I have a small Daewoo fridge in my shop that has started to noot
cool enough. The model is FR-094R. I can hear the compressor working
and the cooling is set to max but it just doesn't get cold enough. In
fact, it has been getting warmer and warmer over the last few days.
Turning the dial for more cooling shows that the temp probe must be
working because the compressor turns on at lower and lower numbers.
Yesterday it would turn on at the number 5 setting and today it turns
on at 4. There are seven settings.
It will run for a while at the higher setting and then turn off.
But it will not be as cold as the setting implies. If I turn it down
too 1 and then back to the higher (colder) settings it will turn on
again.
Are there any tricks to get a recalcitrant fridge working properly
again?
Thanks,
Eric

On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 1:25:51 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I have a small Daewoo fridge in my shop that has started to noot
cool enough. The model is FR-094R. I can hear the compressor working
and the cooling is set to max but it just doesn't get cold enough. In
fact, it has been getting warmer and warmer over the last few days.
Turning the dial for more cooling shows that the temp probe must be
working because the compressor turns on at lower and lower numbers.
Yesterday it would turn on at the number 5 setting and today it turns
on at 4. There are seven settings.
It will run for a while at the higher setting and then turn off.
But it will not be as cold as the setting implies. If I turn it down
too 1 and then back to the higher (colder) settings it will turn on
again.
Are there any tricks to get a recalcitrant fridge working properly
again?
Thanks,
Eric

It might be "frozen". Shut it down and check the evaporator coil for heavy coating of frost. If it's frost bound, it will struggle. Sometimes, the door is unintentionally left ajar in a humid environment and it will freeze up. If it's frosted over, it could also be the defrost heater or timer/circuit, or there could be a coolant leak. Low refrigerant will cause localized freezing of the evap coil.

On Thu, 30 Apr 2020 10:25:49 -0700, wrote:

It will run for a while at the higher setting and then turn off.

I'd say your thermostat has failed. They do sometimes fail in a
gradual manner. Try bypassing the thermostat for a while to see if the
mechanicals work.

HW wrote:

On Thu, 30 Apr 2020 10:25:49 -0700, wrote:

It will run for a while at the higher setting and then turn off.

I'd say your thermostat has failed. They do sometimes fail in a
gradual manner. Try bypassing the thermostat for a while to see if the
mechanicals work.
Right. Well, just check the temperature where the thermostat turns on and
off. Since you say the thermostat IS cycling it on and off, it really does
sound like the thermostat has failed. You could bypass the thermostat and
see how cold it gets when running full on for a couple hours.

Jon

On Thu, 30 Apr 2020 11:03:25 -0700 (PDT), John-Del
wrote:

It might be "frozen".

I agree. I have a small "bar size" Kenmore/Sears fridge which
exhibits the same problem. The thermal sensor is inside a flexible
copper(?) pipe located near the back of the freezer section. As long
as the sensor is not coated in ice, the refrigerator and temperature
control work normally. However, when the freezer section becomes
coated with ice, with the thermal sensor also embedded in ice, the
thermostat stops working. One it's inside a block of ice, the thermal
sensor is always at the same temperature as the ice, no matter what
the refrigerator is doing. I could probably fix it by relocating the
temperature sensor, but I'm lazy and simply resign myself to
defrosting the refrigerator every 3 months or so. After defrosting,
things work as expected.

Hints:
1. Don't defrost the ice accumulation with a heat gun or propane
torch. Ice likes to explode when a small area is heated and there's
far too much plastic in the fridge to risk melting it.
2. Don't break loose chunks of ice with a screwdriver and a hammer. I
did that to my previous fridge and ended up punching a hole in the
cooling coils. No repair parts, no fix, so I had buy a new fridge.
3. To properly defrost such a fridge:
- Figure out how to catch any melt water. A paint roller tray
works for me.
- Empty the fridge from all food. This won't take long so the
food is not likely to be ruined.
- Put a pot of boiling water inside the fridge. Close the door,
and go do something else. Mine takes about 30 mins to melt
all the ice. To make things go faster, open the door occasional
and remove any chunks of ice that can be extracted. Toss into
sink.
- Clean up the inevitable mess from the bottom of the fridge
and the floor with a mop or sponge.
- Put food back into fridge, apply power, set thermostat to its
usual position, and live happily ever after.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 4/30/20 7:30 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
3. To properly defrost such a fridge:

I had an older fridge, 35 years ago that liked to turn the
freezer into Ice Station Zebra. The only thing that would
fix it would be to defrost it.

I would get the appliance dolly, roll it out in the driveway
and hose it down with a trigger grip sprayer.

And yes, this was after killing a previous fridge with a
screw driver.

--
"I am a river to my people."
Jeff-1.0
WA6FWi
http:foxsmercantile.com

On Thu, 30 Apr 2020 19:44:40 -0500, Fox's Mercantile wrote:
On 4/30/20 7:30 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
3. To properly defrost such a fridge:

I had an older fridge, 35 years ago that liked to turn the
freezer into Ice Station Zebra. The only thing that would
fix it would be to defrost it.

I would get the appliance dolly, roll it out in the driveway
and hose it down with a trigger grip sprayer.

Something similar: A side-by-side frost-free, the freezer side
started icing up badly. 'Twas the plastic drain line from the
bottom back of the freezer to a pan under the coils on the bottom
of the unit. It was plugged with gunk, mold, mildew. Removed
and cleaned the drain line -- ran a little clorox throught it -
reassembled and it ran for a nother 20 years. SEARS, IIRC

Jonesy

On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 1:25:51 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I have a small Daewoo fridge in my shop that has started to noot
cool enough. The model is FR-094R. I can hear the compressor working
and the cooling is set to max but it just doesn't get cold enough. In
fact, it has been getting warmer and warmer over the last few days.
Turning the dial for more cooling shows that the temp probe must be
working because the compressor turns on at lower and lower numbers.
Yesterday it would turn on at the number 5 setting and today it turns
on at 4. There are seven settings.
It will run for a while at the higher setting and then turn off.
But it will not be as cold as the setting implies. If I turn it down
too 1 and then back to the higher (colder) settings it will turn on
again.
Are there any tricks to get a recalcitrant fridge working properly
again?
Thanks,
Eric

The symptoms match the other comments better than this idea, but something to consider with an older fridge is the gasket on the door seal. Once that starts to leak my wife turns the thermostat colder, then that causes the icing up, etc.

Replacing them on a full size refrigerator is a pain in the butt and the gasket itself is expensive. I've never tried on a bar size.