1

Performance Test of a Non-frost refrigerator: Choosing the Best Thermostat

Setting for Economical Usage

John Ray Bughao1, Paul Joseph Lagumbay2, Darwin Lim3 and Rizza Mae Virtucio4

4
5Abstract
6

In this study the performance of a frost-free refrigerator was conducted in a test

7verifying its best operation by choosing the best thermostat setting. A water sample was used
8to satisfy the specified conditions by means of thermostat setting. Since the characteristic of
9this water sample was unknown, experimental approach was done into simpler methods to
10gather some data for its characteristic. Each thermostat setting of the non-frost refrigerator
11was tested to get the specified time for the water sample to be perfectly at its freezing point.
12The electric current input was obtained to see whether if it could affect the input rate of
13energy supplied into the motor which drives the compressor. The time needed for each
14thermostat setting to freeze the water sample was determined. Data was presented to satisfy
15the objective of the study and was correlated with the Thermostat setting vs Time graph. It
16was then proven that under each thermostat setting, the best thermostat setting was identified
17to work at a least time of freezing the water sample. Also input current of all the settings was
18proven to have no effect on the operation and by that an economical setting was chosen.
19
20
21Author Keywords: Frost free refrigerator; clamp meter; thermostat setting; freezing point
22_________________________
1
23
Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of San Carlos, Cebu City,
24Philippines. E-mail:
2
25
Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of San Carlos, Cebu City,
26Philippines. E-mail: paullagumbay96@gmail.com
3
27
Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of San Carlos, Cebu City,
28Philippines. E-mail: limdarwin17@gmail.com

4
1
Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of San Carlos, Cebu City,
2Philippines. E-mail: rizzamaevirtucio@gmail.com

3
4
5
6
7Introduction
8

Frost-free refrigerators are small-capacity (~100 W) refrigerating appliances

9comprised of one or more polyurethane insulated compartments (one of which is for frozen10food storage) and, in most cases, of a vapor compression refrigeration system using a volatile
11working fluid (HFC-134a or HC-600a). The task of developing new household refrigeration
12units is motivated not only by energy consumption regulations and environmental issues, but
13also by the pursuit of more profitable products (C. Melo, L.W. Silva, Sweden 2010; D.
14Coulomb, Slovak Republic, 2006.). Frost free refrigerators has eliminated the tedium of
15periodic manual defrosting. In the frost free refrigerator, the evaporator is located behind the
16freezer compartment and the temperature in the freezer as well as general storage area is
17maintained by circulating air over the evaporator and then directing the cold air to different
18regions of the refrigerator and then back to the evaporator. For this, compact duct work
19(generally molded in the internal lining) and a fan provided. Supply and return air outlets are
20provided in each compartment at the rear. (P. N. Ananthanarayanan, Page 269). Frost is
21essentially a porous medium composed of humid air and ice crystals, formed from the
22desublimation of the water vapor contained in the air stream. In a typical frost-free
23refrigerator frost should only form over the evaporator surface, which, unfortunately, rarely
24happens (C.J.L. Hermes, R.O. Piucco, J.R. Barbosa, C. Melo, 2009). Frost formation is a
25common phenomenon observed in household refrigerators, being strongly dependent on the
26infiltration of warm and humid air due to periodic door openings and through the door
27gaskets. Frost formed on the evaporator is removed by an electrical heater fitted to the

1evaporator. The heater operation was controlled by a timer and a defrost thermostat for a
2periodic automatic defrosting. The timer is set to stop the compressor and circulating fan, and
3to energize the heater after the specific period of operation. Once the frost on the evaporator
4coil is completely melted, the defrost thermostat, the feeler bulb of which is clamped on to the
5evaporator, starts the compressor and fan and the heater is switched off. With the automatic
6timer controlled defrosting, the frost never grows thicker and the evaporator heat-transfer
7coefficient is not affected resulting in steady capacity. ( P. N. Ananthanarayanan, Page 269 )
8

The growth of the ice layer leads to an increase in the thermal resistance between the

9cold space and the even colder evaporator surface. As this resistance increases, the
10temperature of the evaporator surface must decrease to continue to pull the appropriate
11refrigeration load out of the cold space. At the same time, the refrigerator works harder as
12the compressor uses more electrical power to maintain the cold space at the prescribed
13temperature level (J.M. Belman et al., 2015).

