Anyone know anything about fridges?

[marshbrewer]

The cable that went up to the thermostat had brown, blue and black wires. Closer inspection of the block and it had symbols for where to connect the neutral and earth, so it was just a case of which one was feeding the live to the thermostat. I went brown- brown in the logic that the black would be the compressor feed. Plugged it in, and when you turn the thermostat from 'off' to one of the levels, the compressor starts up, and switches of if you turn it back to 'off' so that all looks good. Left it on in the garage to see if it gets cold.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[marshbrewer]

Now it's not getting cold and the compressor doesn't seem to be running. There is definitely power to it as power led is lit on the front. And the compressor deffo cam on when I first plugged it in. Very odd.

 

[The Baron]

Whats the temp in your garage as some fridge freezers especially the older ones are not meant to be run in cold enviroment like garages. Just a thought it could be that

 

[marshbrewer]

Right, I've left a kettle full of hot water in there for a bit then plugged it in, and the fridge doesn't start. One last thing before I pronounce it dead, if I want to completely bypass the thermostat so it is full on, do I shift the live (brown) lead to the connector that the black lead that returns from the thermostat connects to - my logic being that this is live when the thermostat thinks the fridge needs to switch on, so connecting it to the live from the mains lead will mean it will be permanently on? That would tell me if the compressor was working, and if it was, I could control temp via the inkbird?

 

[eyuptm]

That's what I did (STC controller rather than Inkbird). Got a free fridge that wasn't cooling, but when the thermostat was bypassed, bingo- just switched the compressor from the STC... Happy days! Good luck, hope it works for you.

 

[clyne]

I’d agree with the baron here. I had a very similar issue recently with a 2nd hand fridge freezer ‘not working’ even though I knew it was working in previous sellers house. I keep mine in the garage, and after a bit of googling decided to disconnect the switch for the light inside in the fridge so it’s always on. It generates enough heat to trip the thermostat. A few hours later I had a frosty freezer and a cool fridge!

 

[marshbrewer]

Looks like that has worked - now, as soon as you plug it in the compressor kicks in. Yay! Its freezing here today, so I'll leave it switched off but it's due to warm up a bit later in the week and I'll wack it on then to check its actually cooling. Assuming it is, I think I can squeeze an STC1000 in the top bit where the on/off switch / thermostat control is and make a nice neat job of it, but before that I'll test it with one of my inkbirds.

Thanks for everyone's help and encouragement, much appreciated,

 

[Clint]

Just a thought....(!).. I've recently had s broken fridge freezer in the house and having cover in my appliances had someone out to fix it. After having it in bits and the new parts fitted the man switched it on. I thought it was still knackered as nothing happened but he said to wait half hour as some take that long to get going again after being off....sure enough 25 minutes later it sprang back to life.

 

[Dutto]

A "compressor" type of fridge needs to be left for at least 24 hours before it is switched on. The reason for this is that if it is laid on its side the liquid refrigerant may enter the compressor and (as liquid is not compressible) it will either burst the compressor seals or blow out a fuse as the compressor overloads by trying to run.

An "absorption" type fridge has to be to within four or five degrees of "level" or it won't function at all. Also, the three components within the fridge have to be in the correct position before the absorption process can work. A common fault (especially if the fridge has been transported on its side or upside down) is that it won't work until it has been left alone for at least 24 hours. If it doesn't work after 24 hours (and it is on a level surface) then ironically a cure can be found by turning the whole lot upside down for a few minutes and then let it settle for another 24 hour period before trying again.

Hope this helps.

 

[marshbrewer]

Had a chance to switch it on today after leaving the garage door open to let the sun warm it up a bit. Put a thermometer in the fridge and switched it on and it soon got good and cold. Yay! I can start building my Kegorator now.

 

[marshbrewer]

Aaarrrgh! So I was fiddling around at the top of my fridge to make room for the STC1000 and the capillary tube that is connected to the back of the (now unused) thermostat came off with a little 'pssss'

Is that the same gas that's in the refrigerator system, or is it just a separate capillary tube that uses gas expansion to adjust the thermostat? Have I just killed the fridge I've spent ages fixing?

 

[terrym]

In the absence of another reply my guess is that they are unconnected.

 

[Dutto]

......... thermostat came off with a little 'pssss'

......

Normally unconnected; plus if it was the refrigerant that was lost it would be more than "a little 'pssss' and more a long 'pssssssssssss' with some very cold liquid.

 

[marshbrewer]

Hurrah! I'm learning a lot about fridges!

 

[Clint]

Get that anorak ironed!

 

[The Baron]

Wasn't there a famous american footballer called the "Fridge" me thinks his name was William Perry from memory. That could be your new forum name jjsh - The Fridge Lol

 

[Clint]

Didn't he used to scoff 200 cheeseburgers at once in McDonald?

 

[The Baron]

Your New Avatar

 

[The Baron]

Didn't he used to scoff 200 cheeseburgers at once in McDonald?

Not sure Clint but he was a big B!$£^&d

 

[marshbrewer]

Mine is considerably bigger than that, fnar fnar.