# Is This Normal? (frost in new fridge)



## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

No that's not normal----check the gasket fit by closing a strip of paper into the door---

It looks like an air leak at the gasket.

As to the crooked door---It's a 5 minute job to fix that----call for service--it's new and that should be covered.----Mike-----


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

Thanks for the reply oh'mike.

I had already done the "paper test" for the gasket and did not find any obvious areas that could be leaking. The paper seemed to require the same amount of force (which wasn't much) to remove it no matter where along the gasket I placed it.

That's kind of why I thought it might be related to the crooked door. 

I'm not sure if Lowes has service people or they are going to want me to call Frigidaire. I've read elsewhere that dealing with Frigidaire is not always pleasant.

When you say that the crooked door is a 5-min fix... is it something I could try myself?


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

With the door open---look at the hinge plate---the bottom one on the big door needs to be loosened

and pushed over to the right a bit. Placing a stack of books under the outside edge of the door will help keep the door in place as you work.

Post a picture of the hinge assembly and someone will give you the exact directions.


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## mustangmike3789 (Apr 10, 2011)

wait until it is dark out and put a flashlight inside of the freezer pointing toward the gaskets and then turn off all of the lights in the house to see if you can see light around the door when it is closed. you may have to reposition the flash light a few time by aiming it directly at each gasket. you should not detect any light breaking the seal.


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

mustangmike3789 said:


> wait until it is dark out and put a flashlight inside of the freezer pointing toward the gaskets and then turn off all of the lights in the house to see if you can see light around the door when it is closed. you may have to reposition the flash light a few time by aiming it directly at each gasket. you should not detect any light breaking the seal.


Well that's a clever idea. Thanks... I'll try it.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

the crooked door is not causing the frost build up. You have an air leak somewhere around that gasket. Do call the Frigidaire 800 service number for help.


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## Jacques (Jul 9, 2008)

Yeah call for warranty service, be a pest. get in their data base with this problem. This not uncommon, frost in that exact location, for Frig'd top frz'. they have no engineering service flash for this- as yet. although there's ice and droplets there, indicating big air leak, so maybe tech will be able to see where problem lies...don't mess with door. no adj at center hinge-other things need to be done for this-if it's correctable or they just say that's commercially acceptable=to them.


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies/suggestions. This is a very helpful forum.

Here's the latest...

I went to Lowe's, showed them the pictures and they told me to call their service number to have it looked at. (They don't have their own service people... they contract out, which is fine). The guy came this morning and checked a few things... the way the doors close, where the gaskets hit, the level of the fridge, etc. He took the freezer gasket off and looked at the door closing again. He said the gasket looks good, put it back in and said the seal looks good. He basically couldn't explain it. He said that he's never seen it that bad across the whole freezer like that. He said that bad gaskets usually show frost in one corner or the other... not across the whole front like I have it. 

After checking front-to-back with his level, he said that the lean was good. And although the level showed good across the front (The unit was properly leveled side-to-side), he apparently felt like the fridge rocked a little (I didn't think so myself) and adjusted the right front wheel up a bit anyway. Not enough to make it start rocking, but enough that it is no longer level side-side... it leans to the left.

And that's all he did. He said he could order a new gasket but he doesn't think there is anything wrong with the one I have. I told him that I don't have time to wait for any new parts because my 30-day return is up in a week. Plus, I should not need any new parts for an item that is less than a month old.

He took a towel and cleared off all the frost/ice and said I should know in a day or two if his resetting of the gasket and "leveling" fixed the problem. I asked him about the crooked doors and he would not do anything about that, saying that the doors sealed well as they are. 

At this point, I have until the middle of next week to return this fridge and either get my money back or exchange it for a new one. If I have to do one of those, I will exchange it because except for these problems, I do like it. So we'll see what happens. 

Thanks again guys.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

if the service man can not fix it then have them replace it, you can not live with that going on inside your freezer. If you like the refrig. have them bring you the same model, I can assure you that that problem is not typical of the Frigidaires. That being said, I have seen and fixed that exact same problem not 2 weeks ago. I can tell you how it should be repaired but that will do you little good.
if the service company that came out to do your repair, did not know how to repair it he should have contacted Frigidaire tech support to get the answer. I suspect it was A&E factory service? Very unprofessional.


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

It was clear to me that the service guy didn't have a clue as to what was wrong or how to fix it. 

24 hours after the he cleared off the frost/ice in the freezer, it has begin to reform already. Still perplexed about this, I got on a step stool and felt along the door and gasket. I feel no air leaking out and the gasket *seems* to seal evenly all along the freezer door. One odd thing though. Along the edge of the freezer opening where the gasket meets the door, along the top, it feels slightly warm to the touch. You can't feel it when the freezer is open of course because the cold air rushing out. But when the door is closed and I place my thumb or fingers right in the trench where gasket meets freezer, I can feel that the steel is slightly warm. I wonder if that could be causing this problem. If so, is this fridge faulty or is it a design flaw? If it is a design flaw, then an exchange for the same model will have the same problem. 

(It actually feels warm like that in a couple of spots along the vertical side of the freezer door too... just in spots though.)

Still considering my options.


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## Mr Chips (Mar 23, 2008)

Old Lady said:


> Still considering my options.


If it were me, and the ice reappears tomorrow, I'd get them on the horn and have them bring out a new one and take this one back. You made a good faith effort to make this one work, but I wouldn't mess around any longer, you must have better things to do


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

Old Lady said:


> It was clear to me that the service guy didn't have a clue as to what was wrong or how to fix it.
> 
> 
> 
> Still considering my options.


don't know what there is to consider, if the service company can not fix it and Lowes has a 30 day exchange policy, it seems pretty clear what your option should be.

