Benefits of a frost free fridge

• Low maintenance. This is perhaps the best advantage of these freezers. Since you won’t need to defrost them they will save you physical effort and time. As compared to the traditional freezers, you will not have to allow the unit to thaw out. Manually defrosting Bosch frost free fridge freezer is not only a labour intensive process but also time consuming. With frost free fridge freezer you only need to clean the storage area once every year.

• No frost damage. Since frost free fridge freezers prevent ice crystals from forming, the stored food will be free of frost. More so, by wrapping the food items in plastic coated freezer paper, polythene baggies and heavy duty aluminium foil you’ll greatly protect your food from further damage. Also, the lack of frost build up means that the food packages won’t stick together and the labels will remain clear.

• Storage space. Because frost will not build up it means that you’ll not lose the total volume and area of your storage space.

• Even temperature regulation. Unlike the traditional fridge freezer models, controlling and maintaining the temperature of a small frost free fridge freezer is very easy. Once you know the basics everything else becomes very easy.

How a frost free fridge freezer works

Whether you have an aged fridge or one of those small refrigerators, you must have known about the frost that accumulates around the coils of the freezer. If allowed to build up the frost can become even 6 inches thereby occupying the entire place used to put things. When the water vapor hits the cold coils, it condenses and turns into liquid water which then changes into frost. For an Indesit frost free fridge freezer to work it must have three important parts namely a coil, timer and temperature sensor. After every six hours, the timers turn on the coil which is wrapped next to the coils.

Once the heater has melted off all the ice, the temperature sensors will sense that the temperature is rising more than 32 degrees and the heater will be turned off. Heating the coil after every 6 hours not only cools the food stored but also removes energy through temperature changes. Due to this, most huge freezers need manual defrosting

How to defrost a frost free fridge freezer

Although it may sound weird, even the cheapest frost free fridge freezer needs defrosting. While all freezer and fridges produces ice, on frost free this icing is always on a evaporator. As gasses are pumped through the appliance and air is blown past the cold evaporator, the evaporator is often cooled by the gasses. After some time, the buildup of ice may prevent the air passing through the evaporator thereby causing the freezer to defrost.

When the frost free fridge freezer is working this is usually achieved by the timer circuit turning on the heater attached to the evaporator to melt and turn off the compressor. As a soon as the device realises that the ice has been cleared, the compressor will start again and the circle will be continue. The water produced by the melting ice will drain through the back and the heat from the compressor will evaporate. In some instances, the ice may not completely clear hence preventing air circulation. At first full defrost may clear this but if it continues to happen, then it means there may a problem.

Since some ice is likely to remain behind, sometime may be needed for it to clear up completely. In such cases, you need to clear up the freezers by removing all the food containers, switch it off and leave the door open for at least 36 hours to ensure that the ice inside has defrosted. You may also speed up this process by using a bowl of warm water and closing the steamer or the door. However, you need to avoid using heat guns as they are likely to destroy the lining of the fridge.

How to trouble shoot frost fridge freezers

Generally speaking most problems in fridge and freezers are very easy to diagnose and repair by simply replacing the faulty parts. However, because of how they operate frost fridge freezers are a bit complicated. When it comes to trouble shooting a white frost free fridge freezer, you need to ensure that everything is working well. All the relevant components should be in a good working order.

Door seals. It’s very important to carefully examine both the refrigerator and the door seals. Make sure you close the door and carefully examine all the four corners and the sides to ensure that it’s compressed and making full contact with the sides. If you realise that there are any signs of wear or cracks, you need to replace both seals.

Duct. The duct from the freezer compartment leading to the refrigerator compartment can become in blocked with ice. First, you need to remove the screws securing it and ensure that no ice is blocking it and that the diffuser flap is moving freely. Next, reinstall the duct and close the door so that the refrigerator can cool down. Once the compressor starts working, you need to open the door, hold your hand over the outlet and confirm if cold air is blowing out.

Evaporator fan. Built at the back of Zanussi frost free fridge freezer, the evaporator fan normally blows cold air from freezer into the fresh food section through a duct attached to the back wall. The defrost thermostat is usually used to control power of both the compressor and evaporator fan by turning them on and off during the defrost circle. By either holding your hand over the cold air outlet or listening to it you can tell whether the fan is working or not. If the compressor is running but the fan is not working then it must have burned out hence should be replaced.

Defrost heater. Before carrying out this test, you must ensure that your freezer is unplugged. First, you should locate the thermostat on top of the evaporator and then set your analogue or digital multitester to the lowest ohms of resistance. If your slim frost free fridge freezer has an analogue meter then turn the adjusting knob until it reads zero. In case the readout shows a resistance between zero and 50 ohms, it means the heater is good. However, if it’s not moving then the heater is damaged hence needs to be replaced.

Mechanical defrost timer. To carry out this kind of diagnosis you must froze down the freezer and encrust the evaporator with ice. Next, you need to expose the evaporator coil by unplugging the refrigerator before removing the upper and the lower panels from the back wall of the refrigerator section and the freezer compartment. Once you’ve located the defrost timer you need to inset a screw driver into the slot and turn the screw so that the timer is opposite the defrost mode. Finally, locate the defrost heater behind the bottom of the evaporator. If it’s working it will glow red hot red and start emitting the ice. But if it fails to heat up then it means that either the heater or the timer is bad and must be replaced.

Thermostat. Open the refrigerator doors while it’s still unplugged and allow the interior to warm up to 30 degrees or above. Unclip the thermostat and then place it in a glass of cold water having ice cubes for at least 3 minutes. This is to allow its bimetal contacts to flex and mad make contact with each other. Next touch the black probe and the red probe of one of the terminals while checking the readout. If the readout is zero then the thermostat is in a good working order. However, if it does not change significantly then it’s in bad working order.

5 mistakes to avoid when shopping for the best frost free fridge freezer

Buying the wrong style. While most upright frost free fridge freezers may be large boxes, they are not monolithic. They usually come in a range of sizes, shapes and designs with each style having its specific weaknesses and strengths. Although some cost less they will not provide you with all the features that you need. You therefore need to avoid buying the wrong style. From upright frost free fridge freezers to cheap silver frost free fridge freezers, a variety of freezers are currently in the market. As a matter of fact some are even 4 drawer frost free fridge freezer.

Forgetting to check the fit- Regardless of what fridge style you choose you need to make sure that it fits well on the spot that you want to put it in. This means you must measure the dimensions of your old fridge and compare it with the replacement. Whether you are choosing a frost free fridge freezer 500mm wide,, frost free fridge freezer 160cm high or frost free fridge freezer 135cm high, the replacement fridge should generally be smaller or identical to your current mode.

Not accounting for capacity and storage. Since no refrigerator owner is the same, you need to choose an appliance that suits your needs. Ensure that you shop for an appliance that has plenty of space for you to keep everything that you wish to keep.

Discounting finish and colour. Just like other features the appearance of your fridge is also a very important consideration. Apart from the functions and other features, a frost free fridge freezer’s exteriors can significantly affect the decor of the freeze. If you poorly pick the best cheap frost free fridge freezer, it’s likely to clash with its surrounding and give your kitchen a cluttered and even a random aesthetic. As long as your room has a neutral colour, your fridge should serve as the focal point of your kitchen.

Allowing the small things to slip- This is also another mistake that one might make when shopping for the best frost free fridge freezer 500 mm wide. Before you commit to buy one you need to ensure that you consider all the small features that might later on affect your choice.