Fridge And Freezer Forum

[Stitch]

Hi All,
I have a Samsung SR-S20 side by side fridge freezer which I've owned for approx 4 years .Just recently items in the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator keep freezing solid and thick ice keeps forming on the inside back wall of the refrigerator . I thought that maybe I had the temperature set too low so I raised it to 7 but it still keeps doing it.
Does anybody have any idea what could be causing it and how to fix it please ?.

Thanks in advance....

[micko]

Hi,
You are describing exactly what my Samsung SR-S20 is doing. Did you find a solution?

mick.okane@bt.com

[Stitch]

No not yet , I was hoping somebody here could shed some light on it but no replies so far.

[Dave_Conway]

Sorry, this one got missed

I'll check some things for you if you can let me know the full model number off the rating plate please (inside the fridge). SRS20 isn't enough due to the way Samsung list their technical info.

It does sound suspiciously like an insulation problem though. either that or there is a defrost problem with the freezer section and moist air is being blown in to the fridge which is freezing.

Is the area that the ice forms next to any vents ?

Dave.

[Guest]

Hi Dave ,
Thanks for your response.
The full model number is SR-S2026CVW . Ice forms on the lower rear inside section of the refridgerator ,I've just got rid of another lot - it was almost 2" thick in places and yes there are what appear to be vent slots either side , the panel is marked REF EVAPORATOR if that's any significance. Strange thing happened earlier this evening too , I noticed the fridge temp indicator was at 11 when I'd set it to 7 , I reset temp to 7 but a short while later it was on 11 again ! ?

Ron

[Dave_Conway]

Yep, as I thought, or suspected, a defrost problem causing excessive ice build up.

Hopefully it shouldn't be an insulation problem anyway.

As these are electronically controlled and a fairly sophisticated appliance they are pretty difficult to diagnose any further than what I have mentioned without an engineers visit to be honest, unless you have an in-depth knowledge of frost free refrigeration.

Having said that, the repair to resolve should be fairly straightforward.

Check repairs@ and the directories for a UKW engineer, if that throws up a blank, please pop your post code up and I'll see what I can offer by way of a recommendation.

Dave.

[mick o'kane]

Mine's a SR2026 CVW as well. The temperature display shows 15 degrees, yet inside it is quite cool. As a temporary measure I have switched the fridge to Vacation which should in theory turn off the fridge. It doesn't, I can still hear the motor going but it seems to have slowed down the icing up.

[Ron]

Hi Dave ,
I've got a local engineer coming to have a look at it for me next week. I was hoping to have got my refund from Power Plan for not using my extended warranty but as they went into administration in 2003 that's that idea out of the window , now I have to get the engineer to make the invoice to the company handling the administration and stand in line for an unexpected refund !
Mick , mine is doing exactly the same . The temperature display is very eratic , I've seen it as low as 2 and as high as 15 but mostly around 10/11 but as you say the food feels chilled , although I have had to throw out some chicken and minced beef that smelt a bit high long before the eat by date so be careful what you eat .

[mick o'kane]

Ron,
Did the engineer fix the problem? If so, what was it?

Regards, Mick
mick.okane@bt.com

[werdjam]

On your model I imagine it is over icing around the accululator (part of the refrigerant system) thus causing the fan to stop or run very sparidically, easiest cure is to whack it on vacation if it has one for 24hrs, this turns off the fridge side but leaves freezer runnning, This will defrost the ice build up. Turn it on and see how you get on.
Could have been caused by power shortage/spike
If it re occurs you will need an engineer.

[Weirdjam]

That was me by the way not a guest!

[Ron]

Hi Mick,
The engineer more or less confirmed what Dave and wierdjam thought, at times when the fridge is working harder , e.g. especially hot weather or a sudden full load of food, the defrost function doesn't totally defrost but leaves a little ice behind , over a period of months this can build up and cause the problem that I'm getting. He couldn't remove the inside rear panel of the fridge because the ice build up behind it was too great , he could peer down behind it and said it was 1 1/2" - 2" thick.He suggested running down the food in the fridge and turning it off for maybe 48 hrs and then trying again , if that cures it he'll send me an invoice for his time if not he'll come back and have another look.
I'll let you know how I get on.

Best,
Ron

[mick o'kane]

Hi Ron,
Thanks for the reply. I tried this a while ago. I defrosted the ice using a hot hair-dryer. I made sure that all ice was gone, even behind the back panel. The fridge was totally dry and clean before I switched the power on again, but the next day the ice started to build up again and has got worse since.
Let us know how your's is going.

Mick

[Guest]

Hi all,
I finally got around to calling in a fridge engineer to my Samsung side by side fridge freezer. Although I had fully defrosted all the ice lying behind the upper crisper tray, I could not get the inside back panel off to see what was behind it. The engineer couldn't remove it at first, but used a wallpaper steam stripper and gradually freed up the panel so that it could be removed. Behind it was a wall of ice that had stopped the fan from running and allowed ice to build up more rapidly. Once he had defrosted everything, the fan started to run freely again and the fridge reached its correct temperature after about an hour.
He warned me that the same thing was probably going to happen on the freezer side, but at least I know how to tackle that when it occurs. It's a simple job once you have watched someone else do it, there is no need to pay an engineer. The hardest part was melting the ice but a wallpaper steamer minus the wall-plate does the trick in minutes. You may have to repeat the exercise every 2 or 3 years as the ice builds up again.

[Guest]

Bad news,
After initially thinking we had a solution, the ice started to build up again. Within a week we were back to square one. The engineer returned and now thinks that the sensor that detects ice build up and starts the defrost cycle may be at fault. He is to order a new sensor and fit it next week...................