Zanussi ZNB3240, came with the house and probably from 2007 and has
never auto-defrosted. It gets to a point, after ~ 3 months, where the
fridge is ok but the freezer is only at -10c.

Left off overnight and used separate containers to catch the water
from the pipes at the back. Freezer supplied 1.8L, nothing from the
fridge pipe.

I can see that the fridge defrosts by looking at the back of the
fridge where it is sometimes frosted up and other times small water
droplets and the exit drain is clear.

The unit is in a tight space modern fridge/freezers seem to be larger
but with less capacity. This one suits if it wasn't for the 4 or 5
times per year faff of defrosting manually.

Anything user fixable or is it replace time?

--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240, came with the house and probably from 2007 and has
never auto-defrosted. It gets to a point, after ~ 3 months, where the
fridge is ok but the freezer is only at -10c.

Left off overnight and used separate containers to catch the water
from the pipes at the back. Freezer supplied 1.8L, nothing from the
fridge pipe.

I can see that the fridge defrosts by looking at the back of the
fridge where it is sometimes frosted up and other times small water
droplets and the exit drain is clear.

The unit is in a tight space modern fridge/freezers seem to be larger
but with less capacity. This one suits if it wasn't for the 4 or 5
times per year faff of defrosting manually.

Anything user fixable or is it replace time?


If the fridge section was working correctly and auto defrost for that
section was working wouldn't you expect little or nothing from the
fridge drain.

Is the door seal on the freezer bit sealing correctly?

Try the sheet of paper test
https://youtu.be/sa7o49uOzVI?t=1364




--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:23:58 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240, came with the house and probably from 2007 and has
never auto-defrosted. It gets to a point, after ~ 3 months, where the
fridge is ok but the freezer is only at -10c.

Left off overnight and used separate containers to catch the water
from the pipes at the back. Freezer supplied 1.8L, nothing from the
fridge pipe.

I can see that the fridge defrosts by looking at the back of the
fridge where it is sometimes frosted up and other times small water
droplets and the exit drain is clear.

The unit is in a tight space modern fridge/freezers seem to be larger
but with less capacity. This one suits if it wasn't for the 4 or 5
times per year faff of defrosting manually.

Anything user fixable or is it replace time?


If the fridge section was working correctly and auto defrost for that
section was working wouldn't you expect little or nothing from the
fridge drain.

Is the door seal on the freezer bit sealing correctly?

Try the sheet of paper test
https://youtu.be/sa7o49uOzVI?t=1364



The paper test is fine though I don't see why that would cause the
freezer outlet pipe to be full of ice (presumably). The freezer will
be fine now for several weeks working at -20c or thereabouts and then
it'll start to drift down and eventually after 2-3 months end up at
-10c. The fridge generally remains at around 5c plus or minus
depending on the kitchen temperature and thermostat setting.


--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

On 19/01/2021 12:34, AnthonyL wrote:



The paper test is fine though I don't see why that would cause the
freezer outlet pipe to be full of ice (presumably).

I was thinking more about the general build up of excessive frost/ice in
the whole compartment caused by a faulty door seal. Much the same as you
would get if you left the door open for a few hours. The moisture in the
"new" air freezes.

Perhaps the freezer drain pipe is partially blocked with mould and
air-bourn debris/dust etc.. During a defrost cycle not enough water can
escape through a restricted hole during the defrost cycle and pipe above
the blockage ends up being still full with water at the end of the
cycle. This water now freezes meaning that during the next defrost cycle
the drainage is delayed as the water in the pipe has to thaw first
before any water can flow out, and then at a very slow rate. If the
pipe was not partially blocked there would be nothing to freeze and
during a defrost cycle would give an unrestricted passage for any water
immediately.

If you are turning off the freezer overnight then you may not see the
difference between a full flow of water or a restricted flow of water
from the drain pipe. Overnight gives the chance of draining a few litres
at a slow drip rate.

Poke something down the full length of the drain pipe. In the past I've
used things like the spiral plastic coated wire for hanging net curtains
up at a window but anything similar that has some flexibility will work.
You may be surprised what is in the drain pipe.






