Some advice, if you'd be so kind...
My little chest freezer was working a treat... I switched it off before I went on holiday but when I returned and turned it back on, nada.
Is it a simple problem, or for the scrap heap?

Ta in advance.

is the motor humming but doing nothing? That's really common issue that is just a capacitor and easy fixed -$20 part and DIY

if it was sitting a while it could just need a tap, turn on and a few taps with a block of wood on the motor, or pick it up and drop it might work.

Otherwise, more downhaul.

Is it definitely on? (To quote IT Crowd)

I'm sure you checked the power is on and you don't have a tripped curcuit?

Same thing happened to our spare garage fridge . Turned it off for a couple of months over winter then back on. Motor is definitely running , but no cold .Maybe seals dried up and gas leaked out if that's a thing ?

Yeah never stop them when old. I think seals dry out and gas leaks out.

Select to expand quote

myusernam said..
Yeah never stop them when old. I think seals dry out and gas leaks out.

What seals, aren't they a totally sealed system? Unlike a car air conditioner, where there is a shaft being driven by an external power source, for a fridge or freezer in the electric motor is inside the sealed system....there are no 'seals' to dry out and leak.

Leave an old one for a few months, and the compressor can seize due to internal corrosion particles and gunk solidifying, thus Mark's suggesting to hit the sealed compressor/motor unit with block of wood in the hope to shake it loose.

First off, make sure the thermostat control is on maximum freeze, and not in the off position. Wind it back and forwards a few times and make sure it is in the freeze position. Then try it again.

Small fridges, freezers etc are very simple. No seals, no reversing valve, no tx valve (small ones use a capillary tube) not much of anything really. Just a compressor, a drier, a condenser, running into a capillary tube running into the evaporator which is in the chest part, which then drains back into the compressor input, and a small charge of refrigerant gas, less than a kilo. Start it up and then round it all goes again, and again,.. and again,.. until one day it doesn't.
Oh, plus a thermostat to switch the motor on and off to hold a constant temperature.

If it used to work ok before leaving it off for months and then it doesn't, the most common problem is the gas leaked out.
If it has dumped its gas then you should still hear the motor running, but more quietly, since it has nothing to compress.
Also, and more depressingly, if it has dumped its gas then it is not worth fixing. You can use it for a tool chest or a chicken feed holder, or you can put it out for a verge pick up.
If it has leaked it once it will leak it again after recharge, so don't waste your money on it.
There are no connections to tighten up on a small system. The whole gas circuit is welded up in the factory and is sold as a throw-away item.

If you can't hear the motor running then pull out the power plug, turn the thermostat control to maximum freeze, and check with a multimeter for a circuit across the active and neutral pins of the mains plug. It should be quite low, i.e. around 20 ohms or less depending on motor size. (The impedance when it is running will be much higher due to the induction of the motor when it is running.)
If it checks out as an open circuit then there can be a number of things wrong, including and most probably the thermostat, which you can sometimes fix by winding the temperature control from full freeze to off, up and down a few times. Keep the multimeter across the mains plug while doing it to see if there is a flick of the meter indicating a circuit sometimes. If so, do it a few more times until the circuit becomes more consistent and then stop moving the control when there is still a circuit reading. Then plug it in and listen for the motor to run. The thermostat contacts can oxidise a bit when left not in use. Actually, they oxidise a bit when they are being used as well.

If you can't get any reading across the mains plug at all then it needs a diving expedition into the works to see if the thermostat is clagged or just a bad connection somewhere or the compressor motor is clagged. A clagged motor is not very likely but can happen if the start capacitor goes soft and then the freezer is left turned on trying to start up, eventually, either blowing the current overload or burning out the motor. If it has burnt out the motor it's a throwaway job.

The thing is with all this stuff, if it's a case of it not working and thus a throw away job, you might as well jump in the deep end and pull it all apart to see if you can fix it. In the event you can't fix it then you can still throw it away. There's not much you can do to anything which will make it unsuitable for throwing away. Unless of course, you electrolux yourself trying to fix it, in which case the thing will be required as evidence for the coroner's inquiry. Make sure you UNPLUG it before you pull it apart!
If all goes well you can often fix it up and learn something in the process.


