Antique Coldspot freezer trouble (long)

[wkilleffer]

Hello,

A couple of years ago, we inherited an antique Sears Coldspot upright freezer from my wife's grandmother. The grandmother's parents bought it new in the early 1950s, and it had been running in the grandmother's garage since the 1980s. It's been in near continuous use since it was new unless it was unplugged for defrosting.

We first put it into a storage room off of our garage, and it seemed to work fine. But it made that room very hot in the summer, and I wanted the room for other purposes. So, I moved it out to a corner of our garage. It seemed to work fine there as well.

I usually defrosted it every two or three months. It needed defrosting in late November, so I put the food in our inside fridge and unplugged the coldspot. I ended up out of town until just before Christmas, and it stayed unplugged the whole time. In the meantime, it got some mildew inside. I cleaned it up and plugged it back in about three weeks ago.

Two nights ago, I went out to put some more stuff in it, and found that it was no longer at freezing temperature and all the stuff in it had defrosted and needed to be thrown away. I checked the thermostat adjustment and nothing seemed amiss, so I closed the door and hoped for the best.

It was still not working correctly yesterday. It seems closer to freezing today, but not as cold as it used to get.

As far as we know, the freezer has been trouble-free its whole life. It has sounded a bit different this week. Usually, it makes a quiet, steady noise while the compressor is running. This week, the sound has changed volume rhythmically. The coils aren't fastened to anything at their top, and when I push the top of the coils against the back of the freezer, the sound changes back to the more steady noise.

Is my freezer dying and is there anything I can do to fix it? Also, could its operation be affected by cold outdoor temperatures?

Thank you,
-Bill

[Dan O.]

** could its operation be affected by cold outdoor temperatures? **

Yes. Most domestic refrigeration appliances will not operate properly in below freezing temperatures (if that's what it is like where you are).

** I checked the thermostat adjustment and nothing seemed amiss **

Is the freezer's compressor running? All the thermostat does is turn it on and off.

If the compressor IS running, either it will not work in the ambient temperatures it is in or there is a problem in its refrigeration system which could be expensive to repair.

** unplugged the coldspot. I ended up out of town until just before Christmas, and it stayed unplugged the whole time. In the meantime, it got some mildew inside. **

That will usually happen with a refrigerator or freezer. The doors need to be left open* or ajar* to allow residual moisture to dissipate.

*Leaving a refrigerator or freezer open could allow children to climb inside and suffocate. Steps should be taken to avoid such possibilities.

JFYI

Dan O.
www.Appliance411.com
The Appliance Information Site
=D~~~~~~

[wkilleffer]

[quote=Dan O.]** could its operation be affected by cold outdoor temperatures? **

Yes. Most domestic refrigeration appliances will not operate properly in below freezing temperatures (if that's what it is like where you are).

-It's been getting down into the 30s at night, and up into the 50s and low 60s during the day. The worst weather here took place during the time I was gone, when temps during the day rarely got above 45.

** I checked the thermostat adjustment and nothing seemed amiss **

Is the freezer's compressor running? All the thermostat does is turn it on and off.

-I was just making sure I hadn't accidently bumped it or mis-set it. The compressor runs, and seems to run more than it should.

If the compressor IS running, either it will not work in the ambient temperatures it is in or there is a problem in its refrigeration system which could be expensive to repair.

** unplugged the coldspot. I ended up out of town until just before Christmas, and it stayed unplugged the whole time. In the meantime, it got some mildew inside. **

That will usually happen with a refrigerator or freezer. The doors need to be left open* or ajar* to allow residual moisture to dissipate.

*Leaving a refrigerator or freezer open could allow children to climb inside and suffocate. Steps should be taken to avoid such possibilities.

-The garage is inside of a locked fence. But the freezer is not one where someone could climb inside and get trapped. Rather than being a large, open box, it is divided into storage compartments. When you open the door, there is a wall on the inside that has the doors for those compartments. They look like a large version of a car's glovebox. The compartments are metal shelves with refrigerant lines running underneath them.

I'd hate to have to move it back into that storage room, but that might be required to keep it working properly. It's also kind of cumbersome to move.

Thank you for your advice.