Fridge: can I fix it or do I need a new one?

Snakey

It's an LEC R5010W, 3.5 years old, fridge with freezer compartment.

When I got up yesterday morning the stuff in there just wasn't cold, and when I opened the ice box there was still ice but melting. I didn't have time to deal with it so I just shut the door again and by the time I got home from work it was all totally room-temperature.

The light still comes on so I haven't lost power, and I can hear clicks like the thermostat is trying to turn the fridge on, but there is no actual fridge-coming-on noise.

The only stuff in the instruction manual about "it doesn't work" is the noddy stuff about making sure there isn't a power cut and that it's switched on.

Any ideas? I recall it cost about £100 so if fixing it requires buying an expensive part plus tools (I own a hammer, a screwdriver, a spanner, and a selection of allen keys...) then it might just be less hassle to get a new one.

Thanks for reading!

spo2

Has it "blown" at the back? Is the back wall spongey? If so it is a problem with the gases and not fixable

EssexExile

Sounds like the compressor not starting. Could be simple, could be expensive if it's the compressor itself.

shaun_from_Africa

spo2 wrote: »

Has it "blown" at the back? Is the back wall spongey? If so it is a problem with the gases and not fixable

Why do you think that?
It could be something as simple as a broken or loose pipe in which case tightening or replacing it followed by re-gassing it will sort it out.
If it's the compressor, then again, this could be replaced but it might not be cost effective to do so.

Niv

we are talking about a fridge freezer that cost £100. To get someone in would cost that plus parts. Personally I would dump it and get another.


I have had the same symptoms myself in the past albeit with a much older machine, it just wasn't worth the money of getting someone in and I had / have no interest in trying to re-gas it by myself (if that's even a possibility). Also in my case, the age of the freezer also made me think 'if this part is going how long before something else goes'.

Snakey

OK, new one it is then.

I assume there's no second-hand market for fridges that theoretically could be fixed if you had the tools and knew what you were doing? Admittedly it's not an expensive model, but (other than the minor issue of it not working...) it's in pristine condition. It looks like it's going to cost around £15 to have someone take it away, on top of the £140-odd for a new one, so if I could give it away instead that would be great.

flashg67

Try local Facebook buy & sell or even Facebook 'free items' pages. If I leave stuff outside. it disappears quite quickly on the local scrap van

A.Penny.Saved

Thermostats are the commonest things to fail in my experience. They can last 5 to 7 years in my experience.

Just because you can hear noises which could be coming from the thermostat does not mean that it is working effectively. They are fairly inexpensive to replace usually less than £10. I swapped mine about 2 or so years back and it has worked okay ever since. You might be able to short the thermostat out so that it powers the compressor up. It that works then replace the thermostat.

spo2

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Why do you think that?
It could be something as simple as a broken or loose pipe in which case tightening or replacing it followed by re-gassing it will sort it out.
If it's the compressor, then again, this could be replaced but it might not be cost effective to do so.

Because this is what happened ours. The back wall had separated and was bulging forward due to the escaped gases behind and the back was spongey

http://www.justanswer.co.uk/appliance/89w50-hi-zanussi-integrated-fridge-freezer-warm-interior.html