Edmonds, WA · Up the hill
Sub-Zero repair up at Five Corners, when the compressor never rests
One of the Edmonds neighbourhoods up out of the Bowl, with a commercial centre of its own. For a compressor that never seems to stop, and the question of whether it truly needs replacing.
Up out of the Bowl
Five Corners is one of the Edmonds neighbourhoods with a commercial centre of its own, on the higher ground away from the downtown Bowl. The rail line keeps to the waterfront, so the crossings that can hold up a visit downtown have no bearing on a call up here. Book by phone or online with your address and a line about what the unit is doing.
A compressor that never seems to stop
The compressor (the pump that drives refrigerant round the unit’s sealed loop) is meant to switch off once a section reaches its setting, then start again later. Long runs on a hot afternoon, after a big shop or on an evening of busy doors are normal. Running all day while a section stays warm is not.
The causes are worked through from the simplest outward: dust packed on the condenser or a condenser fan that has stopped, a door seal letting room air in, a coil iced over behind the back panel, refrigerant that has leaked away, and last of all a compressor that still runs but no longer pumps well. Sub-Zero’s own troubleshooting order leaves the gauges until the mechanical and electrical parts have been ruled out.
Before a compressor is replaced
A compressor verdict should rest on measurements, not on how the unit sounds. Before one is condemned, the power reaching it and its start parts are tested, the motor windings are measured, and only then are the pressures read. From the kitchen, a stalled fan, an iced coil, a failed start part or a weak circuit can each pass for a dead compressor.
If you already hold a quote, it is fair to ask what was measured to reach it. The $89 service call covers a full diagnosis, and when the compressor really has failed, the job is priced from the published sealed-system range before anything is ordered.
Asked in Five Corners
The compressor runs for hours but the fridge is cold. Is that a fault?
Not on its own. On a warm day, after a big grocery run or with the doors opened often, long runs are how the unit keeps up. Call when the running goes on day and night while a section warms, or the grille area feels hot. Ring Sub-Zero Repair Edmonds on (206) 210-3547; finding out why is what the $89 service call pays for.
What should I ask before agreeing to a new compressor?
Ask what was measured: whether the power and the start parts were tested, whether the motor windings were checked, and what the pressures showed once the fans, controls and defrost had been ruled out. Ask what the price covers as well, since a compressor job also means recovering the refrigerant, fitting a new filter-drier and recharging the system.
Four jobs, one brand
- Refrigerator Repair Often starts as: fresh food side sits around 50°F overnight while the freezer stays rock solid.
- Freezer Repair Often starts as: everything has a soft coat of frost on it and the ice cream has gone slushy.
- Ice Maker Repair Often starts as: cubes come out hollow and about half the size they used to be.
- Wine Cooler Repair Often starts as: upper zone reads 52°F when it is set to 45°F while the lower zone holds fine.
Elsewhere in Edmonds
What Edmonds says
Fixed once, explained properly
4.9 / 51,199 reviews
The lower zone kept dropping cold enough to worry me, right where the reds sit. A damper stuck open was letting the cold side bleed through, and one vent was packed with dust. Steady for months now.
Drawer had stopped sitting flush and the seal felt papery, so everything inside grew a coat of frost. New gasket, hinges reindexed, panel lined back up with the cabinetry. Frost gone.
Our 700 series ran non-stop from spring onward. The condenser was packed solid — salt air off the water, apparently. Cleaned and tested, and it has cycled normally since.
Still warm? Ring before the food goes.
Say which side is warm and what the compressor sounds like — that is enough to start. Phone it through, or choose a slot on the booking page. $89 to find out, and the $89 comes off the repair.
Out on calls seven days a week, from 8 in the morning until 8 at night · the phone is staffed 24/7 · Edmonds addresses, Meadowdale down to Firdale