Whirlpool WRF991BOOM-00 SS French Door Refrigerator Freezer

I acquired by shear happenstance a Whirlpool Stainless Steel, 36 inch, 29.9cu, French Door WRF991BOOM-00 Refrigerator some 6 months to a year ago. Manufacture date of 06/27/2014. Frig on top, freezer drawer on the bottom.

It's one of those refrigerators that your wife or girlfriend, even you look at in awe when walking through Lowe's or Home Depot. One you dream about owning one day but can't afford at the moment. But doesn't stop one from admiring it's shear beauty and dreaming of owning one. At least it's not stopping me from doing so.

They cost a bloody fortune, definitely out of my current financial bracket, but dang, they sure are cool as all get out! They have more features than you can shake a stick at. Like internal temperature settings, and drawers galore...

The White Whirlpool WRF991BOOM-00 even has some kind of Bluetooth Harmon Kardon audio system add on you hook up to it. I don't know if there's speakers in the doors or what but... An audio system in a refrigerator for the kitchen area.. how cool is that! A total 9 1/2 weeks set up going on for you and your honey with that for sure. Rock out some sensual loving at the frig.

And it's spacious inside. More room inside than my micro workshop. Dang this thing is nice!

Not like I have anywhere to put it even if I could buy one without batting an eye at this juncture in my life. Which I could write 10 blog posts on that subject matter. (sigh)

At any rate, when I saw this refrigerator, discarded, abused, and just blatantly left for others to tend to and dispose of, I took a chance at this being my opportunity to possibly fulfilling one of those tiny dreams of actually owning one like it. And excepted the unspoken challenge of bringing back to the respectable working state that it deserved.

First complication was and still is, is I have a micro shop. A 9x10 area to work in. And before you say, that's bigger than what I've got! There's things due to personal pride I'm not willing to divulge about that 9x10 area at this point in time that you might not be so apt let alone eager to tell me how fortunate I am and how you don't have that big an area to work in.

Aside from that side note, it's lined wall to wall with shelves housing tools and parts and a small work bench. Which shrinks that micro area down even further. Putting a large 36 inch refrigerator through a 35 inch opening no easy task unless your smarter than the refrigerator. Which I'll explain that statement here in a bit.

Storing a 36 inch Refrigerator of this size, a whole 'nother issue. It's been a thorn in my side ever since. Having to move it every time I need something behind or beside it takes dedication to the dream of owning it to keep it. Trust me, I know first hand. It's a big freaking refrigerator to store in my little space. But I've endured through the inconvenience and suffrage determined to one day be able to plug it in and put some food in it. And will continue to do so till it is made so.

Call me materialist and stubborn, I don't care. I like nice things and know my financial limits. An opportunity like this doesn't come along often. I'm not giving in especially after all the work I've put into it this far. And to truly appreciate that let me share the condition it was in when I acquired it. Perhaps then you'll appreciate my determination and steadfastness in keeping it.

And for that we must start at the beginning. When it was brought into the building and left behind for others to deal with in such an inconsiderate fashion.

T'was a beautiful autumn day in the early afternoon as I recall...

I'm just messing with you, it just sounded good in my head to say that line.

It was about 6 months to a year ago, I don't remember exactly. Probably closer to 6 months than 12 but since I have to move it everyday it feels like a year. At any rate... A couple guys brought it in and up to the second floor to put into their storage unit located a couple doors down from my unit. They proceeded to push it sideways down the newly painted hallway floors rather than pushing it front to back utilizing it's wheels. And since they didn't raise the leveling feet it tore up the new paint on the floors the entire length of the hallway. But wait, there's more. That was just getting it to the door.

The width of this refrigerator is 36 inches looking at it from the front. It's 32-33 inches plus cord and water hose looking at it from the side. IF you take the handles off. If not, it's 36-37 inches.

