Fridge Help

[joshuahardie]

Hey all.

Just wondering if there is anyone out there who can diagnose a fridge problem.

I have a upright fridge freezer.
Freezer section is working fine, a little too well actually as it has just started frosting over for some reason,
but over the last 48 hours the fridge section has ceased to cool.

Nothing has changed with how I have used the fridge lately, the freezer section was a bit overstocked with stuff, but the fridge section only has a couple of kegs in it.

I got no idea how fridges work, so I don't know if this is a dire problem, or if it can be fixed

Cause the freezer is working, i doubt it is the compressor. Anyone got any ideas if there is anything I can do to give it a kick in the guts.
Other options are getting a mechanic out to look at it, or just toss it.

Any ideas

 

[Supra-Jim]

Do these work by using a fan to pull cold air from the freezer section into the fridge section? If so it maybe that your fan has died (or the wiring to it).

The fridge thermostat would be reading a high temp (?) and hence the compressor would keep running (?) but as the fan is dead, no air is being circulated to the fridge section. Hence all of the extra compressor run time is going towards frosting over your freezer section (?).

Please note I'm not a fridge mech and i'm just trying work from basci principles, so if i've got it wrong, don't flame me too hard!

Cheers SJ

 

[joshuahardie]

Do these work by using a fan to pull cold air from the freezer section into the fridge section? If so it maybe that your fan has died (or the wiring to it).

The fridge thermostat would be reading a high temp (?) and hence the compressor would keep running (?) but as the fan is dead, no air is being circulated to the fridge section. Hence all of the extra compressor run time is going towards frosting over your freezer section (?).

Please note I'm not a fridge mech and i'm just trying work from basci principles, so if i've got it wrong, don't flame me too hard!

Cheers SJ

Your assumptions appear to be sound.

I don't know if there is a fan that goes from the freezer to the fridge to push cold air down, but the compressor does appear to be on 24/7.

I might have a look at the back of the fridge tonight, but i doubt ill find anything.

 

[Supra-Jim]

On my two fridges, one has the freezer on top (this has a fan to pull air down in the fridge and it is clearly visible when you open the freezer door) and the other has the freezer below (can't see the fan, but cool air doesn't rise and i can hear it!).

Good luck.

Cheers SJ

 

[Pennywise]

Something else to consider also is the actual channel that the air from the freezer travells through, once I had some ice freeze in there and the fridge started getting a little warmer than it should have been.

 

[joshuahardie]

I guess it can't hurt to defrost it tonight to see if it makes a difference.

 

[geoff_tewierik]

How'd the defrost go?

 

[joshuahardie]

Defrost happened, fridge has just been turned back on.
I am not confident though
i spoke to a fridge mechanic, who thinks it might be a vane inside the freezer section, that has broken, that allows cold air to flow into the fridge section

it is an old fridge to it is a toss up to spend money on parts and labour that could be better spent on a newer more efficent fridge.

 

[sumo]

Defrost happened, fridge has just been turned back on.
I am not confident though
i spoke to a fridge mechanic, who thinks it might be a vane inside the freezer section, that has broken, that allows cold air to flow into the fridge section

it is an old fridge to it is a toss up to spend money on parts and labour that could be better spent on a newer more efficent fridge.

The fridge is probably having an issue trying to cool the kegs. X litres of beers takes some cooling. If the freezer and fridge are on the same circuit, then the freezer will still freeze while the fridge is still attempting to cool the beer!

(I'm not a fridgee, but that is what happened to me with a fridge freezer before I got a chest freezer.)

 

[kegpig]

i dont understand what is ment by vane in the freezer. Could be the heater bar is u/s causing the coil to freeze or an obstruction in the air duct from freezer to chiller also dont stock the freezer to full if it is frost free as the air flow will be limited

 

[joshuahardie]

The fridge is probably having an issue trying to cool the kegs. X litres of beers takes some cooling. If the freezer and fridge are on the same circuit, then the freezer will still freeze while the fridge is still attempting to cool the beer!

(I'm not a fridgee, but that is what happened to me with a fridge freezer before I got a chest freezer.)

Nah that was not it.
the fridge cooled the kegs down, then over a couple of days it heated back up again.

to give an idea the fridge temp is currently at 18degrees
that is totally off, no cool air is getting through

 

[joshuahardie]

i dont understand what is ment by vane in the freezer. Could be the heater bar is u/s causing the coil to freeze or an obstruction in the air duct from freezer to chiller also dont stock the freezer to full if it is frost free as the air flow will be limited

i am not an expert on it either
but it was explained to me that the compressor primarily cools the freezer, then there is a valve that opens up at time to allow cool air to flow into the fridge that is cools secondary

it is that valve/ vane that is not operating

thus the fridge is not getting cooled, but the freezer is working overtime, cause the fridge is not cold enough

 

[riverside]

Hey all.

Just wondering if there is anyone out there who can diagnose a fridge problem.

I have a upright fridge freezer.
Freezer section is working fine, a little too well actually as it has just started frosting over for some reason,
but over the last 48 hours the fridge section has ceased to cool.

Nothing has changed with how I have used the fridge lately, the freezer section was a bit overstocked with stuff, but the fridge section only has a couple of kegs in it.

I got no idea how fridges work, so I don't know if this is a dire problem, or if it can be fixed

Cause the freezer is working, i doubt it is the compressor. Anyone got any ideas if there is anything I can do to give it a kick in the guts.
Other options are getting a mechanic out to look at it, or just toss it.

Any ideas

what type of fridge is it ? Fan forced or cyclic defrost ?

 

[riverside]

Defrost happened, fridge has just been turned back on.
I am not confident though
i spoke to a fridge mechanic, who thinks it might be a vane inside the freezer section, that has broken, that allows cold air to flow into the fridge section

it is an old fridge to it is a toss up to spend money on parts and labour that could be better spent on a newer more efficent fridge.

Sounds like it could be in the controll side of your fridge,, eg defrost heater or timer.