

Also can anyone recommend a honest refrigeration engineer in Surrey

Thanks in advance
Jen


Does the compressor make any sound (humming sound) or is it totally
silent?

Might be worth paying someone else to have a quick look and give you a
second opinion.

If you have house insurance they may have a helpline who can find a
good local engineer.

cheers,
Pete.