Hot-gas, reverse-cycle and electrical

14heaters are the most common defrost techniques. The first two consume less energy but
15require some system modifications, which makes them unfeasible for household refrigerators.
16The electrical heaters consume more energy, increase the air side pressure drop and are
17subjected to corrosion problems, but are much cheaper and therefore are the most typical
18method for frost removal in low capacity evaporators of frost-free refrigerators. (Y. Kim, A.
19Tikhonov, Y. Shin, J. Lee, Sydney, Australia, 2006)
20

To farther discuss non-frost refrigerators, mostly this kind of refrigerator uses methods

21to prevent frost from time to time which was discussed earlier. In this case there are 4 types of
22anti-frosting mechanism: (1) Automatic, (2) Semi-Automatic, (3) Cyclical and (4) Frost-free.
23Semi-automatic refrigerators are defrosted by manually pushing a button to begin the defrost
24cycle. Once the button is pushed, the defrosting is done automatically. Automatic mechanisms
25defrost the fresh-food compartment automatically, but the freezer still has to be defrosted

1manually. In cyclical defrosting, the defrosting function is activated every 8 hours by a timer.
2The defrosting cycle lasts 20 minutes and the frost evaporates automatically. Frost-free
3refrigerators have an in-built thermostat, heater and a timer that activates the defrost cycle
4every 2 hours. (Retrieved from: http://www.worththebuy.net/2014/04/inverter-refrigerator-vs5conventional.html). In general, frost-free refrigerators are designed following a trial-and-error
6component matching approach based upon costly and time demanding standardized test
7procedures (AHAM HRF-1 Washington, DC, USA, 2004), which may turn the development
8of new refrigerators into an expensive endeavor.
9

One application for refrigeration which involves low temperature application is the

10Cryogenics. According to the laws of thermodynamics, there exists a limit to the lowest
11temperature that can be achieved, which is known as absolute zero. Molecules are in their
12lowest, but finite, energy state at absolute zero. Such a temperature is impossible to reach
13because the input power required approaches infinity. However, temperatures within a few
14billionths of a degree above absolute zero have been achieved. Absolute zero is the zero of the
15absolute or thermodynamic temperature scale. It is equal to -273.15 C or -459.67 F. The
16metric or SI (International System) absolute scale is known as the Kelvin scale whose unit is
17the kelvin (not Kelvin) which has the same magnitude as the degree Celsius (Encyclopedia,
181970).
19

In this context, the present study aims to experimentally investigate the performance

20of a non-frost refrigerators by means of cooling at its best time with less power consumption.
21Additionally characteristic of the sample may affect the time of freezing it so this
22characteristic was explored.
23
24
25

1
2Experimental Methods
3Density Measurement
4

Standard density of water was known to be 1000 kg/m 3 at sea level. The experiment

5requires the determination of density of the water since the water used in the experiment is
6not pure. This characteristic of water explains how the sample expands during cooling since
7the water increases volume during freezing and an opposite effect on density which decreases.
8The density was obtained by taking the average mass of ten 200 mL samples of water using a
9triple beam balance. The determination of mass was done by weighing an empty graduated
10cylinder, and another mass was obtained by weighing the same cylinder with 200 mL water
11sample in it. And mass was determined by taking the difference of the two. The triple beam
12balance was found to have an error of 0.398%. This was done by having an actual weight as
13the sample measured it at some trials. The difference of the actual and the gathered averaged
14data over the actual data was the percent error of the beam balance. Since the error was
15tolerable, error was not incorporated to the calculation of the mass. The average mass of the
16sample was calculated and recorded. Taking the ratio of the average mass over the 200 mL
17volume sample, density of the water sample was obtained.
18
19Load Preparation
20

After determining the mass of the sample, it was transferred to a plastic ice bag. Each

21bag with water weights 595 g. The plastic bag was secured tight to assure absence air. Each
22sample has an identical mass and volume which was prepared for loading in the refrigerator.
23A total of 52. 4 kg of water was stored in the freezer.
24
25

1
2Cooling Time Determination
3The refrigerator was cleared with any load and was secured empty. The prepared plastic ice
4bag with an identical mass of water was then placed and arranged properly inside the freezer.
5The thermostat setting and time was noted in order for it to be the reference in obtaining the
6data. The thermostat setting was set to 1 and the time taken for the load to completely freeze
7was also noted. At the middle of the process of cooling, current was determined using the
8clampmeter. Same process was made until the thermostat setting reaches the maximum.
9Thermostat setting and time needed for the load to completely freeze was plotted. (See Figure
102)
11
12Results and Discussions
13Precision on Density Determination
14

Density of water was determined (Table 1) by the use of triple beam balance with the

15volume which was also determined by using a graduated cylinder. Before the mass was
16obtained, the beam balance was calibrated using a specific weight and resulted 0.398% of
17error could be generated during determination. Since this value is very less, error was
18neglected. To create a precise experimental data to be presented, number of trials was varied
19by understanding the characteristic of the data collected. Fig. 1 shows that high no. of trials
20can be cut into fewer trials since the mass of water becomes equal when proceeding higher
21trials. By this method, we could stop until 4 trials only.
22

Density was calculated at certain conditions specified below.

