This document is a user manual for an AEG refrigerator, model SFE5822VAF, providing comprehensive instructions for its installation, operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting. It emphasizes safety information throughout, ensuring users are aware of potential hazards and proper handling procedures.
Function Description
The AEG SFE5822VAF is a refrigerator designed for household use and similar applications, such as farmhouses, staff kitchen areas in shops and offices, and hospitality environments like hotels and bed and breakfasts. Its primary function is to store fresh and frozen food products, maintaining optimal temperatures to preserve their quality and extend their shelf life. The appliance features a refrigerator compartment for fresh food and a freezer compartment for freezing and storing frozen and deep-frozen items. It operates using isobutane (R600a), a natural gas with high environmental compatibility, as its refrigerant. The temperature within the appliance is automatically regulated, with user-adjustable settings to achieve desired coldness levels.
Usage Features
The refrigerator offers several features to enhance user convenience and food storage efficiency:
- Temperature Regulation: Users can adjust the internal temperature using a regulator dial. Turning the dial towards lower settings provides minimum coldness, while higher settings achieve maximum coldness. A medium setting is generally recommended for optimal performance. The manual advises adjusting the setting based on room temperature, door opening frequency, food quantity, and appliance location to prevent continuous running and frost formation on the rear wall, which can lead to increased energy consumption.
- Door Shelves: The door shelves are movable, allowing users to adjust their height to accommodate food packages of various sizes. This flexibility helps optimize storage space within the door.
- Movable Shelves: The main refrigerator compartment features a series of runners on its walls, enabling users to position the shelves as desired. However, it is explicitly stated that the glass shelf above the vegetable drawer should not be moved to ensure correct air circulation.
- Freezing Fresh Food: The freezer compartment is suitable for freezing fresh food without needing to change the temperature setting for small quantities. For faster freezing, the temperature regulator can be set to higher settings for maximum coldness. A caution is provided that this may drop the refrigerator compartment temperature below 0°C, requiring a reset to a warmer setting.
- Storage of Frozen Food: When starting the appliance or after a period of disuse, it is recommended to let the appliance run for at least 2 hours on higher settings before placing products in the freezer compartment.
- Thawing: Deep-frozen or frozen food can be thawed in the refrigerator compartment or at room temperature, depending on the time available. Small pieces can even be cooked directly from frozen, though this will require longer cooking times.
- Energy Saving Tips: To minimize energy consumption, users are advised not to open the door frequently or leave it open longer than necessary.
- Fresh Food Refrigeration Tips: The manual provides guidance on storing various fresh foods:
- Avoid storing warm food or evaporating liquids.
- Cover or wrap food, especially items with strong flavors.
- Position food to allow free air circulation.
- Meat should be wrapped in suitable packaging and stored on the glass shelf above the vegetable drawer for 1-2 days.
- Cooked foods and cold dishes should be covered and placed on any shelf.
- Fruits and vegetables should be cleaned and placed in the special drawer. Bananas, potatoes, onions, and garlic should not be kept in the refrigerator unless packed.
- Butter and cheese should be placed in airtight containers or wrapped in foil/polythene to exclude air.
- Bottles should be capped and placed on the door bottle shelf or rack.
- Freezing Tips: For optimal freezing, users should:
- Freeze only high-quality, fresh, and thoroughly cleaned food.
- Divide food into small portions for efficient freezing and thawing.
- Wrap food in aluminum foil or polythene, ensuring airtight packages.
- Avoid placing fresh unfrozen food directly next to already frozen food to prevent temperature increases.
- Note that lean foods store better and longer than fatty ones, and salt reduces storage life.
- Avoid eating ice cubes, water ices, or ice lollies immediately after taking them from the freezer to prevent frostbite.
- Label individual packs with the freezing date to track storage time.
- Frozen Food Storage Tips: Users should ensure commercially frozen food is adequately stored by the retailer and transferred quickly from the store to the freezer. Once defrosted, food deteriorates rapidly and should not be refrozen. The storage period indicated by the food manufacturer should not be exceeded.
Maintenance Features
Regular care and cleaning are essential for the appliance's longevity and efficient operation:
- General Cleaning: The interior and all internal accessories should be washed with lukewarm water and a neutral soap before first use and periodically thereafter. Door seals should be regularly checked and wiped clean to ensure they are free from debris. The condenser and compressor at the back of the appliance (if accessible) should be cleaned with a brush to improve performance and save electricity.
- Cleaning Air Channels: This involves removing the plinth and ventilation grid, cleaning the grid, carefully pulling out the air deflector to check for defrost water, and cleaning the lower part of the appliance with a vacuum cleaner.
- Defrosting the Refrigerator: The refrigerator compartment features automatic defrosting. Defrost water drains into a special container at the back of the appliance, where it evaporates. The defrost water drain hole, located under the salad drawers, should be periodically cleaned using the provided special cleaner to prevent water overflow and dripping onto food.
- Defrosting the Freezer: The freezer should be defrosted when the frost layer reaches a thickness of about 3-5 mm. To prepare for defrosting, set a lower temperature about 12 hours prior to build up chill reserve. The defrosting process involves switching off the appliance, removing stored food and wrapping it in newspaper, leaving the door open, and placing a pot of warm water in the compartment to speed up thawing. After defrosting, the interior should be dried thoroughly before switching the appliance back on and reloading food after three hours.
- Replacing the Lamp: The appliance is equipped with a long-life LED interior light (E14 base). Replacement involves disconnecting the plug, removing a screw from the lamp cover, detaching the cover, replacing the lamp with an identical household appliance-specific one, reassembling the cover, tightening the screw, reconnecting the plug, and checking if the light switches on.
- Closing the Door: Maintenance includes cleaning door gaskets, adjusting the door if necessary (referencing assembly instructions), and replacing defective door gaskets by contacting the Authorized Service Centre.
- Periods of Non-Operation: For long periods of non-use, users should disconnect the appliance from the electricity supply, remove all food, defrost (if necessary), clean the appliance and accessories, and leave the door(s) open to prevent unpleasant smells. If the appliance is kept switched on, it should be checked periodically to prevent food spoilage in case of a power failure.
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