--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Is it the type that has a timer to operate a heating cycle? I once had to
fit a new timer.

On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 14:34:46 GMT, JohnP wrote:



Is it the type that has a timer to operate a heating cycle? I once had to
fit a new timer.


I don't know. If it has one I don't know where it is.

--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 13:42:37 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 19/01/2021 12:34, AnthonyL wrote:



The paper test is fine though I don't see why that would cause the
freezer outlet pipe to be full of ice (presumably).

I was thinking more about the general build up of excessive frost/ice in
the whole compartment caused by a faulty door seal. Much the same as you
would get if you left the door open for a few hours. The moisture in the
"new" air freezes.

Perhaps the freezer drain pipe is partially blocked with mould and
air-bourn debris/dust etc..

I can blow back up the pipe ok. There was an anti-siphon device in
the end of the pipe that I thought might cause a restriction so I
removed it.

When I next defrost I'll push something more robust up and see if that
clears anything. Meanwhile it is now at -20 and full of stuff again.


--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

When I next defrost I'll push something more robust up and see if that
clears anything. Meanwhile it is now at -20 and full of stuff again.



See this so that you know what one looks like:
https://tinyurl.com/y6cesb2r

AnthonyL wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:23:58 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240, came with the house and probably from 2007 and has
never auto-defrosted. It gets to a point, after ~ 3 months, where the
fridge is ok but the freezer is only at -10c.

Left off overnight and used separate containers to catch the water
from the pipes at the back. Freezer supplied 1.8L, nothing from the
fridge pipe.

I can see that the fridge defrosts by looking at the back of the
fridge where it is sometimes frosted up and other times small water
droplets and the exit drain is clear.

The unit is in a tight space modern fridge/freezers seem to be larger
but with less capacity. This one suits if it wasn't for the 4 or 5
times per year faff of defrosting manually.

Anything user fixable or is it replace time?

If the fridge section was working correctly and auto defrost for that
section was working wouldn't you expect little or nothing from the
fridge drain.

Is the door seal on the freezer bit sealing correctly?

Try the sheet of paper test
https://youtu.be/sa7o49uOzVI?t=1364



The paper test is fine though I don't see why that would cause the
freezer outlet pipe to be full of ice (presumably). The freezer will
be fine now for several weeks working at -20c or thereabouts and then
it'll start to drift down and eventually after 2-3 months end up at
-10c. The fridge generally remains at around 5c plus or minus
depending on the kitchen temperature and thermostat setting.

If that was me, I'd take the airflow adjustment off "ice cream rock hard",
and use a lesser setting. Maybe -20C is just too much for it, and
frost is forming behind the panels somewhere. Sometimes, so much
ice forms in places it's not supposed to, the plastic
panels inside bulge.

Paul

On 19/01/2021 14:55, Paul wrote:
AnthonyL wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:23:58 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240, came with the house and probably from 2007 and has
never auto-defrosted.Â* It gets to a point, after ~ 3 months, where the
fridge is ok but the freezer is only at -10c.

Left off overnight and used separate containers to catch the water
from the pipes at the back.Â* Freezer supplied 1.8L, nothing from the
fridge pipe.

I can see that the fridge defrosts by looking at the back of the
fridge where it is sometimes frosted up and other times small water
droplets and the exit drain is clear.

The unit is in a tight space modern fridge/freezers seem to be larger
but with less capacity.Â* This one suits if it wasn't for the 4 or 5
times per year faff of defrosting manually.

Anything user fixable or is it replace time?

If the fridge section was working correctly and auto defrost for that
section was working wouldn't you expect little or nothing from the
fridge drain.

Is the door seal on the freezer bit sealing correctly?

Try the sheet of paper test
https://youtu.be/sa7o49uOzVI?t=1364



The paper test is fine though I don't see why that would cause the
freezer outlet pipe to be full of ice (presumably).Â* The freezer will
be fine now for several weeks working at -20c or thereabouts and then
it'll start to drift down and eventually after 2-3 months end up at
-10c.Â* The fridge generally remains at around 5c plus or minus
depending on the kitchen temperature and thermostat setting.

