(doomed to) keep buying freezers that buzz / make loud noise and supposedly can't be returned.

chris_22

This is a weird one. Long explanation for a simple problem, sorry.

I refused to buy any electronics from Very again because I found that they refused refunds point blank if you admitted to having turned an electrical item on (whether I could lie that I didn't is not the point). I wanted to return a TV that made a loud buzzing noise years ago and got refused but I forgot what happened and how it was resolved, if at all. So I chose Argos this time. I bought an undercounter freezer and couldn't find much information on it except some people were saying in reviews when I had been researching ALL freezers that some freezers were noisy which I didn't know was possible. Still, now, all I can find was a claim that all fridges, and the two I ended up buying, are around 30 to 40 decibel as far as the sound levels. This means apparently just above a whisper and nearly conversation level which doesn't make any sense to me, and as it turns out, in fact is not true. 

So I bought one and plugged it in and it immediately started to hum loudly with a fan for about 3 hours which was really worrying. Then it stopped and went silent. LOVELY. But then the loud noise came on every hour for 20 minutes which is far too much. I did time it and this is the pattern it settled into. Within 2 days and having just watched it be noisy and cold, and nothing else, I had obviously decided this is just how it works, and tried to start a return. But Argos refused to take it back despite not disclosing that the device went from completely SILENT to making a loud noise then switching off and on and so on. Eventually they took it back after I said I would sue them (which I would have, but don't have time for, or the storage space for). Apparently they took it back under the "it seems to be faulty" (to me) clause, which I am not happy with because I told them I don't think it's faulty (and I was worried it would be sent back to me, as reviews of this device say it is so noisy you can hear it 2 rooms away, but they are not on the Argos website)., I think it was undisclosed noise or noise patterns and behaviour and I was misled into buying it. This is especially a problem if I ever got another unexpectedly noisy item, which it turns out I did, right after this, the replacement freezer.

So I had already bought a replacement and didn't expect Argos to say no to the return and began to get worried that the next one would make noise too but it was too late. Then I had a choice to either connect it and go through the same problem again, or just send it back and never know, and have no freezer ever, and I needed a freezer, so I plugged it in.

The second one I bought from them, was without a fan, to my knowledge, as after reading lots of reviews it seems the frost free ones (means you don't need to defrost it for those who don't know) seemed to be causing people the most problems with noise, and it made sense that a fan would cause a noise as opposed to a freezer generally. So I concluded it must be that and I am safe. But I wasn't.

The new one had no indication that it hummed, buzzed, had anything switch on and off, or why a freezer would emit any loud noises at all, or even any noise generally, this is news to me. I have never had a noisy freezer and have never seen or heard of one...

So I plugged in the new one and to my horror it made a loud noise immediately, but a different kind, worse actually imo, and this kept up for around 3 hours just like the first one, then it went off and went silent and I was relieved. I guess they need to power up to fully frozen or something and I stopped worrying. But no, this one is even worse.

I was really disturbed because I didn't want the same thing to happen and I can't be buying freezers and having huge white goods delivered then sent back and forwards like some tshirt, not to mention that they do not let you return electrical items and this seems to be common if not the rule for all these companies, so by turning one on trying to find out if it buzzed, I would somehow have to keep it even if the answer is yes.  

I have had it on for a few hours now and every 10 to 15 minutes (I timed it) the thing starts to emit a very piercing high pitched noise for 4 or 5 minutes, then there is a loud click and it suddenly stops and goes silent. Then as stated within 15 minutes it comes back on again. It is driving me completely mad and extremely upsetting. Now I am thinking I would have been better off with the first one. Not to mention you had some extra benefit for putting up with the noise (the non defrost aspect). As annoying as a loud fan is, and it was, and to last for 20 minutes at a time, I really cannot tolerate this extremely weird noise. It's like feedback from a mic. And needless to say I don't think it's faulty either. 

