Ever wonder how your refrigerator works? What most of us take for granted today in Burke is a technological marvel and until as recently as 60 years ago, few if any people had one. Not only that, but understanding how your refrigerator works will allow you to make simple repairs or diagnose problems as they occur. This will cut down on excess repair costs and help you when something does go wrong to make the right decision.

  • Compressor – The compressor is the part of your refrigerator making noise. The compressor’s job is to compress a special gas – the refrigerant – that will be responsible for removing heat from the cooling and freezing units.
  • Refrigerant – Refrigerant is a special compound that evaporates at a much lower temperature than water (which evaporates at 212 degrees F). When a liquid evaporates it draws heat from surrounding environment, so your refrigerator compresses the gas into a liquid and passes it through the expansion valve into the evaporate coils. When it makes this transfer it starts to evaporate rapidly, drawing heat from the refrigerator and cooling your food.
  • Expansion Valve – Refrigerant passes through the expansion valve on its way from the compressor to the evaporator coils where it will remove heat from your refrigerator.
  • Condenser Coils – The coils on the back of your refrigerator release the heat absorbed from the refrigerator. That’s why you’ll notice the back of your refrigerator is often warm to the touch and it is also why it attracts so much dust.
  • Evaporator Coils – Inside the refrigerator is another set of coils – the evaporator coils. These coils are where the refrigerant evaporates, drawing heat from inside the refrigerator away.

These are the main components of your refrigerator that actually keep your food cold but they are, of course, not all of the components in your device. Other components include the door gaskets that seal the doors and keep out heat and humidity, the drip pan and drain hole that remove excess condensation from the refrigerator and the motor that powers your compressor.

Each and every component of your refrigerator is an important part of the process – if something goes wrong with any of them, the device can break, so it’s important to perform regular maintenance and take action immediately if you suspect a problem.