Hello, I bought my Woods Upright Freezer a couple of years ago, and it has never self-defrosted. It is always building up with ice. Do I have it on the wrong setting, or is there something else I should be looking at. I have misplaced my manual for it and no longer have warranty on it. Help! I am manually defrosting it again today.

Replace the defrost element in the base of the cooling cores, and check your defrost timer...See your wiring diagram.. sorry, Russ

sound like the defrost drain line is blocked

Things you can do to cut down on frost.
1.make sure all seals fit flush to frame.
2.use a thermometer and set freezer to -18c(beef will keep upto 12months).
3.wrap all food as airtight as poss.
3.do not overfill,leave space for air flow through drawers/shelves.
4.defrost every 2/3 months in humid conditions using clorine bleach to clean interior,and dry thoroughly.(leave door open to dissipate clorine gas.)

i had the same problem and it turned out to be the sensor, a $15 part. it pretty much controls everything related to defrosting.

If this is a self defrosting model make sure that you don't have frost build up on the back wall of the freezer causing the air not to circulate like it should. If you do have frost build up other items will eventually start thawing as well. If this is the case you have a defrost problem.

If this is not a self defrosting model then make sure it does not need defrosting.

You normally will notice ice cream being soft before you notice other things thawing.

Also make sure the door is shutting good and you may try putting the ice cream in a different location.

Hi, The defrost heater may not be working properly (timer stuck, heating element burned out, bad defrost thermostat,etc.). The unit should go into defrost mode about every 6-8 hours typically and last about 30 minutes (depending on model of freezer). During defrost cycles the compressor and fan do not run (don't want to keep cooling while trying to defrost). Once defrost is over, the fan and compressor get power again.
Take care

Do you know what parts are needed? Some are available and some are not.

the drain needs to be check for any kind of blockage. if the drain is blocked or frozen over this needs to be cleared

I would look at the defrost control [sometimes they are defrost clocks]Maybe that the freezer is not defrosting.

check your door seal, by closing the door on a strip of newspaper all round the seal. this fault is usually air getting inside the freezer, it rises to the top making thick ice or snow.