no heater in my fridge!

[journeyman Mick]

Got a problem with my fridge, the heater wire that runs around the evaporator and through the drain trough underneath the evaporator is no longer working. Last week I painstakingly cleaned out the fridge (was a bit whiffy ) and took a heat gun to the ice in the drain. I assumed that the trough had iced up because it was blocked. I cleared the drain, pouring a bit of boiling water down it to make sure it was clear. Well, I checked the drain two days later and it's iced up again. I'm guessing that the element is shot. Rang up the agents and they want $99. I've had the fridge for about 10 years now and only paid $350 for it when I bought it 2nd hand. I really don't want to buy a new fridge at the moment (too much stuff happening at the moment) but $100 is more than I want to spend to fix it.

Anyone got any ideas? I was thinking of splicing in one of those flexible elements that are sold to keep homebrews rocking along in cold weather, but it's a pretty fat cable and would probably fill the trough completely.

Disclaimer: I'm not an idiot and know enough not to fry myself or anyone who will use the fridge. I'ts not illegal for me to carry out electrical repairs to any of my own appliances that are not hardwired.

Mick

[thatirwinfella]

try and check the continuity of the elemment between its ends, and between the rest of the electrical circuit. this will determine if the element is buggered or if it's a loose connection.

it could be a thermocouple that's stuffed. this will be a probe located near the element that triggers when it shall or shall not heat. i'm not sure how you'd go about testing these, we do it at work, but our lab is designed for this type of work.

the homebrew element seems like a good idea, but you'd need to keep an eye on how cold the fridge is as this is unlikely to turn itself off. you may need to move things around so that they are at the temp they should be... don't keep dairy near the element as it may encourage spoilage if it gets above 4 degrees.

i know you mentioned it, but i'll say it again for anyone else who'll try something like this... don't have the fridge plugged in. disconnect the plug from the socket.


on a less fun, more practical note, you may be able to hire a fridge from a rental outlet. it may cost less than $100 until you are able to get the replacement.

cheers, Adam

[Eddie Jones]

Maybe what I did with an old fridge years ago when the thermostat stopped working. Power it via a timer, then set the timer to turn off for 3-4 hours during the night. That way the ice doesn't get a chance to form. You do have to arrange for some sort of drip pan though.

Eddie

[Bleedin Thumb]

Its not a Fishy & Pikey is it? I had the same problem with mine. Well thats what I assumed it was. frosted back up after my painstaking clean and defrost.
I changed the cool setting to the warmest let the fridge run for a couple of days and slowly reset it so it was acceptable ( you might have to put the beers in the freezer for a few minutes before use).
No more problem. Except if the fridge doesn't close due to bad packing then it ices up again.
Does that wire carry a current or does it simply conduct heat picked up from the compressor motor? I must admit I didn't track mine down.

[journeyman Mick]

Bleedin,
yes, it's a fish pie, I'll try your method. Fingers crossed!

Eddie,
it's not the evaporator that's icing up, it's still cyclic defrosting or whatever it does, dumping water into the trough underneath it. Trouble is the water freezes up in the trough and then the overflow ends up in the bottom of the fridge. Amazing how quickly it smells "off", even though the fridge is clean.

Adam,
yeah, I know I should check the connections. Don't know about checking the continuity because I've got no idea what sort of resistance the element should have. I'm guessing that if the problem lies in the connections then they will be corroded or broken so easy to spot. Don't want to hire or buy one at the moment, could afford to buy, just don't want to deal withresearching the market, getting it home, swapping contents etc etc etc. Got a lot on my plate at the moment (serious family health issues )

Mick

Mick

[thatirwinfella]

this is all just a bit of a guess for the resistance, but i would it expect it would be a low value to allow a greater current [thus, more heat] to be conducted.

obviously, if you're getting an incredibly high value across the ends [like...infinity] then there is probably an open circuit.