LG Linear Compressor Teardown
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- This video shows what's inside the Linear Compressor made by LG. My compressor went out in my new refrigerator after only two years. I hear from several repair technicians there's some issues with these new compressors as they have a high failure rate, so i decided to tear the bad one down to find the issue. The valve design seems to be cheap from what i could tell. I hope you enjoy!
Thank you for this video. My linear compressor quit working after 1 1/2 years. I purchased a Kenmore model, but it is made by LG. Fortunately it is covered under warranty. The technician told me he had replace many, many of these compressors. And if it were not under warranty, it would be about half the cost of the refrigerator to repair it. They seem complex
The design is simple compared to piston and crank compressors, but the valve design seems poor. I would bet most of the failures in these compressors is due to valve design.
Get the extended warranty it's a good value.
@@austin22re Or it's contamination of the system during assembly which is causing premature compressor failure.
@@Carbon_Fiber yup i install these compressors, its normal to hear a shaky wobbly sound.
I’ve replaced over 500 LG compressors
And that's just you! It's pretty much the same thing as Nissan cars with their CVT transmissions. Guaranteed to need replaced at least right after the warranty expires.
Ya I do all the kenmores which are lgs. And actual lgs. Not a lot of other companies will do them around here. Now the r600 LGs are starting to fail.
my 3500.00 Dollar LG Refrigerator lasted 4 years and the compressor went out. I am getting a new one tomorrow. LG will never come into my house again. This will be the best looking refrigerator in the trash.
I had another inverter compressor fail with broken reed valves. It is my opinion that the problem is these inverter compressor are always running, the fridge just adjusts the speed. So the reed valves are constantly working 100% of the time compared to old compressor which run them maybe 1/3 as much, as they only run at full speed. So they need to use bigger reed valves that can handle the constant use. Maybe they will figure it out now after all these failures.
And yes your lighting was horrible so could not see much, but it confirmed my diagnosis that the reed valves fail.
btw, a scroll compressor has no reed valves and are used in commercial fridges that last decades.
Sorry about the bad lighting, I didn't have anywhere else to do the video with better lighting. I have since moved and now have a shop with much better lighting.
Mine failed after four years. LG repair tech took three days to get here, overnighted the compressor and other copper parts, fixed it all by lunchtime and left with no sign-off, no work order, no purchase order... quietly in and out with no recognition of the problem or the solution. Reminded me a lot of the “silent warranty” the car dealers use when they just want the problem to quietly go away. I would say the current class action lawsuit against LG for these compressors is warranted, but to LG credit, they are fixing them, and apparently at no cost.
Parts take awhile to order. And that sounds like a contractor
I work for a large company. And you sign multiple times.
So 3 years later is it still kicking?
The whole compressor is based on one small plate which is used as a Inlet Outlet valve most of the time it's broken and damaged because of that compressor doesn't hold the pressure and I'm surprised that whole LG reputation is based on the small plate what a bad designing and pathetic performance of LG engineers
Mine just went out LG linear compressor. No service tech's for Tucson AZ, have to come out of Mesa I'm told. Glad I never bought ext warranty, just getting the run around everyone is I'm told. My fridge was only 3.5 years old. $2500 fridge too.
Is your LG fridge still going after the compressor replacement?
@@TheFrenchPug I bought a new fridge, scrapped the old one
@@mtericktucson Oh. Gotcha. You didn't have it fixed. Just bought a new one. Ours just went out shortly after 5 years. I live in So Cal so no problem getting it serviced. We'll see how long it lasts. Thanks for responding.
Looks like you spent all your money on tools, nothing left for a bright LED work lite !
WHAT IS THE STANDING PRESSURE AN THESE COMPRESSORS
Our LG Fridge failed after 4 years still under warranty. LG will replace the compressor under warranty if you use one of their listed service providers. However, the cheapest quote we got to fix it was just over $600.
Yeah, it is expensive as they recommend changing the condenser, dryer, and compressor.
An extended warranty is good to have, it pays for itself.
Psychobabbl
This compressor does NOT last!! We paid $2800.00 for our refrigerator 3 years ago. Now we hear that it will take 5 months to get a new compressor!! Life is definitely NOT good with LG!!! We hear there is a class action suit filed against them for this stupid compressor!! What a waste of money!
