In article ,
Terry Pinnell wrote:

I have a Hotpoint 8571, combination fridge freezer. I accidentally
left the freezer door open a fraction yesterday. I corrected after no
more than 2 hours and moved switch from 'Economy' to 'Fast freeze' to
compensate. But squishy ice cream today, maybe 20 hours later, pointed
to some problem, which now investigating and would appreciate any
advice please.

I'm measuring temperatures with sensor connected to my external DVM.
(Cable is thin and I reckon seal is maintained.) Fridge temp looks OK,
at 5 deg C. But freezer temp is too high. After an hour, compartment
below the top one is now at only -1 deg. Yet the red 'temperature
warning light' is not on. The instruction book says it 'Comes on when
the temperature inside the freezer compartment rises above the correct
long term storage temperature.'

First question is: what *should* be temperature inside a freezer? And
how long do I need to leave it before regarding that as a stable
temperature?

More important, what is likely cause? A year or two ago I had a
similar problem and engineer ended up having to remove back panel
where we discovered large ice deposits. Took both of us with hair
dryers a good hour to melt it. Should I suspect same this time? If so,
what is *underlying* cause? Any other possibilities?

I've had 8 years use from it, so maybe time has come to replace...

It iced up so badly that the defrost cycle isn't enough. Turn it off
for a while and be prepared for the drip pan to overflow.