Refrigerator Catches Fire

[MICHAE]

HI.
lately we are experiencing some total refrigerator burnout in customer premesis.
the appliances are turkish made and are about 6 years old.
the fire seems to start off the defrost timer.
does anybody know anything about this rather concerning phenomenon?

[The Viking]

No, I never had the privilege to work on any Turkish kit.

But it must been an electrical fire, there are 2 reasons for these to start.
-Overheating components (incl. cables)
-Dirt or grime creating a short circuit

Dirt or grime is self-explanatory, so lets look in to the overheating options:
-Over loaded and incorrectly fused.
-Undersized component (see point above).
-Poor connection.
-Poor breaking performance of breaking component.

As we are talking about kit that's been running for years, I would say that either the dirt option or the last 2 options under [over heating] above must be the culprit.
The switch in the defrost timer might have weakened with time.
Cables (or connectors) might have gotten corroded.
Connectors might have loosened.

No doubt there are other options I forgotten, hopefully other people will continue the list.

[MICHAE]

thank you for your answer .
I think you have covered the issue.
The real problem is that the whole appliance went in a blaze, and this is something that must of been retarded by the raw materials and never did.
So far we have had some 4 cases.
The big question is :do we call a "self recall" and start replacing those timers or do we wait until the producer will order such an act?

[The Viking]

They are not in commercial kitchens and suffers from grease build-up behind them by any chance?

[philfridge]

They could have got water in the electrics is another theory ??

[Electrocoolman]

Have you informed the importer of these units?

They would hold the liability if the unit was proven to be faulty, and it sounds as if you have experienced more than one occurrence.

[MICHAE]

thanks.yes i have informed them and for the moment they are catching their breath trying to figure out what to do.
I do not trust these guys, for they do not have the same safty standards like American producers such as whirlpool.

[MICHAE]

NO no they just go on fire and take the whole premesis along.I could mail you some very educative pictures if you gave me your email Ad.
thanks

[The Viking]

Email them to me and I will put them on my site for the world to see...

[MICHAE]

thanks its in your mail now!!

[Electrocoolman]

If you've got a number of these units in service, have you done an audit / examination of all the units to determine if you can spot any early signs of overheating.

The problem (as suggested by the viking) could be due to under-rated component or wiring, bearing in mind that when operating on 120v the current is doubled....

It would possibly be prudent to replace the suspect item....this pro-active approach would be a good defence in any litigation. It could be argued that you should inform all your customers that a possible problem exists with these units....they can then decide to replace them or continue using them at their risk.....either way it offloads responsibility from yourselves.
Do you have a National Safety organisation that you can report this to who can then put pressure on the importers and issue a warning notice.

It might be possible to fit a metal shield above and/or between the defrost timer and the (plastic?) body of the fridge to offer some barrier to limit the spread of fire. (This is only an idea, and not a recognised solution).

[tonto33]

i've seen a few Beko fridge/freezers that have had the defrost timer have corroded and that the appliance has caught fire some from water onto of compressor has got on to the defrost timer and caused i to corrode. worst one was the whole kitchen caught fire

[MICHAE]

have you had any vestel cases ?

[tonto33]

nope not seen any vestel yet,guessin that they aren't any good or is it just certain model no's as have that wiv from other makes one model is very good hardly any faults the odd stat here and there and next model no load of crap always system blockage but they both run on R600a. do u do contract work for vestel ?

[MICHAE]

We are the official aftersale provider for some of their OEM Brands.

[tonto33]

any chance of details so can see if we can get some work over here for them as know they sold here as well

[Blackbird]

Have you performed an insulation test on these fridges? Are Saftey switches(RCD's/ELCB's etc.) fitted on the circuit they are connected to? RCD's in my experiences are extemely good fire preventitives. just a thought. Not going to fix the root of the problem but!

[stserkan]

NO no they just go on fire and take the whole premesis along.I could mail you some very educative pictures if you gave me your email Ad.
thanks
I am doing the same job like you and I have read your posts about refrigerators,if you send me these photos , i would be glad. These pictures would be so helpful about solving the problem. And i need another fovour from you, would you give me more details about the fires,What do you think the problem is(other than the defrost timer)?MY mail is stserkan@gmail.com

[back2space]

Email them to me and I will put them on my site for the world to see...

Viking did you ever upload these pics cant find them on your site?

[colnol3]

Good morning to you from London. I have been studying domestic fridge and freezer fires here in the Uk for several years now. We have approx 300 reported cases of fire each year but many more near misses are not reported.
we have noted many failures of defrost mechanisms and I would suggest the most common failure is moisture creating a short across one of the terminals. We are experiencing a number of Turkish units, it is fair to say that they are amongst the cheaper and most used. We also have capacitor and compressor switch failings which are probably the three most common fire causes. Most consumers are totaly unaware of the flammability of European domestic fridges and freezers. The average fridge/freezer produces approx 2.5MW of heat output when ignited and the rapidity of spread makes this the most dangerous domestic appliance in the house. Can talk fires all day, please contact if more info. Superb site.
Mike

[tonto33]

turkish ones are most them BEKO? as seen a few of them now,surpised more havent caught fire as poorly made

[stserkan]

Mike,
What do you think about the other refrigerators which are produced by other companies in terms of the flammability.Could you tell me more about the reported cases of fire?Which refrigerators do you suggest us to buy for our safety?