using timer safe?

I can not see any problems. My guess is 15 mins per hour during day time and 15 min per 2 or 3 hours at night. sans details.

It certainly wouldn't bother me to be using such a timer on the freezer, and I can't see freezer coming to harm - turning the pump on and off is likely all the thermostat does anyway.

Indeed, having the pump running continuously is probably not doing it any good - it wasn't designed for that.

That's a tough one. I've found parts soldered into the circuit, and held in place by brackets that have been spot welded, and there was obviously never any expectation of a replacement. Other parts are nicely held in place with screws, and wired in using spade connectors.

The only way to tell is to take a look.

Sylvia.

I did that when my freezer stuck on. It was summer so I ran it 4 hours on/4 hours off while I bought another freezer. Once the freezer gets as cold as it can there tends to be a very light load on the compressor motor anyway.

Based on freezer power measurements I've done subsequently probably a

20% durty cycle would be fine. (1 hour on, 4 hours off.) I have a thermometer in the freezer to monitor temperature anyway.

I meant to replace the thermostat subsequently, but I never got around to it. In the end I only kept if for an emergency freezer if the new freezer suddenly failed with a hard fault.

Ross

If the thermostat is an older style mechanical type, ie a small knob on a small box that has wires and a capillary tube coming from it , they are easy to replace provided you can find a suitable replacement. If its an electronic type , they are a lot harder to fix.

Pump? What pump?

I doubt it's a thermoelectric freezer, nor one using an absortion cooler that takes electricity as it's heat source.

Most likely, it's a normal compressor style refrigerator. And a compressor is a pump.

Sylvia.

Not at all, harder to find perhaps. An alternative is to use a generic electronic temperature controlled mains switch with adjustable hysteresis, like the one published in Silicon Chip recently. The manufacturers controller is just the same but usually more expensive, and less versatile. (but probably smaller of course)

MrT.

8 Most likely, it's a normal compressor style refrigerator. And a> compressor is a pump.>A pump is a device that expends energy to raise, transport, or compressfluids-liquids and gases. The term pump is generally used forliquid-handling or hand-operated devices, while the term compressor is usedwhen the pressure of a gas is increased in a motor-driven machine.Next you will be telling us that hot air or water rises.

So after all that, you just wanted to split some hairs on terminology.

I wonder how you'll fit a motor operated vacuum pump into your nicely partitioned world.

Or are you perhaps just trying to gloss over the fact that you didn't actually know how a refrigerator works.

Sylvia.

Ah well ignorance IS bliss after all. You're the proof.

Thank you all very much for the good help I really appreciate it. I have tried a few different timer settings and the freezer seems to be holding steady at around -8C with the timer set for 15 minutes on, then 3/4 hour off, then 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off, etc. Thanks!