Fridge Door Seal demagnetised

[pinnerite]

Our Neff refrigerator must be 20 years old or more. It is full height, fitted into a standard 600mm kitchen unit. The model number is K4664X1GB/01 The magnetic grip of the door has gradually weakened but otherwise it is a perfectly good device. I have searched for hours to locate a replacement door seal (I assume that the magnetism comes from that) but cannot find anything matching the part number. This NG often throws up subscribers with the kind of know-how that has solved problems like this before. So I am praying .... TIA

[Clive Arthur]

This any good?

Cheers

[Clive Arthur]

No. that's not it.

Cheers

[alan_m]

Generic universal seal

[Brian Gaff (Sofa 2)]

Are you sure its magnetic? My fridge seems to have a bit of suction going on, IE if you just crack the door, air goes in not out. You can hear a fan all the time, not very loud. I've never heard of a magnetic catch losing magnetism. I suppose you need some of that stuff they used to make the little clouds from on the tv weather forecast. I have some of that as offcuts, very handy as fridge magnets you can stick audio labels onto. Not sure it would be flexible enough for your use though. Brian

[Another John]

I once read many years ago (probably on here) that this was a very frequent fault, but it wasn't caused by de-magnetisation: when The Fridge Repair Man came, he would wait until the householder was out of the kitchen, then put his knee to the door and bend it back flush with the fridge itself: hey presto.

Just offering this up, fwimbw.

J.

[alan_m]

You probably remember this

The brute force method of fixing the seal is shown approx 1 minute into this Youtube clip.

A Channel 4 programme shown late 1980s or early 1990s

[Thomas Prufer]

I have salvaged the magnetic bits from defunct fridges. A cut at the corner of the seal, at the mitre, and the material (rubbery plastic with I think ferrite) can be pulled out of the seal easily.

As a last resort, try pulling the existing magnets and inserting a salvaged one, in the hope it will fit?

Or very possibly an adjustable latch thing, can't find the proper name, one like this:

(from ) bolted to the door and side, for a working fridge with an industrial chic.

Thomas Prufer

[Martin Brown]

I suspect that spares for it are long gone. You might try remagnetising the strip by stroking it with a neodymium magnet but don't get your fingers in the nip and hold it in a jig so that it cannot snap onto the steel of the fridge. They can shatter if they impact on something hard.

[Martin Brown]

A few of them stuck on in a position where they can grab see steel and cushioned by a thin layer of plastic might be another way out. Assuming that the seal itself is OK all you need is something to hold it shut.

[Clive Arthur]

These strips are almost certainly Halbach Arrays formed from ferrite-loaded plastic. You can't re-magnetize them that way.

Cheers

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Nothing to do with the magnetic strip. The door is out of line if it is not closing correctly. Try to adjust it. As you say, it is 20 years old.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

You can by new strips, to replace the old ones inside the seals..

[pinnerite]

No, I got excited when I first saw it too.

The Universal Seal seems to get poor reviews.

The door is a good fit so it isn't that.

I want to test the magnetism. I have a magnet somewhere. I cannot remember where I last saw it. If tests go well, I'll try the magnetic strip.

Thank you everyone that replied.

Regards, Alan

[alan_m]

Possibly poor installation. It seems that it is a good idea to lay out these seals fully extended flat on a floor for a few days in a warm room or out in the "hot" sun to first remove all the wrinkles caused when the seal is wrapped tightly in a bundle, or folded, for transportation.

There are Youtube videos showing installations of various seals and the importance of cleaning of old fittings.

Er, you just need a piece of metal to test the magnet - not another magnet. You should be testing the magnetism in the existing strip.

Did you try the A4 paper test shown in

[Clive Arthur]

<snip>

Ours (different make) has a magnetic seal. You can feel a knife blade trying to stick to it, but don't expect much of a pull, it's a weak magnet but over a large area.

Cheers

[pinnerite]

Well, I bought a metre of self-adhesive magnetic strip. When I peeled off the seal, I found that i would have to slit if I wanted to insert the new strip.

Not only did my courage fail me but I found that the door resisted closure. Clearly the seating had warped! There was no y to fix this without serious surgery. I decided to use the self-adhesive and stick the strip over the seal.

Wife thinks I'm a hero. Please don't let on.

Regards, Alan