It's a Whirlpool fridge model EET-172pk, simple model with freezer
compartment on top. I bought it new in 1979, so it's barely broken in.

This afternoon it became apparent that it had just stopped running. It was
drawiog 4 watts, so it really was dead. The compressor was not warm. Only
the light worked. At first I tried moving the temperature control knob back
and forth, but that didn't help. Then I turned the knob full counter-
clockwise to the OFF position, heard the expected click when I did that,
then turned the knob back clockwise. And the fridge started up, and has
been running since then,

Is it possible that there is a physical on/off switch inside the control
assembly, and it was cruded up after not being exercised in 40 years, but
now will operate normally. Of course I know I need to see if it controls
temperature properly, and deftosts, but I wonder if I just got lucky, And
perhaps I should exercise that switch a bit more.

What do you think? My appliance guy said he doubted he could get a
replacement thermostat for a model that old, and thought my money might be
better spent on a new one. But I'm going to be moving soon to a place that
already has a fridge, so buying a new one now would just be wasted money.
I haven't found anything on Youtube that goes back this far.

Thanks for any help or expertise.

On Wed, 13 Oct 2021 20:00:18 -0500, Peabody
<waybackNO584SPAM44@yahoo.com> wrote:

>It's a Whirlpool fridge model EET-172pk, simple model with freezer
>compartment on top. I bought it new in 1979, so it's barely broken in.
>
>This afternoon it became apparent that it had just stopped running. It was
>drawiog 4 watts, so it really was dead. The compressor was not warm. Only
>the light worked. At first I tried moving the temperature control knob back
>and forth, but that didn't help. Then I turned the knob full counter-
>clockwise to the OFF position, heard the expected click when I did that,
>then turned the knob back clockwise. And the fridge started up, and has
>been running since then,
>
>Is it possible that there is a physical on/off switch inside the control
>assembly, and it was cruded up after not being exercised in 40 years, but
>now will operate normally. Of course I know I need to see if it controls
>temperature properly, and deftosts, but I wonder if I just got lucky, And
>perhaps I should exercise that switch a bit more.
>
>What do you think? My appliance guy said he doubted he could get a
>replacement thermostat for a model that old, and thought my money might be
>better spent on a new one. But I'm going to be moving soon to a place that
>already has a fridge, so buying a new one now would just be wasted money.
>I haven't found anything on Youtube that goes back this far.
>
>Thanks for any help or expertise.

Keep the old appliance - find a new appliance guy.
John T.

On Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 8:00:22 PM UTC-5, Peabody wrote:
> It's a Whirlpool fridge model EET-172pk, simple model with freezer
> compartment on top. I bought it new in 1979, so it's barely broken in.
>
> This afternoon it became apparent that it had just stopped running. It was
> drawiog 4 watts, so it really was dead. The compressor was not warm. Only
> the light worked. At first I tried moving the temperature control knob back
> and forth, but that didn't help. Then I turned the knob full counter-
> clockwise to the OFF position, heard the expected click when I did that,
> then turned the knob back clockwise. And the fridge started up, and has
> been running since then,
>
> Is it possible that there is a physical on/off switch inside the control
> assembly, and it was cruded up after not being exercised in 40 years, but
> now will operate normally. Of course I know I need to see if it controls
> temperature properly, and deftosts, but I wonder if I just got lucky, And
> perhaps I should exercise that switch a bit more.
>
> What do you think? My appliance guy said he doubted he could get a
> replacement thermostat for a model that old, and thought my money might be
> better spent on a new one. But I'm going to be moving soon to a place that
> already has a fridge, so buying a new one now would just be wasted money.
> I haven't found anything on Youtube that goes back this far.
>
> Thanks for any help or expertise.

https://www.appliancepartspros.com/whirlpool-thermostat-wp819470-ap6012001.html. ?????

On Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 9:00:22 PM UTC-4, Peabody wrote:

>
> Is it possible that there is a physical on/off switch inside the control
> assembly, and it was cruded up after not being exercised in 40 years, but
> now will operate normally. Of course I know I need to see if it controls
> temperature properly, and deftosts, but I wonder if I just got lucky, And
> perhaps I should exercise that switch a bit more.
>

I suspect the fault is electronic rather than physical. I've had similar symptoms where a refrigerator fails to restart after a minor power glitch, but continues to work after being turned all the way off, for long enough that any caps discharge, and then turned back on.

