Hello and thank you ALL whom help in here with us DIYrs! I have recd a chest freezer which is quite cold at setting four! the unit I believe is a sealed unit. My symptom is possible “excessive heating” of the compressor unit itself. It is very hot to the touch and I can only keep my fingers on the side of the comp for about 3-5seconds. Is this normal? Today is wed the 8th of july 2009 and I plugged it in on sunday the 5th. I have not done any time testing to see how often it cycles on or off. Should I? and if so how many hours do I need to sit and wait for it to cycle? I also notice just prior to my registering here (which is also why I did) that the front outside panel is warming uP… Does this mean anything about the longevity of this freezer?
If my compressor is leaking or just plain getting ready to die, can I replace this or should I be saving for a whole new chest freezer?
Thank you again
:DD
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Because the compressor is hot I would say the problem is either a s[FONT=‘Times New Roman’]ealed system problem (such as bad compressor or low on gas) [/FONT]or the compressor start relay. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]If the start relay is bad the compressor will try to start, get very hot then cut out. [/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]T[/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]he start relay is inside the box attached to the side of the compressor. Unplug the freezer and remove the cover off the side of the compressor. Since this freezer is old it may have a coil relay. You can check it with an ohmmeter but you don’t have one and a new relay is probably cheaper than an ohmmeter so just try the relay and if it doesn’t work the compressor is bad. If you don’t see coil of wire for the relay it is a solid-state relay and it will rattle when you shake it if it is bad.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]The fact that the outside case is starting to get warm points more toward sealed system problem because the case getting warm indicates that the it is cooling some. Which means that the compressor is running and it is just not cooling well. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
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[COLOR=#000000][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] Hope this helps! Manual Defrost Freezer Repair Guide[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Thank YOU APP MAN very much! I need to hit the rack for an early day tomorrow… I will chk on some if not all points tomorrow after my work day (which never really ends does it? 
I will chk out the link at the bottom of your post!
Can a sealed system be replaced for cheaper than a new chest?
Thank you again Sir
: DD
and for the VERY quik reply!
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman]NO, I don’t think it would be worth it to repair the sealed system. Compressors cost too much and since it is old I am sure it take R-12 refrigerant, which is expensive. If it is low on gas you would probably have a hard time finding the leak. [/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]