 I have told people I know who are shocked that a freezer would make any noise at all, and tell me theirs doesn't and it shouldn't. Google searches show results for broken freezers... finding out what's wrong if it buzzes or hums or makes weird noises. Nothing at all about how modern freezers make noise. Does anyone know if this is even a thing that I just don't know about?

Both freezers were and are silent when they are not making the louder noise. I have no idea what's going on.

Even if the companies accept them back, even 5 in a row, no questions asked, that won't work and I still won't know how to actually buy a new freezer that is suitable because evidently none of the companies are being honest about what type of noise, if any, and how often, the device makes. It isn't even true about the decibels, because it keeps turning on and off, so it is silent then noisy. That is not okay with me, but then again neither would one which constantly buzzed. However I think that should need to be disclosed beforehand too.

So I am mainly concerned with how I confidently buy a product that will not buzz??

And how do I get around the returns that falsely claim you have "used" it if you have turned it on? It's more like trying on an outfit obviously. If I had used the freezer I would have put food in it etc.  And if they are not going to be honest and tell me it repeatedly starts making a loud noise then goes totally silent, I have no choice but to discover that for myself, which is not possible. Also if I paid £5000 for some top of the range freezer that still might buzz. 

My tall fridge freezer would make a "brr" rattle noise maybe once every night or so often for literally 4 seconds and not loud but that's it. This is truly bizarre imo. It's more like there is some generator noise. I am not sitting listening to something with a generator noise running or constantly going on and off. 

Do you also know who I could contact to report this and or get help to seek out a non buzzing freezer because like I said, I can't buy 7 and have them all delivered by a 2 man carry system, to try them all out and see if one is quiet. 

Also, I don't know how well they work but I used an app of a supposed decibel measurer. The first freezer was silent as I say, which somehow showed at 30db. This was the noise level all throughout the house with nothing making any audible noise. When the fan came on it went up to around 37db. I accidentally walked with it to the opposite end of my house and saw that my house was around 30db as stated, but when a large vehicle rumbled past on the road outside, it shot up to around 37 just like the freezer. So basically my freezer is making the same noise as a truck driving past the house, and does so every so often, both of them for at least 20 minutes out of every hour. That is ridiculous and was not disclosed. Nobody is going to buy a freezer whose sound levels are the equivalent to a truck going past your house 1 to 4 times per hour. Sorry if that sounded angry or repetitive, it's not supposed to be, it was quite long and I tried to edit it but I give up.. I am mainly trying to state my legal points. Is it probably the case that I will have to take one of the companies to court over this? No doubt people probably think that's the wrong idea. It just seems very odd and shady to me and I don't think they should be able to do this to people so I was wondering how it could be sorted properly for others too. 

If you know a freezer that doesn't make noise or how to find one, please suggest! I am not even sure what the noise can be other than a fan. I saw something mentioned about a compressor which I am about to google..    Thanks 

Sandtree

The noise you are hearing is the compressor and all items that offer cooling have one.

Fridges/Freezer etc are just like ovens their electronics are not set up to create a steady state of X degrees but instead oscillate around the target temperature. So when it hits temp the compressor/element turns off until the temp starts to rise/fall and then it turns back on again. How often it switches on/off will depend on how close it attempts to stay on target, the temp of the room, how much breathing space the appliance has etc etc. Obviously when you first turn it on then it'll be running much more trying to get down to temp.

Many manufacturers list the db of the appliance when running and generally speaking the higher spec models are quieter. Secondly, where are you placing the device? Does it have good clearance all way round or is it an under counter unit etc so wedged in?  Is the setup possibly acting like an echo chamber and therefore amplifying/concentrating the sound? Are you replacing an existing freezer that was there or is this a new thing for you?

Mnoee

Just checking you're leaving them to stand for 24hrs after delivery?