If that was me, I'd take the airflow adjustment off "ice cream rock hard",
and use a lesser setting. Maybe -20C is just too much for it, and
frost is forming behind the panels somewhere. Sometimes, so much
ice forms in places it's not supposed to, the plastic
panels inside bulge.

Â*Â* Paul

+1 . My Liebherr fridge freezer seems to manage about -16C and
any colder makes ice-cream rock hard. Also helps to buy
decent quality icecream like Judes Cornish Clotted-cream icecream
which has more animal fat.

On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 09:55:48 -0500, Paul
wrote:

AnthonyL wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:23:58 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240, came with the house and probably from 2007 and has
never auto-defrosted. It gets to a point, after ~ 3 months, where the
fridge is ok but the freezer is only at -10c.

Left off overnight and used separate containers to catch the water
from the pipes at the back. Freezer supplied 1.8L, nothing from the
fridge pipe.

I can see that the fridge defrosts by looking at the back of the
fridge where it is sometimes frosted up and other times small water
droplets and the exit drain is clear.

The unit is in a tight space modern fridge/freezers seem to be larger
but with less capacity. This one suits if it wasn't for the 4 or 5
times per year faff of defrosting manually.

Anything user fixable or is it replace time?

If the fridge section was working correctly and auto defrost for that
section was working wouldn't you expect little or nothing from the
fridge drain.

Is the door seal on the freezer bit sealing correctly?

Try the sheet of paper test
https://youtu.be/sa7o49uOzVI?t=1364



The paper test is fine though I don't see why that would cause the
freezer outlet pipe to be full of ice (presumably). The freezer will
be fine now for several weeks working at -20c or thereabouts and then
it'll start to drift down and eventually after 2-3 months end up at
-10c. The fridge generally remains at around 5c plus or minus
depending on the kitchen temperature and thermostat setting.

If that was me, I'd take the airflow adjustment off "ice cream rock hard",
and use a lesser setting.

What airflow adjustment? I think I just have a 0 - 6 thermostat in
the fridge section.

--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

AnthonyL wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 09:55:48 -0500, Paul

If that was me, I'd take the airflow adjustment off "ice cream rock hard",
and use a lesser setting.

What airflow adjustment? I think I just have a 0 - 6 thermostat in
the fridge section.

There are usually two rotary adjustments of some sort.

One is a true thermostat. That's what turns the compressor on and off.

The second control, while maybe giving the impression it is the
same as the other, is not. It can be a knob, with an airflow vane
behind it. It's a valve in the airstream, and as you rotate the
knob, it changes the amount of air that flows in that path. This knob
is likely to be much closer to the freezer.

By changing how much air flows down to the milk section,
that adjusts how quickly the milk section cools off. If you
set the knob on "ice cream rock hard", then hardly any air
flows down to the milk section, and it might take an hour
before the milk section hits the target temperature.

The temperature in the freezer section is only "roughly controlled".
If the machine is on for an hour, the freezer might hit -20C.
If the machine was on for ten minutes, maybe the freezer gets
to -7C. That knob, which is not a thermostat, provides a rough
adjustment. And so "ice cream rock hard" is an approximation
to the temperature the machine expects to hit there. If you
warm up the freezer section by leaving the door open on just
the freezer section for five minutes, the machine doesn't have
to start up again... until the milk section also warms up because of it.

If the pathway that channels the air down to the milk were
to be clogged, then the machine might need to stay on for
an hour trying to get the thermostat in the milk section
to trip. And in the process, the freezer box (and the co-located
coils nearby), become iced up.

You want to adjust the airflow knob (not a thermostat)
so that the machine stays on for less time, and then the
defrost mechanism has a chance to keep up. Or, you
want to verify that places expected to have airflow, have
airflow. My milk section has two vents, which shoot down
from above. and the airflow there is pitiful. Not exactly
a blast of air. But I was unable to debug the airflow path
and show it was all clear. Ice might not freeze in there,
but mould can grow there.