If it makes any differnce a few Frigidaire models had a problem with air entering the freezer compartment from the defrost drain tube resulting in exactly what you see on yours. It is a very simple repair with a new drain tube kit from Frigidaire.


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

Old Lady said:


> One odd thing though. Along the edge of the freezer opening where the gasket meets the door, along the top, it feels slightly warm to the touch. You can't feel it when the freezer is open of course because the cold air rushing out. But when the door is closed and I place my thumb or fingers right in the trench where gasket meets freezer, I can feel that the steel is slightly warm. I wonder if that could be causing this problem. If so, is this fridge faulty or is it a design flaw? If it is a design flaw, then an exchange for the same model will have the same problem.
> 
> (It actually feels warm like that in a couple of spots along the vertical side of the freezer door too... just in spots though.)


The slightly warm freezer door frame when the thing is running (as described above) is not out of the ordinary?


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

absolutely not, there are refrigerant tubes that run inside there. The tubing serves 2 purposes, it eliminates condensation and it helps the system get rid of the excess heat.


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

Mr Chips said:


> If it were me, and the ice reappears tomorrow, I'd get them on the horn and have them bring out a new one and take this one back. You made a good faith effort to make this one work, but I wouldn't mess around any longer, you must have better things to do


Yes you're absolutely right. The ice is back and I am going to return it. By "still considering my options", I meant that I still need to decide if...

1 - I will exchange it for the same model
2 - I will exchange it for a different model
3 - I will get my money back and shop elsewhere

My option of choice is the first one. I did a lot of shopping already when I first went looking for a new fridge and this is the one I picked. I got a good deal on it (25% off) and the sales that were on at the time are over.

That said, if this problem is a design flaw and a replacement of the same model will do the same thing, then going for option 1 would not be smart.

On the other hand, if this problem is an issue with this fridge only (i.e. something's "broke" in it) and will likely NOT be a problem with a replacement of the same model, then going for option 1 would be great.

That's my dilemma and that's why I'm not at Lowe's at this very moment telling them I want to return it.


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

Quick Update - 

I went back to Lowe's and told them that I want a new one (same make and model). They don't have one in stock but are expecting more and as soon as they get one, they will contact me for a swap-out. So we'll see. 

Thanks again for all your input.


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

Another Quick Update - 

After some hassle with the delivery department of Lowe's (they will NOT receive a good review from me when I post my experience at the Lowe's web site), I finally got my replacement refrigerator yesterday afternoon. This time, the doors were swapped here (out in my driveway) instead of at the warehouse. Why I don't know. But it gave me the opportunity to stress to the guys to get the doors on as straight as possible and also for me to see the whole process (always happy to educate myself on these types of things). They did a decent job. The handles don't line up perfectly, but almost. So much better than the other one anyway. So the doors are much straighter than on the other one and I am happy (so far).

Time will tell if this one develops the same problem or not. I'll return in a couple of weeks, hopefully for a final post here saying that there is no frost build-up and all is well.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Thanks for the up date!


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## Old Lady (Jun 25, 2011)

Another Update... probably the last one.

So I've had my replacement fridge for some time now and guess what... it has the same problem! Not quite as severe... but there nonetheless. The pictures below show the frost/ice accumulation after 24 hours and after 5 days. 

So I am completely and utterly stumped. Two brand new refrigerators exhibiting this same issue. 

That said, I am keeping this one. I'm keeping it because, aside from this problem, in every other way, it is perfect. It is noticeably quieter than the identical one it replaced. The other one had a slight fan rattle coming from one side that sounded like it was either loose or out of balance. It also made some other noises that, while not overly obnoxious, did bother me a bit. This new one, however, doesn't have ANY noises other than what I consider completely normal... a very soft whine of I guess the compressor, and a normal fan/air movement sound.

So I'm going to tolerate the frost build-up problem because it does seem minimal compared to the other one and, like I said, in every other way this fridge is perfect and I like it a lot.

If I ever figure out what is causing the frost/ice build-up, I will report back, but for now, I guess this is the end of this saga. 

Thanks again. Oh... here are the pics 24hrs and 5 days after delivery of new one...


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

as I stated in a previous post, the problem with your refrig is very simple. They need to install a new drain tube kit on your refrig. The drain tube is allowing warm air to enter the freezer causing condensation and then freezing into ice, all that is required is a new drain tube kit from Frigidaire with a p trap built into it. The new drain tube will hold water in the p trap and prevent any air from entering. I've used them and this has always fixed the problem.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

ok now I will rant a little. I just don't understand your thinking, why would you just live with this problem. Big Box stores offer little to no service after the sale and if they do send someone out they know absolutely nothing. So instead of complaing and getting it fixed you will just live with it. Good luck with that.


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## Jacques (Jul 9, 2008)

Tell the warranty servicer the part # is 5303918285. i wasn't aware of this 'fix' either until HW/m posted it.


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## del schisler (Aug 22, 2010)

Old Lady said:


> Another Update... probably the last one.
> 
> So I've had my replacement fridge for some time now and guess what... it has the same problem! Not quite as severe... but there nonetheless. The pictures below show the frost/ice accumulation after 24 hours and after 5 days.
> 
> ...


do the fix this not good and you will have big problum later. Get the new drain tube and fix the problum. Of course this not my freg. but why not fix it ????


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