Freezer - what to check before resorting to repair man - advice needed

[Nigel]

I have a tall upright Scandinova freezer. It's about 6 years old and upto recently has been excellent.

During the heatwave this summer, it struggled, and the red warning light came on and the contents started to thaw. At first I tried turning the thermostat upto max but with little improvement. In the end I resorted to fast freeze.

Last night I noticed that ice cream was frozen solid and then that the fast freeze was still on. I turned it off thinking that as the hot weather was over it would be okay.

This afternoon I noticed that the freezer was virtually defrosted.

Obviously, something is wrong, but are there any things I can check before making a costly call to a repair man.

Door seals are excellent.

Compressor is running but it is very hot - is this normal - it is very uncomfortable to touch.

Metal grill and pipework on back are room temperature.

Any ideas gratefully received.

Cheers,

Nigel

[BigWallop]

From the symptoms you describe, it is more than likely that the fridge is not getting the gassing it needs to do its job. Check the back grille for any bits that have been squashed or bend and that the drain pipe from below the freezer pipes inside is clean and clear.

I take that the machine is a frost free unit, so it may also be worth looking at the defrost timer to make sure it is still working correctly.