While the airflow knob near or in the freezer icebox
may give the appearance of control, if the airflow paths
happened to be blocked for some reason, then the box could
end up trying to do "ice cream rock hard" as a side effect
of the blockage.

Paul

Well as you know, I have opposite problem as its the fridge that does not
defrost, but my fridge definitely does not have drain anywhere, and it kind
of makes one wonder how it was supposed to work. The defrost works it just
comes out the door at times when its opened.
In the case of the original query, does the freezer actually look coated
in ice? From your description it sounds like its only in the pipe. In that
case perhaps the pipe is supposed to be insulated from the cold and the
insulation has gone and hence its freezing up. Normally you would expect
freezer insulation to prevent this problem as the air is supposedly warmed
as it exisxits with its water vapour by going near the hot end of the heat
pump.
Brian

--

This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"AnthonyL" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:23:58 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240, came with the house and probably from 2007 and has
never auto-defrosted. It gets to a point, after ~ 3 months, where the
fridge is ok but the freezer is only at -10c.

Left off overnight and used separate containers to catch the water
from the pipes at the back. Freezer supplied 1.8L, nothing from the
fridge pipe.

I can see that the fridge defrosts by looking at the back of the
fridge where it is sometimes frosted up and other times small water
droplets and the exit drain is clear.

The unit is in a tight space modern fridge/freezers seem to be larger
but with less capacity. This one suits if it wasn't for the 4 or 5
times per year faff of defrosting manually.

Anything user fixable or is it replace time?


If the fridge section was working correctly and auto defrost for that
section was working wouldn't you expect little or nothing from the
fridge drain.

Is the door seal on the freezer bit sealing correctly?

Try the sheet of paper test
https://youtu.be/sa7o49uOzVI?t=1364



The paper test is fine though I don't see why that would cause the
freezer outlet pipe to be full of ice (presumably). The freezer will
be fine now for several weeks working at -20c or thereabouts and then
it'll start to drift down and eventually after 2-3 months end up at
-10c. The fridge generally remains at around 5c plus or minus
depending on the kitchen temperature and thermostat setting.


--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

"Brian Gaff (Sofa)" wrote in message
...
Well as you know, I have opposite problem as its the fridge that does not
defrost, but my fridge definitely does not have drain anywhere, and it
kind of makes one wonder how it was supposed to work. The defrost works it
just comes out the door at times when its opened.
In the case of the original query, does the freezer actually look coated
in ice? From your description it sounds like its only in the pipe. In that
case perhaps the pipe is supposed to be insulated from the cold and the
insulation has gone and hence its freezing up. Normally you would expect
freezer insulation to prevent this problem as the air is supposedly warmed
as it exisxits with its water vapour by going near the hot end of the heat
pump.

How does auto-defrost of a fridge or freezer work? Does it run the
compressor "in reverse" (or use a heating element near the heat exchanger
inside the fridge/freezer cabinet) to make the accumulated ice melt?

I ask because we've recently started monitoring the power consumption of our
freezers minute-by-minute (*), using TPLink HS110 remote
controlled/monitored sockets, and we've noticed that every day or so the
power consumption increases from a normal 30-60 W to about 200 W for maybe
10 minutes, in amongst the normal 20 minutes on / 40 minutes off cycle. This
suggests that a) the compressor motor has current control, in addition to
simple off/on of a thermostat, and b) that something is triggering it into
the higher power state occasionally.

What typically fails when a freezer maintains a constant temperature and
looks to have no ice on the heat exchanger, but then suddenly ices up and
starts to warm up, needing manual de-icing with pans of warm water before it
will get down to -18 again? That's happened several times over the last year
with another freezer (kept indoors) and it's unlikely that on every occasion
we might have left the door slightly ajar. It's as if the frost-free
mechanism works perfectly most of the time but occasionally fails.



