John Woodgate wrote:

I read in sci.electronics.design that Joerg notthisjoergsch@removethisp
acbell.net wrote (in )
about 'Frost free / Auto defrost?', on Mon, 9 Aug 2004:
Hi Ken,

...(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)

And that is often done with a lowly electro-mechanical timer. Probably
because it is still a few cents cheaper than electronics. After all, a
CD4060 costs north of 10 cents which would put a dent in the profit
margin on a $1000 fridge/freezer :-)

In mine, the heater is just wired across the thermostat contacts: COOL
XOR HEAT at zero cost.

But unless I've missed something, I've still not had answers to my
original questions. To recap:

1. Are 'Frost Free' and 'Auto Fridge Defrost' independent features
(not 'the same thing' as Ken and Don both said)? The evidence of my
research, as per the examples I gave, appear to imply that they are.

2. Why is 'defrost' necessary, if the unit is frost free? Is it just
an admission that the Frost Free thing doesn't always work?

3. Is 'Auto Fridge Defrost' a worthwhile feature?

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK