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Refrigerators
Does the light really go out when we close the door? From the early icebox to the modern built-in frost-free stainless steel double door works of art, refrigerators have improved greatly over the years, and we seldom think about them until they don't work right. From cleaning methods to repairs, this category is the place to get advice and answers to your questions about refrigerators.
3,286 Questions
Why is the refrigerator cold at the bottom and warm at the top?
Most units have a fan to circulate cold air and maintain the compartment at a uniform temperature. Without this, the cold air will settle at the bottom, and the thermostat will not get an accurate reading, leading to over-short or over-long cooling cycles.
The fan could be broken, or part of the system that controls the fan (like the motherboard or a relay) could be broken. Additionally, the fan could have failed and taken out part of the electronics.
Why does the refrigerator have a light but the freezer doesn't?
Frozen bulb would explode when heated.
Side by side fridges have light bulbs in freezer compartments and do not blow up. Same is true for bottom freezer units with a fridge on top.
Top freezer units usually don't have a lightbulb as it takes a lot longer to recover the cold temperature than bottom or side units.
What is a refrigerator evaporator coil?
A fluid is passed around a copper pipe wound into a coil, the coil is covered in ethenol (or another liquid with a low boiling point) as the ethenol evapourates it cools the pipe in turn cooling the fluid inside, working much the same way as sweating, the coil aspect saves space and increases surface area.
Calculate the energy required first. Propane has 1,000,000 btu's in 10.89 gal. (2500 btu's per cubic foot on the vapor side). Consider also the ambient conditions as the colder it is outside the lower the pressure gets on the propane. The surface area above the liquid propane is where the evaporation to vapor takes place. You may end up with big ice rings forming unless you pipe the regulator outlets into a manifold to distribute the load over multiple tanks.
In general the answer has to be: "Not if it has been designed and wired to run only on the 50 Hz mains frequency system that is used in Singapore, Europe and elsewhere." The mains frequency in 230 Volt areas is 50 Hz (Cycles per second) compared to 60 Hz in US, Canada and other 120/240 Volt areas. Some 50 Hz appliances may work fine but others with simple motors will run too fast on the higher frequency of 60 Hz.
However the most important difference is how the Neutral wire is connected:
In a 240 Volts 50 Hz appliance has 3 wires altogether, a "Ground" conductor, one single 240 volt "live" or "hot" wire and a Neutral wire connected as a return to the single "hot".
An appliance designed to run on 240 Volt 60 Hz supply has 4 wires altogether: a safety "Ground" conductor and 3 further wires, namely a Neutral wired as a "central" common return conductor and two 120 Volt 60 Hz live "hot legs" which run in opposing phase to one another. When one hot leg is "+" (120 Volts positive) the other leg is "-" (120 Volts negative).
So there is a 240 Volt voltage difference between the "Neutral" and the "Hot" conductor in the 50 Hz system and only a 120 Volt voltage difference between the "Neutral" and the "Hot"conductors in the 60 Hz system. At the point where the "Neutral" gets connected to the "Ground" (not necessarily in the appliance itself but at the main breaker panel) this difference will cause serious problems!
That is why an appliance designed to be connected onto the 50 Hz system cannot be used safely on the 60 Hz system without first having proper technical modification work done. A licensed electrician or electrical engineer would be able to consider whether or not a particular large appliance, that was manufactured to work on 50 Hz-only, could be modified to run safely at the higher 60 Hz frequency. However it won't usually be worth the expense of doing the work because it would be more cost-effective to buy (new or secondhand) an equivalent large appliance designed to work on 60 Hz. Further information which may be useful to mention here but is not part of the answer to this question:Some small 50 Hz appliances, such as electric shavers, etc., have been designed to run safely on different supply voltages and frequencies. If that is so, it would be stated on their rating plates. In many cases, where the power needed is low, such as (say) less than 30 Watts, a cheap and simple "International Travel Socket Adapter" is all that is needed to make such an appliance plug-in and work. Many international airports have shops selling such adapters. <><><>
As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.
If you do this work yourself, always turn off the power
at the breaker box/fuse panel BEFORE you attempt to do any work AND
always use an electrician's test meter having metal-tipped probes
(not a simple proximity voltage indicator)
to insure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized. : IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
What would cause a refrigerator to make a grinding noise and smell bad?
A grinding noise and bad smell from a refrigerator can be caused by a faulty compressor motor or a worn-out condenser fan. The smell could also indicate mold or spoiled food trapped in the refrigerator. It is recommended to have a professional technician inspect and repair the appliance to resolve the issue.
What might cause a chemical smell coming from a refrigerator?
I have a fridge Id been storing, unplugged, in the garage and it smells like chemicals now. I've wanted to sell it but I have no idea why it smells so bad.
- If your store a refrigerator in the cellar or wherever tape a little block of wood or a sock etc to the frame of the doors this will prevent that stale odor from occurring because now you have air changing in the unit. The refrigerator should be clean and dry. Also put an open box of baking soda, charcoal or coffee or an open container of coffee in freezer and refrigerator sections which will absorb odor.
