Freezer Models · Freezer columns
Classic Series All-Freezer Column (CL3650F)
The CL3650F is the all-freezer of the current Classic Series, a 36-inch built-in behind one full-height door. When its freezer side fails, the job nearly always lands in the seal, fan or defrost band, $290–$690 between them, with the figure named after diagnosis. Sub-Zero Repair Kirkland, (425) 699-2400.
- Term
- CL3650F
- Band
- $290–$6903 bands, lowest to highest
- Tell
- A single tall door with nothing but freezer behind it, and a grille panel running across the top of the cabinet.
- Signed
- Dean Halvorsen
- Speciality
- Refrigeration technician — sealed systems and airflow
- Years on the tools
- 19
- Holds
- EPA 608 certified
One model, not a family
People search for Classic freezer columns in the plural, yet the current Classic Series has a single all-freezer: the CL3650F. The Classic all-freezer before it was sold as the BI-36F, and a Kirkland kitchen may have either. From the freezer side they are close relatives: the same width, a tall door over pull-out storage, and the condenser housed up top.
Where the cold is made and where the heat goes
Inside the compartment a fan pushes air across a chilled coil and back out into the drawers. Every so often the control warms that coil to clear its frost. Up above, behind the grille, the condenser sheds the heat the cabinet has pulled out of the food, with a second fan drawing room air across it.
Two of the three usual bands sit on that path. A fan that has slowed, inside the compartment or at the condenser, leaves the column running warm; the condenser fan motor cost page shows where that part lands. When heat fails to reach the coil during defrost, frost builds behind the panel and airflow falls off in the same way. The two look alike from the front, which is why the field note on a column warm at the top shelf sets out how they are told apart before any panel comes off.
The seal on a tall door
A full-height door has a long gasket, and it is the part an owner can judge without tools. Look for a ridge of frost along one side of the opening, or a corner where the seal no longer sits flat. A torn or flattened seal lets damp air in all day, and the freezer spends its effort melting the result. Replacement is priced on the door gasket cost page.
Before calling, check that no trim added during a remodel blocks the grille, and that the door closes on its own with every drawer pushed home.
Asked about this unit
Is the CL3650F the only freezer column in today's Classic range?
Yes. Sub-Zero's current design guide lists three models under all-refrigerator and all-freezer in the Classic Series, and CL3650F is the one freezer among them; the other two are refrigerators. Every other Classic unit with a freezer pairs it with a refrigerator, as an over-and-under, French door or side-by-side.
What should the display on a CL3650F read, and what if the food disagrees?
An electronic Sub-Zero control leaves the factory holding the freezer at 0°F. If ice cream goes soft or a thermometer in the compartment reads well above zero while the display still shows the setting, the cabinet is losing cold somewhere. Sub-Zero Repair Kirkland, (425) 699-2400, diagnoses that for the $89 service call, credited to the repair.
How often does the condenser on a Classic freezer need cleaning?
Sub-Zero's instructions for Classic models give six to twelve months. The grille is held at the centre of its bottom edge, lifted and rotated up, and the coil behind it is cleared with a soft brush and a vacuum, working with the fins. Switch the unit off first and wear gloves; the fins are sharp.
Next step
Say what the unit is doing. The band comes before the bill.
Have the model number from the rating plate and a line on what the unit is doing. The visit is $89, the fault is named and priced inside its published band, and nothing is replaced until you agree the figure.