Why does only the top shelf creates frost? Please advise. Thank you.

Just had this issue. Freezer is packed usually & suspected airflow. Emptied bottom 2 shelves & vent strip was solid frost. Bottom 2 shelves were filled w/ solid roasts & other solid large items. Used blowdryer & currently waiting to see if it begins freezing top shelf.

Hi,
As the weather is getting warmer for many people their freezer and/or refrigerator do not work right because of a dirty condenser coil...

Check out this tip that I wrote about that... it is a great place to start trouble shooting your unit...and something that you can do rather then calling a repair person to do a simple thing for you...

http://www.fixya.com/support/r4024657-refrigerator_condenser_coil_cleaning


http://www.fixya.com/support/r4588788-refrigerator_or_freezer_not_cooling_or

http://www.fixya.com/support/r3885294-refrigerator_troubleshooting

http://www.fixya.com/support/r4023749-refrigerator_compressor_start_capacitor

heatman101

I have bad news for you. EAch of your shelves is part of the evaporator coil. This is the coil where the liquid refrigerant expands into a vapor. If only one shelf has frost, and the other shelves no longer do, then you have a low side sealed system leak of your refrigerant. You could have it repaired, but that is a major service call, and to have it repaired properly to EPA regulations, it is quite expensive.
sorry

it may be that the door is open a lot witch lets in warm air that go's to the top of your freezer and turns into ice so there maybe nothing wrong with your freezer, in winter we heat the house up and close all the windows this holds in the damp air,, in the summer it should be ok, but to test it place a thermometer in the freezer is should be about -21*f or there abouts for a 4 star freezer

If this is the type of freezer where the shelves are the evaporator coils, the coolant goes through the shelves(tubing) and the formation of frost is normal and has to be manually defrosted.All the shelves should be as cold asd the top one. The fact that just one has any frost may indicate that it is low on freon. If this is the case you should notice that the freezer doesn't get cold enought.

This link might help you troubleshoot
Freezer Frost inside Symptom Diagnosis Sears PartsDirect
The lucky solution is if the door seal or inner plastic liner need to be placed/repaired (this lets warmer air into the freezer causing frost and poor cooling).
But you can also see from the link that your symptoms could be caused by other electronic related things...more of a challenge to fix...
Helpful?
Good luck on your troubleshooting

That is normal. The refrigerant runs through those shelves. They are the evaporator side of the unit.That is where the freezing effect comes from.
Check door seals for leaking air.
Keep door openings to a minimum.
Get in there and get out.
Those things will help prolong frost/ice buildup.

look to see if the shelves are in fact not shelves but evaporator coils . if the shelf is connected to small tubing, then that tubing flows freon that freezes the shelf. if its clearly not connect to any tubing or piping then its just a shelf and gets residual cold from evaporator shelves. if it is connected to tubing like the others and not getting cold then you have whats called a restriction. . particles have plugged the tubing and no freon is feeding the shelf. if that is happening then consider having a pro recover the gas , unplug the tubing , replace the drier and recharge it. if its an older unit and you are getting by then maybe not worth the expense.

The model number would help but it sounds like a sealed system leak or restriction. If thats the case I would not suggest trying this yourself. The water should freeze overnight and the frost should keep going to all the shelfs that have coils in them.

An upright freezer that is not frost free will have the coils in the shelves (shelves are non-removeable) and that is where the frost will buildup.  If your model is like this then it will have to be defrosted periodically.  If your not sure then give me the entire model # from the sticker inside the freezer and I will look it up for you.