Anyone fridge experts here?

dirtydog · 9 Sep 2011 at 16:23

My fridge which is over five years old, has recently begun to sound different and I am concerned that it might possibly be leaking gas (which would be potentially injurious to health).

Normally the fridge would be silent except when it intermittently comes on in order to maintain the cold temperature.

Now however, it is making a noise all the time. It still 'comes on' and during that time it is louder, but when it 'goes off' there is still a noise which is hard to describe but it is sort of similar to hissing / gurgling I suppose.

It is still cold so apparently it is still functioning properly, at least for now. Obviously if it is leaking gas then it won't be for much longer though.

I googled and apparently the gas smells of ammonia, is that correct? So if I can't smell anything does that mean it isn't leaking and it is safe to leave it turned on?

dirtydog · 9 Sep 2011 at 16:29

Plate says R600a and has a flammable symbol next to it.

The make and model, it's a cheapo generic thing I bought from Argos

dirtydog · 9 Sep 2011 at 16:36

RJC said:
The amount of refrigerant in there if leaked would not course any hazards to health (not exploding) you can have a look around the pipe work with some soapy water to check that the pipe work has not fractured due to fatigue.

Does this have a freezer compartment which has been recently defrosted?

As a matter of fact it does have a small freezer compartment which I recently defrosted a few weeks ago, maybe a month, yes. And I did not use anything sharp as that is probably what you are thinking - I just simply turned it off and let the warm weather melt the ice.

dirtydog · 9 Sep 2011 at 16:44

Just tried the soapy water, the pipework which I can see SEEMS fine.

Another bit of info, once you open the fridge door, the noise stops. As soon as you close it, it restarts.

dirtydog · 9 Sep 2011 at 16:56

Hmm some more googling suggests that some R600a fridges have exploded ;/

It said that newer fridges have supposedly been mandated to have safeguards which can prevent the sparks which can cause explosions but I don't know when that would have occurred. I bought mine in June 2006 IIRC.

Not sure about the drain holes, I'm not very technically minded TBH

dirtydog · 9 Sep 2011 at 17:10

RJC said:
Look on top of the compressor, does have a plastic lid is what can be best described!

I don't think so, assuming the big black thing is the compressor.

Here's some pics, please take a look

(yeah it could do with a dust!)

dirtydog · 9 Sep 2011 at 17:21

If it was you, would you turn it off from fear of suffocating or being on the receiving end of an exploding fridge?

That's what I'm concerned about really. I can live with the noise until I get a new one, unless you think it could be dangerous.

dirtydog · 9 Sep 2011 at 17:39

Another thing, the 'noise' sometimes ceases for several seconds and the fridge becomes silent.

The compressor doesn't seem to be running any more frequently or for longer than it ever has done, and the fridge is still cold.

I think I will risk leaving it on, it will probably be fine, I get the impression that the risk of anything bad happening is very low.

Thanks for your help and advice, it is much appreciated.