Fridge Expert required-advice re manufacturers fault

hollydays

I shall try to cut a long story short,but if anyone can advise me-i can give more info.

We have a fridge labelled schreiber,though they are made by servis.(I have now established it was bought from MFI (Schreiber apparently went bust an were taken over by MFI?))
I had my own engineer out who told me the problem was a manufacturers fault-they forgot to drill the hole in the base to allow the defrosting water to drain out.
I then got directed to MFI extracare-the repairs division-not apparently famous for their good service ,who after several probs sent out a contract engineer who drilled a hole.
I have since been told by the original engineer,(who thought they would replace it) that the water drains below into some insulating material and between two layers of plastic,and the water evaporates.However,an this seems feasible,he reckons after about 6 months it is likely to start smelling like a drain.How can i find reports about these types of fridges.Have they been discontinued?Servis arent great quality i have been told.What should i do?

p4u1_2

From your description I assume the fridge has an auto defrost facility. This being the case, any water resulting from the fridge defrosting is collected inside the fridge and channeled via a plastic tube to a dish mounted above the compressor. The heat from the compressor helps the water evaporate.

If your fridge does not have anyway of channeling away the water then it certainly sounds like it's a design fault. Drilling a hole in the bottom of the refridgerated compartmnet is certainly not a good idea as the water will simply drain into the cavity and make the insulating material sodden. I would suggest blocking this hole before doing anything else. Then maybe you could do an internet search on the model number to see if there is anymore info on the web regarding this particular problem.

Hope this helps!

hollydays

Yes I think it constantly defrosts.But 2 engineers have said that the hole should be there!

p4u1_2

I do not believe they constantly defrost but stand to be corrected. What I can say is that the fridge compartment has a double skin which contains an insulating material. By making a hole in the inner skin the water will simply drain into the insulating material, and as there is little air circulating in this area the water will turn stale and start to smell. This cannot possibly be the correct solution to your problem.

Normally there is a channel somewhere below the ice box or cold plate which collects the water and channels it to the outside world. I do not think having a hole drilled in the bottom of the fridge is the correct solution and would believe what the first Engineer is telling you.

p4u1_2

Take a look at:
http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=14239&highlight=defrost+drain

Also:

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=33

hollydays

Wow thanks.I will post my question.The advice given there was what my engineer gave me over the phone,about unblocking the hole-then i checked and there was no hole.As you have said it is auto defrost.