Well, we bought ours in 2017. It just went out a week ago (May 23rd, 2023) so they never upgrades the design.
Next time light a candle!!!!!!!!!!!!!
e compras yeah I know, that was the only lighting I had in the garage.
seems such linear compressor must be less economical, because it is need to overcome springs resistance. Will less energy saving efficiency compare to ordinary compressor ?
+Far Cry moreover springs will tire, mean loose springiness under long term load
You are probably correct, i imagine the springs will weaken over time. It still is more economical due to the fact its not a piston and crank design like traditional compressors, and you lose all of the parasitic friction. Just simply less moving components. Honestly if the valve design was better i think these would be good compressors.
I believe the mass is held between two sets of springs with center return. A mechanical oscillator with a resonant frequency.like a pendulum.
Brother can you tell me if the Linear compressor is a dry one or does it have a oil sump i.e. does it have oil circulate around it's moving parts
It has a oil sump. The bottom of the case is filled with oil.
@@austin22re it is just that I feel .... maybe because of lack of proper oil circulation the components have worn down. There is too much black residue like burnt components due to friction i.e. lack of oil. Maybe you can confirm that
what about the smart inverter Lg is the quality the same ?
Those compressors rarely pass 5 years working really alot of customers the compressor you tear down have a stuck valve
Caused by overheat due to flaw design that oil is not reaching in sufficient quantity to reduce the heat the valve is a special metal membrane that over bent and cause it to stuck that leads to failing .
I m sure repair engineers over the world have seen that fault in addition the inverter circuit rarely survive the shock caused by the compressor .
Hey man, wheres the rest of the compressor teardown? i wanna see the magnets!
The magnets are located on the ring that surrounds the piston I pulled out, they actually aren't big at all. The core I pulled the piston out of just contains copper wire.
Did you do the repair yourself? My compressor just went bad and was wondering how hard is it to do with charging it and everything.
what where your specific symptoms prior to having the compressor replaced? I talked to one guy today who said it must be the compressor, and another who said he has never replaced one and it must be low on freon and needs a new evaporator coil to replace the 'leaking' existing one. Im confused, and upset, if the compressor has a warranty to 10 years how does it cost half of the price of a new fridge to get it replaced!? I wont be buying LG next time I can tell you that...
Del Smyser symptoms were a noticeably loud rattle while the compressor was running and the freezer and fridge portion stopped cooling. Still had a full charge of refrigerant, but since the compressor valve broke it could not pressurize the refrigerant.
Austin Kalenda so only way to check and test that is to replace it? Im gonna try and get lg to send me one, but wont hold my breath...
Del Smyser To me if the compressor is running but it's not cooling and you have gauges to check for proper refrigerant pressure then it's a compressor issue. Is your condenser fan working?
@@delsmyser1 Ours was running but never varied speed, obviously because there was no cooling so the sensing told the compressor to run at full speed to try and catch up. No go. The compressor was making absolutely no more noise than usual when I discovered the cabinet temp was rising. It ran continually at full speed instead of varying to cover the cooling demand.
The Tech checked the current consumption of the compressor which showed to be .5 amps. This would indicate that there is no blockage (which would cause the current consumption to be excessive). That it must be a reed valve which is stuck open or failed in some other way.
The tech explained that they are seeing a lot of LG compressor failures. This was not the case 9 years ago.
That's one way to clean your work bench...
off_pudding yeah, it needed cleaning anyways.
LG VERY conspicuously advertises a 10 year warranty on this boat anchor but conveniently, VERY inconspicuously, whispers that after 1 year the LABOR for having it installed by a mandatory Authorized Service Company is NOT included. So at LEAST 600 dollars later you have another, non improved version, of the original boat anchor which if you're lucky , should last another 18 months. I recently replaced a thermostat in a GE refrigerator. That one , and 2 more just like it , have been owned ,and used, by the same customer since 1957!!! AND....each one survived being under 2 feet of salt water for days from Super Storm Sandy in 2012!! No freaking linear, inverter boat anchors in those units. Just the old, time tested , reciprocating compressor. Can't wait for the right congressman to take it up the ass with no lubricant from LG when his fridge takes a crap Thanksgiving day. Maybe then this type of corporate thievery will see some legislative action.
