Kitchen Garden Forum

Back after two weeks holiday - what a lot of posts to catch up with!

While I was away I visited my sister who has just bought a new frost free freezer and sited it in her garage, as you do. Soon after installation it developed a minor fault so she called in the engineer under warranty. He told her a frost free freezer should not be installed in a cold garage because if the temperature falls below 9C it will shut down and defrost all the food. I couldn't believe this so I contacted Hoover on her behalf. They have confirmed that this is true and both them and the seller have refused to swap it despite there being no such instructions either in the advertising before sale or in the manual that came with it. I believe they have sold a product not fit for purpose so I am still pursuing the matter.

This post is by way of a warning and a request to see if anybody else has heard of this and can perhaps explain it.

try phoning trading standards at the local council. they will probably be able to tell you which piece of legistlation to quote to the suppling dealer

Hope you had a good holiday Geoff, whats prison food like now.
Getting back to the freezer, there was a piece on the telly about this a couple of years ago, might have been watchdog.
Same sort of problem, people had bought a good quality freezer, put in there unheated utility room and were getting problems with it defrosting.
I can't remember the exact outcome, but i don't think it was very favorable.

Kind regards Old Herbaceous.

Theres no fool like an old fool.

As it was in Scotland there was porridge of course.

Thank you for bringing up this subject....We have a fridge freezer in the garage and have experienced the problem several times with resulting loss of produce.

A retailer customer of mine said that the siting in the garage was incorrect but offered no other helpful comments to resolve the situation.
I was wondering whether the problem could be that it was an upright unit and that changing to a chest freezer would make any difference

We have had two chest freezers in our garage for many years with satisfactory results. I believe that they don't like it too cold, something to do with the efficiency of the evaporator and it might cost more to run when it is struggling but not catastrophic.The term Frost Free is new to me.
There is a gadget you can buy that cuts the electricity consumption by 20%, I tested it carefully with a surplus household meter and the claim is justified. It makes a difference long term when every penny counts.
Allan

has anyone thought how a frost free fridge or freezer actually becomes frost free? we had a new frost free fridge a few years ago, as i remember it the destruction book said once in a while it turns off, lets the stuff inside warm up till the ice melts , the water then drains out onto a dish ontop of the motor unit where it is evaporated to the room. the ice in the first place comes from atmospheric moisture that is let into the cold cabinet every time the door is opened. so if one has a freezer which is opened to let warm moist air in it must make ice as that moist air is cooled, the only way that ice can be automatically got rid of is by allowing the cabinet (and the stored food) to warn up enough for the ice to melt to water and draining it out, which i would of thought was not a good idea for the long term storage of food?? or have i got it wrong?

Food for thought. My new fridge freezer that has gone in the kitchen. Has a warning that it should not be put into a steamy or hot atmosphere, so opposite problem! Also it should not be next to a wall or backed onto a wall. Where the H@@k else do you put a fridge freezer except backing onto a wall? Even if my kitchen was bigger (its tiny) I would not want a 6'6" thing in the middle of it would I! I have no-where else for this item. So will my 5 year warranty be invalid because I keep my fridge in kitchen?

Heard of the garage/utility problem before, you used to be able to buy appliances soley for keeping outside. When I had a big brick built shed, we also had an "outdoor" freezer. Dont know where youd get one from now though. I think the consumer should be made more aware. Let us know how it goes

We've come to a dead stop on this.
Suppliers last comment was "if you'd asked we would have told you" - why would you ask, freezers belong in cool places!
Manufacturer disclaims all responsibility.
"Watchdog" haven't replied.
Anybody any ideas?
Might try "You and Yours".

The only thing I can think of is to go on another forum and ask for help; I would try http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/for ... order=desc
this is part of the Martin Lewis money saving site. He's a great one for consumer rights etc so maybe you can get in touch with him too.

I too have had a freezer in the garage for many years but it was an old model and in those days they were not frost-free. Condensation did build-up on the outside. All you could buy mostly then was the big chests. Not so many people want them these days.

I still have my old 14.5 ft. cubic. chest but keep it indoors now. It's a pain to defrost but it is an old faithful friend.

Beryl.

Indeed, modern machines (ice free) do not like to be stored in cold/damp places, they WILL shut down.
The older appliances (less insulated) do not react as such.
No, the manufactures don't publish these facts.
Rip off Britain again I'm afraid.

Hi Geoff,
Are we talking about upright Freezers or Chest Freezers or both?
JB.

I would think both but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Beryl.

This thread may have stopped becuase you got satisfaction, if so well done.

Otherwise a few things occurred to me that may help

1 If the problem is caused by the motor/condenser being too cold (what else?) then maybe lagging it to keep it cosy will fool it into beliving it is indoors.

2 If you paid on a credit card I believe the card issuer is as liable as the retailer in these matters. Try appealing to them.

3 Call out the engineers at least one a week on a breakdown under warranty until they get the message.

4 If the appliance is 'broken' claim on insurance.

regards

David