Freezers
Freezer repair: the frost keeps coming back
Frost is a symptom, not a fault. A freezer that re-frosts a week after being cleared is telling you that either the defrost circuit is not finishing its job or warm damp air is getting in, and those two have very different repairs.
The usual cause
A defrost cycle that starts but does not finish
Every frost-free freezer runs a heater across its evaporator on a cycle and melts the coil clear. Three things break that loop: the heater loses continuity, the terminator or sensor that decides the coil is warm enough calls it too early, or the board stops asking for the cycle at all. All three look identical from the kitchen — a solid mat of frost on the back wall and a compartment slowly losing its grip.
The tell is where the ice sits. A coil buried in frost with a warm compartment is defrost. A clean coil with a warm compartment is airflow or the sealed system, and that is a different afternoon entirely.
The other half
Melt water has to leave, and often does not
The water the defrost heater makes runs down a trough, through a tube and into a pan near the compressor. Block that path — with debris in the trough, or with a plug of ice in the tube that never gets warm enough to clear — and the melt sits in the base of the compartment and refreezes as a sheet under the bottom basket. People describe it as ice forming on the floor of the freezer, which is exactly what it is.
What gets checked on a freezer call:
- Defrost heater continuity, and where in the cycle it actually terminates
- The drain path from the trough through to the pan, cleared and proven
- Evaporator fan speed, and whether the air is reaching the compartment or being stopped by ice
- Drawer runners and seal alignment, because a drawer that sits a few millimetres proud frosts a whole cabinet
- The reading in the compartment against the reading on the display, which do not always agree
A reading that lies
Soft ice cream with zero on the display
That combination is nearly always airflow. The sensor sits where the air is coldest, reports the number it sees, and the compartment beyond it never gets that air because the evaporator fan has slowed or the coil is choked. Nothing is wrong with the thermostat and nothing is wrong with the compressor; the cold simply is not being moved.
What it costs
Ranges, then a quote
What a repair comes to depends on which component failed, whether the part rides in the van or has to be ordered for that platform, and how much of the cabinet has to come apart to reach it. These are the ranges this work falls into; the figure for your unit is quoted after the diagnosis and before anything is opened.
- Door gasket or seal replacement $270–$740
- Evaporator or condenser fan motor $290–$600
- Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor $300–$670
- Ice maker, water valve or supply line $310–$680
- Electronic control board $520–$880
- Compressor or sealed-system repair $1,020–$2,230
Flat $95 service call covering the visit and full diagnosis, credited against the repair once you approve it.
Reviews
On freezers and drawers
5out of 5from 1,295 reviews
5 out of 5
Straight in through the back porch, which he appreciated. The freezer half was barely holding. He found the fan blade clipping a ridge of ice, cleared the drain trough and reset the defrost. Unhurried and careful.
Fiona L.Jamaica Plain
5 out of 5
Ice cream soft although the display still read zero. The defrost thermostat had failed open. He tested it in front of me and fitted the replacement.
Teodor M.South End
5 out of 5
The freezer drawer stopped closing flush and ice was creeping along the runner. He pulled the basket, melted the ice back properly and replaced a cracked roller. Explained why our load height made it worse.
Coretta B.South End
Book it
Tell us what it is doing and we will tell you what it costs.
A flat $95 service call covers the visit and the diagnosis, and comes off the bill when you approve the repair. The line is answered 24/7; visits run 8:00 am – 8:00 pm, seven days.
- One number, quoted once
- Parts and labour arrive as a single figure before anything is opened up.
- Diagnosis you can see
- Temperatures, defrost behaviour and airflow are read in front of you.
- Independent
- An independent service business working on Sub-Zero refrigeration, with no manufacturer affiliation of any kind.
