DIYbanter - View Single Post - Frost free upright freezer problem. Long Post

Bob Minchin[_4_]

wrote:
On Friday, 29 September 2017 19:19:35 UTC+1, Bob Minchin wrote:
Mr Pounder Esquire wrote:

If you can, take the cover off the evaporator plate and see if it is all
frozen up inside. If it is, the timer could be the fault. Maybe.
There should be/might be little white plastic plugs holding the cover in
place.

The evaporator seems to be just tubes and fins with air blown through. I
have a hunch that my hot air defrosting is just melting a little ice
which then drips down onto other ice and freezes again.

I'll try looking at the control board again. It has a couple of triacs
on it and I suspect they switch the fan and the heater.

If I can be certain which is the defrost heater, I might be able to
power that up manually, leave the freezer loaded but switched off and
accelerate the defrost process? Worth a go I reckon.

Bob

a classic formula for a fire with a frost-free.

A 2 day defrost really is the first move. If the problem recurs, you may have a bad timer or defrosting element. The long term solution is to get a traditional freezer, that way you get to choose when to do the annual defrost instead of the freezer. And it lasts longer.

NT

Well only if you think I'm daft enough to leave the defrost heater on
without monitoring it carefully. I did keep an eye on it as well as a
thermometer probe in with the food. I turned the heater off at -15C and
it is much improved now.
Overall I think you are correct in that a long term defrost will be the
complete cure. So we are working toward condensing/reducing our frozen
food stocks to take this one out of service for a couple of days.

In the meantime I shall devise a method of a much louder alarm than the
pathetic squeak it now gives out which can't be heard outside of the
utility room. I'll link it into the phone bell repeater system which
covers the house and workshops.