I think there is a very good chance you can keep it working quite a bit longer by manually restarting it when it quits, but the quitting may become more frequent over time. I've had good luck with this.

If it were me, and I had anything i cared about stored in there, I would get an inexpensive wireless temperature alarm so I would know when it stopped working.

On 10/13/2021 9:00 PM, Peabody wrote:
> It's a Whirlpool fridge model EET-172pk, simple model with freezer
> compartment on top. I bought it new in 1979, so it's barely broken in.
>
> This afternoon it became apparent that it had just stopped running. It was
> drawiog 4 watts, so it really was dead. The compressor was not warm. Only
> the light worked. At first I tried moving the temperature control knob back
> and forth, but that didn't help. Then I turned the knob full counter-
> clockwise to the OFF position, heard the expected click when I did that,
> then turned the knob back clockwise. And the fridge started up, and has
> been running since then,
>
> Is it possible that there is a physical on/off switch inside the control
> assembly, and it was cruded up after not being exercised in 40 years, but
> now will operate normally. Of course I know I need to see if it controls
> temperature properly, and deftosts, but I wonder if I just got lucky, And
> perhaps I should exercise that switch a bit more.
>
> What do you think? My appliance guy said he doubted he could get a
> replacement thermostat for a model that old, and thought my money might be
> better spent on a new one. But I'm going to be moving soon to a place that
> already has a fridge, so buying a new one now would just be wasted money.
> I haven't found anything on Youtube that goes back this far.
>
> Thanks for any help or expertise.
>

I had a similar vintage (1982) GE fridge, self-defrosting, about 17
cubic ft, also a simple model with freezer compartment on top. Never
needed servicing. About 10 years ago we decided that we needed a
slightly larger capacity fridge and bought a new one. Can't remember if
it was a GE or Whirlpool. Was about 19 cubic feet, same style,
self-defrosting, with simple freezer on top. We were amazed that using
the new fridge and changing nothing else that would affect our electric
use, our monthly bill dropped about $25/month. Don't know if it's the
better insulation, more efficient compressors and/or refrigerants, or
what. But in our experience, the savings in electricity use paid for
the new fridge in only about 3 years. Don't get sentimental about a
fridge that's 40 years old. The new ones are far more energy efficient
and should easily pay for themselves before they need to be replaced.

On Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 9:41:35 AM UTC-4, Retirednoguilt wrote:
> On 10/13/2021 9:00 PM, Peabody wrote:
> > It's a Whirlpool fridge model EET-172pk, simple model with freezer
> > compartment on top. I bought it new in 1979, so it's barely broken in.
> >
> > This afternoon it became apparent that it had just stopped running. It was
> > drawiog 4 watts, so it really was dead. The compressor was not warm. Only
> > the light worked. At first I tried moving the temperature control knob back
> > and forth, but that didn't help. Then I turned the knob full counter-
> > clockwise to the OFF position, heard the expected click when I did that,
> > then turned the knob back clockwise. And the fridge started up, and has
> > been running since then,
> >
> > Is it possible that there is a physical on/off switch inside the control
> > assembly, and it was cruded up after not being exercised in 40 years, but
> > now will operate normally. Of course I know I need to see if it controls
> > temperature properly, and deftosts, but I wonder if I just got lucky, And
> > perhaps I should exercise that switch a bit more.
> >
> > What do you think? My appliance guy said he doubted he could get a
> > replacement thermostat for a model that old, and thought my money might be
> > better spent on a new one. But I'm going to be moving soon to a place that
> > already has a fridge, so buying a new one now would just be wasted money.
> > I haven't found anything on Youtube that goes back this far.
> >
> > Thanks for any help or expertise.
> >
> I had a similar vintage (1982) GE fridge, self-defrosting, about 17
> cubic ft, also a simple model with freezer compartment on top. Never
> needed servicing. About 10 years ago we decided that we needed a
> slightly larger capacity fridge and bought a new one. Can't remember if
> it was a GE or Whirlpool. Was about 19 cubic feet, same style,
> self-defrosting, with simple freezer on top. We were amazed that using
> the new fridge and changing nothing else that would affect our electric
> use, our monthly bill dropped about $25/month. Don't know if it's the
> better insulation, more efficient compressors and/or refrigerants, or
> what. But in our experience, the savings in electricity use paid for
> the new fridge in only about 3 years. Don't get sentimental about a
> fridge that's 40 years old. The new ones are far more energy efficient
> and should easily pay for themselves before they need to be replaced.

