Fridge Problems - Please Help

[scotsdalebrewery]

Scored an old double door fridge from HN Nunawading - got it home plugged it in it worked. Fridge ran at 4 degrees and freezer at minus degrees.

Thought I would be clever and see what the temp was with the thermo knob turned to 9 ( It was on 1). Since then it has run at 18 degrees. Do I need a new thermostat? The outside of the fridge is warm.

Cheers!

 

[mobrien]

I think anyone trying to help will need some more info:

Whats the outside temp at the moment? - i.e. is the 18 degrees less than the outside temp?

Have you tried turning the fridge back down to 1? If so what temp does it go to?

Is the knob just spinning on the shaft? It could be you *think* you are rotating it back but its not

How much does the fridge run when at 18 degrees? On time: Off time?

Matt

 

[scotsdalebrewery]

Whats the outside temp at the moment? - i.e. is the 18 degrees less than the outside temp? 30 degrees

Have you tried turning the fridge back down to 1? If so what temp does it go to?

it stays at 18

Is the knob just spinning on the shaft? It could be you *think* you are rotating it back but its not -

no it definately moves

How much does the fridge run when at 18 degrees? On time: Off time?

it seems to be running all the time

Thanks for your help mobrien.

 

[mobrien]

Righto - I'm no fridge expert, and I'm sure there are plenty of people better than me to help with this, but my gut feeling...

If the fridge is running all the time, it could be a thermostat issue, but in that case I would expect a frozen fridge - on always is a lot of cooling, so ice would be happening.

18 degrees is a fair bit below the ambient temp, so its doing *something* - just not enough.

So there are a number of possibilities:

1. You could have lost gas from the fridge - this would decreased the cooling capacity (I assume) making run longer and not get cool (again I assume).

2. You could have a faulty compressor - again, this would reduce the cooling capacity if its not able to full condense the coolant, so it would work hard not getting cold enough.

3. It *could* be the thermo - I doubt it though, as if its always on and not getting cold, there is another problem as well. Just for reference, my 4 degree 300L fridge has cycles on for about 10 minutes, off for about 15-20.

I wonder if 1 is warm and 9 is cold or vice versa - it would seem that changing the setting as somehow shown/caused the problem.

I don't know how much help I've been - I'm sure there are fridgy type people that might be able to help more.

MAtt

 

[stephen]

At a constant 18 degress I think I would use as my brew fridge considering the couple of 40+ degree days that Newcastle (and I am sure other areas) have had recently and the fun I had trying to keep my brews down towards the 20 degree mark. In the end I had to bring them into the house where the air con was running.

Steve

 

[scotsdalebrewery]

Thanks guys - my initial thought was 'great... at least i can use it as an ale fridge' but when i can hardly fit the shopping in our other fridge because of ccing containers and chilling beer i am not a popular husband.

Although HN has heaps of free fridges so I might do a swap!

 

[timmy]

if its running all the time it's not a thermostat fault.

where is the frost line? that will tell you if it's short.

 

[scotsdalebrewery]

frost appeared only when i first plugged it in - frost line? Half way up the freezer

 

[Prof. Pils]

You could bypass the thermostat & see what happens.If it's still not cooling down it might need regassing.Refrig mechanics charge like wounded bulls so it might be cheaper to get a new one. I would'nt have a compressor running all the time to achieve 18c.Good luck.
Cheers Glenn

 

[Beer bum]

Is the fridge a frost free model? If so then the frost free heater timer could be faulty.
Does the temp dial in the fridge compartment have any wires running to it? If it's a mechanical arm attached to the temp dial that opens and closes a flap to let more cold air in then the air passage from the freezer to the fridge could be blocked with ice.

I have exactly the same problem with my "free to good home" fridge. My freezer is really cold but the fridge can only get down to 10C. I'm thinking of verey carefully cutting away the bottom of the freezer section to allow the cold freezer air to fall into the fridge.

Remember that people get rid of their fridges for a reason and I found out that my one has the old outlawed refrigerant in it. It was estimated to cost approx $300-350 to regas etc

If you're not too sure about it then let me know. I live in Croydon and work in Blackburn and can pop round.

Cheers

 

[blue]

G'Day
Just a quick hello to every one tonight. I am a frig mechanic by trade so I will let you in on some little trade secrets.

* Run your hand from the top of the condenser(normal the black thing on the back of the fridge) It should ye warm to hot at the very top and cool as you get to the bottom. If it is hot only at the top and then goes cold on the 2nd or 3rd bend then it maybe a gas problem

* with the compressor running all the time it shold not be the thermosta( And by the way the numbers on the dial 1 to 9 work in the opposite to the way you would think. 9 being the coldest and 1 being the warmest.)

* Knowing the way we blokes charge I would look for another fridge. As a rule of thumb. Most fridges over 10 years old have a few problems like they run longer than normal(The money you saved picking the fridge up cheap is now costing you extra power to run etc)

Regards Blue

 

[Scotty]

My guess would be its low on gas. My fridge had the same problem. Call a fridge mech.

Scotty