Does a refrigerator compressor have reed valves?

Question

Does a refrigerator compressor have reed valves? is there a a check valve in the freon line?

10 year old kenmore top freezer refrigerator began making annoying noise from compressor about a month ago. cooling properly, exterior compressor mounts are fine. coils clean, defrost timer working properly, defrost cycle working properly.

the noise sounds like a valve-type internal clatter, am not sure of compressor RPM but extimate the noise is several hundred cycles per minute. when compressor starts, the noise is not there but after a couple of minutes (maybe after the freon pressure builds), the noise is annoyingly loud.

so the question: is this a valve problem? i've never had this happen on any other refrigerator we've ever owned.

Meat Plow · Accepted Answer

Most light duty compressors are reed valve equipped. Often the compressor is loud when there is a lack of head pressure as is when the compressor first starts then over a period of a minute the noise diminishes. This is normal. In your case the reeds make noise once the head pressure builds and is abnormal. How long will it last? Good question. It could operate this way for months, maybe years. Or it could fail tomorrow.

James Sweet · Answer

They do, and the valves are about the only part of them that ever fails so long as the refrigerant charge isn't lost. The other thing that can happen which gets noisy is if one or more of the springs breaks. If you open up a hermetic compressor, the mechanical assembly floats on some springs in a pool of oil, if a spring breaks, moving parts can clatter on the inside of the dome.

Does a refrigerator compressor have reed valves?

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