Refrigerator Trouble

naporeon

So, my refrigerator has spontaneously stopped cooling things. I first noticed this yesterday, when I went to get some ice cubes, and was greeted with a smaller-than-normal, wet cubelet. I would say, then, that it hasn't been cooling for the last 24 hours or so.

My landlords are on vacation until Sunday, and although I know I have the right to enact emergency repairs when they are unavailable, I would rather just limp through until they get home. So...

Is there any trick to kick-starting these things? It is making literally no noise at all, in either compartment, although the lights are on, so it's getting electricity. I tried shutting of the circuit for that room, waiting a minute, and turning it back on...but that hasn't helped. It also says "To start, place dials at 3 and B" on temperature controls inside. I have done this.

Anyhow, any hints, tips, or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thanatos

Something died in there. You're going to need a repairman. If you want to wait, either eat everything, or find a neighbor who'll let you store stuff in his fridge.

tech_hunter

Yeah if its not making any noise the compressor could have gone out or maybe all the coolant leaked out depending on how old a fridge it is. But yeah get your stuff out before it crawls out on its own and kills you in your sleep.

EggyToast

No, there is nothing to kick start a fridge that is no longer working. Parts need to be replaced.

Jasconius

Ice Chests + Dry Ice blocks will keep for days if you don't leave it open, but that might freezer burn your food.

I mean... if you're going to lose all your food, might as well take a chance with ice chests than just let it spoil.

Dry ice is cheap.

naporeon

Well, there seems to be a consensus here. I will have the landlord call a repairman this weekend.

As for food, I am a bachelor who lives alone. Pretty much all that is in there is booze, mustard, and some antique cheese.

tardcore

You can store the booze in my fridge, mate.

Thanatos

If it's not beer, shouldn't be a problem.

Blake T

It's actually bad for the beer to cool down and warm up and cool down again, it breaks down the alcohol content and changes the flavour.

Drink the beer now.

ViolentChemistry

Blaket wrote: »

It's actually bad for the beer to cool down and warm up and cool down again, it breaks down the alcohol content and changes the flavour.

Drink the beer now.

All of it. You have maybe 20 minutes before the unthinkable occurs.

naporeon

Not a problem.

I don't drink beer.

Everywhereasign

I've visited "Dead Fridge Land" recently. I'll let you know what I did.

First things first, unplug it and find a place to store your stuff. Pull out the fridge from the wall, pull off the bottom grill (if it has one) and vacuum the condensor coils on the bottom and or the back (depending on your fridge) This will solve 90% of fridge problems. This is what happened to mine. The coils got blocked and the fridge had a internal breaker that went when it overheated. Let it sit overnight (that will reset the breaker) and plug it back in. Get a fridge thermometer and wait a day.

What sucks about fridges is you quite frequently don't know if it's fixed or not for at least 12 or 24 hours. Some take quite a while to get cooling. Don't fiddle with the setting too much after you've cleaned the coils, let it sit over night, then plug her in. If this doesn't work and you aren't in the mood to play electrician, you need a repair man.

If your fridge is not super old, the chances of both the compressor and fan going at the same time (resulting in no noise but light) is very rare. Like I said, the most frequent cause of fridge failure is dust (in my case, cat hair too).