Kind of a weird topic but... having a heck of a time picking out a new fridge. My biggest concern is noise - it has to be QUIET. No high pitched compressor noises, no rattling compressor. Anyone have any suggestions on brand/model. We are going with a side by side again, wife insists, no French door for us. I've narrowed it down to these 2:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Maytag-36-in-W-26-cu-ft-Side-by-Side-Refrigerator-in-Black-MSS26C6MFB/301776301

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-36-in-W-25-4-cu-ft-Side-by-Side-Refrigerator-in-Black-GSE25HGHBB/205509039?keyword=GSE25HMH&semanticToken=20030+++%3E++++st%3A%7Bgse25hmh%7D%3Ast++cn%3A%7B0%3A0%7D++gse25hmh+%7Bproductkey%7D

I have notoriously bad luck picking out appliances, they seem to all fail on me. My Speed Queen washer (only 8 months old) is in the shop for repair. My natural gas Beacon Morris garage heater quit working this winter so I replaced it. Appliances really are terrible today.

I don't enjoy buying any appliances. My dishwasher is a giant POS. The only purchase I've made recently that seems decent is my Dyson vacuum.

I am mainly looking at GE and Maytag. I narrowed it down to 2 that seem decent under $1,500. Anyone have a newer model from the last few years of either brand?

Condenser noise? I read reviews online and I can never tell if people are just complaining about the icemaker making noise or the condenser.

So our Kenmore iced up in the freezer so I had to unplug it for a day and let it thaw out. Then 3 weeks later it was iced up again. When it ices up the cooling doesn't work, fridge goes up to 50 degrees. I replaced the defrost thermostat and the heater. Still doesn't defrost. The only thing left I believe is the control board (circuit board) but it will cost $160. Not sure if it will be worth taking a chance on it, maybe it still won't defrost. This fridge is pretty quiet but the new Kenmores are advertised now with those linear compressors which can emit a high frequency noise.

Everything in our kitchen is already black, so I'll have to stick with that.

So I read this review on Sears website, a black stainless finish that was peeling. I went into a Sears store and what-do-you-know... the outside layer was peeling off the door! The salesman said he never noticed it, haha.

This is exactly why I'm not getting any stainless steel appliances.

I always keep the coils clean under the fridge, I clean it out every couple months and sometimes take a leaf blower to it.

I was told that my Speed Queen washer would last 20+ years. Wow, I was fooled on that. 8 months later and they swapped it out with a cheap loaner (that works way better) and are fixing it. It shakes itself across the room, makes loud banging noises from the drum slamming around. The WORST washing machine ever, my 15 year old Bosch never once moved from its spot, at worst it would vibrate slightly. Speed Queen is a joke.

Yes but even many cheap ones still have a small circuit board to regulate things like the defrost.

Yea I don't need a computer screen on the door... haha

11_Family_Hub_2017_Refrigerator_French-Door_RF28M9580SG_Screen_CU_Dynamic_Closed_Black (resized).jpg

Ok, maybe if you could play pinball arcade on the door.

fridge-pinball (resized).jpg

I think I've ruled out the GE. When I looked at one in the store the fan in the freezer was noticeably louder than the other refrigerators. I think I'm down to either Whirlpool or Maytag - either this one:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Maytag-36-in-W-26-cu-ft-Side-by-Side-Refrigerator-in-Black-MSS26C6MFB/301776301

or

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpool-36-in-W-28-cu-ft-Side-by-Side-Refrigerator-in-Black-Full-Depth-WRS588FIHB/302330495

or

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpool-36-in-W-24-55-cu-ft-Side-by-Side-Refrigerator-in-Black-WRS325SDHB/302894856

Kitchen Aid looks great too but they are all well over 2k, not going to spend that much, I want to keep it under $1,500. My 10 year old Kenmore was manufactured by Whirlpool.

So I was reading also that GE is owned by China - the refrigerator business, not the entire company.

The model is 10657989700

I replaced the heater and the sensor in the freezer for the defrost. Still doesn't work. I figured it was probably that small circuit board. It costs $160 so I was a little hesitant to buy it since I wasn't 100% sure it would fix it. I've been using a hair dryer once a week to defost the freezer, I kept the cover removed so I could melt off the frost build up.

Thanks for the info! I'm going to give it a shot.

Ok, R15 is now removed! I couldn't get it to do the 40 minute defrost with the controls set to off. Waiting to see if anything happens now. I have the fridge on like normal now. The temp settings are right in the middle. Do you think it will defrost after 8 hours?

The compressor comes on and still works. The behavior definitely feels a bit different after removing that R15 resistor. Before I could slide the temp knob back and forth from on to off and I could hear a "click" from the knob area and then the compressor would kick in right away. Now there is a 5 minute delay, then the compressor turns on. The fridge still seems to cool just fine. freezer at -10 and fridge around 34.

I tried both ways you suggested and I still can't get it to work. I'm hoping just leaving it on all night the defrost might kick in.

Still hasn't went into defrost mode. I wonder if that defrost thermostat I got from amazon is defective. Maybe I'll order another one and try it. This is the one I ordered - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LQDA384/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

20180313_083753 (resized).jpg

Those marks on the frost were from my kid. He was scraping it with his hand and the ice fell to the bottom. It looks identical to how it did yesterday, maybe even a little more build up.

It says whirlpool on the packaging

20180313_095649 (resized).jpg

The heater...

20180313_100008 (resized).jpg

20180313_100000 (resized).jpg

I had the sliders to the right too much. They are in the middle now for the fridge and freezer. I'm at -2 and 36 now. I did take a hair dryer earlier today and got rid of all the frost because it was starting to get too excessive. Yes, I am currently running it with the cover off, it doesn't seem to affect the cooling much, once I can verify the defrost is working I'll put it all back together again. It isn't working yet, we'll see how much frost is back on there at this time tomorrow. I don't think removing that capacitor R15 did anything. Again, it could be that thermostat. So I did order it on amazon but it came in a package that said Whirlpool and the Searspartsdirect site says that the original is replaced with this one, it's the same one they sell. Everything hooking up fine. This is really puzzling me. Honestly this fridge has sat for 10 years and never once been unplugged, the defrost has always worked perfectly until now.

Yea, I already took the board out once to clip off that resistor, it's pretty easy to get the board out. I was going to buy one on eBay also, but the problem is the one I found was $30 and it was a 10 year old used board also. Probably be best to just get a brand new one for $160. I'm guessing these boards only have a 10 year life to them, give or take a couple years, especially with what you described with the relay.

The defrost still hasn't kicked in since I posted last time. I think I'll take the plunge and buy a new board. Thanks to frunch and gr3456 for your insights into helping me get it fixed.

W10135901 should be the model number. I haven't been able to find it any less than $160

New circuit board did the trick! It went into a defrost mode right away after I installed it and plugged the fridge back in!

I hated to get a new fridge when this one was still cooling just fine, it was just the defrost not working. I just got everything put back together, defrost still working great. My bottom drawers on the fridge side are broken too. I'll probably buy at least one of the drawers, they are $72 on the sears parts direct site.

If I ever do get a new fridge someday, I'll probably stick with Whirlpool. They are easy to work on (this Kenmore was made by whirlpool).