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Comment by bombela | Hacker News Reader

> variable-speed fridges exist, and they're kind of nice in that they try to run continuously and quietly instead of alternating between full-power (and loud) and all the way off.

Modern continuous variable speed compressor fridges drive me absolutely crazy. They sound like two ceramic plate rubbing together with some maddening flutter.

Some also add incredibly annoying high pitch whines. That seemingly nobody seems to notice but me. In the same vein as coils whine from power supplies and other modern electronic.

Old bang bang fridges are loud, on lower frequency, and with a sound that is more consistent and stable. Not varying one second to the next, which I find easier to ignore.

I have started looking at how reasonable it is to move the compressor of my expensive and low quality 2025 fridge across the wall into the garage (refrigerant capture and refill, brazing new lines etc).

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It's not just modern electronics. I used to be able to know, the minute I walked in, if there were any CRT TVs on in someones house. Flyback coil whine was a constant presence.

Same. Sometimes I'd be sitting in a different room not exactly "hearing" anything except a vague sense of heightened perception and unease, and eventually decide to get up to check the TV room on the other side of the house and sure enough, someone left the TV on. The feeling of utter blissful silence afterwards in comparison was incredibly relaxing though, I do kinda miss that part...

VFDs need really good grounding. Make sure you have a solid earth ground or you can get arcing across the motor bearings. This makes a sound that’s often described as “fluting,” and I think that might be your problem. If it is, you need to fix that before your bearings are trashed and you have to replace the motor.

Wait, the compressor and drive is a device or a pair of devices right next to each other, assembled in a factory, and made out of metal. Why does the quality of the connection between the hunks of metal and the planet have any effect?

VFDs can produce nasty waveforms, and there are cases where “grounding” could be a big deal, but I think that the wiring of the ground terminal of the power supply is only relevant at all when it’s involved in the connection between the drive and the motor. So, for example, if you have a VFD that is far away from a motor, then you would want to make sure the VFD and the motor’s grounds are connected to each other and maybe even that the VFD’s supply neutral (average of the phases) is reasonably close in voltage to ground, keeping in mind that there may not be an actual neutral wire connected to the VFD, and that the motor’s ground is well connected to the VFD’s ground. By modern standards one should use actual VFD cable and terminate it properly.

https://www.southwire.com/medias/sys_master/related-pdfs/rel...

Fascinating, I will investigate.

The outlet are grounded with a thin non insulated copper wire secured to the nearest water copper pipe, itself also bounded to the iron gas pipe (this is 1950 electrical). I am not sure I can call this a solid earth ground.

Thank you for the info!

If your electrical service is also bonded to the gas and water pipes (it likely is), that grounding arrangement for the receptacle is fine.

It isn't bonded at the panel. The panel ground is not used on any of the 1950 circuits. Neutral is bonded to the panel ground. And yes this does means neutral and ground pins at the outlet have a few volts across, since the path between them goes through the literal earth. The water and gas piping coming out of the earth at the opposite side of the house from where the electrical panel is located.

> Some also add incredibly annoying high pitch whines. That seemingly nobody seems to notice but me.

That drove me crazy for about a week trying to figure out what the noise was coming from... Pinhole water pipe leak? Cat stuck in the flue? Once I realized what it was, I didn't mind it much. It is better than loud old compressors suddenly kicking on and burrr'ing away then stopping.

> I have started looking at how reasonable it is to move the compressor of my expensive and low quality 2025 fridge across the wall into the garage (refrigerant capture and refill, brazing new lines etc).

It would be worth looking into commercial refrigeration as well, you can get a refrigerator with a remote condenser and I’m sure you could find used equipment. Either way you’re going to have to run refrigerant piping and plumb in condensate drains.

I hate fridge noise, any kind. I’d like to prioritize quiet running when buying, but for the last two purchases I haven’t had confidence in the research I did. In the end, one was decent and the other was fair.

However, in preparation for writing this comment I discovered Quiet Mark, which seems promising. https://www.quietmark.com/

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