PDA

View Full Version : My fridge is TO cool.....!!



ebotnan
22-05-2001, 11:46 PM
What can possibly be wrong when my fridge is to cool? It seems like the min/max regulator is working, because when i turn it, it gets even colder. Anything containing water seems to freeze when its on the warmest(?!). The fridge is mounted indoor....

Please help me!

Derek
24-05-2001, 01:09 PM
Lets assume you have a basic no frills single door upright refrigerator under three years old and probably with an ice box. Also assume you don't have some complex microprocesor control system with door open bells etc.

Have you checked the actual temperature in the refrigerator say with a frezer thermometer or somthing similar. Set the thermostat (regulator) to its lowest setting (highest temperature) normally 1. Your looking for 5 to 10 Deg C.

If you have something lower then your compressor is running most of the time which is running up your power bill. The thermostat is really a switch for the compressor (motor) more run time = more cooling.

Check your thermostat sender (typically a small metal tube with a very thin tube running from it to the thermostat) it is normally located near the thermostat and hidden under a plastic cover. Sometimes the factory accidently stick insulation over it or it may be covered in spilt food. Be very careful not to break it or bend it. It should have 'free' air around it.

You could also see if the thermostat control is loose or slipping so you can never turn the refrigerator off.

Next call your local service guy, he has a family to feed and needs your support!

Gary
24-05-2001, 02:34 PM
A domestic fridge is both freezer and refrigerator. The mechanical system works the freezer section, and cold air from the freezer spills over into the refrigerator section.

There are two controls: The thermostat which controls the freezer temperature, and the spillover damper control which controls how much air from the freezer section spills over into the refrigerator section.

It sounds like you are adjusting the spillover. The freezer may be too cold, overcooling the refrigerator at minimum spillover setting. Find the thermostat (the other control), and turn it up a little.

Derek
24-05-2001, 06:19 PM
Had to bite, sorry.

If it's got more than one control it ain't basic.

Larder Fridge - No ice tray (is that a better word)
Basic Fridge - With Ice tray that is also the evaporator (cold source) pretty old design concept.
Unbasic Fridge - Fans other controls etc.
Fridge Freezer - 2 doors = 2 seperate cooling circuits or segmented to give cold flow from freezer to fridge section.

Spillover is that an Americal thingy then?

Gary
24-05-2001, 06:50 PM
I haven't seen a basic in a very long time. Have you?

Spillover is a term that I use when I am unable to point and say "that thingy"...lol

I try to make my explanations as technical as they need to be for the intended purpose and the target audience, and intentionally not more so.

Derek
25-05-2001, 08:49 AM
Gary

No offence honest.

Just did a local site survey and behold all basic or larder types but us Brits don't take change too well. Also found a Electrolux absorbtion unit (rare or what?) thats now in my lab so thanks for starting me off.

Worked on production lines in Middle East, Africa and China were you seem to get a mix of $90 basics and some real exotica. Until the great 'phase out' started many of the designs were typical old Westinghouse/Electrolux formats circa 1960 even saw some old Soviet 70's designs still in build in 1998 with R12! You can still buy this stuff on the steets of Amman, Tunis, Cairo and Beijing.

Could rant on for ages but did the original poster get anywhere?

Gary
25-05-2001, 03:16 PM
No offense taken, Derek. We each made assumptions. And we may never know which assumption was correct.

Since ebotnan called it a fridge instead of a refrigerator, he's probably from your side of the pond.