Refrigerator problem!!

[Snowbird 10]

My fridge is playing up in the middle of heat wave!!

It is about 5years old fridge over freezer. When I first got it the freezer fan wasn't working so I had to get someone out straight away. Two years ago it started freezing up blocking the drain and then defrosting water under the salad drawer. I visited t Comet and they told me to turn the setting UP!

I was still having problems so I called an engineer he and he told me that even though it was supposed to be frost free it needed defrosting and leaving off for 4days!!

I did that and although still freezing up and defrosting at odd times I have coped with it but now it is really going haywire. It has been running ok set at 2

but then it started icing up , getting blocked and flooding the bottom of the fridge again so I turned the control up to 5. Seemed ok for a day but my soft fruit and cucumber have frozen and are ruined and the drain is blocked solid with ice again.! Am I doing something wrong or is the thermostat busted?

[acman 10]

The fridge may need a defrost, I know that sounds odd, being frost free, the problem is the freezer section will in the back of it have the 'evaporator' thats's the finned looks like a car radiator part you see in big commercial fridges and freezers, its' usually behind a plastic panel, there is also a small fan that circulates the air in the freezer, that's what the term frost free really means, it stops the food by and large going 'clumpy', also it give a more even temp in the freezer, but during this hot weather, the evaporator will become iced up, they should defrost automatically every 6 hours,for about half an hour or so, but sometimes that isn't long enough and ice is still present, then it freezes solid, hence no air moves over the evaporator, we have 2 frost frees, one is a good one, the other is a cheaper brand, that's the one I have issues with. What I tend to do, is Turn off the fridge, remove the drawers, keeping the food in them, to help keep them frozen, then put someting like a small fan heater on a low setting in the freezer, keep the door open, and just circulate some warm air around the freezer section, in this weather, 20-30 mins should be enough, you may notice a fair amount of water from the drain at the back, that usually leads into a plastic box on top of the compresssor.

Then switch back on, it may be worth noting too, that a fair amount of frost free fridge freezers will go into defrost mode automatically after switching off, that's a good way of forcing a defrost, switch off, count to 10, switch back on. so don't be alarmed if the fridge doesn't start back up after switch on, it's probably in a defrost. If it's warm like this, and I'm putting stuff in the cheaper freezer, after a supermarket shop, I usually switch it off while I'm doing it, warm air across a freezing evaporator, causes moisture on it, then it freezes, you'll never stop it fully, be it can be allieviated.

Hoping you can under stand this!!

Regards, acman.

[Snowbird 10]

I can understand it thanks-- I guess mine must be one of the troublesome cheap ones you mention!!!! Its been a pain since I got it really but I picked it because I liked the layout--Fridge at the top- and it was the right size.

When I first started having trouble with it the guy in the Shop told me to defrost it so that when I learnt- frost free didn't mean no defrosting!

However I have recently defrosted it so wouldn't have thought it needed doing again so soon. It takes ages to defrost as well at least 24 hours - the guy in the shop told me to leave it off for 4days!!! The freezer is full again now so I cant really do that again. I have now got it turned back down to 2 and there is still frost and ice forming on the back wall but so far the drain is still clear but there is no sign of it automatically defrosting itself-blooming thing!!

I had a quote for £120 for an engineer to come and look at it- half as much as the thing cost and simply not worth it I'm afraid.

Thanks for your advice - I will consider taking the hairdryer to it if it gets any worse!!

[acman 10]

Not a bad idea actually, some of the fridge guys I have worked with recommend this,

Here's a link to a picture, that shows a frozen evaporator, that will be behind a plastic panel in the back of the freeezer, accessible from the inside of the freezer,

http://0.tqn.com/w/experts/Major-Appliances-3603/2010/04/imf-1505.jpg