Fridge Heat

[Chipchopper]

I've had a small Hotpoint fridge for about 8 years or so, but its only just recently that I have noticed heat coming from the top of the fridge, where it fits under the work surface.
Is this normal ?
TIA..

[bhg481]

Yes. The heat removed from inside the fridge has to go somewhere. There is a radiator down the back, cooled by convection, and the heat comes out over the top of the fridge. The fridge has been working harder for the last few weeks due to the weather, so the heat coming out will have been more noticable.

[Gizmonster]

As long as it's not excessively hot, it's quite normal.
In a nutshell, heat is taken from the fridge .... it's got to go somewhere, so it's expelled out into your living space, usually at the back of the fridge. In some cases, the sides of the fridge get hot as well.
Have a read of this:
https://www.explainthatstuff.com/refrigerator.html

[Chipchopper]

Thanks bhg, thats put my mind at rest, it just seemed strange that I never noticed it before, then I notice it twice.

[Chipchopper]

Thanks, also Gis for the info

[Arrods]

Just to add to this, I noticed a 'warm' spot inside the fridge. Seems it's normal and is part of the auto-defrost function.

[Khandro]

Put a thermometer in the fridge, it should be about 7 degrees centigrade.

[Fitzer]

Khandro, the coldest part of your fridge should be at or below 5 deg C, higher and risk foods going off and the resultant risk of food poisoning
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/chilling

[gingejbee]

3 to 5 degrees C is the optimum temperature for a domestic fridge...

[Khandro]

We've just bought a full-sized Bosch (€1000) and the manual says, between 3 and 7, and my beer is too cold at 3

[Garaman]

'What would happen to the temperature of the kitchen if you left the fridge door open?' is a classic school question.

[AZardoz]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
-- Arthur C Clarke

[Khandro]

The Second Law of Thermodynamics ... Flowing from Hot to Cold, never the reverse

[gingejbee]

I think that the main criterion for recommending 3 to 5 Celcius is to prevent perishable foods from deteriorating bacteriologically....rather than having beer at an acceptable drinking temperature.
This will be independent of the amount spent on the fridge.

[Khandro]

I returned to the manual to check; it says 'The temperature can be set from +2 c. to + 8 c.' It obviously depend on what you store and for how long. It doesn't give a recommended setting.

It also warns that for the preservation of quality and preservation of flavour, some fruit should not be stored - Pineapple, banana, papaya and citrus fruit also some vegetables - aubergines, peppers and tomatoes.

This fridge also has a 'Vegetable container with humidity control' the mysteries of which I have yet to discover.

I shall keep it at +7 c

[Old_Geezer]

If you are drinking real ale, I suspect 7 may be a mite cold, try 13º C.
But if drinking lager or other light stuff, 1º C might be a better choice to kill off the taste.

[Khandro]

13 c No wonder we have reputation for drinking warm beer. Actually 7 c is a bit cool, I take each bottle out about an hour before drinking it.

Btw, How did you manage to make the degree symbol? On other sites and emails I do, alt + 0176 but when I try it on AB, I lose the whole page.

[Old_Geezer]

Copy it from charmap. (Actually an app with the same name whilst on the tablet.)