New fridge on order

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The door gaskets on my fridge have been hot the past few days. Was hoping it would go away on its own. Troubleshot it down to the condenser fan motor is broken. No one sells the motor. Checked ebay, online parts sellers, and local parts sellers. Nothing. It's a discontinued part and no one has one. Called my local appliance stores for a replacement fridge and each store had only one fridge in stock in the configuration and price range that the wife and I are looking for. I have a fan blowing on the back of the fridge now to keep things cool until the new fridge arrives. The old fridge is an almost 20 years old Maytag with a Whirlpool fan motor made by Panasonic. Thought for $100 for a new motor I'd be back in business but alas, not to be. The new GE fridge will be delivered on Tuesday.

The motor is sealed up and there doesn't appear anyway to disassemble it for repairs. The old fridge served me well.
 
I am very surprised there is not an aftermarket alternative motor that fits that application. Often times HVAC manufacturers (lets say GE) have a company (i.e, Fasco) make an OEM motor with a unique "GE" part number. It's not unusual for that GE part number to become obsolete or unattainable. In most situations, there are generic motors that fit and work perfect. They usually come set up to fit multiple applications (screw alignment, wiring, etc.).

Here's a "multi fit" one I use for my workplace coolers:
1655513356837.jpg
 
What does this symptom suggest? Just trying to learn more. Did the interior temperature of the fridge not signal a pending fault?
This is new to me, too. I'm not sure what happens. The fan stops working and the compressor gets hot. Don't know why that causes the fridge between the fridge and freezer to get hot.
I am very surprised there is not an aftermarket alternative motor that fits that application. Often times HVAC manufacturers (lets say GE) have a company (i.e, Fasco) make an OEM motor with a unique "GE" part number. It's not unusual for that GE part number to become obsolete or unattainable. In most situations, there are generic motors that fit and work perfect. They usually come set up to fit multiple applications (screw alignment, wiring, etc.).

Here's a "multi fit" one I use for my workplace coolers:
View attachment 104243
I was hoping for this solution. I found some generic motors but they didn't substitute for my motor.
 
Bad door seal gaskets could be a fridge running and not shutting down not being able to reach the desired temperature also condensation on the back wall, will be sweating.
 
The door gaskets on my fridge have been hot the past few days. Was hoping it would go away on its own. Troubleshot it down to the condenser fan motor is broken. No one sells the motor. Checked ebay, online parts sellers, and local parts sellers. Nothing. It's a discontinued part and no one has one. Called my local appliance stores for a replacement fridge and each store had only one fridge in stock in the configuration and price range that the wife and I are looking for. I have a fan blowing on the back of the fridge now to keep things cool until the new fridge arrives. The old fridge is an almost 20 years old Maytag with a Whirlpool fan motor made by Panasonic. Thought for $100 for a new motor I'd be back in business but alas, not to be. The new GE fridge will be delivered on Tuesday.

The motor is sealed up and there doesn't appear anyway to disassemble it for repairs. The old fridge served me well.
GE is a solid choice based on reliability and parts availability IMO.
 
When ever buying a generic motor do not go by hp alone use nameplate amperage. Most manufacturers play with hp ratings. If the oem motor is rated at 4.1 amps 1/4 hp the generic 4.0 amps 1/4 hp step up to a 1/3 hp. I've seen multiple time where people don't think .1 amp mean much but these motors have thermal overloads, sevice factor of 1 and will trip out then reset itself.
 
Curious as there seems to be two conversations or maybe it’s me.
Is the OP and others talking about condenser fan or evaporator fan?
Not all refrigerators have condenser fans, )more so old ones, coils run outside the back of the refrigerator) but all have to have evaporator fans inside which blows air through the refrigerator air ducts. Assuming it’s not so old that it uses 1950s style coils inside the refrigerator itself 🙃
 
I feel for anyone buying appliances right now. The selection is poor and the prices are high.

I’ve bought two fridges lately neither experience was pleasant. Tried a used one from an appliance repair shop as the wife wanted a 36” monstrosity with ice and water in the doors but the space we have between cabinets and the wall is only 33”. So since we couldn’t fit what she really wanted I just got a plain Jane white top freezer and installed the interior ice maker outta the old fridge. It lasted 90 days before the compressor started tripping the breaker then seized, it came with a 30 day warranty.

So fridge number two was a new plain top freezer model from a local furniture/appliance store as they carried what matched up to our dishwasher(Amana) but with glass shelves instead of the wire shelves the Lowe’s model had. It needs the add on solenoid(I robbed it off the old fridge) and the spout adapter(still need to buy one or find a used one from an appliance shop that sells parts) to even use the interior ice maker. Ended up costing about $800, yes we probably spent 100-150 more by not getting it at one of the box stores but still 5 years ago that was a $300-350 appliance all day every day. With the current situation we were just happy to find one that met our needs and matches up at all!
 
I would have tried harder to use a generic motor and/or generic motor/fan combo. Buying an appliance is probably almost as bad as trying to buy a house or car right now and should be avoided.
 
Good luck. As far as I can tell all appliances are a crapshoot whether they will be reliable. We had to replace the 18 year old fridge last year. We bought from a local appliance chain (Manny's) which has decent installers. They had one brand / style in stock, GE, and so we bought it. Working fine for now but I detest the French door / bottom freezer drawer layout. Everyone else associated with my household loves it though, so I stopped complaining.
 
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