On Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:27:37 +0100, David J
wrote:

On Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:23:57 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:44:57 +0100, David J wrote:

On switch-on, after about 30 seconds the motor/compressor can be heard
running, together with some 'flow' noises. However the rear radiator
produces no heat, and the interior is not chilled at all.

Heat pump not working... As the compressor runs one can only assume
it is out of gas for some reason. How long did you leave it running
to determine that the raditor wasn't getting warm?


Ages. I switched the fridge off several times to start all over also.

A local refridgeration company should be able to re-gas it for you.
How ever if you don't find the leak it will need doing again, and
again, and again.

Oh dear.. that sounds expensive.. How do they find a leak? Presumably
it's a pinhole somewhere in the piping? I can see a blue 'copper
sulphate' stain on one joint - could that be it?

On a car a/c system there is a method of using a purple 'marker' to
establish the source of a leak. Is it the same for fridge engineers?

Also, would a leak leave a stain on the floor - or simply evaporate?

The plate states that the refridgerant type is R600a.


I have removed a cover from the freezer section, which exposes a
circulation fan, and a finned evaporator.

Frost free freezer, never very reliable. Most (all?) of the problems
reported in here about freezers are related to frost free designs. Is
that much of a chore to defrost the freezer every six months or so?

Have you contacted Hotpoint?

I'll do that on Monday.

What warranty does it have? Even if only 12 months you can still argue
"unfit for purpose", 3 years is a short
life for a fridge/freezer even a frost free one. I'd say 5 years as
minimum, 10+ average, 20+ good.


From memory Hotpoint give 5 years free parts, but I have to pay for
the callout (about £90) It was actually supplied by B&Q as a part of
a new kitchen, so are they my first port of call?


There appears to be just one motor/compressor for the upper fridge and
the lower freezer. If so, how do they get 2 different temperatures?

They rely on the fridge being opened/heat gain and that calling for
coldth, the freezer part is cooled as part of the process hopefully
to low enough temperatures. This is why a fridge/freezer in a place
outside it's design temperature range, say a garage might let the
freezer get to warm because the fridge part doesn't gain enough heat
to trigger the heat pump.

Very poor design - even misleading by the manufacturer!

I appreciate your swift reply here, Dave.

Funny thing - if I have a car problem and post to a forum, I will get
dozens of replies, and spare parts are available easily. White goods
- quite the opposite!

It's amazing how short a time manufacturers will supply spares for
their white goods, especially those made in the far east (which is
most of them).

Frost-free fridge/freezers are *much* more unreliable than
conventional ones and I would avoid them. Getting a separate fridge
and freezer is always the best way to go if you can.

Frost-free freezers have heaters and extra control circuitry which
often go wrong and are expensive to replace.

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