Fridge-Freezer Problems

AnthonyL · 2016-07-26T09:29:03+00:00

Our frost-free auto-defrost Zanussi (Electrolux) ZNB 3240 Fridge-Freezer wasn't hitting the right temperatures in this warm weather and so I raised the thermostat dial which resulted in the upper fridge getting too cold but the freezer not going down to below -10c I don't know how old the unit is, it came with the house which I moved into last October. I've defrosted it (fridge freezer, not the house!) and pulled it out of its alcove and the evaporative tray was full, and with a fair amount of crud in it. I'm guessing that it was full because one of the tubes, probably the one from the freezer, must have been iced up. Am I right in assuming that the tray should generally be empty in normal operation? I can't readily remove the tray so I've positioned the fridge over the lip of the back door and got the hose jet into the tray and now have poured a bit of thin bleach via the inside of the fridge. I'm going to run a bit of tubing or electrical wire up and down the tubes to the evaporator to ensure they are clear. As I've got a spare freezer I'm not in a major rush so before I put everything back and switch on I'm seeking your advice as to whether I'm doing the right thing and if there is something else I should check. Many thanks.

Jul 26, 2016 26 Replies

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Andrew Gabriel 10 years ago

Spot on - the light was hot. The switch worked just fine, but the door hinge had dropped and failed to operate it.

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Andrew Gabriel 10 years ago

I don't think this is true of modern ones, although it was certainly the case with the early ones.

More modern refrigerants are not as wide temperature ranging as the banned CFC's were, which does also impose more limited operating temperature ranges on freezers than used to be the case, but this is not because of single thermostat/compressor fridge/freezer designs.

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ARW 10 years ago

And maybe a day to get back down to temperature after doing so.

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alan_m 10 years ago

Instructional video at

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Youtube Video clip from the channel 4 Secret Life Of Machines - The Refrigerator. Link is to just before the bit with the precision adjustment of the door.

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AnthonyL 10 years ago

An update and more questions. Fridge/Freezer has been working fine for a week now. Initially I had the thermostat set at 6 (max) but that was too cold, down to 5, still very cold and now at 4 so fridge is at 8c, freezer -20c and seems to have fairly normal on/off cycles.

So I'm not clear on what went wrong and what fixed it.

When I moved the unit out there was a terrible mess underneath - crud

maggots which smelt revolting when some of the evaporator tray contents spilt over. The previous owners had a dog so I suspect some food got under there. It was enough to impede air flow but I would have thought there was enough space elsewhere.

The other thought is that I didn't turn the thermostat to cooler in the heatwave we had so it was still on 3 when getting on for 5 might have been more appropriate. I can see that this might have caused a partial defrost but I don't see why it should clog the system us as per my OP (at the top).

I'm just looking at how to prevent the problem re-arising. Or maybe the thing just needs a twice yearly manual defrost?

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