That tiny dent in my fridge coil ended up costing me $40 more a month

So I was cleaning behind my fridge last weekend because my kitchen started smelling weird. I noticed this small dent in the cooling coil, like from when I bumped it moving the fridge in 3 years ago. I just ignored it because it looked minor. Turns out that dent was messing up the airflow something awful. My power bill had been creeping up for months and I blamed the AC unit. I finally called a repair guy to check the fridge and he pointed straight at that dent. He bent it back with a tool and my bill dropped back to normal next month. Has anyone else had a tiny appliance damage that quietly wrecked their electric bill?

3 comments

3 Comments

bettywilson1mo ago

@taylor.paige Honestly I had the same thought when I first read this. A dent in a coil causing that much of a jump? Sounds a little too neat. I'm not saying it's impossible but I'd want to see the power bills side by side before I bought into it. Your mileage may vary but I've heard repair guys blame all sorts of random stuff to make a quick buck.

smith.ray1mo ago

Jump right in. Yeah @taylor.paige it's totally real. Those coils are just thin aluminum tubes. One little dent pinches the airflow and the compressor runs way harder. Same thing happened with my buddy's dryer vent. He cleaned the lint trap every time but a tiny kink in the hose made the thing run twice as long. Cost him a fortune. Your fridge coil is basically the same idea.

taylor.paige1mo ago

Wonder if that's actually a real thing or just something the repair guy told you.