That's what i was thinking too, I wonder what the cost to operate that
beast is versus a modern one. I measured an 80s fridge vs a similar
size new one that I replaced it with. The old one was drawing near
300W when running, the new one less than 100. I can't say I noticed
a difference on the monthly bills, but then I wasn't looking at the time
either. I did see a big, very noticeable difference when replacing the
80s furnace and AC with 93% and 14 Seer. Gas bills, summer electric
bills were cut close to half. I think the winter electric bill dropped too,
new system has ECM blower. There are probably tables or calculators
online that would estimate the cost difference. I'd bet getting a new
one would have a reasonable payback period. And picking up a used
one that's five years old or so would be even faster.

I was able to find the original parts list for my fridge, and found the
original thermostat part number was 989277. Then I found a Whirlpool
"universal replacement" WP819470 as Dean Hoffman also found, and the
original number was listed as one of maybe 50 that it replaced. So I think
that's the one. Nobody has it locally, but they can get it by tomorrow, so
I'm going to order one today. I haven't been able to contact my appliance
guy again, but if he doesn't want to do it, I may give it a try myself.
Youtube videos on other models make it look pretty straightforward. The
biggest challenge will probably be that "universal" may not mean it mounts
the same as the old one.

If I were going to stay here long term, I agree that it would make sense to
just get a new fridge. But I will be moving in a few months to a place
that will already have a new fridge, so I'd like to make this one last that
long if possible, then donate it if it's still working.

Thanks for the responses.

One more question. It looks like it's going to be Monday before the part
gets here and the service guy can come out. So I'm wondering if the thing
finally dies before then, can I just disconnect the two wires from the
control and hook them directly to AC for, say, an hour or two at a time?
This would at least keep the food from spoiling. Would this interfere with
the defrost timer or cause other problems? It seems the control is
basically just a switch, so this ought to work.

Peabody says...
>One more question. It looks like it's going to be Monday before the part
>gets here and the service guy can come out. So I'm wondering if the thing
>finally dies before then, can I just disconnect the two wires from the
>control and hook them directly to AC for, say, an hour or two at a time?
>This would at least keep the food from spoiling. Would this interfere with
>the defrost timer or cause other problems? It seems the control is
>basically just a switch, so this ought to work.

I didn't really mean connecting the wires to AC. No, I didn't. Really. I
meant just connecting the two wires together - manually doing what the
control switch no longer does.

If I had a temp sensor, I could even rig up an Arduino thing to switch it on
and off with a relay.

On 10/14/2021 1:31 PM, Peabody wrote:
> Peabody says...
>> One more question. It looks like it's going to be Monday before the part
>> gets here and the service guy can come out. So I'm wondering if the thing
>> finally dies before then, can I just disconnect the two wires from the
>> control and hook them directly to AC for, say, an hour or two at a time?
>> This would at least keep the food from spoiling. Would this interfere with
>> the defrost timer or cause other problems? It seems the control is
>> basically just a switch, so this ought to work.
>
> I didn't really mean connecting the wires to AC. No, I didn't. Really. I
> meant just connecting the two wires together - manually doing what the
> control switch no longer does.
>
> If I had a temp sensor, I could even rig up an Arduino thing to switch it on
> and off with a relay.
>

Figured that was the idea. I'd certainly try it.

On Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 12:31:29 PM UTC-5, Peabody wrote:
> Peabody says...
> >One more question. It looks like it's going to be Monday before the part
> >gets here and the service guy can come out. So I'm wondering if the thing
> >finally dies before then, can I just disconnect the two wires from the
> >control and hook them directly to AC for, say, an hour or two at a time?
> >This would at least keep the food from spoiling. Would this interfere with
> >the defrost timer or cause other problems? It seems the control is
> >basically just a switch, so this ought to work.
> I didn't really mean connecting the wires to AC. No, I didn't. Really. I
> meant just connecting the two wires together - manually doing what the
> control switch no longer does.
>
> If I had a temp sensor, I could even rig up an Arduino thing to switch it on
> and off with a relay.

I don't see why not. Put some filled water jugs in the 'fridge if it isn't full.
That should help keep the temperature more constant once the 'fridge has cooled.

I need to ask another question about diagnosing this thing.

