I have an upright freezer (Maytag) that's 2 years old. It used to work very quetly and with cool exterior for the past 2 years but in the last ~5 weeks, the sides / top are hot all the time (105 degrees F) and the freezer is running very loud. The environment is the same as it was before and the freezer is ~85% full (which is pretty constant). The freezer door is opened 2-3 times a day for a few seconds.
I had a warranty technician look at it, he didn't do anything other than telling me that this is how it's supposed to work. (I know freezers have to dump heat on the inside to freeze food but it seems unnecessary that it does this 10 hours a day every day.)
Does this sound correct or is it the case of a lazy technician? (He came without tools so he had no intention of repairing anything.)
Best Answer
It sounds to me like the defrost heaters are not turning off.
I can not tell you if yours uses a thermal switch or a timer to cycle them, my guess is for a mechanical switch not working anymore, and stuck in the on position.
I am going for the idea that the repair guy thought nothing about the hot sides/top, because it is normal for it to happen, and he decided yours were just at the on part of their cycle.
The heaters running produces more heat (never saw that coming, did you). The compressor is doing its best to get rid of the heat, but it can not really keep up with the heaters, because of this it runs much more than normal.
The compressor was never designed to run as much as it is doing right now. With the duty cycle now so high, the compressor is running loud. And around we go again.
A full freezer is a happy freezer, never a worry there (if all is working right).