Debate: OEM parts vs aftermarket for fridge compressors

I've been going back and forth on this for months now. Last week I used an aftermarket compressor on a 10-year-old Whirlpool and it fired right up, but my buddy swears OEM is the only way to avoid callbacks. What's your experience been with reliability on the cheaper stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannahsingh21d ago

That 10 year old Whirlpool you did, what was the original compressor model number? I've run into situations where the aftermarket spec sheet says it's a match but the start winding resistance is off by a couple ohms, and that's what burns you on a callback three months later. Your buddy is right about OEM being safer for overall failure rate, but on older units I'm more worried about pulling a vacuum right and getting the filter drier swapped than I am about the brand of the compressor.

young.kim21d ago

Honestly, you hit the nail on the head about the vacuum and filter drier. @hannahsingh, I had almost the exact same situation with a 12 year old GE fridge where the aftermarket compressor fired right up but the start winding was a hair off. Three months later it locked up on me, and I had to do the whole job again for free. After that, I started pulling a deep vacuum and swapping the filter drier every single time, even if the system looked clean. That one change cut my callbacks way down, way more than stressing over OEM vs aftermarket ever did.

milaw1421d ago

Haven't you just answered your own question right there? If the aftermarket fired up and works, that's a win in my book. But for peace of mind, OEM is still the safer bet on most jobs.