GE WR51X442 Refrigerator Defrost Heater Kit with Thermostat

GE WR51X442 Refrigerator Defrost Heater Kit with Thermostat
  • Genuine GE factory part
  • Also common in side-by-side refrigerators

I saved about $25.00 on this item because I purchased via Amazon versus an appliance store.

Product worked great and the solid block of ice in my freezer is no more!!!

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There are evidently two sizes of these just one number apart. The one I ordered turned out to be the 6" wide heaters and I needed the 9" wide heaters. So I am returning this one and ordering the right one. If the description had specified the width of the heaters I could have avoided the mistake. It was not mentioned that there are two sizes if these and they look alike in the picture. The description should warn people to measure their heaters before ordering. Now I get to schlep it to the post office and pay shipping again to return it.

Read Best Reviews of GE WR51X442 Refrigerator Defrost Heater Kit with Thermostat Here

There's no need to pay the exorbitant manufacturer prices. This is the real deal! Works great. Was easy to install. Shipped and arrived fast.

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This combo unit is a thermostat along with two glass radiant defrost heaters. Upon initial installation and operation, as it was in my case, it may seem as if the heaters are extremely hot. I believe this happened because my defrost timer was in or near the defrost position when I first turned on the refrigerator after installing the new parts. FYI: The defrost timer operates in 16 Hours ON/cooling 30-35 Minutes OFF/Defrost cycles. So, if your refrigerator compressor does not begin to function after 35 minutes, you may also (or only) need a new defrost timer. Anyway, after the 24 hour stabilization period, my refrigerator and freezer are working great maintaining perfect cooling (≈33°F) and freezing (≈-10°F) temperatures...Best that I can remember even before needing to replace the thermostat/heaters. Plus, the compressor doesn't seem to turn on/stay on as often as before.

After removing the old defrost heaters, I could easily see they were burnt-out...From visual appearance/inspection, I believe one heater was burnt-out for quite a while before the second one finally ceased. This was probably why, for quite some time, my compressor was going on more often and longer although the refrigerator/freezer seemed to be working fine. Now, both my refrigerator and freezer compartments are much better consistently cooled/frozen.

Overall, I am happy with this solution and expect to get another 15+ years use from my refrigerator.

Other Info:

I recommend completely (manually) defrosting your refrigerator before installing this kit...you'll get much better immediate and efficient results. Also, you may need some other low-cost item/sensor such as a defrost timer or refrigerator temperature sensor...even a main board is usually less than $100.00 and all worth it if your fridge is still in good shape otherwise.

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Our refrigerator/freezer is 16 years old made by GE. We found in August'12 that it stopped cooling properly. Troubleshooted that the defrost heater was broken. Purchased part GE WR51X442 and replaced the old with new one about a month ago. Our refrigerator has been cooling fine since then. Thank Google and Amazon.com.

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