Fridge door falls off....

[AleisterCrowley]

I've got a relatively new Amica FK123.3 fridge - 2 years max?
The door has always been a bit wobbly, but when I opened it tonight it came away at the top.
It's a pretty shoddy design . The door sits on a metal hinge at the bottom. At the top of the door there's a plug with a hole into which fits a loose metal rod/spigot. This then fits into a moulding on the 'lid' of the fridge- you can raise the lid by undoing for screws on the top. This moulding is just two concentric plastic pillars with bracing between them and they have worn away/broken around part of the circumference so when the door is opened the metal spigot slips out.

I guess I could swap to a 'open on the right' and use the undamaged locating hole in the lid on the left, but its inconvenient.

What do you recommend for rebuilding the broken locating moulding? I was thinking 2 part epoxy - need something quick setting and durable that will key to shiny(ish) white plastic. What is epoxy putty like ? I've never used it. Would it do the job?

Thanks

[AleisterCrowley]

I was thinking hot melt glue gun perhaps - it would set quick so wouldn't have to turn the fridge off
But it'll be one more bit of kit I use once then put in storage.

[pochisoldi]

I've got a relatively new Amica FK123.3 fridge - 2 years max?
The door has always been a bit wobbly, but when I opened it tonight it came away at the top.
It's a pretty shoddy design . The door sits on a metal hinge at the bottom. At the top of the door there's a plug with a hole into which fits a loose metal rod/spigot. This then fits into a moulding on the 'lid' of the fridge- you can raise the lid by undoing for screws on the top. This moulding is just two concentric plastic pillars with bracing between them and they have worn away/broken around part of the circumference so when the door is opened the metal spigot slips out.

I guess I could swap to a 'open on the right' and use the undamaged locating hole in the lid on the left, but its inconvenient.

What do you recommend for rebuilding the broken locating moulding? I was thinking 2 part epoxy - need something quick setting and durable that will key to shiny(ish) white plastic. What is epoxy putty like ? I've never used it. Would it do the job?

Thanks

If the thing is less than 2 years old, go to the shop and tell them that you want £33 for a new hinge, on the basis that it is unreasonable for a hinge to break after such a short period. If they refuse to play ball, put it in writing demanding £53 (£33 for the part + £20 expected labour charge). If they
and if you bought the thing on a credit card, then chase the credit card company as well (Section 75 claim).

The £33 comes from http://www.buyspares.co.uk/amica/fk1233 ... fine=hinge

(£28.94 + £3.98 shipping).

PochiSoldi

[AleisterCrowley]

The bottom hinge is fine - it's the plastic top of the fridge with the moulded tube/pillar/socket whatnots that is busted.
New one, £80.
It's a rented flat anyway so i could ask the landlord, but I cant be [expletive deleted] with the hassle and it looks like a simple repair

[bionichamster]

I would probably use an epoxy putty, I've used milliput for several things like this, it sets very hard and has quite good grip on a range of substrates BUT how well it sticks to the material depends on the type of plastic, it's not much good on softer plastics. A good key witha file or sandpaper will help with any glue or putty but it won't work wonders if it's the 'wrong type' or plastic.

Nevertheless your description suggests that the broken part could possibly be built up and the putty squeezed into the gap between the concentric cylinders for extra strength/grip. Milliput (and many other putties) can be smoothed over with wet finger and you can get a decent finish. Milliput also comes in a range of colours incluing white, although from experience it does discolour after a year or two.

Another possibility is to find a metal tube of a suitable diameter and cut a short section. use glue to stick it into the broken hinge bracket to replace the central cylinder and pack with epoxy putty around the outside for extra strength.

BH

[AleisterCrowley]

I was thinking about a metal tube, or a thin tin strip formed into a tube (gap away from the broken bit) but there's not much clearance in the hole for the ..ermm..spigot (is that the right word?)
I'm off shopping for epoxy putty tomorrow I think. If all else fails I can reverse the door, and spend the next year trying to open the 'wrong' side

[chas49]

The bottom hinge is fine - it's the plastic top of the fridge with the moulded tube/pillar/socket whatnots that is busted.
New one, £80.
It's a rented flat anyway so i could ask the landlord, but I cant be [expletive deleted] with the hassle and it looks like a simple repair

If it's the landlord's fridge, shouldn't you ask him/her what they want to do? A DIY repair might not be what they want...

