Ken Weitzel wrote:



Don Pearce wrote:

On Mon, 09 Aug 2004 13:31:54 -0700, Julie wrote:


Don Pearce wrote:

On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 12:56:07 -0500, "Derelict" wrote:


"Terry Pinnell" wrote in message
...

Ken Weitzel wrote:


Hi...

It's frost free because it auto defrosts

The upside is that you never have frost problems...

The downside is that energy consumption is slightly
increased (the fridge shuts down two or three times a
day and turns on a little electric heater to melt the
ice for a few minutes)


Don, Ken: Thanks both. Apprecaite the fast replies. But I don't see
how to square that with the fact that all the products I've
researched
today seem to show these as two *independent* features. That's the
cause of my confusion.

For example, the HOTPOINT FFA70P at
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/30_823026.html
has Frost Free AND Automatic fridge defrost.

But the Bosch BOSCH KGU34124GB at
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/30_202096.html
has Frost Free but NOT Automatic fridge defrost.

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK


I have seen two systems at work in modern fridges. One is the heated
defrost (auto defrost). The other is sucking the humid air out of a
freezer every time you close the door (frost free). Make sense?


How do they do that? The air sucked out must be replaced by -
presumably - dry air. Where would that come from?


No, it creates a partial vacuum. The sound of these freezers is very
distictive -- you hear a sucking sound when you close the door.



Are you sure? To be of any use, a partial vacuum would have to be at
least, what? 4psi below atmospheric? Now my fridge door is about 20
inches by 30. That is 600 square inches. Multiply that by 4psi, and it
would take a pull of 2,400 pounds to open the door.

No.

d


Hi Don...

And that would most likely require seals made by NASA - else
the vacuum would leak down quite rapidly anyway...

I have a stand alone chest freezer in the basement... if
you open it to get something, close it, change your mind
and try to open it again - you can't. For a very few
minutes.

In my humble opinion, just a sales gimmick...


My freezer (which is not frost free) does that as well. I think it's
just the warm air which entered the freezer cooling down and contracting.


--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
To reply to me directly:

Replace privacy.net with: totalise DOT co DOT uk and replace me with
gareth.harris