My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).

The compressor is running most of the time (but not continuously). I'm
kind of assuming it's lost some refrigerant.

Can any lost refigerant be replaced and, if so, is it worth it?

Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?

Cheers,
Rumble

Rumble wrote:
My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).

The compressor is running most of the time (but not continuously). I'm
kind of assuming it's lost some refrigerant.

Can any lost refigerant be replaced and, if so, is it worth it?

Yes, but no.


Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?

Unlesss its a damn fine fridge, replace it.

Might have lost insulatin, but again..BER.

Cheers,
Rumble

In article ,
Rumble writes:
My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).

The compressor is running most of the time (but not continuously). I'm
kind of assuming it's lost some refrigerant.

That's possible -- it could be not running continuously because
the compressor is overheating and cutting out. It is also cooled
by the refrigerent.

Also check the internal fan is running and it hasn't iced up the
internal heat exchanger. Defrost cycle not working might cause
this, in which case the cutting out would be because the internal
heat exchanger is getting too cold (without achieving cooling of
the freezer compartment).

The other common failure is freezer insulation becoming waterlogged,
which would show up as areas of water or ice forming on the cabinet
exterior (underneath or at the back most commonly, possibly forming
a puddle on the floor).

Can any lost refigerant be replaced and, if so, is it worth it?

Only if the leak is obvious, and it usually isn't.

Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?

Remote chance the thermostat has drifted widely.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Rumble writes:
My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).

The compressor is running most of the time (but not continuously). I'm
kind of assuming it's lost some refrigerant.

That's possible -- it could be not running continuously because
the compressor is overheating and cutting out. It is also cooled
by the refrigerent.

Also check the internal fan is running and it hasn't iced up the
internal heat exchanger. Defrost cycle not working might cause
this, in which case the cutting out would be because the internal
heat exchanger is getting too cold (without achieving cooling of
the freezer compartment).

The other common failure is freezer insulation becoming waterlogged,
which would show up as areas of water or ice forming on the cabinet
exterior (underneath or at the back most commonly, possibly forming
a puddle on the floor).

Can any lost refigerant be replaced and, if so, is it worth it?

Only if the leak is obvious, and it usually isn't.

Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?

Remote chance the thermostat has drifted widely.


OK, none of the above. No unusual ice/water/noises/lack of noises and
the fan's working. I guess it must have sprung a leak when I moved house
a few months ago and has been losing refrigerant slowly ever since.

Thanks Andrew.

On 23 Oct, 14:19, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Rumble writes:

My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).
snip
Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?

Remote chance the thermostat has drifted widely.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

I'd say more than a remote chance. If you know what you're doing and
won't electrocute yourself, try shorting out its switch contacts and
see if the fridge can then reach the required temperatures. With a
test meter you could also work out whether the stopping and starting
of the compressor coincide with the opening and closing of the
thermostat switch rather than the motor overheat detector.

Generic replacement thermostats are available cheaply on eBay; maybe
locally if you can find anyone prepared to sell you one.

Chris

wrote:
On 23 Oct, 14:19, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Rumble writes:

My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).
snip
Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?
Remote chance the thermostat has drifted widely.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

I'd say more than a remote chance. If you know what you're doing and
won't electrocute yourself, try shorting out its switch contacts and
see if the fridge can then reach the required temperatures. With a
test meter you could also work out whether the stopping and starting
of the compressor coincide with the opening and closing of the
thermostat switch rather than the motor overheat detector.

Generic replacement thermostats are available cheaply on eBay; maybe
locally if you can find anyone prepared to sell you one.

Chris


Ok, thanks for that. In fact the duty cycle is pretty high (i.e.
compressor mostly running). I may do some more investigation along those
lines.

In article ,
Rumble writes:
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Rumble writes:
My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).

The compressor is running most of the time (but not continuously). I'm
kind of assuming it's lost some refrigerant.

That's possible -- it could be not running continuously because
the compressor is overheating and cutting out. It is also cooled
by the refrigerent.

Also check the internal fan is running and it hasn't iced up the
internal heat exchanger. Defrost cycle not working might cause
this, in which case the cutting out would be because the internal
heat exchanger is getting too cold (without achieving cooling of
the freezer compartment).

The other common failure is freezer insulation becoming waterlogged,
which would show up as areas of water or ice forming on the cabinet
exterior (underneath or at the back most commonly, possibly forming
a puddle on the floor).

Can any lost refigerant be replaced and, if so, is it worth it?

Only if the leak is obvious, and it usually isn't.

Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?

Remote chance the thermostat has drifted widely.


OK, none of the above. No unusual ice/water/noises/lack of noises and
the fan's working. I guess it must have sprung a leak when I moved house
a few months ago and has been losing refrigerant slowly ever since.

If a leak has been caused by some exposed pipework getting bashed
in a move, that's quite possibly fixable. When it's down to corrosion
due to old age, it can be somewhere inaccessible which requires
destroying the appliance to locate.

Another thought -- if it has a fan-cooled condensor (external hot
element), these can get choked up with dust, particularly when the
air inlet is at floor level. Check the condensor isn't clogged with
dust.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"Rumble" wrote in message
...
My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).

The compressor is running most of the time (but not continuously). I'm
kind of assuming it's lost some refrigerant.

Can any lost refigerant be replaced and, if so, is it worth it?

Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?

My frost-free fridge-freezer was doing the same and it turned out that the
heat exchanger the air was circulated through had become encased in a solid
block of ice. As it was hidden behind a panel at the back of the freezer,
you couldn't see it until one of the drawers became difficult to close
because the panel was being forced forward. With the panel off and a can of
defrosting spray, it took a couple of days to remove all the ice.

Colin Bignell

Rumble wrote:
wrote:
On 23 Oct, 14:19, (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
In article ,
Rumble writes:

My Electrolux Frost-free fridge freezer (about 10 years old, R134a) is
poorly sick. Basically, it's 10 degrees too warm (fridge compartment @
15C, freezer hovering around zero).
snip
Is there any other component worth checking/replacing?
Remote chance the thermostat has drifted widely.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

I'd say more than a remote chance. If you know what you're doing and
won't electrocute yourself, try shorting out its switch contacts and
see if the fridge can then reach the required temperatures. With a
test meter you could also work out whether the stopping and starting
of the compressor coincide with the opening and closing of the
thermostat switch rather than the motor overheat detector.

Generic replacement thermostats are available cheaply on eBay; maybe
locally if you can find anyone prepared to sell you one.

Chris


Ok, thanks for that. In fact the duty cycle is pretty high (i.e.
compressor mostly running). I may do some more investigation along those
lines.

....which tells us its not the thermostat. Compressor and fan
running, yet failing to cool adequately.

Frost frees are significantly more complex than traditional ones.
Failure of the defrosting cycle is a commonish cause of failure to
cool, as failure to defrost properly leaves the heat exchanger to get
clogged with ice. This can be fixed by leaving it open and
unplugged for a couple of days. Often this is all that's needed, but
sometimes it will re-ice after a while. I'm not saying that is the
cause, but its easy to try and may clear the problem.


NT

On Oct 24, 1:31 am, Rumble wrote:

I guess it must have sprung a leak when I moved house
a few months ago and has been losing refrigerant slowly ever since.

Do you have plenty of ventilation around the fridge? Sometimes a close
fitting cupboard around a fridge will stop it working.