On Tuesday, 13 August 2019 15:17:24 UTC+1, NY wrote:
We have an Arctis freezer - not sure what model, but it's a tall one about 5
feet high, which was left by the previous owners of the house.

The temperature on the display used to be constant at -18 degrees C, but
over the past couple of weeks it's started fluctuating between -18 and -12
over the course of several hours. The times when it is showing a warmer
temperature are not necessarily when it has been opened; nor are they times
when the room is warmer, either because of sunlight or daily variations in
the temperature of the Aga (which also came with the house). There are times
when it's showing -12 but the compressor isn't running, so it's not as if
the refrigeration mechanism is struggling to achieve the temperature that
the thermostat is set at.

Do freezers tend to show a higher temperature on the display when they are
going through a periodic "frost free" thawing stage? How frequently do
freezers typically do a frost-free cycle - daily, weekly?

I've not checked with a thermometer to see if the actual internal
temperature (in a consistent location) varies - ie whether it's the display
or the cooling which are varying.

I've never noticed our own Samsung freezer which we brought with us
displaying a temperature which varies by more than +/- 1 deg C from the -18
that it is set at.

If it's a frost free, this behaviour is normal, it's doing a defrost cycle.


NT