[redsturgeon]

The bottom hinge is fine - it's the plastic top of the fridge with the moulded tube/pillar/socket whatnots that is busted.
New one, £80.
It's a rented flat anyway so i could ask the landlord, but I cant be [expletive deleted] with the hassle and it looks like a simple repair

If it's the landlord's fridge, shouldn't you ask him/her what they want to do? A DIY repair might not be what they want...

Absolutely agree on this one.

Many years ago I rented a flat while I was on a secondment with my company. Some cheap curtains and a curtain rail fell down. I fixed a much better blind in its place. The landlords charged me for the curtain and curtain pole when I left!

John

[AleisterCrowley]

Ach, I've been here 15 years, pretty much everything is damaged/faulty and depreciated to £zero years ago.
I really cant be bothered with waiting in for Mr Repairman when I can (probably) do the job in 10 minutes myself. The fridge would have cost about £150 max and the replacement 'lid' was quoted on the web at >£80 so they'd probably bin it -all for the sake of a wee bit of plastic and i'd be fridgeless for a while

[AleisterCrowley]

Well, I used epoxy putty in the end: UniBond Repair Express
Cleaned and sanded the area before application, and it worked a treat - set like concrete
Thanks for the advice

[bungeejumper]

Great, thanks for the feedback. I've had good results from epoxy putty but haven't used it in a stressed location. Will give it a go.

Don't give up on buying the hot glue gun, though. Still one of the most-used gadgets in our house.

BJ

[NomoneyNohoney]

I bought a cheap and nasty hot melt glue gun, but don't know if that's 100% why it's rubbish.
To heat the glue, I have to push the gluestick by hand, and then when it melts, I get a dribble of glue for a few seconds, and then it leaks for maybe a minute afterwards.
Do more expensive glue guns do this, is it just because I bought cheaply?

[bungeejumper]

I bought a cheap and nasty hot melt glue gun, but don't know if that's 100% why it's rubbish.
To heat the glue, I have to push the gluestick by hand, and then when it melts, I get a dribble of glue for a few seconds, and then it leaks for maybe a minute afterwards.
Do more expensive glue guns do this, is it just because I bought cheaply?

I had one many years ago, without a trigger, that was like that, and yes, it was prone to clogging**. Although I was never exactly sure whether it was the gun or the glue sticks that were at fault. But last year we bought another (with trigger) from B&Q for a whopping twelve quid (www.diy.com/departments/loctite-glue-gun/190221_BQ.prd), and it's superb. The wife uses it for craft projects with our granddaughter, and being able to get instant tack on card or plastics is really useful.

BJ

**I discovered one of hot glue's limits the other week when I tried to glue up a break on the jug from my espresso coffee machine. No, I can confirm that it doesn't withstand superheated steam. (Although superglue did.)

But my old gun's finest hour was when I melted a sizeable hole in my home brewing pressure barrel - having inadvertently stood it on a storage heater, which duly switched itself on and spoiled my day completely. HGG effected a pressure-tight repair that lasted for many years until I eventually came to my senses and stopped brewing all those five gallon batches of liver killer. Still impressive, though.

[AleisterCrowley]

I bought a Loctite glue gun from Wilko for about £7 (reduced I think)
I did I trial run and decided the glue didn't set hard enough for my application - slightly too flexible, but I've used it to stick some wood back on a kitchen unit and it worked fine

[Redmires]

I'm a big fan of Sugru when I need a good fix.

https://sugru.com/about

[martint123]

I bought a Loctite glue gun from Wilko for about £7 (reduced I think)
I did I trial run and decided the glue didn't set hard enough for my application - slightly too flexible, but I've used it to stick some wood back on a kitchen unit and it worked fine

There are many different types of glue for these things http://theglueselector.com/