There's coolant and stuff in them and if you don't let it sit in place for anywhere from 4-24hrs (depending on the style and how it's been transported) then it can lead to problems like noisiness. They usually have a sticker/instructions and since you didn't mention this step in your lengthy post, I figured I'd ask. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

If you buy at a distance (online, click and collect with payment online, over the phone) then you have the right to cancel your contract within 14 days beginning the day after delivery. 

The retailer may impose a deduction for excessive handling but only if they provide the required information via durable means.

Argos deliberately mislead customers about their rights by stating goods must be new, unopened etc. Just don't buy from them again.

Best bet is go to a store like Currys and see if they will plug one in for you. You then have the option to buy in store or try again online for model you liked in store.

Hasbeen

chris_22 said:

This is a weird one. Long explanation for a simple problem, sorry.

I refused to buy any electronics from Very again because I found that they refused refunds point blank if you admitted to having turned an electrical item on (whether I could lie that I didn't is not the point). I wanted to return a TV that made a loud buzzing noise years ago and got refused but I forgot what happened and how it was resolved, if at all. So I chose Argos this time. I bought an undercounter freezer and couldn't find much information on it except some people were saying in reviews when I had been researching ALL freezers that some freezers were noisy which I didn't know was possible. Still, now, all I can find was a claim that all fridges, and the two I ended up buying, are around 30 to 40 decibel as far as the sound levels. This means apparently just above a whisper and nearly conversation level which doesn't make any sense to me, and as it turns out, in fact is not true. 

So I bought one and plugged it in and it immediately started to hum loudly with a fan for about 3 hours which was really worrying. Then it stopped and went silent. LOVELY. But then the loud noise came on every hour for 20 minutes which is far too much. I did time it and this is the pattern it settled into. Within 2 days and having just watched it be noisy and cold, and nothing else, I had obviously decided this is just how it works, and tried to start a return. But Argos refused to take it back despite not disclosing that the device went from completely SILENT to making a loud noise then switching off and on and so on. Eventually they took it back after I said I would sue them (which I would have, but don't have time for, or the storage space for). Apparently they took it back under the "it seems to be faulty" (to me) clause, which I am not happy with because I told them I don't think it's faulty (and I was worried it would be sent back to me, as reviews of this device say it is so noisy you can hear it 2 rooms away, but they are not on the Argos website)., I think it was undisclosed noise or noise patterns and behaviour and I was misled into buying it. This is especially a problem if I ever got another unexpectedly noisy item, which it turns out I did, right after this, the replacement freezer.

So I had already bought a replacement and didn't expect Argos to say no to the return and began to get worried that the next one would make noise too but it was too late. Then I had a choice to either connect it and go through the same problem again, or just send it back and never know, and have no freezer ever, and I needed a freezer, so I plugged it in.

The second one I bought from them, was without a fan, to my knowledge, as after reading lots of reviews it seems the frost free ones (means you don't need to defrost it for those who don't know) seemed to be causing people the most problems with noise, and it made sense that a fan would cause a noise as opposed to a freezer generally. So I concluded it must be that and I am safe. But I wasn't.

The new one had no indication that it hummed, buzzed, had anything switch on and off, or why a freezer would emit any loud noises at all, or even any noise generally, this is news to me. I have never had a noisy freezer and have never seen or heard of one...

So I plugged in the new one and to my horror it made a loud noise immediately, but a different kind, worse actually imo, and this kept up for around 3 hours just like the first one, then it went off and went silent and I was relieved. I guess they need to power up to fully frozen or something and I stopped worrying. But no, this one is even worse.

I was really disturbed because I didn't want the same thing to happen and I can't be buying freezers and having huge white goods delivered then sent back and forwards like some tshirt, not to mention that they do not let you return electrical items and this seems to be common if not the rule for all these companies, so by turning one on trying to find out if it buzzed, I would somehow have to keep it even if the answer is yes.  

