The doors and side normally get hot due to different factors,
FRIDGE COILS or door walls SEEM VERY HOT:
The condenser coils do get hot. They can even be to hot to comfortably touch and this is normal.
The refrigerator should not run constantly but shut off with each defrost cycle.
Running constantly and never cycling off can indicate a cooling problem.
One thing to try is to wait till it has been running a few minutes then open the door and turn your cycling thermostat towards the off position. It should cycle off before getting to the off position on the dial.
If it does not cycle off then it's not getting cold enough to satisfy the thermostat. This is likely the reason the refrigerator runs all the time.
A thermometer in a glass of water can be used to check the temperatures in the refrigerator section.
You can check that all fans are running.
the reason the outer side of the door seal area is getting hot is the compressor is over heating, probably the condenser fan motor to your compressor is bad.
It should be a little warm but not hot. they don't use heaters anymore ( some older models still use heaters) around the doors, instead they use the condenser coils to remove condensation and moister, you might want to check your condenser coils on the bottom or back of fridge to see if they need cleaning
If the condenser coils/condenser fan are all plugged up they need cleaning and/or the condenser may fail or has failed..
The ones that use an electric heater will have an "energy saver" switch that will turn it off.: God is the reason I give you free advice so God is good!
http://www.appliancerepair.net/refrigerator-repair-1.html
SOURCE: Kenmore elite side by side: hot divider
This is normal. There is a heater in this panel to stop condensation sweating between the doors.
SOURCE: Whirlpool Refrigerator Door Seal surface is HOT.
If the air flow on the condenser under the fridge is too low, the hot gas won't be cooled enough before it goes to the door jamb to stop condensation. Remove the plastic cover under the doors and look at the condenser (tube/wire thing underneath). If it is clogged with fluff, get a vacuum and nozzle and give it a good clean so the air can pass through. Other than that, your condenser fan may have stopped.
SOURCE: Front metal , top heating element very hot
This should be OK. There are heat strips placed behind the door frame to prevent sweating around the door frame due to the metal being cold normally without the strips. Thanks, Sea Breeze
SOURCE: the divider between the side by side
The divider between the side by side frigerator/freezer where the door closes and seals is extremely hot- too hot to touch. Is something wrong with my refrigerator, should i unplug it?
SOURCE: Refrigerator/freezer stopped cooling during a heat wave
Good day,
Turning the thermostat to a warmer setting should not have caused the machine to quit cooling. Actually, the engineers give you far less leeway than you might think.
The controls are more in a class of fine tuning, otherwise people would be getting themselves into trouble. The manufacturers simply design the warm and cold parameters in a fairly narrow range.
The best setting is normal. When away, the machine will run far less simply because of no door openings. Opening a door lets in large amounts of air every time it's done, which is where your cost to run it exists.
Two things. One, if the temp in the kitchen exceeded 90 degrees for any length of time, you are operating it beyond it's design range, however two, it sounds as if the thermostat hung up, causing your issue. You may want to have it replaced, but it would be useless to call anyone when it's performing normally.
There is no test on thermostats other than by observing their action when the machine is not operating properly.
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