Thread: [FIXED] Stand up freezer not cooling

Is the fan running in the freezer?

If so, then you either a auto-defrost part bad or your compressor is going bad.

Ok, remove your lower back panel inside your freezer, its #25 here:
http://c.searspartsdirect.com/lis_pn...0038-00002.png

And look at your evaporator coils, and see if you have a thin layer of frost on ALL the coils. If you have too much frost to where you can barely see the coils, then its a auto-defrost part thats bad.

Also clear out all the ice in your drain trough(below the evaporator coils) with a hair dryer and hot water, then run something down the defrost drain hole, like a little rotor router snake.

I use a evaporator cooler spider snake:
http://www.azpartsmaster.com/Products/Cooler-Spider-Snake__CLR4690.aspx

They are used basically in Arizona to clean out the water pump tubes that run to the cooler pads.

I don't know if they would sell them in your area, but if you go to your local hardware store, they should have something similar to run down your drain to clean it completely out.

Let us know what you find.

Jake

OK, so here are my findings:

After removing all the food this morning, we unplugged the freezer so it's been powered off for about 12 hours at this point. After removing the inside panel, I saw that the entire drain and the drain gutter were covered in 0.5 inch of ice. After removing the ice and drying out the freezer, inside and out, I plugged it back into the wall outlet.
The fan is running, the compressor is quietly buzzing and the coils look very clean. After plugging it in, I can now see a very thin layer of frost on the coils.

I think it's cooling again and perhaps I should let it run through the night and see how it looks tomorrow.
Question is of course how all that ice build up in there. Where does that drain water usually flow to? One thing that did come to mind is that we recently moved. This freezer is now in the kitchen right underneath the AC vent. Since we placed it there, I always thought that there was more ice buildup on the products inside the freezer than there was before.

Update:
The ice cube tray I placed in the freezer last night after plugging it in contained solid frozen cubes, so the temperature inside is well below 32F again. However, the compressor and/or fan seem to be running constantly even when I have the temperature set to 2 (out of 9).

Could this be the auto-defrost part that needs replacing?

I also installed a different AC ceiling vent. This one does not blow directly on the freezer.

Thanks for any suggestions!

No, as long as you have a thin layer of frost on all the evaporator coils and its not caked-up with frost then your auto-defrost parts are fine.

The defrost drains can clog for various reasons, but as long as you cleaned it out fine, then no worries.

The AC ceiling vent may have played a role in this, so continue to let it run and see how it does. The compressor and fan will run alot more in the hot summer months.

Do you have a thermometer in the freezer? It would help to see what your temperature is in it.

This is the one I use in mine, you can order it here, or go to your local grocery, housewares, hardware store and buy this as well:
Thermometer



Jake

Thanks a bunch Jake for your help and tips. I'm going to get one of those thermometers.

Cleaning the drain seems to have resolved the issue. Freezer is turning on and off and keeping it's temperature constant

Excellent, glad to hear that.

Jake