Roper Refrigerator Repair

Roper refrigerators are almost always top-freezers, built on Whirlpool's basic platform, and that is good news when one needs repair. The evaporator coil sits behind the freezer's back wall, a small fan above it drives cold air across the freezer and through a duct into the fresh-food side, and an air control damper meters that flow. A condenser coil and fan under the cabinet carry the heat away.

The symptom usually points to the part. Fresh food warming while ice cream stays hard suggests the defrost circuit has quit and frost has sealed the coil. Both sections warm, with a click at the rear every few minutes, suggests the start device or overload on the compressor is cutting out, or the condenser fan has stopped. A whine whose pitch shifts as the freezer door opens is usually the evaporator fan motor.

Defrost on these models is a simple loop: a heater on the evaporator and a bimetal thermostat mounted on the coil that only closes when the coil is cold. When either part fails, frost builds a little more each day. Torn gaskets speed that up by letting kitchen air reach the coil, and in a Tampa summer that air carries plenty of moisture. Overfilled freezer shelves that block the vents cause similar warm spots.

We test the heater, thermostat and defrost control, run both fans, and measure compressor current to separate a bad start device from a struggling compressor. The condenser coil gets cleaned while we are underneath, since dust and pet hair there stretch run time. Gaskets get checked last, with a bill closed in the door at several points around the frame to find weak spots.

Parts for these Whirlpool-built refrigerators are generally easy to get, and fans, gaskets, start devices and defrost parts are sensible repairs. A refrigerant leak or failed compressor is the opposite case. On an older Roper top-freezer, sealed-system work usually costs more than the refrigerator is worth, and we will tell you that before you spend anything.