Home freezer defrosted itself

[Sam Vimes]

We've been away for a few months but had someone checking the house regularly. On return we found that the small freezer must have been defrosted at some point then re-froze. We worked this out by seeing some frozen plums from the polytunnel had oozed out of the packets and then frozen solid into a large plum lolly.

We asked around about power cuts but apart from a few small - seconds only - interruptions there was nothing major. It would probably take about 2 days to completely defrost. The only thing running in the house was the Ventilation System and its clock was still current - although I can't recall if it has a battery backup.

So now, not only have we lost some frozen stuff we've lost confidence in the freezer. Did it decided to give up on its own? Did one of the small power hiccups confuse it - these have happend before with no affect.

I just installed a temperature alarm. £7.99 from the Big A. At least we can keep an eye on it while we're here but when away we'll transfer the contents to the bigger freezer.

A mystery that I don't think we'll ever resolve.

 

[toad a caravan]

I came home from three weeks in Cornwall to find a unopened bottle of lemonade had shattered in the fridge.

 

[Sam Vimes]

I came home from three weeks in Cornwall to find a unopened bottle of lemonade had shattered in the fridge.

Yuk!


I used the fridge/freezer alarm and discovered the freezer section was varying wildy. As low as -31 and as high as -14 in a short space of time. Not only that the fridge section was running between 4 and 8.

I hate to junk things I could repair but I'm loath to drag it out and see if I can find out what's wrong because even if I fix it, at 15 years old it might only keep going for a short while as something else may break. So, looking for a new one that's going to fit in, as its an integrated unit.

Mind you a new one may not last as long as this one.

 

[IanB1485]

Domestic fridge/freezers do vary wildly in AIR temperature , they rely on sufficient mass within them to steady the temperature out. The cheaper freezers have a mechanical thermostat and are generally reliable , but do have a wide hysteresis to avoid rapid stop- starting of the compressor. More likely the compressor's Klixon starter may be packing up. The starter allows a higher start current (by shorting out the run capacitor on the second winding of the motor) to get the compressor spinning and then reverts to a lower current .If the contacts fail open then the compressor may have failed to start .