A freezer that stops freezing puts a lot of food at risk, so freezer repair is usually urgent. Chest freezers, deep freezers and upright freezers fail in slightly different ways. Chest freezers are simple and tough, so faults there are often the thermostat, the start relay, a lid seal or a gas leak. Uprights add fans and, on frost-free models, a defrost system. Tell us which kind you have and what it is doing, and independent technicians near you quote you directly. The request is free and there is no obligation.
Saving the food while you wait
Keep the lid or door shut. A full chest freezer stays frozen far longer than a half-empty one, often a day or more if left closed. If the repair will take longer, move the most valuable meat to a neighbour's freezer or a cooler box with ice. Food that has thawed should not simply be refrozen; cook it or throw it out. A freezer should run at about -18 °C, so a thermometer in the basket tells you if it is getting there.
Chest and upright freezers fail differently
- Chest and deep freezers usually have the cooling pipes inside the walls. A leak there is hard to reach, so a technician may run a new evaporator coil inside the cabinet instead. The condenser pipes are often in the outer skin, which is why the sides feel warm.
- Manual-defrost uprights have cooling shelves; ice must be defrosted by hand every few months.
- Frost-free uprights have a fan, a heater, a timer or board and a sensor. A failure in any of them lets ice build up until the air stops moving.
Common freezer faults
A freezer that hums but stays warm often has a failed start relay or a compressor problem. One that runs all the time and builds thick ice usually has a worn lid or door seal letting in moist air. Frost on only part of the evaporator suggests low gas from a leak; see fridge gas refill. Power cuts and surges can also damage the compressor or the thermostat, so ask about a surge protector. If the freezer is old and the compressor has gone, compare the quote with the price of new chest freezers.
Freezer repair costs
Cost guides put freezer repairs at about R750 to R2,900, after a call-out of about R450 to R850. A seal or a thermostat is usually at the lower end. A new evaporator inside a chest freezer, or a compressor with a regas, is at the top or above it, so get the diagnosis in writing first.
What to include in your request
- Chest, upright or frost-free upright
- Size in litres if you know it
- How long it has been warm
- Amount of food or stock at risk
- Any recent power cut or surge
Freezer Repair for different clients
- Households: a garage chest freezer full of meat bought in bulk that has stopped freezing
- Landlords, guest houses and B&Bs: a guest house upright freezer that ices up between cleaning days
- Shops, cafes and supermarkets: a spaza shop's ice and frozen chicken freezer that needs a fast repair
- Restaurants, butcheries and caterers: a butchery or caterer's deep freezers that must hold -18 °C all day
- Farms, packhouses and dairies: a farm freezer storing game meat and produce far from the nearest town
- Factories and cold stores: a canteen's chest freezers at a mine or factory kitchen
- Schools, clinics and public buildings: school feeding scheme freezers that must keep stock safe through holidays
- Technicians and repairers: technicians fitting new evaporator coils inside chest freezer cabinets
Frequently asked questions
Can a chest freezer be repaired?
Why is my freezer building up so much ice?
Is there emergency freezer repair near me?
My freezer sides are hot. Is that a fault?
Freezer Repair by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg