Has my fridge freezer had it, or is there life in the old dog yet?

~petal~

We bought our fridge freezer 10 years ago for £125. It has been great until the last few years when it seems to have got worse.
Sometimes you open it and the stuff at the top is ok but the stuff at the bottom (usually salad) is frozen, sometimes it is all a bit warmer than expected and everything is wet (a bit like when you leave it open for too long (but still icey at the bottom).
It gathers ice in one corner and it isn't obvious where from, I keep it clean and the drain at the back is clear, but still a large amount gathers.
Also on the back of the liner it has several large cracks and you can see a brown mark in the shape of the element where I assume it has burnt it somehow.

Is it likely to be dangerous (cracks, burning), is this repairable or am I going to have to replace it?

Any help would be appreciated.

onetruevoice

Hi There

I had a similar problem to my my fridge freezer and I am not sure how this worked but it did

I completely defrosted the freezer and cleaned it out. Make sure the seals are clean - I then left it to settle for 2 days with the power switched off and doors opened

Then, I restarted the fridge freezer and it worked

Secondly, I kept an eye on the thermostat in the fridge- if it starts to freeze, lower the dial a little.

Good luck

Onetruevoice

loracan1

Sometimes if the door's dropped it doesn't quite seal shut when you close the door, this'll alter the temperature which can cause ice which means you can't shut the door properly. And so on.

Have to be quite careful with my fridge door because it's easy to 'not quite' shut it completely. Especially with kids.

TiTheRev

Good advice ^

Just been through a similar barrage of trials with our fridge/freezer (but ours was beyond help!). However, we were advised by someone in the trade that I knew from school, that sometimes ice can block the vents that circulate the cool air, or even the fans that move it around, so you can get some very cool spots and some much warmer. A complete defrost on our frost free freezer (ice can still form in these!) still left a puddle on the floor but it was determined that the compressor had gone on ours and wasn't cost effective to repair compaired to a new unit.

~petal~

thanks everyone for your replies.
ours doesn't have anything as fancy as fans and vents (just and old bog standard FF), the seal is still in perfect condition and appears to shut properly. I don't think the door has dropped, it still fits perfectly flush.
The dial is now down to number 3, but if I turn any lower than that it doesn't keep everything else cool enough at the middle and top of the fridge.
I will try defrosting the freezer bit, but don't think I will be able to leave it off and open for a couple of days unless I wait until i go on holiday. In this weather I would have no other way of keeping things cold.

I am concerened that the burnt bit and cracks might be dangerous (leaking gases or heat coming through etc) not sure how these things work.

ormus

the gas is completely contained in the metal pipework and the heat exchanger coil at the rear.
unless that is punctured youll be safe enough.

~petal~

thanks ormus
don't think anything is punctured.
Is it likely the heat exchanger coil that has burnt the inside of the liner? Is that dangerous do you think? Is it likely to be interefering with the temperature of the fridge if it has burnt the liner?
Not sure if it has burnt out completely as haven't pulled it out for a look. it is only a small section the width of the fridge and about 8 inches high, so only part of the whole 'element thing' on the back.
Think I will get DH to pull it out and have a look at the back.