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On returning from a couple of weeks away our fridge is running continiously, making a humming / buzzing noise, and the compressor is too hot to touch. It is maintaining normal internal temperature. The house heating was in frost protection mode (7C) and the kitchen should have not gone much below this. Any ideas?
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7 c is below what some fridges can cope with. Indeed, it's the maximum internal temperature that's recommended.
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Have you pulled it out and looked at the heat exchanger on the back?
I had one that hadn't been moved for years, it was covered in crud, must have improved its efficiency when it was cleaned.
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A last resort with a fridge is to turn it upside down, then stand it right way up and leave for 24 hours before re-starting.
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>> 7 c is below what some fridges can cope with. Indeed, it's the maximum internal
>> temperature that's recommended.
Certainly some fridge freezers, those with only a single cooling circuit, will not work at low temperature. The symptom though is that the freezer section defrosts because the fridge thermostat isn't bringing the compressor on.
ON's sounds more like a mechanism that's struggling to maintain required cooling. Time for an engineer call I think.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 27 Nov 14 at 09:43
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Can you determine what exactly is making the noise? (Compressor, fan, thermostat etc.)
You may have a defrost timer somewhere in it with a clock mechanism that may be causing it.
It is not unusual for the compressor shell to get hot; it’s not a sign of failure. Somewhere on it, usually where the power is connected, is a thermal overload. This operates at a temperature of about 100 C. The shell can be up to 90 C. There is an outside chance that this thermal overload or the start device is making the noise.
The fact that the fridge is at about its normal internal temperature says that the compressor is working, there is refrigerant in the system and that the system is not blocked. These are the expensive bits to repair.
Turning it upside down and then upright again will do nothing for the fridge except make the inside messy if you don’t empty it first. This trick used to work with absorption fridges but yours isn’t one of those.
Let us know what you find, I “may†be able to help.
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It is the compressor that has become nioisy, although the fridge is maintaining an internal temperature of about 4C the thermostsat does not cut out the compressor when turned to its highest position and it does not "click" when rotated through the normal mid position which is the temp of the fridge interior.
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>> It is the compressor that has become nioisy, although the fridge is maintaining an internal
>> temperature of about 4C the thermostsat does not cut out the compressor when turned to
>> its highest position and it does not "click" when rotated through the normal mid position
>> which is the temp of the fridge interior.
Its broke then, the thermostat that is.
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"Its broke then, the thermostat that is"
I've just bought a replacement thermostat for our old fridge that sits in the garage. It was £9.95 from e-spares and, one day soon, I'll get round to swapping it. I've just had a practice run on a very old fridge that it about to be taken to the dump.
They've put a video on here youtu.be/srKnZXNQ8CM
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If the thermostat was stuck 'closed' I'd expect lower temperature than 4C. When the stat on our old Zanussi went the obvious symptom was frozen milk!
Got new stat from spares shop in Northampton and fitting it was straightforward electrical DIY - diconnect/reconnect a couple of wires. That must have been at least 20yrs ago 'cos biggest problem in job was a toddler squeezing alongside me while head/shoulders were in fridge saying 'Daddy Doing' in a questioning inflexion.
She's 22 next month.
Fridge is still extant today albeit as a beer 'annexe' to the Bosch fridge/freezer in the kitchen.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 27 Nov 14 at 17:19
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>>If the thermostat was stuck 'closed' I'd expect lower temperature than 4C.<<
It depends upon the design of the fridge. If the compressor isn’t turning off because of the stuck contacts in the thermostat then refrigerant will still be pumping through the system. It’s possible that the evaporator is forming more ice than it should under these conditions. Ice forms at zero deg C*, so the air adjacent to the evaporator will be at zero as well. In a non-fan assisted fridge an air temperature of 4 deg C is not impossible.
*The ice immediately in contact with the evaporator will be at the same temperature as the evaporator but the surface where it is forming won’t.
If this is happening then the refrigerant passing through the evaporator may not be picking up enough heat to fully evaporate and some may be returning to the compressor as liquid. This may be what is causing the compressor noise.
If the evaporator is fan assisted then it is possible that ice has formed and is blocking the airflow with the same result.
Is it a mechanical thermostat, usually with a control knob or an electronic one, usually with a temperature display and push button adjustment?
I have a selection of both at work.
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The fridge is a Hotpoint RLA36G. The thermostat is an external thumb wheel in the edge of the top. There is some ice on the rear wall of the interior, no fan.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Thu 27 Nov 14 at 19:48
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Sorry, O N, I can’t help with that one, it’s a pure Hotpoint part. Zero has it nailed, the thermostat is shot. Some electronic thermostats use a triac for switching and some use a relay. I don’t know which this one has. If it’s a relay then sometimes a carefully aimed percussive blow in the vicinity of the thermostat will free the contacts. The relay then may behave itself for a period of time. Replacing it is really the only reliable cure. The technician, if you go ahead with a repair, shouldn’t be too expensive because he won’t have to break into the sealed cooling system. We use a company called City Technical in your neck of the woods for our warranty repairs. Their number is 0141 6131119.
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Thanks for your help, I suspected the thermostat but was puzzled that it was maintaining normal internal temperature while running continuously. If it was an easy thermostat swap I would do it but it is an unusual design. I have bought a replacement fridge, and am awaiting delivery. Not cost effective but not far off and less hassle in the long run.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 28 Nov 14 at 11:52
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>>Thanks for your help<<
No problem, O N.
Put the old one in the garage/outbuilding and use it for beer or wine? Being moved and relegated to the second team may well teach it to behave itself :)
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My ex-wife was dead fridge. Probably why we never had kids.
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>> My ex-wife was dead fridge. Probably why we never had kids.
Her light probably went out when you opened the door.
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Saucer of milk for table two please!
Pat
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Dead fridge? - Slidingpillar
