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After a rental unit in Phoenix, I quit chasing OEM parts for older fridges
A 12 year old Whirlpool in a rental took 3 weeks to get a factory compressor relay while a $9 universal one from the supply house fixed it in 10 minutes, so why are we still telling customers to wait for the branded stuff?
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alex_taylor101mo ago
Man, I feel this so hard. I had a similar situation with a 10 year old GE fridge where the factory defrost timer was backordered for a month, but the supply house had a generic one that fit perfectly and cost like 15 bucks. It’s frustrating because we’re taught to push OEM for reliability, but in practice, these older units just need a working part, not a magic sticker on the box. The rental tenant didn’t care about the brand, they just wanted their food cold again. I’m glad you didn’t waste more time waiting on that backorder, that’s the kind of call that saves everyone a headache.
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shane7511mo ago
Wait, a month for a defrost timer? That’s insane, @alex_taylor10. I’ve seen backorders on circuit boards and compressors, but a timer is about as basic as it gets. Every supply house in my area stocks at least three different ones that fit every common fridge from the last 20 years. You could probably find one in a junk drawer at a repair shop. It’s wild that GE would string you along like that when the generic part is sitting right there. And you’re right about the tenant, they just want cold beer and leftovers. That OEM sticker doesn’t mean anything when the food is spoiling.
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