Fridge And Freezer Forum

Hi,

I have had the appliance for just over 2 years now and have had to defrost the unit twice by switching off at the wall and leaving it empty (both fridge and freezer) overnight. I did this about a year ago and more recently just last week. This has been my usual fix to the problem I have; I assume the tube between the two compartments gets blocked with ice so i let it thaw and then it works again fine.

Yesterday i noticed the fridge is really warm; in fact it is room temperature. The freezer compartment is covered in frost which is a new issue. Previously i got a buildup of solid ice in the back/bottom of the freezer so i defrosted it and it's fine but now the whole freezer compartment has frost covering it.

I pulled the machine out and had a look at the back; i emptied the evaporation tray and checked the compressor was working; it makes its usual noise and has a freezing tube coming out of it so seems ok? Also the fan behind the panel at the back of the freezer is working perfectly.

I'm quite handy and happy to have a go at repairing it but i have no idea where to start!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Hi,

If the freezer is full of frost this is a classic sign that warm air has been allowed to enter the appliance over a period of time. This is usually because either the fridge or freezer door has not been closed fully. It only takes a small gap between the door seal and the cabinet for the air to be pulled into the cabinet by the fan.
It is not always noticed when this happens as when the door is opened again, and then closed, the door is sealed correctly. It may be that one of the freezer baskets had not been pushed in fully and this stopped the door from making an efficient seal.
Ubnfortunately the only answer to the problem is to defrost the appliance completely and, in future, make sure the doors are always fully closed after removing items of food.

Richard

Thanks Richard i have thoroughly checked the door seals and they seem to be in good order. I left it overnight and still no better.

Is it possibly the defrost thermostat or the fridge thermostat might you know?

I've checked the tube between the fridge and freezer and there's definately no blockage there?

Thanks
Ben

Ben,

If there is frost in the freezer this can only be created by warm moist air entering the cabinet. If the seals are ok then the only other explanation is that one of the doors has not been closed fully at some time. It does not take long for the frost to build up if warm air is allowed to enter the cabinet.

If the defrost thermostat was faulty the freezer evaporator would either block up with ice or not get cold at all. If it blocked up with ice you would not see it as it is behind the rear wall of the freezer. If the fridge thermostat was at fault the fridge would be either too cold or the appliance would stop cooling in both the fridge and the freezer.

Richard

BeBopUK wrote:Hi,

The freezer compartment is covered in frost

Bryan,

I think the answer to your question is in Ben's first posting.

Richard