They tried to force it through the unit door front to back the first go round. Obviously it wasn't going to fit. Turned it sideways and tried to force it through the unit door which, it'll only go through up to the handles. But that didn't stop them from trying several times. Which it got stuck, wedged in by the handles. In finally getting it out from the door way, they went to push it back and pushed it over and it landed on its front. Which bent the handles. They picked it back up and pushed it yet again down the long hallway taking yet another path to the entrance way tearing up a yet another new section of newly painted floors. Where they so considerately left it by the elevator for someone else to deal with.

Here's the kicker, there was rotten food still in the freezer. Apparently a few frozen meals and packages had fallen behind the upper basin in the freezer and under the lower basin and had rotted. It was still dripping ooze where it was left and all down the hall where they had pushed it. Thousands of some unknown species of flies had eaten what they could of the rotten meats etc, and made thousands of little cocoons throughout the freezer area.  Everywhere in there. But wait, there's yet even more...

I take it whomevers house this frig came from was being remodeled, including the kitchen which must have been getting painted. My presumption on that comes from all the primer over spray all over this refrigerator. But not just overspray, areas where they directly sprayed it. Not like they intended on painting it. More like, I don't give a shit and sprayed a streak here and there either cleaning the gun head or testing the spray pattern. All over it. With exception to the back side that would face the wall.

So when I got it, it was covered in overspray, doors completely out of alignment, handles bent and scratched, with the delightful stench of rotten meat and packaging stuck to the inside of the freezer covered in some fly cocoons dripping ooze. It wasn't a pretty sight or small. But I knew underneath it all was a very expensive refrigerator. One that I had only dreamt of owning in passing at the local hardware box stores.

To get it into my unit, first you have to take the handles off the front. It requires a 1/8" Allen key to remove the set screw and they come right off. Very nice heavy brushed aluminium handles I might add. Covered in primer..  so sad.

At any rate I set out to clean out the freezer. This required me to remove the door and remove the internal basins/bins or tubs, whichever term you prefer. Not hard but not that easy if you don't know how either. Which I didn't.

I have to say at this point, I'm not a refrigeration tech. I've never tried to repair a refrigerator before. Before this, the only thing I new was they kept food cold. That and you can use the compressor as a quiet air compressor for airbrushing if you have one and modify it some. Another words, I didn't know squat about them, or how to take one apart. But I was to learn.

This took extensive research. If it wasn't for the Internet, I wouldn't have been able to even start on this project let some her as far as I have. I mean, I learned a lot! They're really not that complicated, even ones like this. More complicated than ones with out all the features but the refrigeration part is pretty much the same in all of them.

I'm going to go through pretty quickly what I did.

It took me about a solid week to bring it back to the point it sits now. The hardest part was removing all the primer. It must have been a Kiltz type primer I suspect. It was a bitch to get off. I did it all by hand as I didn't want to mess up the plastic parts or run the brushed stainless front and make a bigger problem. I used various compounds, cleaners, and carefully used some solvents to remove it from the metal parts. Despite all the work, you'll still find primer on it in some places. But 98%-99% has been removed.

The plastic area where the ice and water get dispensed had to be aligned and put back in place. And that part being a mirror type finish was a real pain to remove the primer it had on it without ruining it but it came out real nice. Whew! I had to repaint the little catch tray that sits in that dispenser area. And a fine job I did. It even matched the rest of it.

Both doors had to be realigned. Which wasn't too difficult.

The refrigerator shelves light up. So freaking cool! Well, they do now as they should. They didn't when I first got it and plugged it in. That was just a matter of cleaning them thoroughly. They make contact where they are inserted and hang from. If yours don't light up, check that area. Including the brackets they hang on.

Getting rid of the smell. It took about 3 months to rid it completely of any lingering smell of rotten food. I bleached it at least 5 or 6 times in total. I placed plates of baking soda inside all areas to help. I continue to keep baking soda covered plates inside just to keep it fresh smelling. However you can still see some staining in both the upper and lower bin in the freezer. Try as I might I haven't been able to get it out yet.

There's even a specific pizza storage area in the front of the freezer drawer. Not that I'm into frozen pizza but cool just the same.

I had to reset the ice maker dispenser. No biggy, but look at this ice maker.. with a door! Damn!