I have had it on for a few hours now and every 10 to 15 minutes (I timed it) the thing starts to emit a very piercing high pitched noise for 4 or 5 minutes, then there is a loud click and it suddenly stops and goes silent. Then as stated within 15 minutes it comes back on again. It is driving me completely mad and extremely upsetting. Now I am thinking I would have been better off with the first one. Not to mention you had some extra benefit for putting up with the noise (the non defrost aspect). As annoying as a loud fan is, and it was, and to last for 20 minutes at a time, I really cannot tolerate this extremely weird noise. It's like feedback from a mic. And needless to say I don't think it's faulty either. 

 I have told people I know who are shocked that a freezer would make any noise at all, and tell me theirs doesn't and it shouldn't. Google searches show results for broken freezers... finding out what's wrong if it buzzes or hums or makes weird noises. Nothing at all about how modern freezers make noise. Does anyone know if this is even a thing that I just don't know about?

Both freezers were and are silent when they are not making the louder noise. I have no idea what's going on.

Even if the companies accept them back, even 5 in a row, no questions asked, that won't work and I still won't know how to actually buy a new freezer that is suitable because evidently none of the companies are being honest about what type of noise, if any, and how often, the device makes. It isn't even true about the decibels, because it keeps turning on and off, so it is silent then noisy. That is not okay with me, but then again neither would one which constantly buzzed. However I think that should need to be disclosed beforehand too.

So I am mainly concerned with how I confidently buy a product that will not buzz??

And how do I get around the returns that falsely claim you have "used" it if you have turned it on? It's more like trying on an outfit obviously. If I had used the freezer I would have put food in it etc.  And if they are not going to be honest and tell me it repeatedly starts making a loud noise then goes totally silent, I have no choice but to discover that for myself, which is not possible. Also if I paid £5000 for some top of the range freezer that still might buzz. 

My tall fridge freezer would make a "brr" rattle noise maybe once every night or so often for literally 4 seconds and not loud but that's it. This is truly bizarre imo. It's more like there is some generator noise. I am not sitting listening to something with a generator noise running or constantly going on and off. 

Do you also know who I could contact to report this and or get help to seek out a non buzzing freezer because like I said, I can't buy 7 and have them all delivered by a 2 man carry system, to try them all out and see if one is quiet. 

Also, I don't know how well they work but I used an app of a supposed decibel measurer. The first freezer was silent as I say, which somehow showed at 30db. This was the noise level all throughout the house with nothing making any audible noise. When the fan came on it went up to around 37db. I accidentally walked with it to the opposite end of my house and saw that my house was around 30db as stated, but when a large vehicle rumbled past on the road outside, it shot up to around 37 just like the freezer. So basically my freezer is making the same noise as a truck driving past the house, and does so every so often, both of them for at least 20 minutes out of every hour. That is ridiculous and was not disclosed. Nobody is going to buy a freezer whose sound levels are the equivalent to a truck going past your house 1 to 4 times per hour. Sorry if that sounded angry or repetitive, it's not supposed to be, it was quite long and I tried to edit it but I give up.. I am mainly trying to state my legal points. Is it probably the case that I will have to take one of the companies to court over this? No doubt people probably think that's the wrong idea. It just seems very odd and shady to me and I don't think they should be able to do this to people so I was wondering how it could be sorted properly for others too. 

If you know a freezer that doesn't make noise or how to find one, please suggest! I am not even sure what the noise can be other than a fan. I saw something mentioned about a compressor which I am about to google..    Thanks 

You may have sensitive hearing that hears "noise" etc at frequencies others cannot hear.

i would suggest speaking to your GP to get referred to a specialist.

chris_22

Hasbeen said:

You may have sensitive hearing that hears "noise" etc at frequencies others cannot hear.

i would suggest speaking to your GP to get referred to a specialist.

You think I need to go to my GP because I have excellent hearing? I already know that.
 What do you want him to do, make me deaf? 
The reviews on the other site say it cane be heard 2 rooms away. Next time you want to insult someone on here, don't bother. It didn't work.