23 pbaro=101.7 kPa
24 t dry bulb=31 C

1 t wet bulb=27 C
2
3Calculation:

mave

0.56446 kg

4 = V = 2 x 104 m 3

kg
=904.8
3
5
m
6
7
8
9
10Freezing Time
11

The time was determined with every thermostat setting which have different rate of

12freezing water. Table 2 shows how the freezing operation timed with respect to the current
13input into the motor. As we see, increasing thermostat setting will have an opposite effect on
14time which decreases the freezing time of water. The input current stabilizes up to 0.9A only.
15The data of the other groups showed in Table 2 and Figure 2, our experiment was closely
16yield data by just comparing the resulted in the table and graph. At thermostat 1, it has a
17higher time for the water to freeze which means not ideal for freezing. Thermostat 7 yields
18less time of freezing the water and could be an ideal setting to freeze water at lesser time
19compared to the previous thermostat setting. But on the other hand, thermostat 6 could be
20possibly use since it has closer output with the thermostat 7.
21

In the operation of the experiment, each group develop some observations inside the

22freezer. To summarize, they observe that during freezing not all water had frozen directly. All
23the water near the walls of the freezer were the first to freeze. This is because of the coil that

1has been implanted in the walls which are called evaporator coils. This means that the load
2near the walls attain less time of freezing compared to the center part of the position.
3
4Conclusion
5Current Input during Freezing Operation
6

Using the clampmeter, current input was determined with each thermostat setting. As

7the thermostat setting increases, current all throughout the operation was stable. This means
8that current supplied does not develop change in power rating because it varies only with time
9during operation of compressor. Moreover, current flow is controlled with a sensor
10mechanism which stops the flow of current which then also stops the work of motor causing a
11defrosting operation. But we must take into consideration the heating process contributed by
12an installed heater for non-frost refrigerator; this adds to the total power consumption of
13refrigerator. This idea was not taken into account by the group because its beyond the studys
14scope.
15
16Economical Setting
17

Each group obtained a data with decreasing time of freezing as thermostat setting

18increases (See Figure 2). With respect to power consumption, long time of freezing normally
19consumes a lot of power during operational freezing of water. At full load and all the water
20bags frozen the group concluded that the best and economical thermostat setting is the
21thermostat 7 with time of freezing roughly 1,960 minutes.
22
23Notation
24pbaro

= barometric pressure taken during the experiment, kPa

25tdry bulb

= dry bulb temperature, C

1twet bulb = wet bulb temperature, C

2

= density of water, kg/m3

3mave

= average mass of water sample, kg

4V

= volume of water sample, m3

5References
6
7Encyclopedia Britanica - Cryogenics. (1970).
8
9Inverter- refrigerator- vs- conventional. (n.d.).
10
11J.M Belman - Flores, BArroso-Maldonado, A.P Rodriguez- Munoz, G. Camanchao- Vasquez.
12
(2015). Enhancements in domestic refrigeration, approaching a sustainable
13
refrigerator- a review.
14
15Pradeep Bansal, Edward Vineyard, Omar abdelaziz. Advances in household appliances- A
16
Review, 2011
17
18Team, B. B. , Refrigerator Electricity Consumption- what to look for while buying, 2015
19
20P. N. Ananthanarayanan. Basic Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 2013
21
22www.worththebuy.net.inverter-refrigerator-vs-conventional. 2014
23
24 D. Coulomb, Refrigeration: the challenges associated with sustainable development, in: 6th
25International Conference on Compressors and Coolants, Slovak Republic, 2006.
26
27 C. Melo, L.W. Silva, A perspective on energy savings in household refrigerators, in:
28Sustainable Refrigeration and Heat Pump Technology Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, 2010.
29
30Y. Kim, A. Tikhonov, Y. Shin, J. Lee, Experimental study on high performance defrosting
31heater for household refrigerator, 13th International Heat Conference, Sydney, Australia, 2006
32
33

Table.1 Data Collected to Determine the Density of Water

Trial
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
average

Volume (mL)
Mass (grams)
200
564.7
200
564.4
200
564.4
200
564.4
200
564.5
200
564.5
200
564.4
200
564.4
200
564.5
200
564.4
200
564.46

Table 2: Data Collected During Operation on each Thermostat Settings

Thermostat Setting
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Group 2 data
Time (mins.)
Current (amps.)

5,760
3,060
2940
2880
2220
2090
2000

0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9

10

Other Groups' data

Time (mins.)
Current (amps.)
5640
0.9
3010
0.9
2960
0.9
2860
0.9
2240
0.9
2160
0.9
1920
0.9

Mass(grams) vs No. of Trials

11.00

10.00

9.00

8.00

7.00

6.00

Mass (grams)
5.00

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00

No. of trials

Figure 1: Mass against Number of Trials

11

10

12

Thermostat setting vs Freezing time

6,500
6,000
5,500
5,000
4,500
4,000
3,500

Time(minutes)

3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0

Thermostat setting

Figure 2: Thermostat setting vs Time of Freezing

12

Figure 1. Non Frost Refrigerator

13

14

Figure 2. Evidence of Water Frozen

Figure 3. Thermistor with seven different settings

15

Figure 4. Wiring Diagram

16

Figure 5. Specifications of a Non-Frost Refrigerator

17

Figure 6. Compressor with tubing connections

18

Figure 7. Current Measurement

1

19