Relay contact ratings.

Though not 240V versions as far as I can see. Pity.

Sylvia.

It would have to be at least ten, and it's been running all that time.

The big question, of course, is how much longer the compressor will last, since it's probably not going to possible to source a replacement, even if it would otherwise be economically worthwhile.

BTW, the wires are attached to the (mains-voltage) lamp socket by way of spring clips. Seems a bit iffy to me.

Sylvia.

r,

Yes, good to hide the chip arch. But go with a PIC32 (calling all ARM fans) and you don't have to.

Is that thermostat for the fridge or for the room?

Either way, easy enough to do with a micro. I am currently working on one for the room thermostat. My wife always complaint that i am setting the the room temp too high (because the old thermostat reading is too low). I got a new one with reading too high, and she is complainting that i am setting the temp. too low. I am going to build one that would fit me right, unless i can find an adjustable temp. sensor thermostat. The reading must be 68F, doesn't matter what the real temp. is.

NO, NO, NO. save the world from another junk fridge.

Can't you find a cheap 240 to 120 VAC transformer?

Yes, power the whole house with 240V to 120V T. I know someone who does that, because 120V applicants are safer and sometime cheaper.

Being a purely inductive load, it can't cool many. ;-)

Yes, but you have fewer stimulating arguments.

Yes, but it strikes me that you much prefer to fix it yourself. BTW, The PICAXE directly supports the DS18S20 one wire thermometer.

Just thinking further, depending on energy ratings it may be a money saver to get a new fridge.

Consider that Moore's Law is not a law.

The silence would be exhilarating ;-) ...Jim Thompson

Or just replace the relay with a switch. Must of these automatic defrosting fridges defrost so often that they freezer-burn and ruin your food. ...Jim Thompson

Wouldn't it get boring after a while?

We'd still have Larkin to tweak under the chin, while he cluck, cluck, clucks along ;-) ...Jim Thompson

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I remember a few years back there was one of these educational programs on how things work, in particular household appliances. They actually went to a dump site where were were dozens of junked fridges, and connected each one to power. Almost all still cooled, but had been dumped due to rust, broken shelves, seals etc or other similar damage. They said that the compressors were extremely reliable.

If your fridge is only 10 and hasnt gor rust or any of these problems, odds are that it should continue working for a long time yet, and probably is quite efficient compared to older ones. Probably worth fixing, especially if you can DIY. New ones aren't cheap :(

I don't know what the climate is where you are, but we have had 2 fridges without auto defrost since the 90's and they rarely ice up. Might defrost once a year, and isnt a big drama. If you are opening the freezer section a lot though (especially with single door fridges) it might be different as that would let more humid air in, that would condense on the cold surface and form ice.

As for that electronic aftermarket timer from Ebay that is 120v - if you get one and open it up, you might find that it has either a switchmode power supply or a series capacitor type supply. You can modify these fairly easily to run from 240v, or make up a small power supply that you can mount in the back of the fridge. For something like this a linear power supply might be best, as linear ones are very reliable.

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OK, i am going dumper diving.

Actually, a good source of relays are garage openers. I have a spare board with 3 240V/5A w 24V/5A coil. I guess it needs open/close/on.

Plenty on ebay, pretty complicated though. You have to search for "fridge defrost timer' :-)

Rheilly

From your description, it appears that your fridge looks like this: (View using a fixed-pitch font)