I have had the same problem with my frigidaire/electrolux upright freezer... I am researching to see if there is a pattern. Once or twice a year for the past few years, the freezer defrosted itself. I found the outside of the unit to be VERY hot to the touch around the time that this occurred.
We typically unplug it for a chunk of time when this happens and then replug it. It has always begun working again.
Sadly, we have lost many groceries and have had to clean many bloody meat messes as a result of this. ANYONE buying this freezer should save their receipt... That way, they can return it or have it repaired when it fails. I hate to think of sending all of these failing monstrosities to the landfill... =(
I am going to try and unplug it for a couple of days since i was finally able to transfer, eat or throw away the food in my upright. This will be my last resort, because from what i've read from other blogs is that my compressor is out and not worth fixing. I took off the inside back panel and found a heavy layer of ice on the upper left portion of the evaporative condenser or cooler ( i think thats what its called). The buildup was near where all the other components were. the rest of the cooler had no thin layer of ice build up (as its supposed to be), it was just dry or wet to the touch. The compressor also was very to to the touch, and not vibrating or running. Based on that investigation and from what i found on here and other websites, is that the compressor is out and would cost part/labor more than its worth. Its 12 yrs old and from what i been reading that its lasted longer than it should. Kind of sad because my grandfather had 2 chest freezers that i remember from when i was kid till when he passed away a couple yrs ago. over 25 yrs. I think the quality of these products are getting down each generation, next you know my kids will buy one one day when they are out in the world and 1.5 to 3 yrs will probably be the norm for these freezers before you have to replace them.
So i unplugged it for a couple of days, replugged it back in and set it to manufacturer settings, after leaving it alone for a few hours i opened it and it was cold but nowhere where it needed to be. So i added 6 ten pound blocks of ice and a 20lb bag of ice and a bund of icepacks on the door. I then put in 3 1 gallon containers of water, hotdog package that was already frozen, frozen bags of veggies, and waited a day. Nothing has melted, but only one of the gallon water jug i put in started to get frozen, and the temp. light is still on, and the compressor is still very hot to the touch and i have not heard it running, so i think it is safe to say that the compressor is shot and i will be freezer shopping shortly.
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