In theory there are two possible sources of the fridge shutting down - the
temp control and the defrost timer. I concluded it was not the defrost
timer being stuck in defrost because my Killawatt said the fridge was
drawing only 4 watts, and I figured if it was stuck in defrost there would
be current flowing to the heaters, and the current would have been a lot
higher. But I didn't actually manually turn it with a screwdriver. Also,
the first time it died I brought it back by turning the temp knob all the
way to OFF, then back on. The second time it died that didn't work, but
banging on the side of the temp control did, and it's been running fine
since last night, including going through at least two defrost cycles.

Does it sound like I diagnosed it correctly? Of course if it dies again, I
will try moving the defrost timer manually and see if that turns it back on
again. But if it doesn't die again before it comes time to replace the
temp control, I may be replacing the wrong part.

As I understand it, the timer only runs when the thermostat is on. So the
timer may stop turning even if it's perfectly fine. And the only way to
test it is to turn it manually. If the fridge stays off when I do that,
then it has to be the temp control that's bad.

Anyway, was my conclusion about the lack of heater current correct? At
least probably?

The fridge died again during the night, and I was unable to revive it. But
I did confirm that it's the thermostat that's the problem, not the defrost
timer.

As I mentioned before, I've disconnected the two wires from the thermostat,
and connected them together, and it runs again. But of course there's no
temperature control, so I've plugged the fridge power line into one of
those 24 hour timers that you use to have things turn on and off at set
times during the day. YOu can set it to be on or off in 15-minute
increments. So to kinda keep everything from freezing up, I've set it to
45 minutes ON and 15 minutes OFF. Plus I still have the defrost working,
which is 21 minutes every 8 hours. This is all just to keep the food from
spoiling until the repair on Monday.

On Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 6:01:07 PM UTC-4, Peabody wrote:
> I need to ask another question about diagnosing this thing.
>
> In theory there are two possible sources of the fridge shutting down - the
> temp control and the defrost timer. I concluded it was not the defrost
> timer being stuck in defrost because my Killawatt said the fridge was
> drawing only 4 watts, and I figured if it was stuck in defrost there would
> be current flowing to the heaters, and the current would have been a lot
> higher. But I didn't actually manually turn it with a screwdriver. Also,
> the first time it died I brought it back by turning the temp knob all the
> way to OFF, then back on. The second time it died that didn't work, but
> banging on the side of the temp control did, and it's been running fine
> since last night, including going through at least two defrost cycles.
>
> Does it sound like I diagnosed it correctly? Of course if it dies again, I
> will try moving the defrost timer manually and see if that turns it back on
> again. But if it doesn't die again before it comes time to replace the
> temp control, I may be replacing the wrong part.
>
> As I understand it, the timer only runs when the thermostat is on. So the
> timer may stop turning even if it's perfectly fine. And the only way to
> test it is to turn it manually. If the fridge stays off when I do that,
> then it has to be the temp control that's bad.
>
> Anyway, was my conclusion about the lack of heater current correct? At
> least probably?

IDK, but if you're not sure about what's wrong and you're buying parts
and have a service guy coming to put it in on a 40 year old fridge, it
doesn't sound good. You could probably have found a working ten
year old one for the same cost on Craiglslist.

In article <46238241-b967-426a-b99c-8c396420ecd1n@googlegroups.com>,
trader4@optonline.net says...
>
> IDK, but if you're not sure about what's wrong and you're buying parts
> and have a service guy coming to put it in on a 40 year old fridge, it
> doesn't sound good. You could probably have found a working ten
> year old one for the same cost on Craiglslist.
>
>

I agree. I understand the person is moving soon and will not need a new
fridge. I would go to a used appliance place or as you say Craiglsilist
or some other local list to find a used fridge. It may be difficult to
find a used fridge now as new ones are difficult to come by in many
models that people want so they are hanging on to the old ones a lot
longer if they work.

