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Hi all,
I have no prior experience with anything to do with heating/cooling, so
please bear with my ignorance.
CY: OK, I'll be gentle.


I have a Hotpoint refrigerator, Model #CSX22GRBGWWC.
It came with the house I bought 4 years back no I'm not sure how old it
is, but it looks "modern".

Recently noticed my ice cream was not as firm as it should be, so I
checked the fridge thermometer and the fridge is up to 50*F. Cranked
the cold levers all the way to cold, but no change.
CY: Turning up the thermostat only helps if the rest of the fridge is
working.

I vacuumed the huge
amount of dust out from the bottom, but after two days the fridge is
still 50*F. Freezer is about 20*F.
CY: Vacuum is always the first step. Well done!

Looked around in the back and I see that there is a fan blowing on the
compressor. I have checked this a variety of random times over the last
few days, and the fan is always running. The compressor is always hot
to the touch, with one tube to it always quite hot and the other tube
always quite cold. This all seems good.
CY: The fan running all the time means that the cold control (thermostat) is
always calling for cold. So, the compressor is running full time.


I'm assuming that this combined with the fact that the fridge *looks*
relatively new should mean that I'm probably not leaking/low on freon.
CY: Who can tell?

I'm not sure if it is continuous, but I definitely noticed that at
least some of the time there is cold air blowing at the top of the
freezer compartment, and it feels very cold to my hand.
CY: Cold air blowing is good. If the freezer is frosted over (defrost
problems) there won't be any air blowing.

Probably it is
still only 20*F though, since this is right where I stuck the
thermometer. The thermometer suggested a max temp of 0*F for the
freezer, and I believe it since my ice cream is still soft
CY: Sounds right.

It wasn't obvious to me how to get the back panel off when I glanced,
but I think this is the next step I need to pursue. After searching
around, my best guess is that perhaps the defrosting electronics are
constantly heating, which the fridge is then not able to overcome to
bring the temp down.
CY: I can think of a few other possible problems.


I guess my questions are this:
(1) Do you expect that the back of the fridge should definitely have a
panel that I can open? Or could it be I need to empty out the fridge
and look for access from within the freezer compartment?
CY: Depends what you want to get to. What part do you want to service?


(2)Does my guess of a defrosting issue sound likely at all?
CY: Defrost problem will result in low air flow in the freezer and refrig.
It's very possible. Sounds very likely, as one tube off the compressor is
"always cold". The smaller tube off the compressor should be hot, and the
larger one should be room temp or slightly warm (conducted heat from the
warm compressor).

Thanks much!
Adrian