Outside freezer is hot to the touch

Hi

If the unit was off for a while then more heat is inside the freezer after having it off for a while. That heat gets moved out to your condenser coil. Most freezers today don't have fans to force that heat to the outside air, they run that heat through the outer cabinet and it naturally travels to the cooler surrounding air. If there is no rear cover and no fan motor near that compressor this is how yours is designed. Just give it sometime and it should be fine. However it should be warm to the touch but not so hot you can't. And also depending on how long the freezer is running and how warm it is where the freezer is will affect how hot the outside is. The reason the outside of the freezer is hot is because that's how the freezer releases its heat from the refrigerant. The longer it runs or the harder it has to work the more heat it has to hive off. So unless the freezer is not cooling there is nothing to worry about.

Please get back to us if you have further query else please accept the suggestion.

Thank you for contacting fixya.com

Hi,
The heat is there to keep condensation down...it is nothing to worry about and normal operation...

heatman101

Hi and welcome to FixYa. I am Kelly.

In the fresh food compartment center overhead within about 6 inches of the front of the unit there is a circular hole. Inside that hole you will see a dial with 2 tabs on it. Use your thumb or a squared off utensil and rotate the tabbed dial slowly until you hear an audible "CLICK" The refrigerator should stop running and the defrost cycle begins.

After 45 minutes (+ or - 10 mins) the compressor should start again. Once the compressor starts, check both the evaporator fan in the freezer compartment and the condenser fan in the bottom rear of the unit to make sure they are turning at full speed.

If the compressor does NOT after 90 minutes re-start, rotate the defrost timer tabs of the dial in the overhead of the fresh food compartment until you hear it start again. The fact that the compressor did not start in under 90 minutes indicates a defrost circuit problem.

A slow running evaporator fan or condenser fan will cause poor cooling. Also in the back of the unit, check the right side of the condenser coils for lint / hair build up. If it is blocked the front outside chassis of the freezer section will be very warm almost hot to the touch. Clean as needed with a vacuum if you do find any lint buildup.

Once more thing is to check the ice maker. Quickly touch the bottom of the ice maker. If it is VERY hot to the touch then there is a problem with the ice maker itself and the mold heater can cause your freezer to warm up and overall unit performance to degrade.

A complete checkout of the ice maker can be found here: http://www.american-appliance.com/catalog/newsdesk_info.php?newsPath=12&newsdesk_id=34

Your parts can be found here:
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=48360

Scrolling the left side of the page will access all sections of the unit.

Thanks for using FixYa.

Kelly


It sounds as if you have an automatic defrost problem.

Hi,
There are a couple of things that could cuase this and neither are anything to worry about.
One cause could be a heat strip to keep the outside of the refrigerator from sweating.
The other is the the condenser coils sometimes are run up the side of the unit to cool the freon and disipate heat.
As long as everything else is working properly I would not be concerned about the warmth. It is "normal".

Hopefully this will help you solve your question.

Thanks for using Fixya!!

Heatman101

If you're talking about the divider between the freezer and fresh food section, check this post

When the refrigerator is on, check at the bottom of the fridge to see if there is any air blowing out. If not, your condenser fan is not working and this will cause the condenser to be very hot and transfer heat around the outside of the freezer door. If the fan is working, try cleaning the coils. Although my guess is the condenser is running hot for some reason.

The problem was the fan. It was hitting the metal enclosure and had stopped working. We made an adjustment and cleaned it and now it works fine and the hot spots are gone.

Usually is not a fire danger however there is a problem that needs attention. I would recommend that you call a qualified service man for this one as soon as possible.

it should be warm to the touch but not so hot you cant. and also depending on how long the freezer is running and how warm it is where the freezer is will effect how hot the outside is. the reason the outside of the freezer is hot is because thats how the freezer releses its heat from the refrigerant. the longer it runs or the harder it has to work the more heat it has to hive off. so unless the freezer is not cooling there is nothing to worry about.