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Bunty
24-10-2001, 11:56 AM
Hi there. Very simple question.
My fridge has stopped working. Where do I start trying to figure our whats wrong with it?
Any help appreciated.

Derek
25-10-2001, 03:22 PM
I accept no responsibility for this lot or the comments that will follow from others.

A refrigerator is a simple item.

You have a compressor typically a black lump of metal in the back this is a pump.

You have a hot plate or condenser, that dumps the heat from the food, this may be a black radiator at the back or a plate sealed inside the insulation at the back (no don't go digging for it).

In side you have a cold surface this is the evaporator could be a metal plate or the whole inside wall. This takes the heat from the food.

All these are linked with small tubes.

Inside the tubes is the refrigerant sometimes (incorrectly) called gas or *****. If it's an old fridge you may have CFC R12 that's banned now potential scrap. If it's new or only few years old it should have HFC R134a or perhaps HC R600a. HC's are flammable. This information is normally written on the back place or on the compressor.

The system is controlled by a thermostat similar to a central heating system item. This switches the compressor on and off to give the desired condition inside the fridge.

You may have other bits and pieces but that's basically it.

Whats Up!


What happened before it stopped working? The classic is moving house or putting in a new kitchen they just die after moving bit like roses. I also assume no one defrosted it with a carving knife!

If the light is still on inside then I would expect the thermostat to have failed. These are designed (?) to pop off after about 3-4 years to keep some of us in business. They can be checked and replaced by a competent electrical type person. You can try switching the thermostat on and off a few times to see if you get any action from the compressor. Some also try the light tap treatment.

After that call a service technician and the reason I give you the above information is that some so-called 'technicians' will give you shed loads of bull and charge the earth. Thermostats start at around £15 and keep going up, then add the call out etc.

If you want to see if your chosen service technician is OK ask for his ACRIB card that's the certificate of safe refrigerant handling.

Hope that helps….

:)

Bunty
25-10-2001, 06:37 PM
Hi Derek
I realised today that this site was probably not intended for the general public like me with broken fridges! So many thanks for taking the time to reply.
It appears the thermostat may indeed be the problem.
Again many thanks!

Brian_UK
25-10-2001, 10:56 PM
Originally posted by Bunty
I realised today that this site was probably not intended for the general public like me with broken fridges!

Maybe not the general public Bunty but raise yourself above them because you had the good sense to search out somewhere to ask a reasonable question. (We have young chap from Australia who keeps us on our toes with his school project questions. !)

Yes, we do this job for money but advice is normally free and given willingly. ;)

Hope you get your fridge back up and running again soon, bear in mind also that if there is a major problem with it, as Derek said, it will be cheaper to throw it away and buy a new one.

Bunty
27-10-2001, 04:27 PM
Cheers Brian.
It did indeed come down to a new fridge. Now settling in my kitchen.
Thanks again both :)

Abe
27-10-2001, 10:10 PM
Hello Bunty,

Did you get an engineer to come in and diagnose what the problem was. I know you said it had simply stopped working. Im curious because it may have been a thermostat with the contacts stuck in the open position. In this case the repair would have ammounted to around 40 pounds.

A lot of domestic repair fridge mechanics advertise a "no call out" fee. In this case you could have benefitted from a free diagnosis.

Cheers