Lisa O`Brien Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) After years of putting up with a very small upright freezer we finally got a new large chest freezer today delivered from Argos. Only £200 so great value for money. Had to leave it to stand for four hours before plugging it in which I did. We do a fortnightly shop every other Wednesday, when Sainsbury's deliver everything to our front door; far more practical than me traipsing around the supermarket, impulse buying and spending too much. Then the taxi home with it all which costs £9.00. They deliver for £3.00 or £4.00 which is great. But the last few months, struggling to fit everything in our freezer, i've been losing the will to live. I have had to start cooking frozen pieces of chicken and vegetables at ten in the morning. Either that or throw them out as there has literally not been one inch left in the freezer. So the newbie arrived today. Three hours late but hey ho. Now this is the problem. I opened and closed the lid several times, as easy as anything. When Sean arrived home from college tonight he went to have a look inside it and the door was sealed shut. He literally could not open it at all, no matter how hard he tried. Ten minutes later when he tried again it opened straight away. Then sealed shut. Then opened easily. I messaged Argos online and the man said we could exchange it for either an identical one or choose a different model. I said we would think about it overnight and decide tomorrow. It's pointless having a freezer that you cannot open whenever you want to. Sean Googled it and it is some sort of vacuum caused by air getting into the freezer, sucking it shut. I have never heard or come across this before. Has anyone else experienced this , when a freezer seals itself shut,almost at will? Edited March 6, 2017 by Lisa O`Brien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 They do usually have some sort of seal whereby you can't open it for a couple of minutes after shutting it, I think, but I don't think this is what's happening here, is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 6, 2017 Author Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) They do usually have some sort of seal whereby you can't open it for a couple of minutes after shutting it, I think, but I don't think this is what's happening here, is it? No it's not Alison. Both me and Sean tried for 20 minutes. It would not open. Just been in to the dining room now [our kitchen is tiny] and tried it again. Sealed solidly. My second hand,annoyingly small one that I got off someone advertising it in the local paper about seven years ago opens absolutely whenever I want it to. Kind of pointless having one that you cannot open whenever you feel like it. I just wondered if it was a familiar thing with modern freezers? Edited March 6, 2017 by Lisa O`Brien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 6, 2017 Author Share Posted March 6, 2017 It keeps making a popping sound then the motor starts whirring. This is when it seals itself shut. It is impossible to open when its like this. Then a popping sound starts again, the motor starts whirring again and it unseals itself. So weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonrothbart Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 It could be pressure differential Lisa, if you shut the door and need to open it almost straight away, the warm air that has been drawn in causes the problem. It's quite a while since I was at school, but the psi x the area of the door creates quite a differential in pressure. It should cool down after no time at all and the door should open normally. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 6, 2017 Author Share Posted March 6, 2017 It could be pressure differential Lisa, if you shut the door and need to open it almost straight away, the warm air that has been drawn in causes the problem. It's quite a while since I was at school, but the psi x the area of the door creates quite a differential in pressure. It should cool down after no time at all and the door should open normally. Sean is saying this makes sense. Just wondered why no-one else had mentioned it in then online reviews if it is a common thing. However, we've got 30 days to send it back so we'll keep it for two or three days and see if it "calms down" or whatever it's going to do to become normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 is the freezer full yet? They do say they work better when fuller. This problem may disappear if there isn't as much fresh air in there - when you open it, warm air gets in, which then contracts when the freezer acts on it, causing a partial vacuum Well, that's my guess anyway 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) is the freezer full yet? They do say they work better when fuller. This problem may disappear if there isn't as much fresh air in there - when you open it, warm air gets in, which then contracts when the freezer acts on it, causing a partial vacuum Well, that's my guess anyway Possibly Dave, thanks. No it is completely empty still. But would it make a "pop" sound which either opens it or seals it, depending on whether there was anything in it or not? Edited March 7, 2017 by Lisa O`Brien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonrothbart Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Sorry Lisa I've just realised you and Sean tried to open it after twenty minutes. That's definitely not normal, I would first look at the troubleshooting guide in the manual, just to see if it relates to anything that's happening. If not contact Argos, and explain the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 8, 2017 Author Share Posted March 8, 2017 Sorry Lisa I've just realised you and Sean tried to open it after twenty minutes. That's definitely not normal, I would first look at the troubleshooting guide in the manual, just to see if it relates to anything that's happening. If not contact Argos, and explain the problem. Thanks Vonrothbart. Realised the popping sound doesn't actually correlate with it opening and closing. I thought it did. An Engineer is calling round tomorrow to take a look at it. The Troubleshooting guide mentions nothing. Tonight, getting out the frozen fish and veggies for dinner, we had to leave the freezer door open until I had finished with them all and was ready to put the remainder back again. The Sainsbury's man arrived with it all at nine this morning and it was sealed shut just as he turned up. I was like, "just terrific". Luckily a few minutes later it opened for me. Hopefully the guy who is calling round will know what on earth's going on with it. The freezer is now full of all our frozen things, that we transferred from our small one and what we bought this morning. It's huge though so it's still very empty looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 I've no idea for your freezer problem - although I thought for large chest freezers it took anywhere up to 24 hours for them to get properly cold. As others have said there is a pressure/vaccum when you open the door and I believe the whirring sound is the unit within the freezer that stops the warmer area condensing when it hits the cold. Hopefully the engineer will be able to identify if there is a fault somewhere. I do believe however that your chest freezer works best when it is full. You don't need to fill it with food, scrunched up newspaper or some ziplock bags filled with water and frozen can help fill in some of the empty space. We've always just used newspaper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 I've got a fridge-freezer and the freezer door does this sometimes, usually if you open the door more than once in a few minutes. First time is fine, go to open it again 2 minutes later and it's stuck fast. I get round it by using brute force 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 9, 2017 Author Share Posted March 9, 2017 I've got a fridge-freezer and the freezer door does this sometimes, usually if you open the door more than once in a few minutes. First time is fine, go to open it again 2 minutes later and it's stuck fast. I get round it by using brute force Is yours quite modern, taxi? Just wondered if it is a new thing. Oh, it's not made by Bush is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 9, 2017 Author Share Posted March 9, 2017 Well unbeknown to me and for some bizarre reason, Sean had phoned up yesterday to cancel the engineer. This morning I said to him, "Why on earth did you do that ?" He said, "It'll be fine. We'll manage". What the heck? Oh and the huge cardboard box it came in in case I needed to send it back? It was in the hall standing upright. Pumpkin kept playing in and out of it, using it like a sort of maze. I went to bed two nights ago and decided to lay it down, flattened. I didn't want her to become stuck inside it in the night. Woke up to find Blackie, my soon to be 15 year old cat, [i'm assuming it must have been her as the other two use litter trays always] had done a huge, scuttery poo all over it. So I guess it won't be going back in its original box then, which I guess means we won't be able to send it back now even if we wanted to. The bin men came around a few hours later and I folded it over on itself so they wouldn't see what was inside it and put it out next to the bin. Luckily they took it away. I don't think they would have done if they had seen what was in one of the inside folds of cardboard. Yuk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 ?? I would re-book the engineer, Lisa, and tell Sean that you want it checked. If this is "normal" for this type of freezer, THEN you can "manage". If not, and if there's a fault, you can exchange it ASAP. I wouldn't worry about the box - if the freezer is faulty and needs to be exchanged, you won't need the original packaging. Just say the bin men took it. I think you only need the original packing if you simply change your mind . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 9, 2017 Author Share Posted March 9, 2017 ?? I would re-book the engineer, Lisa, and tell Sean that you want it checked. If this is "normal" for this type of freezer, THEN you can "manage". If not, and if there's a fault, you can exchange it ASAP. I wouldn't worry about the box - if the freezer is faulty and needs to be exchanged, you won't need the original packaging. Just say the bin men took it. I think you only need the original packing if you simply change your mind . OK thanks for that. I know. I don't know what on earth he was thinking cancelling the engineer. Didn't even ask me first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonrothbart Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Don't worry Lisa, I'm sure you can't be expected to return something as large as a freezer, especially if it's through no fault of your own. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 OK thanks for that. I know. I don't know what on earth he was thinking cancelling the engineer. Didn't even ask me first. If the freezer's still giving you problems then I'd re-book the engineer ASAP and say to Sean that he is NOT to cancel! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now