I agree, i was extremely pissed considering how much the refrigerator cost me. Also i got a taste of how shitty Sears customer service is. Bar none the worst. My aunt has an old Westinghouse refrigerator from 1957 that still runs today. I feel like they design products to fail prematurely now so the company can keep getting money from us.
hey watch your mouth. i am a sears/A&E in home service rep
Will Shoot did my comment hurt your feelings?
yes now apologize immediately
TheNYgolfer all fans are working, very little frost on evaporator, pressure on the crimped stub on compressor reads a constant 4psi, no error codes and compressor does get warm to the touch
Great job, man
my pretty mechanically inclined.. just dont know wbout how much pressure and how to charge it.
+william clouser iv No, i did not do the repair myself since the refrigerator was under warranty still. I did ask the technician if i could keep the bad compressor so i could see what went wrong with it. The problem with these compressors are they aren't serviceable, so you just have to replace them. Replacing it is fairly simple though, but you need the proper tools to do it. You need a brazing torch, a Freon scale, copper tube cutter, various other tools to take the back of the fridge apart and a charge gauge. You also need a new Dryer and evaporator in case debris is stuck in it from the old busted compressor. If you don't replace those it may ruin the new compressor. If your not familiar with refrigeration its best to let a professional do this job, so you don't have to do this all over in a few months.
It needs to be charged by weight, the exact weight you'll see in the model and serial number label inside the refrigerator. For an LG two evaps fridge is around 4.8 oz.
Lol at the items on the table that wants to flee awaywhen sawing!
Is the linear compressor the same as the one marketed as "Digital Inverter" Compressor. I noticed some Refrigerators are marketed as linear inverter compressors and some as digital inverter compressors.. are all this marketing terms or actually different technologies
They function the same due to them both using inverter power and control boards to control speed and varying cooling demand. I believe Samsung just markets it as a "digital inverter" compressor. All basically the same though.
those have a 10 year warranty. why didn't you get it warrantied?
bluetarget I did have it warrantied. The technician let me keep the old one to take apart.
Austin Kalenda ahhhh gotcha
i have a solution to this problem by installing a 110v compressor. you get rid of the problem easy. These compressors are trash. how could they conveniently make a system that can be so simple to supposed "energy efficient". Not efficient for anyones pocket but theirs. I have worked on these for years.
659MX 659
how do you convert a linear compressor to a regular compressor? I've tried it, but can't get it to work, any info would be awesome
@@warlordbeto818sfv4 The compressor must be able to work at variable speed, not at full speed all of the time.
You can put a regular fixed speed compressor by using the condenser fan signal to trigger a relay to turn on a basic old style compressor. Watch this video the guy explains how to do it. ruclips.net/video/lZJ0EZE3tx8/видео.html
LG compressors are suppose to have 10 year warranties. (which must be perused) If there was more light I could tell what is going on.
The Labor is NOT guaranteed after 1year and they won't give you a new compressor unless you have it installed by an authorized Service Company and they will charge you a PREMIUM labor charge of around 600 Dollars in the U.S.
@@TheNYgolfer This is why the extended warranty is a good purchase.
@@DandyDon1 But does extended warrant include parts AND labour?
@@jay-uo2bi It did cover everything. The door was replaced under extended warranty when the water valve for the dispenser could not be fixed. It also covered the compressor, and upper compartment fan. Parts and Labor were covered in full. BTW There is a new compressor which is more robust. Stronger internal springs and more robust valves. The problem seems to be, the condenser coil clogs up with dust the compressor overheats and the valves fail. It's very important the the grill area on the back of the refrigerator be vacuumed clean of accumulated lint/dust at regular intervals. A PITA to pull the refrigerator out to do it, but it's a must.
@@DandyDon1 What's the model number of the new, more robust compressor?
Low light
Yeah I know, i didn’t have a good light source to use.
next time: use the angle grinder
HKL Freak didn’t have one at the time.
You can put a regular fixed speed compressor by using the condenser fan signal to trigger a relay to turn on a basic old style compressor. Watch this video the guy explains how to do it. ruclips.net/video/lZJ0EZE3tx8/видео.html
Your video lacks enough light dislikes
just get some light above head on your work bench duhhhh