(*) Partly to watch for equipment failu we had a freezer outside in the
garage (yes, a Beko, rated down to -15 deg C ambient temperature) and the
other day I noticed that the food was a bit soft so it had failed sometime
in the last day. There followed a day of frantically cooking all the joints
of meat that my wife had bought when they are only on sale at Christmas, for
us to eat throughout the year, and then we re-froze them. The freezer seems
to be completely dead: the last junction point before the motor is getting
power, and any thermostat is beyond that point in the sealed motor unit.

On Wed, 20 Jan 2021 10:15:31 -0000, "NY" wrote:

"Brian Gaff (Sofa)" wrote in message
...
Well as you know, I have opposite problem as its the fridge that does not
defrost, but my fridge definitely does not have drain anywhere, and it
kind of makes one wonder how it was supposed to work. The defrost works it
just comes out the door at times when its opened.
In the case of the original query, does the freezer actually look coated
in ice? From your description it sounds like its only in the pipe. In that
case perhaps the pipe is supposed to be insulated from the cold and the
insulation has gone and hence its freezing up. Normally you would expect
freezer insulation to prevent this problem as the air is supposedly warmed
as it exisxits with its water vapour by going near the hot end of the heat
pump.

How does auto-defrost of a fridge or freezer work? Does it run the
compressor "in reverse" (or use a heating element near the heat exchanger
inside the fridge/freezer cabinet) to make the accumulated ice melt?


I'm assuming not a heating element. At most the fridge has a thin
layer of frost on the back before a defrost takes effect and if the
drain hole is ever blocked (wife stuffing too much into the space)
then the bottom of the fridge will be wet. She is slowly learning!

I ask because we've recently started monitoring the power consumption of our
freezers minute-by-minute (*), using TPLink HS110 remote
controlled/monitored sockets, and we've noticed that every day or so the
power consumption increases from a normal 30-60 W to about 200 W for maybe
10 minutes, in amongst the normal 20 minutes on / 40 minutes off cycle. This
suggests that a) the compressor motor has current control, in addition to
simple off/on of a thermostat, and b) that something is triggering it into
the higher power state occasionally.


Interesting but I don't have a ready way of monitoring the power
consumption.

What typically fails when a freezer maintains a constant temperature and
looks to have no ice on the heat exchanger, but then suddenly ices up and
starts to warm up, needing manual de-icing with pans of warm water before it
will get down to -18 again? That's happened several times over the last year
with another freezer (kept indoors) and it's unlikely that on every occasion
we might have left the door slightly ajar. It's as if the frost-free
mechanism works perfectly most of the time but occasionally fails.


I'm guessing if there was no auto-defrost the freezer would normally
require defrosting every 3 months? In which case it is as if the
freezer auto-defrost was not working at all but the fridge is.


--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

https://tinyurl.com/y6cesb2r

Brian Gaff (Sofa) wrote:
Well as you know, I have opposite problem as its the fridge that does not
defrost, but my fridge definitely does not have drain anywhere, and it kind
of makes one wonder how it was supposed to work. The defrost works it just
comes out the door at times when its opened.
In the case of the original query, does the freezer actually look coated
in ice? From your description it sounds like its only in the pipe. In that
case perhaps the pipe is supposed to be insulated from the cold and the
insulation has gone and hence its freezing up. Normally you would expect
freezer insulation to prevent this problem as the air is supposedly warmed
as it exisxits with its water vapour by going near the hot end of the heat
pump.
Brian


They put a drain tray down at the very bottom of the fridge.

Some fridges have a grillwork at the base of the fridge,
and this decorative detail hides the tray behind it.

The grill can be adhered by plastic posts sticking out
the moulded piece of grillwork and plugging into holes
in the steel fridge chassis. You pull the grill away from
the chassis, to expose the tray. Then, using a flashlight,
visually examine the tray for water content.

If a drain somewhere in the system plugs up, water comes
out somewhere else, and the tray will remain dry. Depending
on whether the fridge is leveled via the leveling legs,
determines whether any water residue is in the front or the
back of the tray. A person attempting to stick a finger in
the tray, might not find any water, if the tray happens to
tip backwards a bit and all the water is at the back.

The rising warm air movement up the back of the fridge,
pulls air through the front grill, and that dry air passes
over the tray. The tray is gently dried by that quite-small
airflow.

