Possible issue with Beko Fridge/Freezer temps

[JonUK]

I have a auto defrost Beko Fridge Freezer, 11 years old, been serviced once in that time many years back. The temp in the freezer goes between minus 23 degrees Celsius and minus 7 degrees Celsius. It goes to minus 23 when the compressor and fan is on, but when they stop it drops down to about minus 7, with minus 11 or minus 12 being the average it stays at longest. See below 2 images for temperatures, these were taken on a temp logger that records the temperature every 5 minutes. I have cleaned behind the freezer. Fridge temp is fine (around 5 degrees). I have not opened up inside back casing of the freezer.

We also have a Hotpoint freezer (not fridge freezer) that keeps a steady minus 17 to 20 Celsius. So I presume this Beko should do the same sort of temps ? I guess I just need to know if these temps are wrong, what the fault might be, and if worth trying to fix myself or getting a new fridge freezer.

Would a thermostat issue cause this ? (ignore the first couple of temps recorded as it takes 10 minutes for the logger to get up to correct temps)
[IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:”none”,”data-size”:”full”,”height”:”761″,”width”:”1266″,”src”:”http://www.sencode.com/beko2.png”}[/IMG2]

[IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:”none”,”data-size”:”full”,”height”:”1799″,”width”:”530″,”src”:”http://www.sencode.com/beko1.png”}[/IMG2]

[kwatt]

Yep, that’s getting too high temp wise but without knowing what model it is, impossible to see what’s in it. I suspect at the age though it’s probably about due to retire to the tip.

K.

[JonUK]

Thanks. What confuses me is it seems to go up to minus 23 when the motor is running, but then slowly drops to approx minus 7 before going back up again to about minus 23 when the motor/fan runs again. I am not sure what exact parts issue would cause that swing. Beko annoyingly just told me to contact Domestic & General, but they won’t advise without booking an engineer. I don’t want to book an engineer without knowing what the issue is likely to be. I am really just curious what sort of part of the freezer goes to cause this type of symptom. The fridge side of it is perfect, I upped the dial to 6 a couple of hours ago and the fridge was approx 4 Celsius, which is perfect, but the freezer went up to minus 24, too cold, the motor was staying on and the fridge was starting to frost, so I turned it down to 5 on the dial and the motor stopped, so to me that denotes the thermostat may be working to some degree, but it is not retaining that temperature, and also even on 3 on the dial it goes up to minus 23 which just seems too cold to jump up to. The ideal temps would be minus 17 to 20 and to keep that steady. Some of my packeted food (such as burgers) has heavy ice inside the sealed plastic wrapping around the burgers, which I presume denotes “freezer burn” due to fluctuating temps.

Do you know if door seals will cause this issue, and if so, how do I test them ? If so would only the freezer door cause issues when I have a freezer temp problem, or can a fridge door seal also cause temp issues with the freezer ? I have a laser temperature device, would that help ? I tried a £10 note and it seemed to have some resistance there which is good.

The fridge freezer model is Beko CDA563FW/1

Yes, we are thinking of getting a new one, but if I can fix this one myself for a tenner then I might give it a go first.

Thanks for your advice,

[SAMURI]

It’s worth trying a 48 hour defrost as sometimes with a frost free in can build up ice that the auto defrost can’t clear.
This can cause temperature problems if ice has built up.
Empty the fridge and freezer and turn off at the mains and leave the doors open for 48 hours.
When you have defrosted it close the doors and turn it back on and monitor it for 24 hours.
If this does not cure the problem then at 11 years old it’s probably not worth spending any money on it.
Bob

Bob

[JonUK]

Thanks. Samuri, but normally issues with frost build up mean it doesn’t get up to temp at all (or the other end of the scale), this is getting up to minus 24 but then dropping to minus 7. The actual freezer doesn’t have any frost build up except inside plastic sealed wrapping, so the actual interior is otherwise ice/frost free and very clean.So there doesn’t appear to be frost build up on the unit.

[SAMURI]

It can build up near the sensor and you can also get a build up near the bottom or top of the evaporator this you cannot see without taking it apart.
its only when the evaporator is completely blocked it does not reach the temperature.
Its worth giving it a try.

Bob

[JonUK]

Due to my concerns of all the food in the fridge, any idea how I can open it up to save defrosting for 48 hours ? Like some people use a hair dryer to speed it up. Would this be inside a panel inside the freezer, if so any ideas how it opens up ? Thanks.

[kwatt]

It’s getting way to warm at -7˚C.

But -24˚C is okay, a bit cold but so long as it came back and averaged -18˚C that’d be okay.

The wild fluctuation you’re getting is far from normal and it’s not safe food-wise, your concerns are justified on that front. That’s probably averaging out somewhere around -12˚C, too warm for frozen food, it’ll degrade.

That sort of temperature profile could also be indicative or a refrigerant system issue, primarily the compressor overheating. The pot heats up, cuts off sits for an age cooling off then kicks back to life, goes like the clappers till it repeats the same cycle over and over. If so, it’ll eventually just die.