- Check your defrost drip pan behind the grate at the bottom of refrigerator clean the pan and vacuum the condenser while your at it (it is the black wires sticking out from a series of black tubes).
Why coefficient of performance of a refrigerator is greater than 1?
The coefficient of performance (see Wikipedia article on "coefficient of performance") is a measure of merit for a refrigerator. To understand what it is telling us, we need to understand what a refrigerator does. Heat flows naturally from a hot region to a cold region. Even though your kitchen refrigerator is insulated to minimize the heat flow, without the machinery, the inside would gradually warm up to the temperature of the room. To keep the inside cold, the refrigerator must counter the natural flow by moving heat from the colder region inside the refrigerator to the outside. We have to put energy (usually electrical work) into the refrigerator to accomplish this.
If the inside were warmer than the outside, it would take no work to remove heat from the inside. The warmer inside would pass heat to the colder outside naturally. If the inside is just a little colder than the outside, it would take just a little work to move heat from inside to outside. As the temperature difference you wish to maintain increases, so does the work needed. But when we deal with thermodynamics, we must use absolute temperatures. If the temperature of the room is 68 degrees Fahrenheit, that is 20 degrees Celcius, or 293 degrees Kelvin. (The Kelvin temperature scale starts at absolute zero) If the temperature inside the freezer compartment is -5 degrees Celcius, that would be 268 Kelvin. The difference of 25 degrees is less than a tenth the lower absolute temperature. So in essence, this is the case of a small temperature difference.
The coefficient of performance is the ratio of the heat removed at the colder temperature to the work required to do it. Like many other figures of merit (the efficiency of an engine, the miles per gallon your car gets, ) the coefficient of performance measures the ratio of what you get (heat moved out of the box) to what you have to pay for (work from the electric company). But unlike the efficiency of an engine, the number can be greater than one. Because the temperature difference is small compared to the absolute temperature of the box, the energy expended to run the refrigerator is less than the energy moved from the inside to the outside.
How much does a refrigerator weigh?
The weight of a refrigerator can vary depending on the size, model, and features. On average, a standard refrigerator typically weighs between 200 to 300 pounds. However, larger or commercial refrigerators can weigh up to 800 pounds or more.
What will happen if you leave a refrigerator door open in a room?
The room will warm up.
The fridge with the door left open will run pretty much continuously to try to cool the inside. Our fridge doesn't know the door is open, so it keeps running. The thermostat inside never senses that the inside has cooled, so it tells the compressor to stay on. The room will be cooled by the fridge, but remember that the compressor dumps heat out into the room all the while that it's running. And because the fridge is not 100% efficient, there will be more heat generated than there will be cooling. The result? The room will eventually warm up.
I would disagree partially with the above answer. 1) Efficiency is a term not really used for refrigerators. The term coefficient of performance is used because it can be and usually is greater than one (or greater than 100% in other words) and equals the heat removed from the inside of the fridge divided by the work input. 2) Now, if a perfect fridge was running on a Carnot cycle (no friction in the parts and other criteria) that gives the most cooling for the least amount of work, the room would still heat up as governed by the first law of thermodynamics. W=Heat from the condenser - heat from the evaporator or W+QL=QH. In this case all the terms are considered to be positive numbers. Clearly QH>QL which means the room is getting warmer.
Probably the easiest was to understand this is that work is going into the insulated room which means the overall energy and therefore temperature is going up.
Does it cost more on the electricity bill to have your refrigerator and freezer empty or full?
It costs more to keep the fridge empty. Once all to the items in a stocked fridge get cold, they help maintain that cold temperature.
AnswerIt's not differ. Once you set the temperature and stocked all items in both equipments, then after some time they automatically managed the temperature. We must need to use genuine electrical products. You can also use the solar energy products for getting lower electricity bills.How cold is the inside of a fridge?
The inside of a fridge is typically kept at around 37-40 degrees Fahrenheit (2-4 degrees Celsius) to keep food fresh and prevent bacterial growth. This temperature range is considered ideal for storing most perishable items.
Who invented magnetic refrigerator-door gaskets?
Italian Ilpea company invented the magnetic refrigerator-door gaskets. Please refer to the website http://www.ilpea.com/en/index.htm for further information. Below is adapted from the information of above website: http://www.ilpea.com/en/guarnizioni.htm ================================== GASKETS for the refrigeration industry
TECHNOLOGY AND FUNCTIONALITY Originally, sealing between the door and the refrigerator was achieved by using tubular extruded profiles in vulcanised rubber, injection spliced at the joint and compressed with a lever tumbler lock.
ILPEA has developed and created a sealing system by means of a gasket made of non-migrating PVC compound.
