OT:fridge/freezer woes pt.2

[Grumps]

Hi All

Not DIY but I know there's a clever lot out there.

After the demise of our 20 yr old f/f we are now the quite happy owners of a new unit. Of course there is a problem. There are numerical displays for the freezer and fridge temperatures. The freezer is pretty much correct after measuring with two thermometers. The fridge however, will only reach 4C when set to

1C. So being able to set the fridge lower than 4C is not possible (it has a control range of 1-7C).

So, when I call the supplier and he offers to send an engineer to check/fix it, am I then giving up my rights to reject the unit and get a new one? If the engineer cannot fix it am I then required to allow them to repair it?

Ta.

[Mark]

You are not giving up your rights to reject the item if they cannot fix it as long as you contacted them about the problem promptly after buying the fridge.

How are you measuring the fridge temperature and where? It can be difficult to get an accurate measurement. IMHO a good way is to put a themometer in a bottle of water and leave it there. If the fridge is not fan assisted then you will find that the bottom of the fridge is significantly colder than the top.

[Grumps]

Thanks for the reply. I'm measuring the temp in three glasses of water located top, middle and bottom using a calibrated thermocouple that I borrowed from work. I've also got a wireless thermometer thing in there too. The f/f came with a small round temp changing sticker (it said for French customers only!) which only indicates "OK" when the fridge temp is set to 1C. The instructions said that this would happen at 4C and below. My thermocouple measurements indicate a uniform (the fridge does have a fan) temp of 4C. I first noticed the temp wasn't quite cold enough after drinking a glass of wine, hic!

[Dave]

If you are talking about white wine, it should be served at a chilled temperature and not at fridge temperature.

Dave

[Grumps]

Yes, I know that's what every expert says too. It's even what the bottle says. I like it colder, sorry.

[Mark]

IMHO too cold will kill the taste of a good wine. If it's cheap plonk then you'd want to kill the taste!

4C is a pefectly reasonable temperature for a fridge. 1C would be much too cold; things would start to freeze if there's any variation.

[Chris J Dixon]

I have to agree. Indeed, I find it a great advantage that an internal fan gives a uniform temperature. My old fridge had the usual temperature distribution, with the inevitable drawback that salad, placed in the designated "crisper" often froze.

Chris

[Grumps]

I am trying to achieve 4C but even with the fridge control set to 1C it does not seem to manage to regulate itself properly. The control has been set to 4C for 3 days and the temp got to 6C. Then I reduced the control setting to 1C and it seemed to go down to 4C and then lower. With the control set to 4C it seemed to be stable, then went up to

6-7C. Now the control is set to 1C and the fridge swings between 4C and 5C. Measurements are taken at about 6 hr intervals and the door isn't opened in between. These reading are from a rotary style f/f thermometer on the bottom shelf. They correspond to readings taken from 4 other thermometers. Am I being too anal?! The freezer is set to -20C and all indications are that this is very nearly spot on.

I contacted the supplier 48 hrs after the f/f was delivered to give it time to settle down. And then I spoke to the manufacturer. They're both appearing to be very helpful. It's now been 4 1/2 days. A repair man was supposed to be here on Monday, but I had to postpone until Tuesday. Tuesday will be 7 days after delivery. Is there a specific time frame where I am able to reject the unit, or should I continue and let a repair (or adjustment) be attempted? I do not want the f/f to be taken away for repair if I could reasonably request a new unit instead.

Ta.

[Mr Pounder]

Okay. The temperature in a domestic fridge cannot be a constant; but it should achieve below + 4 degrees (if the stat is set to that level) and rise to about 8 degrees before the compressor cuts in. If the compressor is running all of the time then the system is short of refrigerant probably due to a leak or not being filled correctly in the first place. All domestic refrigeration is now utter crap and is probably manufactured in Poland or some such shithole. The repair man will measure the temp with a thermocouple and you will see a digital read out. If the readout is crap he will not even attempt to repair your f/f, provided you bought from one of the big outlets. If you bought from the little shop round the corner he will give it a blast of gas.

Errr, have you bought a Beko?

[Grumps]

That is not he case here.

Nope, not made in the EU.

Meaning they will replace it?

Can you explain more? Not that it is of any consequence in this case, just curious.

No. Are they crap? A colleague recently bought a Beko freezer as it appeared to be the only one that was guaranteed to work at -10C ambient.

[Mr Pounder]

Okay.

Where?

Yes.

I was assuming that the compressor was running all of the time. This would indicate a lack of refrigerant (gas). To be honest if the compressor is not running too much I suspect your thermometers are up the creek.

They are all crap. I used to repair them 16 years ago and saw the crap coming on to the market.

- 10 is no good for a freezer, you are looking at -18/20C

[Dave Liquorice]

Agreed -10C is not cold enough for the interior of a freezer but that isn't what was written. "guaranteed to work at -10C ambient" is what was written but that doesn't fit with any of the climate classes. The lowest minimum ambient temp is +10C for class SN.

[Dave Liquorice]

Is this a single or dual compressor fridge/freezer?

Is it a "frost free" fridge and/or freezer?

[Richard Russell]

"All Beko frost free combi fridge freezers and all freezers are designed to continue to work in cold ambient temperatures down to -15C, meaning the appliance can be stored in a garage or unheated/cold buildings":

is precisely why we bought a Beko for use in our unheated garage.

Richard.

[Dave Liquorice]

"All Beko top mount, static fridge frezers, larders and fridges can operate in lower ambient environments down to 5C."

Since when has 5C been lower than than -15C?

And:

"5. Are all Beko freezers capable of working at ambient temperatures below zero degrees C and down to -10 C? Yes. All our freezers are designed, manufactured and tested accordingly."

So what is it +5C, -10C or -15C? Why is my "marketing mis-interpretation of technical information" alarm sounding very loudly?

What does the plate on your appliance say about the climate class?

[Mr Pounder]

Eh?

Mr Pounder

[Mr Pounder]

is set to allow this.

Mr Pounder

[Mr Pounder]

It is not frost free, he has said that there is not a fan in the fridge compartment. The freezer he did not mention. I think you will be hard pressed to find twin compressors these days.

Mr Pounder

[Richard Russell]

I think "lower" there should be taken to mean "lower than many other manufacturers' products".

It's quite clear that their 'combi fridge-freezers and all freezers' can go down to -15C and their 'other fridge-freezers and fridges' can go down to +5C.

There's nothing inconsistent in their answers. If the freezers go down to

-15C then the correct answer to the question "are they capable of working down to -10C?" is "yes".

Perhaps because you couldn't actually be bothered to read it properly?

I've no idea. Why is that relevant if the product is specified at working well below the minimum climate class?

Beko models are well-known to work at lower ambient temperatures than most others; it's something that Which? often draws attention to in their reviews.

Richard.

[Chris Hogg]

Can't help with the query on repair or replacement, but we have a similar problem on our F/F, now over 10 yrs old and not fan-assisted, so I sympathise. Measuring the temperature in the same way as yourself (mercury-in-glass thermometer in a glass of water overnight, and also a thermocouple with a digital thermometer*), shows that when turned down to its minimum setting (2C on the F/F digital readout), it actually only gets to 5C, so we just run it turned right down. I assume there's a little potentiometer on a circuit board somewhere in the works that allows adjustment, but I haven't had the courage to try prizing off the probably brittle plastic trim to get at it! The freezer actually runs colder than indicated on the readout.

*both checked with an equilibrated mixture of ice & water in a thermos flask, to confirm reasonable accuracy at 0C.