Like all exceptional plastic items in our lives, the tray
can crack, leading to the floor underneath rotting out in
sympathy. Consequently, for the lazy homeowner, it pays to
occasionally remove the fridge from it's resting spot and
inspect the tray and/or flooring for damage. I have a
"plastic rail kit" which allows the fridge (not having wheels),
to be slid out on the plastic rails without damaging the floor.
This allows cleaning of any accumulated dust behind the unit,
but also allows the flooring to be checked. I have to pull
it out typically, when the stupid defrost timer needs
to be replaced yet again.

Paul

On Wed, 20 Jan 2021 07:01:39 -0500, Paul
wrote:

Brian Gaff (Sofa) wrote:
Well as you know, I have opposite problem as its the fridge that does not
defrost, but my fridge definitely does not have drain anywhere, and it kind
of makes one wonder how it was supposed to work. The defrost works it just
comes out the door at times when its opened.
In the case of the original query, does the freezer actually look coated
in ice? From your description it sounds like its only in the pipe. In that
case perhaps the pipe is supposed to be insulated from the cold and the
insulation has gone and hence its freezing up. Normally you would expect
freezer insulation to prevent this problem as the air is supposedly warmed
as it exisxits with its water vapour by going near the hot end of the heat
pump.
Brian


They put a drain tray down at the very bottom of the fridge.

Some fridges have a grillwork at the base of the fridge,
and this decorative detail hides the tray behind it.

The grill can be adhered by plastic posts sticking out
the moulded piece of grillwork and plugging into holes
in the steel fridge chassis. You pull the grill away from
the chassis, to expose the tray. Then, using a flashlight,
visually examine the tray for water content.

If a drain somewhere in the system plugs up, water comes
out somewhere else, and the tray will remain dry. Depending
on whether the fridge is leveled via the leveling legs,
determines whether any water residue is in the front or the
back of the tray. A person attempting to stick a finger in
the tray, might not find any water, if the tray happens to
tip backwards a bit and all the water is at the back.

The rising warm air movement up the back of the fridge,
pulls air through the front grill, and that dry air passes
over the tray. The tray is gently dried by that quite-small
airflow.

Like all exceptional plastic items in our lives, the tray
can crack, leading to the floor underneath rotting out in
sympathy. Consequently, for the lazy homeowner, it pays to
occasionally remove the fridge from it's resting spot and
inspect the tray and/or flooring for damage. I have a
"plastic rail kit" which allows the fridge (not having wheels),
to be slid out on the plastic rails without damaging the floor.
This allows cleaning of any accumulated dust behind the unit,
but also allows the flooring to be checked. I have to pull
it out typically, when the stupid defrost timer needs
to be replaced yet again.


I have to pull the whole unit out every time to defrost otherwise the
tray, which sits on top of the motor, will overfill. I put the pipes
into a bucket and that is how I know there is 1.8L of water coming out
of the freezer pipe.


--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

There are two pipes at the back, about 3/4" dia, one from the fridge
and one from the freezer. They go between the unit body and the
condenser so they should not get cold, and then rest in a plastic tray
which sits on the motor, so presumably any condensate would then
evaporate from the heat of the motor.

Neither the fridge (upper half) nor freezer (lower half) are frosted
up.

The freezer part has a fan which blows the cold air around. This is
fine until towards when a defrost is required and it seems to be
choking up.

AnthonyL

On Wed, 20 Jan 2021 09:53:00 -0000, "Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)"
wrote:

Well as you know, I have opposite problem as its the fridge that does not
defrost, but my fridge definitely does not have drain anywhere, and it kind
of makes one wonder how it was supposed to work. The defrost works it just
comes out the door at times when its opened.
In the case of the original query, does the freezer actually look coated
in ice? From your description it sounds like its only in the pipe. In that
case perhaps the pipe is supposed to be insulated from the cold and the
insulation has gone and hence its freezing up. Normally you would expect
freezer insulation to prevent this problem as the air is supposedly warmed
as it exisxits with its water vapour by going near the hot end of the heat
pump.
Brian

--

This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"AnthonyL" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:23:58 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240, came with the house and probably from 2007 and has
never auto-defrosted. It gets to a point, after ~ 3 months, where the
fridge is ok but the freezer is only at -10c.