I may seem a little ecstatic about some of these features but, in passing them in the store I look but don't inspect... I look in passing. Because I can't afford one, I don't stop and look them over like I can. So this is so new to me.  You can even tell this thing when your going in vacation according to the owners manual... Tell it what size crushed ice cubes you want... Or how big your glass is and it fills it for you accordingly.  I can put a gallon jug of milk in the door! It's just the coolest thing I've seen in a refrigerator this close up. So forgive my enthusiasm. Maybe this is something you've always had. Or been around. As mentioned, for me it's new. Anyway...

 I had to remove and repair the freezer light switch and one in the refrigerator area as well. They're tricky to get out but once you do one, you can do the others.

The bent handles were a bit tricky to bend back to the correct curve. I deliberated on how to go about it for a bit and came up with a rather simple solution. I figured out where I needed to bend them and how much, then pleased them curve down with some blocks under each end. I had to move the blocks in and out depending on where and how much a bend was needed in the handle. And they don't bend easy. It took a couple hours in all to get them bent back correctly to where they laid flush at the ends. No told, no hammering, just shear body weight and strength. Tough to do but I got it done. Covered them with shrink wrap to protect them and put them back on till I have to move it through the door again.

Now when I first acquired this refrigerator, or I should say, before I even moved it, I politely it in to see if it would even come on. It did so I figured all was well. It worked.

After doing all the work I did removing the primer and fixing the doors, bending the Hales back, painting, scouring, cleaning, etc, etc, etc. I plugged it in to let it run for a bit.

This thing with these new compressors are Soo quiet! Super quiet! And it chimes and goes through the motions getting itself rest to cool... It's awesome!

Let it run for 8hrs... 12hrs... Nothing. Didn't drop a degree. No! No way! It doesn't work! After all this work I put into it, it freaking doesn't work! Ah man! Don't be that way! Say it isn't so! But it was so. It didn't cool. My heart sank.

But I being the stubborn person I am on certain things. Looked at it... This now beautiful amazing refrigerator and got determined. And started researching how to troubleshoot it and fix it if I could.

Which in doing so, discovered even more features this thing has. Once I understood the type compressor and how things flowed through the system. High side, low side and what valves do what. I also discovered it had a diagnostic system. Or troubleshooting start to test various aspects of it.

Good news, the compressor was good. I tested voltage, amperage all good. Ramps up, ramps down just like it's suppose to. This flap that vent all work. It goes through everything. All work. Which left only one or two things it could be.

A) It had a block somewhere in the system.
B) It didn't have any freon in it. Due to a possible leak.

I was leaning towards B, no freon in the system. And if there wasn't any, it had to have a leak as these are sealed systems.

And that is where it stands at this point. Because... If you're not certified, you can't buy the freon. There's that and the fact I don't have the tools required to sniff out a leak let alone recharge a refrigerator with Freon. Which means I have to call in someone who is. Which I've contacted a couple at this point to see what it'll cost for this type repair. So far... that hasn't panned out well. But I'll keep looking around till I find someone that can do a proper job at a reasonable fee.

That said, I also called Whirlpool and spoke with their customer service. Here's a disappointing thing I found out in speaking to him. Originally I was under the impression for what ever reason this was from 2005, 2008 maybe even 2009. Given that, it's out of warranty.

In speaking to them today I found out it was actually from 6/2014. Had I called when I first acquired it, it was still under warranty. And I could've picked up back then an extended warranty as a second hand owner. But fast forward to today, they no longer offer second hand owner warranties. I could kick myself for not verifying manufacture date when I first too possession. Oh well, lesson learned.

So at this point it's been more a learning project than anything considering as nice as the work turned out that I did, it still doesn't work. But hopefully a refrigeration tech can fix it at a minimal repair cost. So far the repairs have been pretty straight forward so hopefully, the leak will be an easy fix, if indeed that's what the problem is. Or whatever the problem is, it's a simple straightforward fix. And next week this thing will be running as it should. Still a pain to store but at least all the work I put into it won't be for not.

I'll let you know as soon as I do how this fairs out.

 Till then, thanks for stopping by.
See you next post.
Cheers...