Question for expert on how frost free fridge works?

martin57

Hi folks,

I have a frost free zanussi fridge freezer for some time now model zrb224nwo and have the problem that the water tray above the compressor fills up with water overflows and water goes on floor. This happens every 5-7 weeks or so and I use a sponge to soak water out of tray which leaves it ok for another 5 weeks or so.

I have called replairman out but he just had a quick look and says its an air circulation problem, With previous fridges I never had this problem though they were not frost free. There is a 7 inch gap between back of fridge and wall and 4 inch clearnace at top. The fridge is working fine otherwise.

1 how is the water supossed to evaporate with this kind of frost free freezer, does it just happen while the compressor is on, and from the heat of the compressor or is there a separate heating element to evaporate the water in tray?

2 any pointers to why this is happening greatly appreciated, btw no pipe inside back of fridge to let water drain from ice backplate as this fridge is not made this way.

Thank you for any help

martin57

Meepster

What kind of clearance do you have at the sides of the appliance?

Frost free freezers work in one of two ways:

1) Heating elements on the coils, which are typically timer operated. When they switch on, they melt any ice that has accumilated on the back of the freezer and this drips down onto the tray above the compressor, the heat given off by the compressor then evaporates this water.

2) A fan in the freezer blows air into the freezer, which removes the moisture in the air and prevents ice build up.

Both methods can have a negative effect on food in the freezer though, as they raise the temperature in the freezer and can "dry out" food that isn't properly sealed.

If there isn't sufficient ventilation space either side of the appliance, this could be causing the problem. With correct ventilation, the hot air escapes from the top, whilst cooler air is drawn in from below/the sides of the appliance, if the cooler air can't be drawn in, then to hot air will escape more slowly.

The other potential cause is that the compressor isn't working properly and therefore isn't enough heat being generated, although I would say this problem is less likely.

The amount of food you have in there will also have an effect on how efficient the appliance is working. Having a virtually empty or over full freezer will reduce the efficiency.

martin57

Thanks very much for replies. When I bought this fridge/freezer I probably just took it for granted because the old one seemed to get enough air circultaion that the new one would work ok too.

The left side of the fridge is fairly close to the wall maybe 1 inch of space, whereas the right side is close to the end cabinet in lower cabinets, above the worktop on the right side there is plenty of space but there is a overhanging unit about 4 inch above the fridge. It does say in the manual that ideal situation is to have no overhanging units but if there is one to have at least 4 inch which I have. I feel I could go to the trouble of removing the unit only to find that the problem still remains.

There does seem to be a bit of space between the top of the compressor and the water tray so maybe not enough heat to evaporate the water, but the tray does seem to be fitted properly.

The problem I have is that I have a fridge/freezer which if not faulty I had no idea whatsover that this problem could arise, and it doesn't even mention in the troubleshooting part of the manual about an overflowing water tray. I would consider myself to have a normal kitchen enviroment, since old fridges worked fine, and just wondering if I can't get this sorted out would zanussi maybe give me a different type of fridge or just stick to their guns?

thanks a lot again for all advice.
Martin57

27col

Hi there Meepster.The concept of having an overfull fridge escapes me. How does that work. A fixed volume can be empty,partly full or full, it cannot be overfull, surely. It is not logical to imply that a specific volume of container, (in this case, a fridge), can be overfilled.

Meepster

martin57 wrote: »

The problem I have is that I have a fridge/freezer which if not faulty I had no idea whatsover that this problem could arise, and it doesn't even mention in the troubleshooting part of the manual about an overflowing water tray. I would consider myself to have a normal kitchen enviroment, since old fridges worked fine, and just wondering if I can't get this sorted out would zanussi maybe give me a different type of fridge or just stick to their guns?

thanks a lot again for all advice.
Martin57

The problem is, frost free fridge freezers do need a slightly different enviroment to work properly, hence the extra ventilation space.

I would 100% say (considering I deal with the Electrolux group on a day to day basis) that Zanussi wont swap the appliance for you.

You need to create extra ventilation (You should have a MINIMUM of 25mm each side of the appliance for starters) to ensure the appliance can work efficiently.

Meepster

27col wrote: »

Hi there Meepster.The concept of having an overfull fridge escapes me. How does that work. A fixed volume can be empty,partly full or full, it cannot be overfull, surely. It is not logical to imply that a specific volume of container, (in this case, a fridge), can be overfilled.

Overfull definition:

Overfull \O"ver*full"\, a. [AS. oferfull.]
Too full; filled to overflowing; excessively full; surfeited.

It's a real word and a real concept

The appliances relies on a certain amount of variation from the maximum capacity to work efficiently (i.e. stop shoving fish fingers in the gaps between boxes lol)

martin57

Hi again,

I just increased the space between the back of fridge and back wall from 7 to 11 inch. The compressor is hot enough to touch but not so hot that you couldn't hold your hand on it, just wondering if this is normal?

thanks again
Martin57

Meepster

martin57 wrote: »

Hi again,

I just increased the space between the back of fridge and back wall from 7 to 11 inch. The compressor is hot enough to touch but not so hot that you couldn't hold your hand on it, just wondering if this is normal?

thanks again
Martin57

It's not so much the gap at the back, 5 or 6 inches should be plenty, it's the gap at the sides you need to make bigger.

And yes, it should be that hot that you can't keep your hand on it...

martin57

Thanks for replies. Just an update on this. I had the serviceman out today as its still under warranty.

He now says that its a heat transference problem as there is a space between water tray and compressor that you can easily push your hand in there. He is now going to get in touch with the Zanussi technical department to get further info as he says the tray should be directly on top of the compressor and that they might suggest that he might be able to silicon the tray to the top of the compressor.

I did ask since its a plastic tray should this cause the plastic tray to degrade over time but he says not.
If this solution works ok do you think I should be happy enough with it?
thanks a lot
Martin57