Freezers are such an essential home appliance of any household. It has made our life convenient. It enhances the life span of your food, allows you to cope up with extreme cold and hot weather, and prevent food from spoilage.
Freezers have improved a lot over the period and have become more convenient, efficient, and environmentally friendly.
In this article, we will see how does freezer works. Knowing an appliance and how does it work will help you understand the mechanism behind freezers, and you can better take care of your freezer or refrigerator.
How Does a Freezer Works?
The freezer works with the basic concept of vapor compression. There is a process of continuous vaporization that goes into the cycle for refrigeration.
The cooling system of a freezer or refrigerator consists of two coils. Evaporative and condenser coils are the main components that are separated by an expansive valve.
Energy like electricity is used for running the compressor that pressurized the refrigerant in the first coil. It is forced to spray into the second coil through the expansive valve.
The pressure in the second coil is much lesser that evaporates the vapors that create cooling.
So the cooling process begins as vapor under low pressure. It enters the freezer through a compressor to condenser coil that has a high temperature. From here, it is squeezed and heats up that convert it into a high-pressure state.
When this vapor is transferred to the evaporative coil, the pressure drops suddenly. The evaporative coils also absorb heat that leads to cold vapors that create a freezing atmosphere inside the freezer.
So basically a freezer works with a compressor, condenser, and evaporative coils, a fan that circulates the cool air to the refrigerator.
Why does the freezer need to be properly sealed?
Whether it is the ice making section of the freezer or a cool compartment for fruits and veggies, it needs to be properly sealed for holding in the cooling.
The cooling process we described is an ongoing process until the freezer reaches the required temperature. It needs to be properly sealed to hold in the cooling, and The condenser coils continue to absorb warmth and dissipate it through evaporative coils until the thermostat tells them to stop.
The thermostat monitors the temperature inside the freezer, and when it reaches the desired temperature, it signals the compressor to stop working.
If the freezer is not sealed, it will leak the cooling out, and the thermostat does not work properly as the temperature rise again and need constant cooling. This will consume more energy and result in a spike in your electricity bills.
What is the difference between a Freezer and Refrigerator?
The difference between the freezer and refrigerator is temperature. The temperature in a freezer is below 0 degrees. For the fridge section, the temperature is somewhere around 3-4 degrees depending on your setting.
The freezer is usually the ice making section of the refrigerator. There are separate freezers available as well that makes ice and are used for freezing the food.
A refrigerator is the compartment of the fridge that is used only to keep things cool. It does not freeze the food. The cooling process is done in the freezer. The cooling is provided to the refrigerator section through a fan that sends cool air into this section.
Some modern refrigerator has a separate cooling system as well. The refrigerator section needs to be properly sealed off as well for maintaining an optimal temperature inside. It works with a thermostat as well that maintains the temperature.
Defrosting The Freezer
Defrosting the freezer is important for the proper functioning of your freezer. Due to constant cooling, the ice is collected on the walls of the freezer and even its base. This ice accumulation gets worse as it keeps on becoming solid and restricts the airflow. The ice can prevent evaporative and condenser coils from functioning properly. The compressor has to work hard for cooling, and it ultimately slows down the freezer and may even shorten its life.
Most of the modern freezers come with the defrosting option. The automatic defrosting works automatically, and whenever ice stats building inside the refrigerator, it automatically stops cooling and causes the ice to melt.
Even when you don’t have an automatic defrosting system, or when it is not working properly, you can start the defrosting process yourself. The freezer will melt the ice and drain the water through a safety valve.
For older freezers that do not have the defrosting option, you need to melt the ice manually. It is done by turning off the freezer and allowing the ice inside to melt. Once the ice is melted, you can turn on the freezer again.
How does fridge freezer leaks Gas?
The freezer and fridge both use a chemical as a refrigerant to start the cooling process. In the past, freezers use Freon as the chemical to start the cooling process. This Gas is no longer used in freezers as it was found to be very harmful to the ozone layer. So nowadays, freezers are using other chemicals like tetrafluoroethylene or hydrofluorocarbons that are environmentally safe and also more efficient.
Freezer or a fridge can leak Gas due to many reasons like accidental tipping over of if you punch the sides or walls with something sharp. You can cut through the walls with a knife for cutting ice as well.
So it may result in the leaking of Gas. If you feel the gas leaking, or even if your fridge or freezer slows down and fails to perform then probably it’s because of the gas leakage.
You may not feel the smell of gas leakage at all that makes it more difficult to tell if the underlying problem behind the malfunctioning of your freezer is gas leaking. Some of the obvious signs of gas leaking are the explosions, gas leaking smell, or burning smell.
What to do for leaking Gas in Fridge Freezer?
If you detect your fridge or freezer is leaking Gas, it should be serviced by a certified technician. According to the regulatory laws, you cannot service your fridge or freezer at home like so many other appliances. You can certainly fix the issues of a fan or something relating the electric plugs, but for opening the freezer and checking the Gas, you need professional help.
That’s because the gases used as a refrigerant are environmental-friendly these days, but still, there may be some old fridges that still use those harmful gases. So only professionals should open up the freezers and service them.
The technician will most probably detect the cause of gas leakage and refill the fridge gas. Refilling a fridge or freezer gas is not an issue, but the problem can be to find the leaking point. So if you are out there for the service of your freezer or fridge, make sure the company offers to find the leak and to fix it as well otherwise there is no use in refilling the Gas.
What is a thermal Fuse and how it works?
The thermal fuse is used in home appliances for preventing them from overheating. It prevents the possible danger to the freezer or fridge as the result of overheating.
Basically, a thermal fuse works for the safety of your freezer. It is an internal sensor that is preset to its highest possible temperature. When the heat exceeds the preset level, the thermal link breaks the electric circuit. It stops your freezer from working for the time but only for good. It prevents any possible damage to your appliance as a result of overheating.
So the thermal fuse will break the electric circuit when the temperature reaches 76 degrees in the evaporator section.
Some tips for maintaining the freezer
Here are some tips that can help you maintain the freezer in good form.
Keep an eye on the ice inside the freezer. It should not collect on the walls or the freezer base. The ice on walls can cause your freezer to slow down. So defrost whenever you see some ice building up inside the freezer.
Opening the freezer or fridge door too often, or keep it open for a long time will cause the warm air of the room to go inside the freezer. It will raise the temperature inside that means the compressor will have to work more to maintain the temperature inside the freezer. That means your freezer will be consuming more energy.
Make sure the doors of the freezer and fridge are well sealed. The rubber seal around the door should not be damaged, or it will cause the cooling to leak. Replace the rubber seal immediately once you see it is not working properly.
Final Words
Fridge and freezer is such an essential component of any household. We cannot imagine life without this useful home appliances. But for their proper functioning, you need to know how does a freezer work. Knowing its different parts and how they work can help you maintain the fridge and freezer, enhancing their lifespan and performance.
