Hi people, Hotpoint bod here!

[HotpointCarl]

Hello lovely people
pretty much stumbled arcross this trying to find some info on a hotpoint FF.
I work for them direct, and Ive noticed there is a lot of hotpoint faults!!!
So I will try help with as many as I can to sort out your problems!
ask away if i miss something

[Gingerair]

I think you could have your hands full on here Carl..

Good luck..

[monkey spanners]

Hi Carl,

Welcome to RE

Jon

[Brian_UK]

Yes, a warm welcome Carl.

Your expertise will be appreciated.

[lowcool]

gday carl
i reckon ginger has hit the nail on the head.
enjoy

i see you have already been busy,time to hit the management for a pay rise

[HotpointCarl]

haha, always happy to help....just try not to get me in trouble lol

[tbrad]

Hi Carl, I have a Hotpoint FFA61, the frost free fridge freezer.
Fridge is working, but freezer isn't!

On Monday i noticed water building up at the bottom of the fridge fridge, (top compartment), and also some frost at the top at the back, i checked the waste pipe at the back, and it was clogged).

So i cleared that, and now water passes through it, straight to the tray at the back, i have totally drained the tray.

Then on Tuesday, the freeze really warmed up and things were starting to defrost.
So i took all the food out and binned it, and let the fridge defrost for around 24 hours, then switched it back on, but the freezer temp to high light is still on and the freezer doesnt seem to be getting cold enough.

The whole fridge seems to be making a really strange sound, as if fluid is straining around the pipes, maybe its air, i dont know but it doesn't sound normal.

Ive removed the panel inside the freezer, and there didnt appear to be any ice build up, but the fan wasnt working, and i cant seem to get it working, but the coils are ice cold and appear to be working fine, just no fan moving the air around.

The compressor is red hot, cant keep my hands on it for more than a few seconds without risking a burn!
Is that normal?

Should the fan in the freezer be running all the time?

Hmm, what else, its around 5 years old,
never had this problem before.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[HotpointCarl]

sounds like a typical gas problem, the fan wont come on until it reaches a certain -temp, diverter valve could be stuck, but not had a faulty one in years, re gas for u!and chop out the anti condensation line while ya there!
the hole in the fridge do ice up half way down...normally a write off as it keeps doing it, think they put them to close to the freezer and the insulation is to poor to stop the cold

[Gingerair]

Go Carl Go !!!!

Just watch out for Worcs mum68 & her hairdrier !!!

Jokin aside, it's good that you take the time to come on here & help people out..

[tbrad]

Thanks, how long after defrosting it, should it take to get back to a temp where the fan should operate?
A few hours?

How much £££ am i looking at for fixing this gas problem?
Does that mean it just needs regassing?

Thanks!

[HotpointCarl]

Go Carl Go !!!!

Just watch out for Worcs mum68 & her hairdrier !!!

Jokin aside, it's good that you take the time to come on here & help people out..

I deal with hotpoint customers, I can handle anyone haha.

Right, temp wise, im not 100% sure, the mistrals are -19ish. i can have a look on my laptop to check if u want.
regassing is a grey area on R600, they normally leak again,hence cutting out the anti condensation line, one thing to check, the wall in the back of the fridge, give it a good poke, see if its "bulging" as its common to fill the cabinet of gas!
i done the other day that done that, changed the dryer checked for leaks on the comp, vac'd out re gassed, ran lovely, 10 mins later 40gs of gas are stuck in the wall!hour wasted!
gonna cost ya 100 quid for us to come do it, normally re gas first time, fit a compressor second time, then write off the 3rd lol you get a part refund and a chunk off a new one

[tbrad]

Just checked, no bulging that i can notice in the back of the fridge, but it is frosting up real nice back there, half of the wall is covered in frost, yet the freezer is almost room temp!

I pulled it out again, and had a good listen behind the fridge, and there is a lot of noise at the back, which sounds like air and liquid bubbling through pipes really roughly.

And the R600 is so hot, i'm wondering if its safe to be on, do they normally run this hot?
I cant keep my finger on it for more than a few seconds without it burning.

I guess im really wondering if its worth repairing, or just getting a new one, id rather have it repaired to save the £££, but from what you are saying, with potentially having to replace the compressor as well, it sounds like it could get expensive!

