I didn’t make it to Easter breakfast with the kids because my brother Marc was able to squeeze in a trip into town. Here’s the deal. Because the fan had lots of hair and dust on it and froze up, it couldn’t pull air across the coils. However, the compressor kept running and a thick layer of ice formed in the cavity between the upper freezer and the refrigerator. The layer of ice extended beyond the plate that heats when the beast automatically defrosts — and the ice kept getting thicker so no air could blow into the refrigerator compartment.
Marc used a real compressor (not canned air) to blow out the fan and refrigerator compressor. Then he manually turned on the defrost cycle (there’s a little hole in the back and you use a screwdriver . . .), then we used my hair dryer to warm up that divider area between the freezer and refrigerator, at the same time the defrost cycle was running. That cycle runs for about twenty minutes. Now the compressor is back on. In a few more minutes, I have to stick a screwdrive in that little hole and restart the defrost cycle. Hopefully one more defrost will allow the air to freely flow into the refrigerator and all will be well.
But now I have to run upstairs and find some butt-crack jeans so that I can properly complete this chore. Marc said if I’d worn those when I started this project, it would have been no sweat!