Fridge Freezer - Fridge Warm, Freezer Cold

[spacechimp]

I have a Zanussi ZERT2170X that I bought second-hand recently.

It looks beautiful and it fits the space under the worktop wonderfully but the fridge is nothing like as cold as it should be (milk turns before the use by date, for example) whilst the freezer seems fine, though the compressor is on more than you would expect of a reasonably modern fridge-freezer.

http://www.justanswer.com/uk-appliance/4siwz-mother-zanussi-zert-2170-side-side-fridge-freezer.html I've seen this which matches my problem and suggests it's a common fault with the model, but it doesn't say if there's any economic repair. The back wall of the fridge is cool at the top and warm at the bottom, which also seems to match the description, but the freezer doesn't seem to have a particular frost problem.

I'm not sure if it is significant that there is some verdigris on the copper bulb at the bottom of the radiator.

I would hate to chuck it away because it took me a long time to find one that fitted the constraints of the space. Is there anything I can do?

Thanks in advance.

[Clanad]

Although not familiar with this make/model ( I live in the U.S.) most of this type of problem is caused by the failure of the device that controls the movement of the little door between the freezer and fridge sections. The device is thermostatically controlled but electrically operated, meaning that when the temperature warms on the fridge side the little motor driven door opens and lets in cold, fan driven air from the freezer side until correct temp is achieved when it closes again. Seen often in many makes here.

The entire device is fairly easily changed out and shouldn't be necessarily expensive.

You can check it out (if it's actually equipped the way I've described) by opening the fridge door the next time you hear the unit running and, after locating the "door" see if it modulates.

Best of luck! (mine being that your unit isn't equipped this way at all!).

[spacechimp]

Unfortunately, there is no passageway to let air to circulate between the two compartments. Thank you for the suggestion though.

[Old_Geezer]

You certainly need to ensure any outlets etc. are clear. Move everything out and see if there are things blocked by ice or whatever.

I don't know a great deal about this but it may be that they use the common temperature control which suits one but not the other ? Have a gander at the related questions. This sound familiar but usually related to f/f in garages. Or that may be a red herring.

[Clanad]

BTW... the manual for your fridge says the following:

"...The appliance is designed to operate in roomtemperatures of 16°C to 38°C, or down to 10°C if thelow room temperatureswitch is switched on. Theroom temperatureswitch should bethe room temperature drops below 16°C (theincorporated lamp will illuminate). If the roomtemperature drops below the above figures thetemperature in the freezer may rise above -18°C,then safe storage of frozen food can no longer beguaranteed. It is most likely that thetemperatureswitch will need to be depressedthroughout the winter to allow for low overnighttemperatures. No damage can be caused by leavingthe switch in this position for a period of time butenergy will be wasted."

The low room temperature switch is next to the Thermostat control ***... you may wish to check this first...

[spacechimp]

What you'd expect with the set-up the model has (sole thermostat located in the fridge compartment) is for the compressor not to work at all if the ambient temperature is below the cut-out temperature in the fridge.

But this is completely the reverse: freezer cold, fridge warm. Also, I left it unplugged for more than a week quite recently so I am sure icing isn't the cause of the problem.

[Clanad]

Take a look at this depiction of the thermostat unit for the manual:

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/198604/Zanussi-Zert-2170.html?page=4#manual

I suspect, due to the louvres on the unit surrounding the thremostat control ***, you'll find that the "passageway" between the two sides is there.

There has to be a way for the cold air that enters the freezer to get to the fridge side...

[Clanad]

Hmmm... for some reason the 'bad word oversight system' here doesn't like thermostat k n o b for some reason...

[spacechimp]

Obviously air has to pass over the thermostat for it to work effectively, but I am quite sure there is no air passage between the freezer and fridge compartments. I don't think cold air "enters" the freezer (or fridge), so much as air inside the freezer (or fridge) has heat extracted from it by the coolant in the surrounding pipework (or would if it worked properly!)

[spacechimp]

I assume just the one. There is only one visible externally at the back, and if it had two, would it not have a separate thermostat for the freezer?

[buildersmate]

Have the checked the inside of the freezer is at -20 degrees C or so? It could be at minus 10, would thus look OK, but not be at design temperature.
As far as I know, these one thermostat one compressor models work on a compromise between the conditions between the two insides, and the ambient in the kitchen.
Could it be possible that the fridge based thermostat needs turning down further? This is just an intuitive guess. Else the thermostat is forked?

[thugulike]

I had 3 of these from John Lewis and had the same problem with each. They then sent me a different make. The supposed answer is to defrost the fridge for 24 hours. Design fault and completely unacceptable. You can fix it yourself but the problem kept recurring for me.

[spacechimp]

Thanks thug, that's what I 'wanted' to hear. Do you happen to know what the actual problem with the design is? I just don't understand how the compressor can be running and the fridge stays at room temperature.