The noise its making alone would be enough to confirm its a gas issue?

Thanks for taking the time here to reply, i really appreciate it!

[HotpointCarl]

the wall in the fridge top to bottom should be cold, not just half, its up to u, its a 100 quid to get us to do it, but thats all u pay, even if it needs a compressor!the comp should be warm, not hot, one sign is the label is distorting with the heat, could even be blocked but flush and gas will help

[Brian_UK]

Carl, I find it rather disappointing that you seem, on behalf of the manufacturer, to expect the refrigerant to leak out of these fridges without exception.

Is it because the HC gases aren't so deadly as the other gases and therefore they don't build a leak free system anymore? The term "hermetic system" doesn't seem to apply here.

[HotpointCarl]

brian, sadly its just the way it is with r600 systems, im not going to sugar coat the truth, half the problem is, the amounts, a normal r600 FF uses about 30-40 grams of gas, its pretty sensitive, a small discharge can stop it working, but with r134 uses 150+ g, it can survive on a lot less, seems more stable when running low, they still work!

[Brian_UK]

Makes sense now Carl, thanks.

Perhaps we should just install a small gas canister in the back and call it a total loss system.

[knicksen]

Hi Carl,

Wonder if you can help. We've got a Hotpoint Future RL150. It regularly fills up with water in the two small recesses in the fridge floor, underneath the bottom (salad?, got beer in it) drawer, leading to water leaking on to the floor in front of the door.

Cheers,

Knicksen

[HotpointCarl]

have you un blocked the drainage hole in the back of the fridge??

[knicksen]

have you un blocked the drainage hole in the back of the fridge??

Hi Carl,

Thanks for response!

Drainage hole? Just had a look - I presume this is the small handle and long thin piece of plastic that sits in a hole near the bottom in the middle of the back inside the fridge. There are two 'grooves' that run down to it. If I remove this, were does the condensed water go, or do i not need to worry?

Cheers,

Knicksen

[deepheat]

hey a head scratcher question for carl. i have a hotpoint mistral ff unit with a fan fault. it has stopped working after comming out of storage (around 5 months) all other componets seem to be doing there thing just fine. when the yellow thermistor is disconected fan starts and seems to work fine. i have replaced the yellow thermistor to no avail. any ideas would be welcome thanks

[knicksen]

Hi Carl,

Thanks for response!

Drainage hole? Just had a look - I presume this is the small handle and long thin piece of plastic that sits in a hole near the bottom in the middle of the back inside the fridge. There are two 'grooves' that run down to it. If I remove this, were does the condensed water go, or do i not need to worry?

Cheers,

Knicksen

Glad I posted - it may seem obvious, but I'd never come across this before, always had old fridges before! Looks like this is now sorted. Thanks for your help.

K

[gewilkes]

I Have a problem with my Hotpoint Future Fridge RLA54P it will not settle down to a cool temp it's now starting to freeze everything in the fridge, tried moving the dial in the front to 1 or 5 but it still the same any help.
Cheers
Gerry

[Wordsmith42]

Hi
Have just realised why my Hotpoint FF63P fridge freezer's door won't close. The back panel of the freezer is bulging inwards. I've removed the baskets as an interim measure and already have a new fridge freezer on order but I'm wondering how safe it is to keep the appliance running.
Many thanks if you're able to help.

[Wordsmith42]

Hi
Have just realised why my Hotpoint FF63P fridge freezer's door won't close. The back panel of the freezer is bulging inwards. I've removed the baskets as an interim measure and already have a new fridge freezer on order but I'm wondering how safe it is to keep the appliance running.
Many thanks if you're able to help.

(Apologies for posting twice)

[Cornetto]

Hi Carl -

Hope you can help.

I have a problem with my hotpoint FF63P (frost free model). The power to unit is seemingly fine, as the lights on the front are coming on and also the light inside the fridge comes on. However, neither fridge or freezer are working.

Any ideas? and how much it will cost to fix?

Many thanks

[realkingarthur]

HI Carl
I have a problem with my fridge freezer, when i use my tumble dryer the fridge freezer displays err, i have looked at hotpoint error messages and this is not listed. If i turn off at the plug and back on then the freezer resets itself. any ideas appreciated.

Chris