Freezer excessively on

[AnthonyL]

I defrosted the freezer last week and now the compressor seems to be running nearly, but not, all the time. I say "seems" because I'm not encouraged to be in the kitchen that much and my wife says that is how it usuall was.

It is an AEG under counter freezer and sits next to a sister fridge as they have for around 20yrs.

I pulled it out today and got rid of a lot of cobwebs and dust. The freezer compressor unit was uncomfortable to touch whilst the fridge was just warm to the touch.

The temperature is fine at -18degC and the seals are clean. If I was pressed I'd say there was a bit more gurgling than usual (is that the right description of the refrigerant going through the pipes).

So is it on its way out? Did I damage something? Or have I forgotten what work it has to do when we have a proper summer?

[Huge]

One of the failure modes of the thermostats is "continuously on". Keep an eye on it to make sure it does stop occasionally ...

[AnthonyL]

Yes it does stop occasionally. If the thermostat is failing wouldn't it get excessively cold?

I've just checked and it is at -15, not -18, and that figure is confirmed by a cheap infra-red thermometer. Does that indicate that it's struggling to get down to the right temperature?

[Huge]

Only if it's failed in the "continuously on" mode. But since the only other failure mode is "doesn't run at all", it seems unlikely to be the thermostat.

[Ian Jackson]

You haven't accidentally pressed a 'fast freeze'* button, have you?

*Which bypasses the thermostat so that a defrosted and reloaded freezer gets down to its operating temperature as quickly as possible.

[Dave Liquorice]

At 20 years old it may have lost suffcient refridgerant through a tiny leak to now struggle. Or the compressor might just be worn out and not able to compress the gas well enough any more.

[AnthonyL]

Yes I guess it doesn't owe me anything. I believe something can happen to the lubricant when it ages.

I'll see how it is tomorrow though when a slightly cooler day is forecast.

[AnthonyL]

No. But after I defrosted last week I put the fast freeze button on and usually after 3-4 hrs the freezer would have been well cold, but it wasn't and it was running 100%. I turned the button off then.

That was my first hint that things weren't quite right.

[The Natural Philosopher]

lots some of the refrigerant.

ditch.

[dennis]

did you damage any of the pipes with a scraper?

[Mr Pounder]

If that was the case the temp would be much lower than -18C. It's 20 years old. It's f***ed.

[Mr Pounder]

- 15 is not acceptable. Sorry, it's f***ed.

>

[Mr Pounder]

He is only getting -15. Fast freeze would hit -30.

[Mr Pounder]

Fucked compressor. Ditch.

[Mr Pounder]

If he had done that he would not be getting -15. The freezer is nearly as old as me ...

[Huge]

It's shagged. Buy a new one.

[Brian Gaff]

Of course its also possible that some of the lagging is compromised making it harder work to keep it cold.

Old fridges do seem to suffer from this sort of thing, I suspect condensation or just break down of whatever material is or was used to insulate things. Brian

[harryagain]

It may have lost it's refrigerant gas (or most of it.) Compressor gets hot because it relies on (now non-existant) gas to cool it.

[AnthonyL]

I've wondered about that. I normally put a couple of saucepans of hot water in the freezer compartment then as the ice starts to melt I got my hands under it and pulled a whole lot of ice off. The only pipe that is exposed is a thin one I think to the thermostat. How can I check if it is damaged? If it is damaged wouldn't the performance just get worse?

[Ian Jackson]

In message , AnthonyL writes

Is it possible that you created a very small leak, and lost come coolant

- but it then 'healed up' when the freezer cooled down again?