Before you start to read through this article, the first rule to follow is that if you are able and prepared to carry out any maintenance on your appliance, please remember to disconnect your fridge freezer from the power source. This is a critical action as it may well save your life! Sounds dramatic but it is true, trying to repair any electrical appliance without disconnecting from the main supply is stupid in itself, but when you add in the possibility of water that you encounter in your fridge freezer it can become positively dangerous.
Unfortunately, manufacturers do not provide any kind of manual or instructions for you to follow when carrying out a repair. No amount of searching on the internet will help you either, so unless you are fully competent and confident in your ability, it would be a much safer option to call in the services of a qualified engineer. Although this will cost you more than if you did the work yourself, modern fridge freezers are not only complicated but also delicate, and it would be very easy for you to puncture the compartment wall or even the pipework. One of which could be terminal for your appliance, and the other could mean the expense of an engineer having to regas the unit for you.
Understanding the basic principles
In order for a frost free fridge freezer to operate, either free-standing or American style, the following needs to happen, otherwise it will fail to work:
- fans must be free of ice
- Airflow is able to circulate around the compartment to ensure food is correctly cooled, or frozen, depending on which action you require
The frost free fridge freezer works on the air circulating and chilling the food, as opposed to the falling air principle used by the non-frost free appliances. Read more here