Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

My upright has been icing up the last week or so. Yes, it's full. I was planning on defrosting it this weekend, but I went to get something and discovered the door slightly ajar and items starting to defrost, yet there is still ice and re-icing water. The seal gasket is clean and nothing is preventing the door from shutting, but the door won't form a vacuum or seal when it's pushed shut.

Do I just need to defrost it or am I losing gas?

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Try defrosting there is a good chance your problem will go away.
Sounds like too much ice build up..

Just a thought.

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

I had something similar earlier this summer.

According to the Sears Repair man. Had to let the whole thing, fridge and freezer thaw for a few hours. I sped this up with use of a fan.

I guess there's a channel or duct for the air to flow between fridge and freezer. Mine was plugged with ice.

My door gasket had a small wrinkle that he couldn't iron out. He just swapped the gasket around and put the wrinkled part near the top left where the hinge was. He said that's where the tightest part of the door is.

He mentioned something about wear and tear with too much weight on the doors.

Doesn't make any sense as to you not getting any seal though.

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Thanks, guys.... I bet I've got ice clogging something.

Chit. This is going to be fun. All the other freezers are full, too, so I guess I'm off to buy some dry ice. Luckily, I have a bunch of rice, flour and seasonings in this freezer. Since most of the meat is still frozen, I think I caught it in time to use the dry ice while I defrost it.

Meanwhile, I'll be cooking up some sausage and a big ol' ham if you guys are hungry later... :biggrin:

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Or DUCT TAPE!!!

http://ruralmomof3.wordpress.com/200...oor-wont-seal/


:23_30_104:

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Goes great with the ski mask and water pistol in my car trunk. :sarc:

I had the same problem with my freezer last fall, I was able to wait for a below freezing morning and stick everything outside while I defrosted with a forced hot air heater (in the garage).

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

I should be so lucky.

Georgia. August. Par for the course.

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Defrost first, the ice buildup can easily block the air flow from the expansion coils - this can set up a cycle where the compressor works harder and longer to overcome the increasing ice buildup.


If you want certainty, then place a few (lit) candles (using precautions not for start a larger fire) inside, close the door, return in the morning - odds are that if the candles are still lit - you are not getting the airtight seal you need.

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

ImaCannin - exactly what I do! I rarely actually use the freezer food, prefer fresh stuff - so a little ratchet strap does the job until I can be bothered defrosting it.:applause_

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Without defrosting it can make the compressor work way harder and that is not good for the life of the freezer.

Also the freezer may not cycle like it should and end up running all the time..

Runs all time=Higher elect bill

Runs all time=Shorter compressor life

IMHO

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Oh - empty your freezer into a basket or something, insulate it with blankets, whatever you have. Then boil up all the pots you can fit in the freezer, fillit with boiling water pots and it will defrost in no time.
Better than my dad's method of "chisel off the ice with a screwdriver", which ended up piercing a cooling pipe, and a new freezer as a result.:biggrin:
My mother was delighted.bancha

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Not quite right - if you don't open your freezer often, and it is iced up, that acts as a thermal store, meaning your compressor will kick in less often. Ideally you would fill the empty space in a freezer with water jugs.

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

lol, I already tried nonchalantly mentioning the need for possibly getting a new freezer. It was met with, well, a cold reception.

It looks like it is just an over-frosting problem. I think I tried shoving just one or 2 many more things in it than it would take. I put a thermometer in it and braced the door shut. Temp got down to 20 degrees, so it looks like the freon is still good. :36_1_63:

I've already been able to get the de-ice 3 shelves, so I got that going for me. Filled 3 ice chests with food & dry ice. Could probably fill 2 or 3 more.

Really, it didn't LOOK like there was that much stuff in it.......

:bear_rolleyes:

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

I was 12-13 years old and used a ice pick

Defrost normal=Good

Use icepick to speed things up=New freezer not so good..!

:36_1_63:

:36_1_30:

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

When our freezer did this a year or so ago I first used the thaw it out method to get it up and running again. You have to be sure that the fins and coils are devoid of all ice, not just the inside of the chest before turning it back on. You may need to remove some tin work to access the coils fully. A hair drier can speed up the ice melting time considerably. This may only work for a period of time if the freezer has a faulty automatic defrost timer circuit. In our case the initial defrosting only lasted for a month or so before it iced up again. What I finally found to be wrong with the unit was that the defrost heating element had burned out. It functions by turning on via a timer periodically to melt the ice from the cooling fins. If your freezer has this type of defrost heating element it can be tested with a simple continuity tester. If it is found to be faulty and while replacing the element it is also advisable to replace the accompanying thermostat that looks like a small disk and is usually attached to the fins with a clip somewhere near the heating element. Both parts can be found on ebay at low cost and are not difficult to replace. The timer is also something that could be causing the problem however they do not go bad as often as the heating elements or thermostats.
We now use 2 small freezers in stead of one large so if one has a problem some food can be transferred into the other.

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Could be your defrost timer is not working

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

I had that a few weeks ago - VERY annoying! It took me a while to figure out what was holding the door open: too much food!

The duct tape idea sounds good.

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Alrighty, the ice is gone and MOST of the food is on dry ice. We're full of frozen pot pies & I'm waiting to see if the freezer is going to freeze again.

It appears as if the seal is working all along the top and down the sides until about the last foot. Either the door is out of alignment (probable) or the seal is gradually working its way back around. I am duct taping it for the night.

If it continues to not seal all of the way, I'll strap it and wait until winter to try and fix the problem.

If it's the timer, well, I'll probably have to pull the flour & pecans out of the other big freezer to put some of the meat there.

It's a good thing I had already decided to start working our way through the existing frozen meat and other stuff. My goal is to eventually be growing enough year round to have fresh veggies and lettuce daily, eggs and only a little meat. I want to cycle through the manufactured canned goods and get to where all the canned goods on my shelves is stuff I canned myself. It's definitely do-able, just glad I have a good pantry to eat off while we make that transition.

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I think I might be farming, too.

:111:

Re: Anyone know about freezers not sealing?
 

Oh, I got my first full dozen eggs from the ladies today.

Good girls!!