Hotpoint stf187wp

[Liam Chalk]

Hi,

My hotpoint fridge freezer has lost all cold temperature in both compartments and the light in the fridge just steadily flashes. We had a power cut yesterday which I think may be related to the issue.

I've tried turning it on and off using the plug and also the dial on the top of the fridge, this sometimes means that the fridge will briefly produce cold air, but will then start playing up again shortly after.

Also worth noting that the fridge is only about 18 months old, to say I'm unimpressed after losing a whole large shop a few days before is an understatement.

Thanks in advance

Liam

[Glenn Moore]

Liam
Freezers and fridges often fail after a power cut. What happens when the power comes back on, the voltage may not be at full power depending how the 3 phases are re connected. The compressor start winding becomes partially energised but due to the low voltage the motor fails to rotate. But the start winding is still partially energised but instead of the motor spinning the start winding simply heats up like an electric fire. This can caused the insulation to overheat and burn ,the winding then starts to short circuit, causing permanent damage to the motor. When you experience power cuts it is best to unplug the freezer and wait until the power has been fully restored , then plug it back in ,trying to not open the freezer doors during this time to keep the inside temperature as low as possible. It is worth checking the motor windings with an ohmmeter to confirm the motor is good or bad . There are devices to protect the compressor motor against voltage problems but are not often fitted in the UK as in general the supply is good .

[Grizzly]

Hi Glenn.
I bow to your knowledge!
But I am confused by your comment, "depending how the 3 phases are re connected".
This is a 240v single phase fridge I am assuming?
Grizzly

[Greek_engineer]

He means the power grid

[Grizzly]

He means the power grid

Can you enlighten is any more?
Thanks Grizzly

[Glenn Moore]

Hi Grizz
The mains 3 phase is fed down the street (From the Grid) and then 1 phase and neutral is fed to your house . Some houses are red phase some are yellow and some blue (Colours have now changed). I have experienced transformed voltages in the mains when only 2 phases come back on. Some houses get full power some get transformed power from the other 2 phases . I experienced one situation where in one street after a power failure by mistake a row of houses were connected to 2 phases ie 440Volt by mistake taking out cookers , TVs , fridges , etc it cost the supply company a lot of compo money .In my village with overhead cables we often lose power due to cows in the field scratching themselves against the poles and pushing the poles down.
East Anglia and Lincolnshire areas often suffer electrical failures . I was up there a couple of years back replacing a system controller on a potatoe store when we were plunged into total darkness. Luckily we had our vehicles in the shed with us and used our headlights to find our way out. After we contacted the electric company it turned out that a gang of metal thieves had roped the overhead cables feeding the farm and a small village and driven their van across the fields pulling the live cables and the poles down before pinching the cable. We spent the day waiting for the emergency teams to slowly restore the power. I always wait until the full power is restored so that electrical and electronic devices are not damaged by the initial power surge when it comes back on line.
I always turn electrical devices to off during a power failure and turn the lights to ON . So when the power comes back on the lights confirm that it is safe to switch the other components back ON .

[Grizzly]

I couldn't of put it better Glenn!
In fact that scenario would not of occurred to me.
Once again I bow to your knowledge.
More importantly thanks for sharing it.
Got to be unlucky to kill a 18month old fridge though!
My in laws claimed for a new Telly during one of our (Taunton and surrounding villages) recent power outages.

Grizzly

[Glenn Moore]

Hi Grizz
A bit of trivia for you. Domestic compressor start windings heat up at 10 degrees C per second. So if the compressor fails to start and the relay stays energised holding the start winding in circuit, after 10 seconds the start winding will be over 120 deg C . So you can see why single phase machines often fail due to start winding damage, as it turns into an electric heater ie Burn out . Glenn

[nike123]

Hi,

My hotpoint fridge freezer has lost all cold temperature in both compartments and the light in the fridge just steadily flashes. We had a power cut yesterday which I think may be related to the issue.

I second to what Glen said, but it also should be considered that fridge control is by electronic PC board and it may be damaged by overvoltage or undervoltage which usually occurs after power restoration.
Flashing of light indicating that!

Since it is 18 month old, you probably have few months of warranty left. Best is to call authorized service to check and repair.

[Liam Chalk]

Hi gents,

Thanks for all your knowledgeable replies.

It turns out that the magnet in the fridge door had actually become dislodged and so the fridge supposedly went into shutdown. Hotpoint and AO (who I bought it from) both refused responsibility and I was charged £185 for the privilege of reattaching the magnet.

Thankfully it's all sorted, but as you can imagine I'm still bitter about it.

[monkey spanners]

Not relevant to the freezer fault, farm where they got the phases crossed,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85UM-sSIzdU

[Grizzly]

You get to work on some choice kit MS!
Grizzly