Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

A couple weeks ago, I shelled out $50 for a 5.3-cubic-foot chest freezer advertised on Craigslist, pretty much a steal, IMO. However, the seller told me (and I've observed on a daily basis) that every so often, the compressor would for some reason kick off and I'd have to manually turn off the power switch and turn it back on, and the compressor then kicks back on and the temperature goes back down.

I'm basically using the freezer as a short-term storage unit for cases of frozen vegetables that I'm dehydrating on a continual basis, so no single thing is in the freezer for an extended period. However, I'm going on a trip soon that will keep me out of town for three or four days, and I don't want any of the freezer's contents to go to waste while I'm gone. Would it help if I put dry ice in the freezer before I left? The freezer is made by Haier, and they don't offer individual replacement parts, so I'd have to basically buy an entire new unit if I get tired of turning it off and back on--which I don't have a problem with, I just don't want stuff to go to waste while I'm gone. Any suggestions?

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Sounds like a thermal overload.

Check to make sure the coils (if any are exposed on the back or under) to make sure they are clean.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Possible it's a thermal switch, but usually when they cool down, they make contact again, and the motor just starts and runs until the next overload condition.....you shouldn't have to flip a switch.

My money is on a start capacitor.....the fact you have to flip it on to give it a 'surge' of power ( which is what the capacitor does ) to start the compressor motor says failing capacitor to me. The job of the capacitor is to store enough power to give a surge to the motor to start up. If you can get easy access to the motor, the capacitor is usually a "bump" looking deal on the motor with a easily removable cover. Get a replacement capacitor at an appliance parts place or electronics store.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

You could get a heavy-duty timer and set it to cut off/on the power every few hours:

probably not good for the electronics though.

Maybe try putting a small fan near the compressor to keep it cooled.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Two votes for getting a timer.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

I dunno about you, but I've got a cooler that'll keep ice solid for a week if it's left closed. Fill a dozen 2l soda bottles with water, stick them in the bottom of the freezer and freeze them solid. Before you leave on your trip, move them to the top of the freezer and you should be good to go. If the insulation and seal won't keep that long, dump it and get something more efficient.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Problem with a timer is IF the capacitor is going, that will only work so long....and you will find out when that is in the most unfortunate way....ahahahaaaaaa

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Didn't think about that, but it makes sense...

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Look on craigslist, find another small cheep freezer, hope it works.
After a few iterations of the above, go to sears, buy a new small chest freezer for 149 dollars on sale, and sell your collection of used freezers on craigslist for 50 dollars each.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

:rofl: fullpower

Yes, make sure it is very full of very dense frozen stuff. Dead air loses temp fast, but it should be good much longer if it's solid.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Oh, and Btw...

The lids to these small freezers seem to be the barely insulated compared to the rest of the freezer.

We noticed this when we left a blanket on top of the freezer, put my hand under it to move and it was noticeably colder than the room.

We now have a peice of foam cutout just slightly larger than the freezer lid and it stays on the freezer to help insulate.

When the power goes out, we add several layers of warm blankets/sleeping bags around the freezer. This REALLY helps.


We also use the2 liters as mentioned above.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

+1 on freezing bottles of water in the freezer. Water has a massive thermal capacity.

A dodgy start capacitor doesn't explain why the freezer is cutting out, but it could explain why it won't restart.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Don't think it's cutting out.....it simply reaches the set temperature, the compressor motor stops....then it can't restart without a little "surge" from flipping the breaker....and so it runs again, and starts on it's own for a day or two.....then repeats.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Yes it can...
If the cap is boarder line bad it could act that way.
electrolytic start capacitors before they die get to where they sometimes work and sometimes not.

Reefers do not run all the time.
They pull down to temp and then shut off, If the cap is going bad the unit may not restart like it should.

Then it will sit there in a kind of rotor lock and then the thermal overload may kick in.
Unplugging the unit can let the cap to discharge so when re-powered it gets the bit of extra kick to work.

JIMHO

Edit: Tn-andy was posting while I was writing

beat me to it and I agree.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Assuming the kind of capacitor that is being talked about, here is how to determine what it is, and how to visually verify it is good or bad:

The capacitor looks like a miniaturized soda can. The top is aluminum usually and it will have indentations/marks that look like a "K" stamped on it. Usually they are wrapped either with plastic or painted a solid color, on the sides.

A good capacitor will have a top that is slightly indented (curved inwards) or that is completely flat. A bad capacitor will have an outwards bulge.

Since the maker is Chinese, this could well be the issue - the best and most expensive caps are from Japan ... guess which ones Haier is most likely to use ...

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Try the capacitor. It's the cheapest and most likely suspect.

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

This is interesting...about 36 hours ago, I turned the temperature setting on the freezer from 7 (the coldest setting) to 1--which is still keeping the temperature around 0 degrees. But since I did that, in the past 36 hours I haven't had to reset the temperature or on/off switch at all--it seems to be holding its own. Any ideas from a mechanical/refrigeration standpoint on how keeping the higher temperature setting might help the capacitor or whatever the problem is not keep switching off?

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Just by chance, what ELSE is plugged into the circuit your freezer is plugged into????

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/...ency/index.asp

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

I don't know about the circuit itself, but the only other thing I plug into the outlet that the freezer is plugged into is my vacuum sealer, but I'm only using the vacuum sealer about every other day. I unplug the sealer when I'm not using it so my cats don't think it's a new toy. :biggrin:

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

Most domestic freezers don't have start capacitors, they just have start relays.

Install a hard start kit and maybe replace the klixon (thermal overload switch).


http://www.dialcomfort.com/files/gtu...rt-300x223.jpg

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

It was set too low and could not achieve set point. Compressor overheated.



-p

Re: Chest freezer full of food preps keeps kicking off, so...
 

I spoke too soon about having luck with the compressor not kicking off. It kicked off earlier today, which I noticed when the thermometer inside was nearing the freezing mark.


Cool, thanks for the tip! I guess I'd get one of those from dialcomfort.com, where the image is from?