defrosting with a hair dryer

[Steve S]

So is it a smart idea to defrost the fridge with a hair dryer or will this do some damage?
The reason for wanting to defrost quick is because I live in my trailer and I dont want the food to sit out in the warmth.

[JRTJH]

Put the food in an ice chest and defrost it "normally" There's a caution in the operator's manual that states:

"Do not use: A knife or an ice pick, or other sharp tools to remove frost from the freezer shelves. It can create a leak in the ammonia system. A hot air blower. Permanent damage could result from warping the metal or plastic parts."

The problem with using a hair dryer is that the metal plates that connect the absorption cooling system to the fins inside the reefer are held in close contact with the same "temperature mastic" that is used to cool computer CPU's. If one of the metal components in the refrigerator gets "hotter faster" than the other part that it sits against, one could warp and cause the refrigerator not to cool properly.

It's best to let it "do its thing" naturally rather than to try to "speed it alone" and damage something.

[Steve S]

Thanks John, I kind of thought that using heat might be a bad thing.
I just put the food in a ice chest and the fridge is starting to drip real fast. I'm pretty sure that this should be done in an hour and a half.

[JRTJH]

Make sure your outside drain hose is positioned outside the refrigerator lower grate, you can fill up the inside of your refrigerator compartment real fast if that drain hose is mis-positioned. When we defrost ours it usually takes about 30-45 minutes.

[MBD]

I usually pack everything from the freezer into the refrigerator and turn the power off. I leave the freezer door open and put a regular fan in front to move ambient air into the freezer. Within about 10 minutes I am "sopping" water from the bottom of the freezer, 20 minutes into the project any chunks or sheets have come loose and make their way into the sink and I finish drying the freezer. By this time all the ice and frost have come off the fins in the refrigerator-I get them out of the drainage tray and put them in the sink as well. Repack the freezer and turn the power on. Whole process takes 30-35 min max. Never had an issue with food getting warm or thawing.

[Bob Landry]

A hair dryer on the low setting will not cause a problem. Move it around so that no one spot gets direct heat for any duration. A pan of hit water set in the freezer will also work. The advice about not using anything sharp to chip ice is valid. I have made a lot of money of of dual voltage fridge owners that got impatient. The evaporators in those are paper thin.

[Comptech]

Ditto....

Originally Posted by MBD

I usually pack everything from the freezer into the refrigerator and turn the power off. I leave the freezer door open and put a regular fan in front to move ambient air into the freezer. Within about 10 minutes I am "sopping" water from the bottom of the freezer, 20 minutes into the project any chunks or sheets have come loose and make their way into the sink and I finish drying the freezer. By this time all the ice and frost have come off the fins in the refrigerator-I get them out of the drainage tray and put them in the sink as well. Repack the freezer and turn the power on. Whole process takes 30-35 min max. Never had an issue with food getting warm or thawing.