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Neese  
#1 Posted : Saturday, August 6, 2011 12:16:50 AM(UTC)
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Neese

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[FONT=&quot]Hello,
My freezer’s heating system went bad two days ago and I took it out (with guidance).and ordered the replacement part. I taped the ends of the wires and turned the fridge back on.so that I could salvage my food until the part comes in. I figured that without a heating system the drain pipe opening in the freezer would be frozen over and blocked and that consequently there would be water at the bottom of the fridge until I melted the ice that clogged the drain.
The cooling system seemed to work for a day without any water accumulation in the fridge so I did not have to defrost anything. Then today, the refrigerator motor kept going on and off. I'm thinking that it did this to regulate the temperature. It’s still running and cooling somewhat but the temperature isn’t cold enough to keep the frozen food frozen or the refrigerator food cold. Might something else have gotten broken? Or, might things get back to normal once the new heater is installed? [/FONT]Is it okay to keep it running until then this way, even if the temperature isn't optimal? Should I turn it off and keep things frozen/cold with dry ice instead.
[FONT=&quot] Thank you for any feedback/instruction you can give me.
[/FONT]
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richappy  
#2 Posted : Saturday, August 6, 2011 1:25:28 AM(UTC)
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richappy

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Did you defrost the evaporator coils with a hair dryer?
Neese  
#3 Posted : Saturday, August 6, 2011 10:59:54 AM(UTC)
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Neese

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Hello,
Thank you Richappy for your response. When I started this project, the drain was frozen over signaling that the heating element might not be working properly. At that time, though, the cooling was still perfect—freezer was cooling just right and the refrigerator was at the perfect temperature. When I saw that the heating element had failed, I removed it and then used a hairdryer to completely defrost the coils and the drain area.

Now, it’s not cold enough and there has been no water accumulation. I’m really not sure whether or not the refrigerator ever went back to its original coldness after removing the heating element. I can’t see that defrosting it and making it even warmer by doing so would help. Are you suggesting that I disassemble everything and defrost it with a hairdryer anyway? If I were to do that, wouldn’t I have to keep repeating the process every few hours?
The food in the freezer is still very cold, but hardly frozen. Should I just turn everything off and put dry ice in and would that turn the freezer-food back to its original frozen state (I won’t get the heating part until maybe Wednesday)? If so, do you have any idea how often would I have to replace the dry ice? Thank you very much.
richappy  
#4 Posted : Saturday, August 6, 2011 11:44:26 AM(UTC)
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richappy

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Pull the back freezer panel and check the frost pattern, all coils should be lightly frosted, if not, for some reason you now have refrigeration problems.
Neese  
#5 Posted : Saturday, August 6, 2011 6:19:47 PM(UTC)
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Neese

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Thank you, richappy.
Got dry ice and put it in, just in case. It is a huge production to remove the back panel of the freezer to see what’s under there. I’ve done it twice. The first time was when the water started collecting and the drain pipe had frozen over. At that time, there was just the light layer of frost you asked me to look for just now. When water started collecting again after a few days, the coils were caked with white ice. That is also how I knew that the heater had completely failed and when I removed the heater. Before taking it apart once again, I d like to wait until the new heater comes in and I install it.


How soon after that will I know that the coast is clear? If there is more trouble, like it doesn’t return to its normal cooling temperature, or, water forms at the bottom again, what else could be wrong with it? From what I’ve described, how likely is it that replacing the old heater will get it back to proper working order?
Thanks very much for your time and input.
Neese
richappy  
#6 Posted : Saturday, August 6, 2011 7:01:06 PM(UTC)
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richappy

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Measure the stabilized freezer temperature and post.
Neese  
#7 Posted : Saturday, August 6, 2011 7:52:52 PM(UTC)
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Neese

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[FONT=&quot]Hi Richappy,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Do you mean now or when I put in the new heater when it comes in and the temperature has had a chance to stabilize then? In case you mean now, I’ve had one slab of dry ice in the freezer and another in the refrigerator for about 3 hours now. Right after reading your instructions, I sat the thermometer on the freezer bottom and away from the dry ice. It’s been in there for about 20 minutes and it reads 40 degrees. I think my thermometer might be a slow reacting one—I only paid a few dollars for it. Without taking the actual temperature in the fridge, though, it’s still not cool enough, even with the dry ice. They told me I could leave it in the paper bag it came in. Wondering if it would work better if I took it out. Don’t know if this detail is important, but I was about to tell you that the refrigerator has not taken a break from running since at least this morning, many hours before I added the dry ice. I just checked now, though, and it just stopped for a break. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks again for your help.[/FONT]
richappy  
#8 Posted : Sunday, August 7, 2011 12:53:58 AM(UTC)
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richappy

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If you fully defrosted the freezer coils and the freezer will not go down below say 10 degrees, you have refrigeration problems that need a pro to look at.
To confirm, you will need to pull the freezer panel off and describe the frost pattern.
Neese  
#9 Posted : Sunday, August 7, 2011 1:04:24 AM(UTC)
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Neese

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[FONT=&quot]Update[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]About 5 hours have passed since last post. Freezer is now @30 degrees, fridge at 40 (dry ice took a while to kick in). These cooler temperatures have very little to do with the workings of the fridge and almost everything to do with the dry ice. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Fridge motor kicked in again right away--short break. Motor sounds fine. Running calmly, but poor cooling.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If you need more info, let me know. Otherwise, I would very much appreciate any thoughts on the prognosis. Thanks very much richappy.[/FONT]
Neese  
#10 Posted : Sunday, August 7, 2011 1:15:58 AM(UTC)
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Neese

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Hi Richappy,

Thanks for your reply. Our posts just crossed.

Freezer is full of frost now and I want to preserve the food. When the dry ice has spent, I will disassemble the freezer, take a look at the coils and report back to you.
If the coils are caked in white ice again, what could the problem be, besides needing a heater, and what might be the approximate cost be to fix that sort of problem?
Thank you very much.
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