Hotpoint FFA74 Review

Good Points
Plenty of room, easy to clean

Bad Points
Make sure you defrost regularly and before you think of scrapping it, check the fan isn't iced up! I've just saved £300-400 by not having to buy a new fridge freezer. As soon as food starts freezing in fridge compartment - defrost!

General Comments
I've had my Hotpoint FFA74 for 4 years now and it's a great machine. Last Friday it went incredibly noisy (about a year after it started freezing food in the fridge compartment) and I was all for throwing it out and had actually ordered a new one. However, my neighbour who is an electrician told me to unplug it all, remove all the freezer drawers and if there was any ice on the plastic plate to get a steamer or hairdryer on it to defrost it. I did as was told and sure enough there was about 3" of ice on the back, that took a while with a little hairdryer and then I undid the 4 x brass screws, blasted the plastic area for another half hour with a hairdryer and removed the plastic back to reveal the fan was hitting ice (hence the noise). I defrosted all of that, screwed the plastic backing back on (don't worry about the tape coming loose) and plugged it in. It was soooo quiet I was unsure if I'd killed it completely, within 2 hours the freezer was at the right temperature and the fridge was chilling again properly. My advice, defrost it regularly (I didn't, I was naive and thinking frost-free meant it took care of itself) and they're good pieces of kit. My parents Hotpoint is now 8 years old with no problems and she defrosts it once per year.