"Terry Pinnell" wrote in message
...
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...

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK


Have you tried making a visual inspection of the radiator responsible for
rejecting the refrigerator heat to ambient? My fridge uses forced air
cooling to keep this radiator cool. Last time we made a move we noticed
this radiator was utterly clogged with fuzz and dust. I was amazed it still
worked at all, it must have had much reduced cooling capacity and
efficiency. Sounds to me like this might be your ailment.

Since you reclosed the door have you noticed the compressor/cooling
fan/other noise making objects continuously running? Or does it
periodically shut off as if it believes the internal temperature is
regulated properly? Also, what happens when you try to just use economy
cool instead?

My theory is your fridge is fine, the radiator just needs cleaning. It has
probably been operating very marginally for quite a long time now with much
reduced cooling capacity and efficiency, but you never noticed it because it
was never seriously stressed enough to make a big enough difference. I
don't imagine most people wake up in the morning one day (with the fridge
working flawlessly) and spontaneously declare to their spouse, "Say our
fridge is XYZ years old and noone has ever tried cleaning the cooling coils.
I bet it is due. I think I will do that today." I imagine in most
households they are quite neglected.