Fridge And Freezer Forum

Hi everyone

I have an integrated fridge/freezer made by "OCEAN" with model number APM6825 (Frost-free). The unit was purchased from MFI.

I am looking for spares/information about this freezer but cannot find any information about the manufacturer or this particular model. Is it made under another brandname/manufacturer?

Could anybody shed any light on this fridge/freezer and where i can get parts for it. A wiring schematic would also help a great deal.

Regards

freezer_user.

PS. the problem i had wass the freezer evaporator was fully iced up. I defrosted and found the drainhole was blocked, which i suspected was why there was so much ice as the melt-water could not escape.

The fridge and freezer get down to temperature now but it seems to be running for a long time without cutting out. Also i suspect the defrost system is not working as a re-check of the evaporater coils found it to be starting to ice up again!

Thanks in advance for any help!!

It's made by a company called Brandt, they manufacture a lot of appliances that get "rebadged" in this country and sold through various outlets.

You would appear to have a defrost problem, check the defrost heater for continuity and/or obvious signs of damage, apart from that the defrost cycle is controlled electronically by a pcb and thermal probe.

I can easily obtain any spares you may need.

Dave.

Thanks Dave that helps alot.

Just a question about the defrost system in this freezer.

The defrost element is connected in series with this little black component (rectangular plastic) that is clipped to the evaporator coils. I thought this was the defrost limit switch thermostat but its plastic and doesnt look like ones i have seen on the web.

NEUTRAL--------I Black thing I--------------element------------LIVE

The live and neutrals go to a connector block that i think connects to the PCB.

There is also a white torpedo shaped device embedded in the coils with brown and blue wires connecting to the same connector block. These must go off to the PCB as well.

What i am confused about is which is the defrost sensor? Is the white object the defrost thermostat, if so what is the black thing?!

How much are these two parts and do you know how much a replacement PCB is?

Also, you say it is a Brandt made appliance, do you by any chance know if there is a Brandt model number also; as the one i have must be an MFI model number?

Thanks so much for your help!

The little black component will be the heater cut-out almost certainly and as it isn't shown on the exploded diagram or the wiring diagram I can only assume it comes with the heater as an assembly, but don't hold me to it

The white device will be what is described as the defrost probe and monitors the freezer temperature.

Price details as follows (from Brandt as they are considerably cheaper then MFI on this occasion):

PCB £72.43
Defrost probe £33.98
Defrost heater £55.95

Those all inc VAT.

Dave.

Thanks again dave.

So the heater cut-out has nothing to do with measuring temperature; it is just to protect the heating element?

And the defrost probe determines when the system is defrosted and tells the pcb to cut off the heater?

One more question; sorry to keep firing them at you!

I have been looking under the flap at the bottom of the panel in the freezer; i can just see the bottom of the coils; in order to check it is defrosting. I can see small icicles at the bottom, which looks like it has indeed been melting frost. Is it normal to see small icicles or should the coils be totally free of frost and ice if auto-defrost is working properly.

I am trying to determine where the fault is; kinda tricky as it could be so many things!

Also, do you have any idea where the thermostat for the refridgerator located?

This site is really useful! Thanks again!

freezer_user wrote:So the heater cut-out has nothing to do with measuring temperature; it is just to protect the heating element?

Mainly to protect the appliance itself in case it overheated.

freezer_user wrote:And the defrost probe determines when the system is defrosted and tells the pcb to cut off the heater?

Probably, although it will be timed by the pcb as well no doubt.

freezer_user wrote:I have been looking under the flap at the bottom of the panel in the freezer; i can just see the bottom of the coils; in order to check it is defrosting. I can see small icicles at the bottom, which looks like it has indeed been melting frost. Is it normal to see small icicles or should the coils be totally free of frost and ice if auto-defrost is working properly.

Clear generally.

freezer_user wrote:Also, do you have any idea where the thermostat for the refridgerator located?

There isn't a thermostat, there will be another probe (thermistor) in the fridge somewhere.

freezer_user wrote:This site is really useful!

Thankyou !

Dave.

Hello again.

Am convinced I have a defrost heater problem on my hands. I purchased a plugin energy monitor that you can plug your appliance into and it tells you how much power, current, kwh it is consuming.

The idea was to monitor the power consumption to tell whether the heater was working.

When i plugged it in the it was drawing 115W which is the motor spec on the plate; the heater spec is 170W (----/\/\/\/\/\/\-----) that is the element spec right?

When the motor is not running, the meter shows 0W, so the heater is not running; i know the heater only comes on at certain times.

When i looked in the morning the motor was off and the meter read 20W. Could this be the heater running, but clearly not hot enough - would this explain my icicles as there is a small amount of melting occuring?

I did do a continuity test using a multimeter across the circuit i drawn in the earlier post; the reading was 0.3 ohms - is this right? One site mentioned the reading should be low and close to continuity.

Thanks again, freezer_user

Oops i posted as guest, forgot to log in!!

One thing i must add to the post; when it read 20W i had the doors shut, ie the light inside was off.

Please read my previous post, thanks again!

freezer_user

Coming in late here but if the actual appliance is not installed fully it can cause the appliance to move back slightly and there fore not allow the doors to close fully allowing air to get into the appliance and cause premiture frosting of the evaperator or the icicles,iceicles,(dam, can never spell that word)well you know what i mean.

when you close the door do you hear the wooden door hitting the wood cabinet ?.if so it may well be that you need to adjust the wooden doors to make a good seal.

hope this helps

bryan

Thanks r600a,

My doors shut fine. So that is not the problem.

I suspect my heating element may be faulty; does anyone think what i mentioned about the freezer drawing 20W whilst the motor was not running could indicate it was trying to defrost but clearly not drawing enough power.

Another question, does the heating element run on 240V and is it switched via a relay on the PCB? Is there a relay elsewhere? I am trying to eliminate the fault being PCB related. The fridge and freezer temps are correct and the motor is cutting in and out properly ie not over-running.

Does anyone know what resistance there should be in the element so i can test it with a multimeter?

Thanks again! Hopefully i am near to fixing this problem!

freezer_user

Try running it with the heater disconnected, wait for the defrost cycle to kick in and check the current being drawn then.

The heater will be switched either by a relay or a triac on the PCB.

Dave.

I have a ocean frost free fridge freezer no model no on unit or anyware on body,the freezer freezes up correctly but the fridge half stays warm to humid.Is this a fridge worth the repair(6 years old)or should it be put down(poor faithfull fridge).All advice much appreciated.
Thanks for the forum
Clint

Clint, the model number should be beside the salad bin.

Is this unit frost free ?

Dave.

Hi all,

I have similar prob to Clint - a Zanussi zfc56/38ff.
The fridge compartment is "warm", the freezer is at "fridge" temp.
Sounds like both the fan + compressor are working.
It's a frost-free, but the freezer is getting big ice build-up on back unit where I think the defrost heater is situated.
Could a failure of "de-frost heater" element cause this???

Grateful for any suggestions,

gee_jay

gee_jay wrote:Could a failure of "de-frost heater" element cause this???

Yes, it could also be one of the defrost control thermostats or the timer.

If you don't have the correct test equipment it will be virtually impossible to check each of those parts, best call an engineer to be honest and save yourself money on unwanted parts and a lot of time

Check the directory or let us know your postcode, someone on UKW should be able to help with a service visit.

Dave.