EDIT - Just reading Mark-Aust reply. Yes,..the cheap ones use salad oil or peanut oil in the start capacitor instead of expensive proper stuff.
They typically last only five years or less.
The capacitors for a small motor cost around $15 on ebay. If it is that, make sure you get the same capacitance, usually around 15 microfarad (15uf) on small units, and the same voltage, around 450 volts ac on a 240 volt motor.
And yes, you should hear the motor growling trying to start,.. for a short time until it burns out or blows the overload as mentioned above.

Select to expand quote

pweedas said..
First off, make sure the thermostat control is on maximum freeze, and not in the off position. Wind it back and forwards a few times and make sure it is in the freeze position. Then try it again.

Small fridges, freezers etc are very simple. No seals, no reversing valve, no tx valve (small ones use a capillary tube) not much of anything really. Just a compressor, a drier, a condenser, running into a capillary tube running into the evaporator which is in the chest part, which then drains back into the compressor input, and a small charge of refrigerant gas, less than a kilo. Start it up and then round it all goes again, and again,.. and again,.. until one day it doesn't.
Oh, plus a thermostat to switch the motor on and off to hold a constant temperature.

If it used to work ok before leaving it off for months and then it doesn't, the most common problem is the gas leaked out.
If it has dumped its gas then you should still hear the motor running, but more quietly, since it has nothing to compress.
Also, and more depressingly, if it has dumped its gas then it is not worth fixing. You can use it for a tool chest or a chicken feed holder, or you can put it out for a verge pick up.
If it has leaked it once it will leak it again after recharge, so don't waste your money on it.
There are no connections to tighten up on a small system. The whole gas circuit is welded up in the factory and is sold as a throw-away item.

If you can't hear the motor running then pull out the power plug, turn the thermostat control to maximum freeze, and check with a multimeter for a circuit across the active and neutral pins of the mains plug. It should be quite low, i.e. around 20 ohms or less depending on motor size. (The impedance when it is running will be much higher due to the induction of the motor when it is running.)
If it checks out as an open circuit then there can be a number of things wrong, including and most probably the thermostat, which you can sometimes fix by winding the temperature control from full freeze to off, up and down a few times. Keep the multimeter across the mains plug while doing it to see if there is a flick of the meter indicating a circuit sometimes. If so, do it a few more times until the circuit becomes more consistent and then stop moving the control when there is still a circuit reading. Then plug it in and listen for the motor to run. The thermostat contacts can oxidise a bit when left not in use. Actually, they oxidise a bit when they are being used as well.

If you can't get any reading across the mains plug at all then it needs a diving expedition into the works to see if the thermostat is clagged or just a bad connection somewhere or the compressor motor is clagged. A clagged motor is not very likely but can happen if the start capacitor goes soft and then the freezer is left turned on trying to start up, eventually, either blowing the current overload or burning out the motor. If it has burnt out the motor it's a throwaway job.

The thing is with all this stuff, if it's a case of it not working and thus a throw away job, you might as well jump in the deep end and pull it all apart to see if you can fix it. In the event you can't fix it then you can still throw it away. There's not much you can do to anything which will make it unsuitable for throwing away. Unless of course, you electrolux yourself trying to fix it, in which case the thing will be required as evidence for the coroner's inquiry. Make sure you UNPLUG it before you pull it apart!
If all goes well you can often fix it up and learn something in the process.


EDIT - Just reading Mark-Aust reply. Yes,..the cheap ones use salad oil or peanut oil in the start capacitor instead of expensive proper stuff.
They typically last only five years or less.
The capacitors for a small motor cost around $15 on ebay. If it is that, make sure you get the same capacitance, usually around 15 microfarad (15uf) on small units, and the same voltage, around 450 volts ac on a 240 volt motor.
And yes, you should hear the motor growling trying to start,.. for a short time until it burns out or blows the overload as mentioned above.

F..k I'd just get a bag After that read