fridge freezing over

[Brassmonkeys]

We have been living aboard for about 10 days. We have a waeco fridge compressor that is in excellent shape. The fridge has frozen over 3 times already, to the point where it is just a brick of ice and no air is moving. I then have to move everything out of the fridge, melt all the ice and start the process over again.

The only fans moving air are 3 computer fans over the coils. Could it be possible that they arent strong enough? The fridge is set to 5 celsius

[Drek4]

First thing I would check is the thermostat, have you tried different settings?
Secondly I would check if the refrigerant pressures are good.

[sailorboy1]

Normally freezers ice up due to moisture and/or from poor air flow due to have the openings to/from the coils blocked.

If it is the only unit you have and are getting in/out a lot it will freeze up a lot.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Normally freezers ice up due to moisture and/or from poor air flow due to have the openings to/from the coils blocked.

If it is the only unit you have and are getting in/out a lot it will freeze up a lot.

I agree with what you say, but he said in a time frame of 10 days...

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Drek4

I agree with what you say, but he said in a time frame of 10 days...

So what?

I have had it take anywhere from 1 day to 30 depending on what time of year, where we were and temp/humidity.

[GreenWave]

All freezers will eventually freeze up, which is why household ones have auto-defrost modes If you have air gaps that will make it worse, in addition to previous suggestions.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

So what?

I have had it take anywhere from 1 day to 30 depending on what time of year, where we were and temp/humidity.

Yes, I guess if he lives closer to the equator that would make sense, keep on thinking april weather here in Canada we are still heating.

[Brassmonkeys]

Thanks for the posts everyone!

[stormalong]

Where is the temperature sensor mounted? If it is not mounted to the evaporator plate that is your problem. You need to keep the evaporator plate above freezing.

How accurate is that 5C? Is it a digital control?

[tkeithlu]

The water has to come from somewhere. The most common source, I think, is a humid environment combined with a defective door gasket. Sure, a bunch of opening and closing helps, but not that much water is going in that way. On the other hand, a very small leak, whether in the door gasket or, as an example, the seal where the pipes enter the box, will do it very quickly.

Good luck with chasing it down.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

The water has to come from somewhere. The most common source, I think, is a humid environment combined with a defective door gasket. Sure, a bunch of opening and closing helps, but not that much water is going in that way. On the other hand, a very small leak, whether in the door gasket or, as an example, the seal where the pipes enter the box, will do it very quickly.

Good luck with chasing it down.

Yep, freezing over is definitely not a symptom of poorly operating refrigerating components.

[akopac]

Front or top hatch door?
Gasket check
Refrigeration piping wall hole caulk/seal check.
I have a top hatch setup. I now defrost every 3-4 months in Sea of Cortez, MX.
The hatch is 2” blue foam with the attached double seal. And I set a gallon of water on top of the hatch when I close it. I’m coming up with something more pretty but it works awesome. This weatherstrip was referred to me by another cruising forum user and it’s fantastic stuff. Apparently he went through a lot of products before he hit this one. Why reinvent the wheel right? You can glue the corners together with crazy glue. Or reglue it on if the sticky goes bad with crazy glue.