Everything else seems frozen. Ice is .... ice, not wet/damp.

I understand Ice Cream has a lower freezing point that most other stuff. It seems I have an issue with my freezer.

Vacuumed/Blew out the coils a few days ago and cleaned the fan, etc everything I could with the vacuum and compressed air. I can hear the unit/fan cycle on and off.

Fridge seems to be fine.

Tried to adjust the freezer setting colder but that did not change anything.

Any suggestions?

Either the defrost cycle is going too long or you are low on freon, assuming the fans are working.

Generally, most fridges will cool the freezer then steal air from the freezer for the fridge. Newer fridges have 2 compressors/zones, so not the same. So if the freezer isn't getting cold it can be:

• not physically cooling (low freon, bad compressors, bad fans)
  
• leaking too much (moving lots of air from one zone to another or door open/leaking)
  
• prevented from cooling (coils frozen over)
  
• electronics going nuts (defrost cycle started, but didn't stop)
  

You might pull out the contents and defrost the freezer. Let it warm up, melt and then plug it back in.

Ice cream needs to be about 0F to harden. You can make ice cream below 32F, but it will be more of 'soft serve', not really ice cream. Slimy, wet ice is an indication you are sitting at 32F; you probably have frozen coils.

~egon

I don't have a spare fridge to run a manual defrost of the whole fridge/freezer.

Most people don't. Wait until it's shopping day or use a few spare coolers.

My dad's not to far away and has a 2nd fridge. I'll bring everything to his house and let it defrost for 24-hours.

It basically started when I was given a bunch of meat from an uncle who works at a meat packing plant. Filled the freezer pretty full with hamburger, beef, steak, etc. I noticed about a week later the ice cream was not as hard as normal, so I turned down the temp. We've used up some of the meat he gave us (and gave half to my sister) so the freezer is 'back to normal' so to speak.

I'll try the defrost, and if that does not do it I'll try to replace the temp. control module. It's $40 at a local appliance parts warehouse. The more I read online the more I think that's it.

If that doesn't work, I'll have to call a repair man b/c I do not have the tools to check the Freon levels.

The fridge is plenty cold though.

How cold is "plenty cold" in the fridge?

For most units, the freezer temperature control is just a diverter. It shifts more/less cold air to the freezer section. The main temperature control for the refrigerator is the one that actually makes the unit colder.

Put a thermometer in both sections.

I put ice cream in our side by side up high near the ice maker - that's where the cold air enters that section.

quote:

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How cold is "plenty cold" in the fridge?

For most units, the freezer temperature control is just a diverter. It shifts more/less cold air to the freezer section. The main temperature control for the refrigerator is the one that actually makes the unit colder.

Put a thermometer in both sections.

I put ice cream in our side by side up high near the ice maker - that's where the cold air enters that section.

---

If the ice cream is not to temp but the rest of the product is. It has to do with airflow blockage. When you fill the freezer and prevent the air from passing through the shelving system the lower part will not receive the coldest air. This can be changed by putting the ice cream on top.

This happens at my house occasionally when we make our quarterly big food purchases and stock up. It always resets itself after some of the food disappears.

We did have lots of food when we got all the beef from the relative, but the freezer load is back to normal now and we still have issues with the ice cream. I did try moving the ice cream up top but no change.

When I unplugged it this morning to check the EVAP (it was fine) I never heard the compressor kick on when I plugged it back in - which lead me to the start relay. Local appliance shop has a replacement kit but not open today. Messed with it, took it off, found the parts online, put it back on, put an extra fan behind the fridge (compressor was warm) plugged in the fridge and I heard the compressor come on. So I shook whatever loose.

I'm going to get the replacement kit tomorrow b/c I'm sure it will crap out again.

One 'cheap trick!' you can do is have a digital thermometer outside the freezer you can see. My folks have a standing deep freezer (not frost free). Whenever they go into the room, they check it. You can see the temperature start to creep up and know when it is time to defrost.

With the freezer, you can see if it is running but not getting to the right temperature that things need to be looked at. I know my parent's one is a simple one-line display LCD with a long wire probe. Might look into something like that.

~egon

well, after talking to the parts store, they do not have the relay in stock. He asked what was going on and said it's likely NOT the relay as the entire unit would be warm. He said before I buy any parts, clean the door seals.

I also called a local appliance repair shop and told him was was going on. After I described everything, he said I likely have a sealed system problem (loosing Freon!). They do not work on that part of the system, but gave me the name of a shop that does. He did not think the defroster was stuck "on". He said I should have frost over the entire EVAP coil, not just small amount on the top/bottom. That will not be a cheap fix as it's either the compressor side or the EVAP side which could quickly get into the $3-$400 range.

I called the shop he gave me and I'm waiting on a call back. Awesome...just what I wanted was to buy a new fridge. Of course, I just spend $75 on a new ice maker that had been broken for several years (just never got round to fixing)!!! RRRRRRR

Not to mention put a deposit on a 3rd car for the boys and my printer has crapped out at home.

All fixed. There was a small leak. The tech put the gauges on and said the pressure was low, but not as low as he expected which is good b/c the leak was likely small. Added some UV dye and sealant refrigerant.

Freezer stays between 0F - 7F for the last few days. Fridge is ~38F.

Installed a new start relay as maintenance. Tech (and appliance forums) said they go bad after 7-8 years. He charged me $35 for the part (it's $50 at sears parts direct) and nothing for the install.

Total bill was $285.