All freezers make a little noise when they operate under normal conditions. Those noises include humming, clicking, and buzzing. However, as long the freezer’s components are in excellent working order, those noises shouldn’t get too loud.
When your freezer makes a loud humming noise, that’s a sign of a problem. First, you should troubleshoot the evaporator fan blades for damage or an ice buildup. Then, check for a worn-out motor. After ruling all of those out, you should consider that the compressor might be failing.
Freezers are crucial for preserving food items. So, you’ll want to troubleshoot and resolve the loud humming as soon as possible. Keep reading this guide to find out how.
Why Is My Freezer Humming So Loudly?
When you hear a loud humming sound come from your freezer, that’s a clear sign that there’s a problem. So, you should troubleshoot and resolve the issue as soon as possible.
It’s always best to take an organized approach when troubleshooting home appliances like your freezer. So, always start by checking the possibilities that you can rule out quickly.
Here are the freezer parts you should troubleshoot when it hums loudly:
Ice Or Frost Buildup At The Evaporator Fan Blades
The first part you’ll want to check is the evaporator fan blade.
What it is: The evaporator is the part of the freezer’s cooling system that absorbs heat and releases cold air. It’s also the part that’s inside your freezer compartment.
The evaporator has a blower fan that drives cold air into your freezer compartment. The fan also helps distribute that cold air to ensure that all parts of the freezer are equally cold.
The problem: The evaporator could experience frost and ice buildup over an extended period. When the ice buildup becomes solid, it could block the path of the rotating fan blade.
As a result, the fan blade will continually hit the hard ice as it turns at high speeds. From the outside, you’ll hear that as a loud humming noise comes from the freezer.
The solution: You can fix this problem by melting the ice and frost buildup, so the evaporator fan can spin without hitting anything.
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You can do this by defrosting your freezer thoroughly. First, shut off its power and leave the freezer door open. Then, point a fan at the freezer to maximize airflow, which will melt the ice even faster.
If that’s not an option, shut the freezer off and try to gently scrape the ice away from the evaporator fan.
Whatever you do, never use a heat gun or hair dryer to melt the ice. That focused blast of heat will warp or melt the plastic parts in your freezer.
Read: 5 Reasons Why Freezer Is Too Cold
Damaged Evaporator Fan Blades
What it is: As you saw above, your freezer’s evaporator has a fan that forces cold air to spread throughout the freezer compartment.
The problem: Once you’ve confirmed that the evaporator fan blade is free from any ice or frost buildups, the next thing you’ll have to look for is damage.
The fan blades have likely experienced damage, somehow. For instance, the fan blades might have become bent or broken. That could happen from continually hitting hard ice or if the fan wasn’t aligned correctly in the first place.
The damaged evaporator fan blades are now hitting parts of the fridge and evaporator as it spins. That will produce the loud humming noise you hear from outside the appliance.
The solution: You can resolve this issue by replacing the evaporator fan blade with a new one. Whenever you perform a repair on your freezer, always be sure to disconnect its power source entirely.
Then, remove the freezer compartment’s back panel to access the evaporator fan and motor. Assuming the motor is still in good working order, all you have to do is pull out the damaged fan and replace it with a new one.
Then, put the motor and fan back into place and replace the panel you removed earlier.
Read: Why Is Ice Or Frost Build Up In The Freezer?
Connect with an Appliance Repair Tech
Click here to use the chatbox to speak with one of our technicians.
No in-home service calls. No appointments.
Worn Out Evaporator Fan Motor
What it is: So far, you’ve seen that the evaporator fan is responsible for distributing cold air throughout your freezer. The fan consists of two parts: the fan blades and the fan motor.
The evaporator fan motor is powered and controlled by the freezer to turn the fan blades. As a result, the fan will force cold air into the freezer to reach the set temperature.
The problem: Let’s suppose you’ve been using your freezer for many years. After that much time, the evaporator fan motor will experience too much normal wear. That will cause it to stop working correctly.
The loud humming sound that you hear is likely because the motor has lost its lubrication. So, its moving parts are grinding against each other and producing those loud noises.
The solution: The most straightforward answer is to replace the fan motor with a new one. To do that, you’ll have to remove the freezer compartment’s rear panel to access the motor.
Then, disconnect the motor from its electrical connections and remove it from the freezer. From there, you can mount and connect the new fan motor before replacing the panel you took off earlier.
Read: Bosch Fridge-Freezer Fan Is Not Working
Failed Compressor
What it is: The compressor is the heart of any freezer’s cooling system. As the name suggests, it compresses refrigerant and circulates it throughout the sealed cooling system.
As a result, the refrigerant can flow past the evaporator to remove heat from the freezer compartment and then release the heat at the condenser.
The problem: Your freezer’s compressor is a sealed component with moving parts inside. The compressor’s internal parts have likely failed when it makes an excessively loud humming noise.
For example, it might have lost its lubrication, and now parts are grinding against each other, creating that loud humming noise.
The solution: Unfortunately, the EPA only allows licensed technicians to work on sealed cooling systems. That also applies to your freezer and the failed compressor.
The reason you can’t work on sealed systems yourself is that you might accidentally release the refrigerant inside. Refrigerant gasses can be pretty dangerous for humans, and they definitely damage the environment.
So, only the solution here is to contact a licensed freezer technician. They will check the compressor to advise you whether or not it’s repairable or if you’ll need to buy a replacement.
If a replacement is necessary, they’ll also help you dispose of the old compressor correctly.
Read: Why Is Fridge Making Rattling, Humming Or Buzzing Noise?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some additional answers to frequently asked questions that will help you troubleshoot your humming freezer:
Is It Normal For A Freezer To Make Noise?
Yes, it is entirely normal for a freezer to make a little bit of noise as part of its regular operation. As long as the sounds are barely noticeable, there’s nothing for you to worry about.
What Does A Normal Freezer Sound Like?
A regular freezer will make sounds like humming, clicking, and buzzing. Some noises are continuous, like the humming you’ll hear at a low level. Other noises like clicking and buzzing will happen intermittently throughout the day.
Should A Freezer Be Silent?
Yes, it’s normal for your freezer to be absolutely silent from time to time. When your freezer reaches its set temperature, the cooling system will shut off temporarily, leaving it quiet. Eventually, the freezer will make humming, clicking, and buzzing noises again as it begins cooling again.
How Do I Stop My Freezer From Making Noise?
The only way to stop your freezer from making its normal noises is to turn it off. However, that’s not practical if you’re storing food items inside. However, you can stop excess noise by quickly resolving any freezer problems.
Read: Why LG Freezer Not Freezing But Fridge Is Cold?
Do All Freezers Make A Noise?
Yes, all freezers will make normal noises like humming, clicking, and buzzing. The noises happen when the cooling system lowers the temperature inside the compartment. However, freezers don’t make loud noises unless there’s a problem you need to troubleshoot.
