SMEG – Fridge and freezer not getting cold

[JonesScones]

Hi!

I recently purchased a used Smeg FAB32 Fridge/freezer with a cooling issue. The unit is only four years old so it’s in great condition, apart from the fact that it never gets cold. I was hoping it could be an easy fix but turns out it’s a bit more challenging.

Symptoms
The compressor turns on when plugging in the unit and after 15-20 minutes both the fridge and freezer reach around 12 deg C. No matter how long the unit is plugged in it never gets colder. Only 10-15{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of the evaporator coils in the freezer are frosted.

What I’ve done so far
I though it could be a leak so I emptied all the gas (R600a), brazed on a service port, and pressurized the system with my air compressor to about 100 PSI. It held the pressure for more than 8 hours and I’ve performed the dish soap bubble test on all the pipes around the compressor and on the evaporator coils in the freezer department. Couldn’t find any leak.

I emptied the air, drew a vacuum and refilled the system with R600a. Still the same cooling issue.

Possible errors on my side
I am a bit unsure whether I’ve refilled the system correctly or if I refilled the correct amount. The specs for the unit says 60 grams. I followed the following procedure to refill the system.

1. Drew a vacuum with a vacuum pump to about 25-27 inHg. The pump was running for 30 minutes.
2. Connected the R600a bottle. Purged out the air in the hose so it was only refrigerant in the system
3. Refilled to about 0 psi with the compressor off
4. Turned on the unit. Let the compressor run for 10 minutes
5. Add small amounts of R600a. Let the compressor run for 10 minutes
6. Repeat step 5 until the pressure is steady around 2-5 psi.

A repairman would most likely give up on this one, but it’s such a waste on a unit only four year old that’s more than 1,600 GBP.

Would be super grateful for any help or nudge in the right direction!

[Author]

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