The flexible magnetic profile inserted into the gasket guarantees that the door shuts hermetically and this has drastically changed the concept of sealing in the refrigeration sector. Today, as market leader, ILPEA is constantly searching for state-of-the-art solutions and has developed three fundamental product ranges: * Magnetic and non-magnetic gaskets
This is the first group of products developed by the Company. The design of ILPEA's gaskets
is constantly being updated and improved with innovative solutions in regard to functionality
and use of materials. Thanks to this, hinge rolling has been eliminated and the sealing tightness and the compression set have reached an optimal level. * Twin
This co-extruded gasket made of rigid and soft materials represents the most innovative aspect of this market. The base is formed by a rigid part which has at least one V-shaped flexible flange which snaps onto the door inner liner, while the soft part consists of a balloon which grants the normal gasket bellow function. This allows robotized assembling of the gasket onto the door and easier installation of the spare gaskets. * Breakers (rigid frames)
ILPEA has developed a wide range of rigid frames made of shock resistant PVC for chest freezers, commercial freezers and refrigerated display units. Thanks to a particular process developed by the Company, it is now possible to splice the corners of the frames composed of extruded lengths in such a way as to obtain a round angle that has an internal and external radius of up to 30mm.
ILPEA has set up production facilities in the proximity of customers' plants, in compliance with its
"global partnership" strategy.
As a result, the Company is in a position to supply its products to the world's main manufacturers of
refrigerators and freezers by the "just in time" concept.
ILPEA is continuously improving the aforementioned products and has obtained 14 international patents for innovations in this sector.
Do refrigerator magnets increase the energy consumption of a refrigerator due to induction?
No. A refrigerator magnet does not have a strong enough magnet field to affect your motor. Also the motor is mounted either at the top of bottom of your fridge. Far enough away from the outside of the door.
Refrigerators don't usually require a minimum of a 220 V circuit. Most ranges do, and of course, the circuit should be dedicated. Make sure you check with an electrician. <><><> No, an electric cooker, uses a lot more power than a fridge!
The breakers on the main panel and the wiring has to be a lot heavier in order to take the much larger load. Most homes have a power point in the kitchen, specifically for cookers. If you haven't, you'll need a qualified electrician to fit one. <><><>
As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.
Before you do any work yourself,
on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,
always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.
IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB
SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY
REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
Never do this! This may work (depending if your generator is delivering 110/220 or straight 220). However, this creates a severely DANGEROUS situation to the line workers - the people that are restoring your power during the blackout.
This is a straight textbook example (i'm a 3rd year Electrical Engineering student). I'll give a quote from my textbook:
'Unaware of the [generator], the line technician believes that there is no voltage on the line. However, because of the [generator], 7200V exists between the two points, and the line technician could be seriously injured or even killed if he comes in contact with this high voltage.'
The line worker sees 7200V because the 110 V goes through a transformer (the often green boxes on the street where wires are underground or the 'cans' on telephone poles). Thus this is a SEVERE violation of electrical code. The proper way to do this is to install what is called a transfer switch. There is a display of a setup at the Home Depot where I live. I suggest visiting them and talk to someone in the electrical department. Of course, if you were just concerned about keeping the fridge running, you could use an extention cord connecting your generator to the fridge.
Why not turn off the main breaker switch to protect any linemen?
The correct and legal way to do this is to install a generator transfer switch. It has a male plug to connect to the generator so you're not using any highly dangerous male-male dongles. It also allows you to switch circuits between generator and line power when needed and usually has a meter so you can tell when you overload your generator.
What is an ideal temperature for the inside of a refrigerator?
The ideal temperature for the inside of a refrigerator is between 35-38 degrees Fahrenheit (1.6-3.3 degrees Celsius). This temperature range helps to keep perishable foods fresh by slowing down bacterial growth while preventing freezing. Regularly check and adjust your refrigerator's temperature to ensure food safety.
How long does homemade pumpkin soup stay good in the fridge?
Homemade pumpkin soup can typically stay good in the fridge for 3-4 days if stored properly in an airtight container. Make sure to cool the soup completely before refrigerating to prolong its shelf life.
How long will a raw egg last sitting out of refrigerator?
Eggs left warm will age in one day what it would take 7 days in refrigerator to do. If an egg smells fine, the color is normal, and the yolk is still intact, then the aging process has not destroyed it.
Has a child ever died from being trapped in a fridge?
Despite the Refrigerator safety act of 1958, in US alone 163 kids dies from suffocation in fridges between 1956 and 1964 and 96 between 1973 and 1984.
More recently 2 dies in Guyana in 2003 and even a 6 old boy died in the US trapped in a old microwave.
Store the green tomatoes wrapped in newspaper at room temperature. Putting them in the fridge can cause chilling injury and affect their flavor and texture. Check them regularly to monitor their ripening progress.
There is not any butter in the fridge-correct this?
Honey, pick up some butter on your way home today.
Why do fruits ripen more quickly in cabinets than in the refrigerator?
The cold refrigerator environment delays the natural ripening process by preventing the starch in the fruit to change to sugar.
Placing fruit in a brown paper bag can further speed up the ripening process. As fruit ripens it gives off a chemical called ethylene, which accelerates ripening. The fastest way to ripen fruit is to place it in a brown paper bag with a ripe banana. in conclution fruits ripen faster in a paper baq!!! shut up
Kenmore refrigerators what is the electrical requirements when roughing a house?
The electrical requirements for a Kenmore refrigerator when roughing a house typically include a dedicated 15-20 amp circuit with a standard three-pronged electrical outlet. It's important to have proper grounding and polarity for safety and performance. Always refer to the specific model's installation guide for detailed electrical requirements.
