Kenmore Upright Freezer 253.23429100

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
1

Kenmore Upright Freezer is not cooling or holding temperature. I opened up the inside panel to expose the coil. Fan runs, Inside light works, compressor seems to start and run.

At initial start-up…Coil begins to frost/cool for a few minutes and then looses the frost. Compressor continues to run. There is a detectable difference in temperature when comparing both sides of the compressor.

The Defrost heater and thermostat test ok with continuity. Used a different freezer to test Defrost thermostat.

ANY HELP would be appreciated!!

2

Sounds like you have a sealed system prolem.

The heater and defrost thermostat only come into play if you have a defrost problem re: he coils are heavily frosted/iced up.

If the compressor runs continuously but the unit will not cool down then it is a sealed system problem.

If there is only frost in one area on the coils (usually where the freon enters the evap cols), then you are low on freon.

If it just will not cool down then it could be the compressor.

In any case both the above will be an expensive repair as you need a pro.
Often it makes more sense to put the dollars towards a new unit.

Always a good idea to check tthe warranty as the sealed system often has a longer warranty period.

3

Hi. I have this upright freezer and the other night the temp alarm started beeping and it was warming up inside.

There was some water pooling underneath. A few days later, I’ve started it up and everything seems to run fine. However I feel the sides of the outside of the freezer and they are very warm. 105 degrees to be exact. It’s been that way for over an hour now. The info sheet that comes with the unit says that it should defrost for 30 minutes every 12 hours of compressor running time. It also says that a thermostat will switch the defrost heater off after the frost on the evaporator has melted. The defrost thermostat closes at 10 Fahrenheit and opens at 50 Fahrenheit. Do I have a problem with that thermostat? If so, where is it located? Can I access it?

Thank you

4

I cannot say if you have a defrost thermostat problem.
You have to troubleshoot more.
The inside temperature of the freezer would be warmer than the ambient temperature.

The defrost thermostat is clipped onto the evaporator coils.
If you go to the Sears parts site they have part breakdowns.

The unit is cooling down from room temperature so the warm sides are probably due to the heat given off by the condenser/compressor coils.
I believe on this unit they are just under the side panels.
Once the unit cools down to set point and starts cycling the side panels will also cool down.

The unit could have stopped cooling because of the temperature control thermostat sticking open or the unit being stuck in a defrost cycle which is controlled by a circuit board.

If/when it happens again move the temperature control knob up and down a bit ( not to off) while holding the door switch closed if the compressor fires up then odds are that the temperature control thermostat is the problem. is the problem.