Fridge And Freezer Forum

[Cirrus]

Hello, I found this site when I was trying to figure out what to do about my RL36 Samsung Fridge/Freezer. The fridge part does not seem to be working, though the freezer section is (and seems to be too cold)

We noticed that there was a lot of ice build up in the bottom freezer compartment floor and the ice maker was starting to get frost covering it (this does not normally happen). I took all the shelves out, removed the ice from the bottom and undid the rear cover of the compartment. There was a lot of ice behind it. I removed this ice as well.

After this was done, I noticed that the fridge part was now not working. IE, it's not getting cold. When I took the rear cover of the freezer compartment I did notice that the fan and flap were working OK (the flap rotated all the time. Should it do this?).

The freezer temp is -17 and the fridge is 1. The lights are working, and I notice the fridge light does go off when the door is shut. I can't feel any cold air getting coming out of the vents.

Can anyone advise if there's anything I ca do before going to the expense of an engineer?

[Dales-Electronic]

Just before we go further with this please check your temperatures again - on a domestic refrigeration system, such as yours, the temperatures allowed are Fridge area anywhere between 1 - 8C this means the fridge is OK, in the freezer area the temperature should be greater than -15C ie -15, -16C, -17C etc at -17 thats OK too. Kindly note that if you have been given the following temps (fridge 1-5C and freezer -18 to -20C) to work with these only apply to commercial refrigeration.

[Cirrus]

The controls on the unit allow you to set the following temps.

Fridge = +1 to +6 degrees
Freezer = -17 to -25 degrees

I currently have the Fridge set to +1 (the lowest temp possible) and the freezer set to -17 (the highest temp possible).

Thanks

[Dales-Electronic]

+1C is fine for the fridge (you don't want the milk to freeze) and -17c is not the highest (if you mean warmest) you are working in negative figures from 0c - therefore -25c is a colder setting that -17c. You could therefore set the freezer at -18c which is around the norm for most freezers.

[Optimist?]

I think what Cirrus is getting at here is that if he sets the freezer to a 'normal' -18, or colder, he (she?) is getting excessive ice build up in the freezer which is causing the fridge cooling to be compromised (somehow).

So setting the warmer -17 is an attempt to minimise this excess frosting.

In my enormously limited experience, these symptoms would point to a fault with the frost-free mechanisms, or the 'tronics controlling them. Assuming that this model is of that generic design.

Pete

[Cirrus]

Pete,

Correct. There was a lot of excessive build up in the freezer compartments, so by setting it to -17 (the warmest) I was hoping to minimize this.

I've had a visit by local repair man (who luckily does not charge for call outs) and he advised that 8 times out of 10 the symptoms I'm seeing are caused by an ice blockage stopping the cool air from reaching the fridge. I was all set to empty the freezer the next day, when I discovered that the fridge now seems to be working OK.

I'll probably still try and defrost it just in case this was the cause and may happen again, just after our weekly shop..

[r600a]

Hi all

there may well be a blockage in the drain of the freezer as you have stated that the base was full of ice.
this will gradually build up to the extent that the bottom drawer will be frozen into the freezer.
this may well be caused by a heater failure or just a blockage.
this will cause the fridge from cooling and it will work if the appliance is defrosted for 36 hours with both doors open( bear in mind that there may well be a lot of water).
if there is a failure then the fault will definetly reappear.

bryan

[Optimist?]

Hi r600a,

Welcome to the discussion.

I think the nail has been struck squarely on its head by your post here.
I found a blockage in just this place on my unit, sadly I have different symptoms, which haven't been helped by fixing this. Your reasoning sounds spot-on (to me anyway!) w.r.t. the exhibited behaviour/probable causes.

Can anyone enlighten Cirrus as to the likely availability (to the public) of a spare defrost heater element (either/both), and whether it's possible/easy to fit this as an 'amateur'?

Cheers,

Pete

Cirrus, have you checked your Private Messages?

[Cirrus]

@r600a,

I now recall that the engineer did indeed say to check that the drain hole was not blocked, and that this (blocked hole) was the probably the cause for over icing and subsequent non-cooling of the fridge.

Although the fridge does appear to be working (maybe my ice clearing helped?), I intend to defrost it completely once we have disposed of the Freezer contents. I understand this will likely take a couple of days to be sure it's done thoroughly. Hopefully, this will be the end to the problem, unless the heater is faulty, in which case, I'll see ice build up again. If this happens I'll see what my local friendly repair guy can do.


@Optimist?

Sorry, don't visit here often PM's read and replied to. Thanks.

[r600a]

As for spare parts..

All parts can be obtained from myself direct or at the on line shop.

I hold 90% of all parts required in stock.

The defrost heater isnt a DIY job or a job for the local repair man unless he's done one before.

bryan