JHW1942

chris_22 said:

Hasbeen said:

You may have sensitive hearing that hears "noise" etc at frequencies others cannot hear.

i would suggest speaking to your GP to get referred to a specialist.

You think I need to go to my GP because I have excellent hearing? I already know that.
 What do you want him to do, make me deaf? 
The reviews on the other site say it cane be heard 2 rooms away. Next time you want to insult someone on here, don't bother. It didn't work.

If your hearing isn't overly sensitive, you certainly are.  Hasbeen's suggestion was a perfectly reasonable one.  We all have varying ranges of frequency reception.  Young people for instance can hear frequencies that older people cannot hear as they age.  It's entirely plausible that you are able to hear frequencies most people can't hear, there's no need to take offence at the suggestion. 

chris_22

Mnoee said:

Just checking you're leaving them to stand for 24hrs after delivery?

Thanks I left it on for a good while without taking the mick, about 2 to 3 days. The first one was well over the time but it is a good point, I may as well leave it longer.

The newest one seems to be getting a little quieter unless I'm imagining it, so we'll see if it settles down more and it could be related to that. 

Thanks for reading the whole post LOL. 

 

chris_22

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

"Argos deliberately mislead customers about their rights by stating goods must be new, unopened etc. Just don't buy from them again."

I (clearly) thought as much. I did consider going to Currys but I was told they don't have them plugged in so didn't bother. It seems that may be the only way, but I supposed I'd have to stand there for an hour LOL! 

I already refuse to buy from Curry's sadly but I could make this exception. I already wanted to refuse to buy from Argos too but I ran out of places. So are you saying I can check them for buzzing and return? I don't know what durable means (in this context).It still doesn't change the fact they could all buzz so I will waste my time. 

chris_22

Sandtree said:

"The noise you are hearing is the compressor and all items that offer cooling have one."

"Obviously when you first turn it on then it'll be running much more trying to get down to temp."

"Many manufacturers list the db of the appliance when running and generally speaking the higher spec models are quieter." "Is the setup possibly acting like an echo chamber and therefore amplifying/concentrating the sound?" 

Thankyou for all the questions and the interest. This is a second / extra freezer (but one I need) so I am freaked out because it's making me think if the main one goes I'll have to replace it with one of these monsters. The main one (fridge freezer) doesn't make any noise at all and the new ones actually seem more quiet when they are not in buzz mode. That's why I'm totally baffled to hear one making noise. 

All I could see was that most of them were listed around 40db but like I said, that wasn't even true. Fluctuating from 30 to 40 is clearly a big deal, so they need to be more specific. As I said I wouldn't have put myself through the stress if it had said that the noise levels change suddenly, that's a clear warning sign that it makes a noise, buzz etc which I wasn't expecting. Nor could I figure out what sort of noise others were complaining about. I know there is a slight humm or hiss about fridges/freezers sometimes but I am talking about a clearly audible noise like a generator.

I can hear some little lower noises like gurgling or water trickling in the newest one but that doesn't bother me. 

As for position, the freezers were just left out in the middle of the kitchen because it was only being tested out. And it was still sitting on the foam it came on, so I figured this was a pretty good set up as far as absorbing vibrations etc? But I did wonder if I wedged it in it's cupboard space and maybe put some sort of foam or something I might be able to absorb some of the noise. 

It's good to know that spending more could potentially solve this problem. 

I just want to know for example, pay an extra £100 = no buzzing, that's fine by me, I'll do that. But it seems it's not that simple unfortunately. It really does have me worried about having to replace the main one as I'll have 2. Or if this is too stressful I'll have one and when the main one breaks I'll have none LOL. 

Ectophile

You aren't going to find a completely silent freezer.  They are cooled by a motorised compressor pump, which needs to run whenever the inside of the freezer is getting too warm.  This will run for some time when first plugged in, and intermittently after that all the time it's plugged in.

Not all freezers have a fan, though.

An expensive one may be quieter, but it still won't be totally silent.  You're either going to have to learn to live with it, or do without a freezer.