Left off overnight and used separate containers to catch the water
from the pipes at the back. Freezer supplied 1.8L, nothing from the
fridge pipe.

I can see that the fridge defrosts by looking at the back of the
fridge where it is sometimes frosted up and other times small water
droplets and the exit drain is clear.

The unit is in a tight space modern fridge/freezers seem to be larger
but with less capacity. This one suits if it wasn't for the 4 or 5
times per year faff of defrosting manually.

Anything user fixable or is it replace time?


If the fridge section was working correctly and auto defrost for that
section was working wouldn't you expect little or nothing from the
fridge drain.

Is the door seal on the freezer bit sealing correctly?

Try the sheet of paper test
https://youtu.be/sa7o49uOzVI?t=1364



The paper test is fine though I don't see why that would cause the
freezer outlet pipe to be full of ice (presumably). The freezer will
be fine now for several weeks working at -20c or thereabouts and then
it'll start to drift down and eventually after 2-3 months end up at
-10c. The fridge generally remains at around 5c plus or minus
depending on the kitchen temperature and thermostat setting.


--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

lid (AnthonyL) wrote in news:6006ac88.7794781
@news.eternal-september.org:

Zanussi ZNB3240

http://www.refrigeration-engineer.co...p?16123-Water-
issues-Zanussi-Fridge-Freezer-ZNB-3240

On Tue, 19 Jan 2021 14:37:07 GMT, JohnP wrote:

(AnthonyL) wrote in news:6006ac88.7794781
:

Zanussi ZNB3240

http://www.refrigeration-engineer.co...p?16123-Water-
issues-Zanussi-Fridge-Freezer-ZNB-3240

Thanks but that relates to the fridge part which is not a problem and
as mentioned in other posts that drain hole is clear except when SWMBO
pushes the veggies to the back blocking the path.


--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240


The manual says
Has the fan failed?


https://www.justanswer.com/uk-applia...ree-frdge.html

Question
our Zanussi Electrolux Frost Free ZNB3240 frost free frdge freezer - 5
years old - seems to have stopped being frost free. I had to manually
defrost the freezer bit, the fridge ices up at above setting 1. I no
longer hear the motor/fan which I think I used to hear to periodically
defrost the freezer.

Answer
Hello Chris, if the fan motor inside the freezer is no longer running,
this would create problems such as the freezing of the evaporator coil.
Because the coldness of the coil is not dissipated in the freezer. What
you can do is remove all drawers in the freezer and remove the inside
back wall of the freezer. This would exposed the fan in the freezer as
well as how frosted the evaporator coil is. Please tell me how frosted
the evaporator coil is. And if the fan is running or not.

Spare fan new £60
https://www.ransomspares.co.uk/diagr...(92503340000)/

Maybe the fan shaft is now rusty and doesn't rotate cleanly -
Lubricating the shaft as it goes through the bearings may free it.



--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Thu, 21 Jan 2021 01:42:30 +0000, alan_m
wrote:

On 19/01/2021 10:01, AnthonyL wrote:
Zanussi ZNB3240


The manual says

Quote:

Freezer The freezer compartment of this model is of the «frost- free» type. This means that no frosting occurs on the inner walls of the compartment or on food during operation. The absence of frosting is achieved by constant circulation of cold air inside the compartment, produced by an automatic fan blower.

Has the fan failed?


Thanks, the fan is fine after a defrost with a nice blast of air when
the thermostat clicks in. It relies on the top shelf (fast freezer
tray) to allow airflow and that is another bit of training for SWMBO
to not overfill - it is only meant for "quick" freezing and then the
items are supposed to be moved as it is quite a shallow tray.

Why can't designers make things SWMBO proof? She has to:

a) not block the drain hole in the fridge
b) not overfill the fast freezer tray

It's all too much.

--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?