Using a hairdryer **CAREFULLY** is okay, do not apply direct heat. Like the dude that thought defrosting with a hot air gun was okay, that didn’t end well.

K.

[JonUK]

Thanks. Any idea what causes a compressor to overheat ? What spare part could fix that ? Yes, you are right, the PDF with the temps on says the average is minus 12 degrees. The fluctuating temps I realise are not good and will likely cause freezer burn to the food.

Not sure if this might sort it ? https://www.bekospares.co.uk/control-board-pcb/product.pl?pid=3959540&query=CDA563FW{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d}2F1

Lucky you said that about the hot air gun, as I have one of those and might have been tempted to try it on low, I won’t now, ha. Although I haven’t opened the panel up so not even sure if there is a build up of ice.

[JonUK]

P.S : Tonight I came in the kitchen at midnight and the freezer was on, I came in again at 3.30am (I am awake until 7am as I sleep odd hours) and the motor was still on and it was on a massive minus 29 degrees, it may even have been colder but the temp was off the scale. I turned the dial from 5 down to 4 and as I turned it the motor stopped. But I have tried it at 3 and 4 (the above graphs are when it was on 3) and so the dial doesn’t seem to change the fact it drops down to minus 6 each time the motor isn’t running,.

[kwatt]

Could well be a thermistor problem then but that’s a bit of a nightmare as it’s these:

http://shop.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/4394720285-electronic-fridge-air-sensor

http://shop.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/4394720185-electronic-fridge-sensor

K.

[JonUK]

Thanks for the info. Just an update. I opened the panel off the back that is inside the freezer, used a hairdryer, but it wasn’t very frosty at all there, very clean in fact. But I melted the thin layer that was there. Sadly same problem now so it hasn’t helped. Does anyone know here if this could be the way Beko make their auto defrost freezers, or is it 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} definitely wrong to swing that much on a daily basis ? I am worried about getting another freezer and it just being the same for some brands. When I contacted Beko they didn’t say, they just told me to contact Domestic & General if I needed it fixed. I have tried to contact them again and will see if they reply on Monday.

If these temps are 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} abnormal for a auto defrost, then I would feel more satisfied in just getting a new one. On the graph it looks like it hits the correct -18, but it just doesn’t stay there, it goes down to -7 and then back up again, over and over. Then occasionally it jumps to -23 or colder.

The 2 photos below were taken inside before I warmed all the white lining off the coils with the hairdryer on low. The close ups of the hardware is just in case useful. So this is inside the back panel of a 2009 Beko Fridge Freezer.
[IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:”none”,”data-size”:”full”,”height”:”1067″,”width”:”800″,”src”:”http://www.sencode.com/freezer1.jpg”}[/IMG2]
[IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:”none”,”data-size”:”full”,”height”:”600″,”width”:”800″,”src”:”http://www.sencode.com/freezer2.jpg”}[/IMG2]

[kwatt]

Temperature fluctuation is perfectly normal. It’s how they all work one way or another. The actual tolerance and mechanics vary, some more than others and you need to account for ambients also.

If you want an absolute rock-solid constant temperature or rather, an almost imperceptible variation then you can get cabinets that will do that, normally used for medical or research purposes and they cost mega, mega money.

Back in the land of domestic and most commercial, the mean temp (which will also be the core food temp) should be -18˚C or close to it and that typically means flux between approx -16 to -20/1˚C. But it can vary depending on the unit, measurement criteria, ambient and so on.

Data loggers and temp readings are all well and good but like most data, only if you understand what you’re looking at and for. 😉

What you’re trying to do is determine the core temp of the stored goods, not what the cabinet is doing to achieve that. At least in terms of mechanical performance, at any rate, the point is, it does as it should. The stuff in the cabinet will not fluctuate in temperature anything like that air temp.

If you look at any and cooking is the same, you’ll get these sorts of temp variances.

That said, the swing and variance between high and low there is too much, particularly the high temp, it’s way too high. Therefore, there will be food degradation and that will be a high and real risk in fish and poultry especially that could be a potentially serious health risk so, by logical extension, it needs to be fixed or replaced and you must assume that anything in it is already compromised and unfit for consumption.

If you choose to use the food in it, it’s at your own risk. Me, I’d assume it was ruined and bin it. Better safe than ill.

K.

[JonUK]

Thanks pal, that is what I needed to hear, I was concerened maybe Beko had an odd way of keeping it defrosted by swinging the temps massively. Before I finally ditch it, any idea where the thermostat goes and how easy they are to fit ? I see some online for £10. I realise that may not fix it, but for a tenner may be worth a punt if easy to fit.

[kwatt]

Those sensors, where they are, vary cabinet by cabinet so it is a case of hunting them down by following the wiring. Digging them out. Replacing and re-insulating.

Not an easy two minute job.

Flipside is, they’re not expensive and at this point you have got the cost of the parts to lose and not much else. If it fixes it, you win a watch. If not you lose a few quid and have the satisfaction that you did all you could.

Or, you cut the losses and move on.

K.

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