On Fri, 15 Oct 2021 09:43:22 -0400, Ralph Mowery
<rmowery42@charter.net> wrote:

>In article <46238241-b967-426a-b99c-8c396420ecd1n@googlegroups.com>,
>trader4@optonline.net says...
>>
>> IDK, but if you're not sure about what's wrong and you're buying parts
>> and have a service guy coming to put it in on a 40 year old fridge, it
>> doesn't sound good. You could probably have found a working ten
>> year old one for the same cost on Craiglslist.
>>
>>
>
>I agree. I understand the person is moving soon and will not need a new
>fridge. I would go to a used appliance place or as you say Craiglsilist
>or some other local list to find a used fridge. It may be difficult to
>find a used fridge now as new ones are difficult to come by in many
>models that people want so they are hanging on to the old ones a lot
>longer if they work.
I like the arduino idea - or better and simpler (and likely cheaper)
is the universal temperature controller module
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=temperature+control+module&_sacat=0
for $5.95 fram the USA or

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185107987823?hash=item2b194bbd6f:g:ISUAAOSwopBhaWL9
for $7.29 from China - with WIFI!!!!! Make it into a "smart fridge"

In article <a45jmgl5r97el32mso54mqsdp50t12ne52@4ax.com>,
clare@snyder.on.ca says...
> I like the arduino idea - or better and simpler (and likely cheaper)
> is the universal temperature controller module
> https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=temperature+control+module&_sacat=0
> for $5.95 fram the USA or
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/185107987823?hash=item2b194bbd6f:g:ISUAAOSwopBhaWL9
> for $7.29 from China - with WIFI!!!!! Make it into a "smart fridge"
>
>

I bought a few of the controller modules like this to play with. It
would take too long to get frim China, but I seem to remember getting
it from Amazone in a few days. Bought either 3 or 4 of them for almost
nothing as a set.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144247647180?hash=item2195d46bcc:g:
~O4AAOSw07dhaO3J

On 10/15/2021 9:07 AM, Peabody wrote:
> The fridge died again during the night, and I was unable to revive it. But
> I did confirm that it's the thermostat that's the problem, not the defrost
> timer.
>
> As I mentioned before, I've disconnected the two wires from the thermostat,
> and connected them together, and it runs again. But of course there's no
> temperature control, so I've plugged the fridge power line into one of
> those 24 hour timers that you use to have things turn on and off at set
> times during the day. YOu can set it to be on or off in 15-minute
> increments. So to kinda keep everything from freezing up, I've set it to
> 45 minutes ON and 15 minutes OFF. Plus I still have the defrost working,
> which is 21 minutes every 8 hours. This is all just to keep the food from
> spoiling until the repair on Monday.
>
>

Seems like too much "on" time but you can tell if things start to freeze.

On 10/15/2021 9:43 AM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
> In article <46238241-b967-426a-b99c-8c396420ecd1n@googlegroups.com>,
> trader4@optonline.net says...
>>
>> IDK, but if you're not sure about what's wrong and you're buying parts
>> and have a service guy coming to put it in on a 40 year old fridge, it
>> doesn't sound good. You could probably have found a working ten
>> year old one for the same cost on Craiglslist.
>>
>>
>
> I agree. I understand the person is moving soon and will not need a new
> fridge. I would go to a used appliance place or as you say Craiglsilist
> or some other local list to find a used fridge. It may be difficult to
> find a used fridge now as new ones are difficult to come by in many
> models that people want so they are hanging on to the old ones a lot
> longer if they work.
>

You also have to haul it in and the old one out. I'd rather pay a
repair bill than do the labor

Ed Pawlowski says...

>> So to kinda keep everything from freezing up, I've set
>> it to 45 minutes ON and 15 minutes OFF.

> Seems like too much "on" time but you can tell if things
> start to freeze.

Yes it was. The temperature in the fridge section got down
to almost 32 degrees overnight. So I've changed it to 30
minutes on and 15 minutes off. In a few hours I'll see how
that works.

On Sat, 16 Oct 2021 11:48:46 -0500, Peabody
<waybackNO584SPAM44@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Ed Pawlowski says...
>
> >> So to kinda keep everything from freezing up, I've set
> >> it to 45 minutes ON and 15 minutes OFF.
>
> > Seems like too much "on" time but you can tell if things
> > start to freeze.
>
>Yes it was. The temperature in the fridge section got down
>to almost 32 degrees overnight. So I've changed it to 30
>minutes on and 15 minutes off. In a few hours I'll see how
>that works.
15 on and 30 off should be adequate if the door is not opened - -

I got the replacement thermostat installed yesterday, and it's working
fine. So hopefully I'm all set until I have to move.

I did take the old one apart just to see, and it was a mess. The electrodes
were almost gone, and there was a part broken off from something that I
couldn't figure out. So after 40 years it was definitely time to replace
it. Of course the defrost timer and thermostat are the same age. But the
compressor just hums along.

Thanks for everyone's help.