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Fridge door won...
 

[Closed] Fridge door won't open

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well it will, but there seems to be a huge vacuum in there stopping it.

Caught my daughter bracing one foot on the unit next to it so she can get enough power to pull it this morning so something has to be done.

It's a tall, built in, fridge (about 6ft tall inside a floor to ceiling kitchen unit). The unit door is attached to the fridge door so the whole lot together weighs a fair bit.

Seal seems to be fine (else we wouldn't get the vacuum stopping it opening?). I've checked the hinges and there's no movement.

It's been installed about 2 years and not had any problems to date with it and it doesn't seemed to have moved inside the carcass at all.

any ideas?


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:08 am
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Smart fridge wont open unless you are really hungry? Its the future.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:11 am
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Its a new govt obesity measure. Lose a few pounds and it'll open easily.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:12 am
 Drac
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Take the Vacuum out, tis a silly place to store one.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:13 am
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[img] [/img]

.... who you gonna call?


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:14 am
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Sometimes it depends a bit on where you open it. If you open it towards one corner then the seal will break easily at the corner and it opens without problems. If you try and open it exactly in the middle of the edge of the door that can be toughest. I tend to always open it from towards the top corner of the door

and

Take the Vacuum out, tis a silly place to store one
🙂


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:14 am
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[i]Take the Vacuum out, tis a silly place to store one. [/i]

🙂

It's quite a posh one so I thought I'd make a Miele out of it.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:15 am
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That sucks


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:15 am
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I think you need to chill out.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:24 am
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pic if it helps.

Fridge is inside the unit in the middle. handle in middle of the door and no real option to move it, tbh.

[URL= http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff167/LukeBurstow/DSC_1244_zpsa2e45556.jp g" target="_blank">http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff167/LukeBurstow/DSC_1244_zpsa2e45556.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

(yes the floor needs a sweep - the kids have just finished making breakfast...)

I was wondering if there was some sort of drain hole for condensation off the back wall to fall through at the back that also lets air in as the door is opened but it's become blocked?


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:31 am
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Does it always do it, or only after it's just been opened previously?

The drain holes do block of course, so that could be it too.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:38 am
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If you're careful and close the door gently it doesn't do it, if you let the self closer do it's thing then it happens every time.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:40 am
 JoB
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give the door seals a good clean, there might be a bit of smeg causing them to stick


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:41 am
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Silicone spray on the seals? However don't come moaning when the beer isn't cold anymore!!


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:49 am
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God abhors a vacuum 😆


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:54 am
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It appears your fridge is trapped in the closet.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:55 am
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[i]God abhors a vacuum[/i]

I am sure it's got neff all to do with God.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:58 am
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But how do you really know? 😉


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 8:59 am
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Probably just that it’s now summer, in winter when the house is “room temperature” or below and the air is dry (cold air outside, bring it in and warm it up and it’s relative humidity drops as it’s the same moisture but it’s capacity increases) then filling the fridge with air, closing it and contracting hat air and condensing the water has little effect.

Fill it with 25C air at 70% RH and it’ll do twice as much work contracting it, and there’s a lot more me water to condense too.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:21 am
 Sui
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maybe you just not putting eNeff effort into opening it.

IGMC

damnit, beaten to the Neff gag


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:23 am
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I'll give the seals a wipe with some silicone fork lube and check the drain thing at the back.

Maybe if I put a fan heater inside with the Hoover I could stop the air contracting so much?


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:24 am
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Put a bit of thin cord or pvc tape on the seal face to create a small leak path and reduce the vacuum? But if you're going to try pvc tape do it before you use silicone lube!


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:33 am
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There are small vent / drain holes in most fridges, so Id guess that one or all of them are blocked.
Often (even with frost free fridge freezers) if the door has been left open a smidge ice can build up and block vents etc. I'd suggest having a good go at defrosting it and checking the drain holes arent blocked by ice or peas.
Often in fridges there are drain holes at the lower rear of the fridge compartment to collect condensation and allow it to drain into a plastic catch tray located on top of the compressor where it can evaporate.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:37 am
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well, it turns out that once you remove the salad drawers and have a delve round the back that a carelessly discarded grape is [i]exactly[/i] the right size to block the combined drain and anti-vacuum hole at the base of the back wall of the fridge.

Once the grape was removed all seemed tickety-boo.

I de-smeg'd the seals just in case too but I haven't lubed them up.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:52 am
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Sell it to Harry The Spider.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:54 am
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Having solved the problem wwaswas can now chill... and everyone else can cool it with the fridge gags, though some of them were qwhite goods.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:57 am
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I did not know that the drain hole was also pressure release, but it makes perfect sense 🙂


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 9:58 am
 TimP
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[i] did not know that the drain hole was also pressure release, but it makes perfect sense[/i]

Me neither.

I feel my day has not been wasted. I may even post on the 'rewarding things at work' thread.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:00 am
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Bet them kitchen fridge doors cost a thousand quid, luckily the roofer hadnt stained them.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:13 am
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Bet them kitchen fridge doors cost a thousand quid, luckily the roofer hadnt stained them
😆


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:21 am
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You should talk to this guy.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/there%e2%80%99s-a-ghost-in-my-house


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:23 am
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though some of them were qwhite goods.

Post of the day!


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:26 am
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Does it always do it, or only after it's just been opened previously?

The drain holes do block of course, so that could be it too.


Ooo, interesting - we've got a chest freezer that requires the deadlift skills of Mariusz Pudzianowski to open if it's only just been shut. I shall have a delve at the weekend. 🙂


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:27 am
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I was going to suggest you turn the fridge off and let it warm up enough for the air to expand and relieve the low pressure inside.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:28 am
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[i]a chest freezer[/i]

Storing bra's in the fridge?


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:28 am
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Nothing nicer on a hot day. 🙂


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 10:54 am
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Once the grape was removed all seemed tickety-boo.

This sentence is so good I thought it needed repeating, and perhaps reusing in other contexts.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 11:01 am
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Ooo, interesting - we've got a chest freezer that requires the deadlift skills of Mariusz Pudzianowski to open if it's only just been shut. I shall have a delve at the weekend

Pah, you're just showing off that a) you have a chest freezer, like off of the 80s, and b) you can spell Mariusz Pudzianowski.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 11:06 am
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Hilarious thread with a good outcome 😆


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 11:12 am
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wwaswas - Member

well, it turns out that once you remove the salad drawers and have a delve round the back that a carelessly discarded grape is exactly the right size to block the combined drain and anti-vacuum hole at the base of the back wall of the fridge.

Once the grape was removed all seemed tickety-boo.


You're welcome! 😕


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 11:15 am
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It did take an AEG to remedy though.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 11:39 am
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Pah, you're just showing off that a) you have a chest freezer, like off of the 80s, and b) you can spell Mariusz Pudzianowski.

There are many things in and around our house that are off of the eighties - and I had to google the Polish feller. 😳


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 11:42 am
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Danger - vacuum

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 2:24 pm
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Just to check, you're not posting this while trapped inside the fridge are you?


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 3:12 pm
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well, let's just say I can confirm the light goes off when you close the door.


 
Posted : 27/06/2014 3:15 pm