GE FCM22DLWW Repair

A chest freezer works differently

A chest freezer opens from the top, and cold air is heavier than warm, so it tends to stay inside the cabinet when you lift the lid. That is one reason people use a chest for long-term storage. The FCM22DLWW is a GE chest freezer with 21.7 cu ft of capacity and a white finish. FCM is the prefix GE uses for its chest freezers.

Faults that belong to the chest design

Because there is a lid, not a door, the problems differ from an upright’s:

• Lid seal. A gasket that has hardened or been bent by an overstuffed load lets damp air in, and frost forms along the rim and on the top layer of food.
• Hinges and balance. A lid that will not stay up, or that slams, can pinch the gasket.
• Load pressing the lid. Large boxes pushing the lid slightly open act as a permanent leak.
• Power. A chest in a garage is often on a shared circuit or a GFCI outlet that trips and goes unnoticed.

If frost is the main concern, read the frost build-up article for how to describe where it appears.

After a power outage

A big chest holds temperature well, which can hide a problem for days. Check the outlet, the breaker and any GFCI reset first. If food on top feels soft and food at the bottom is frozen hard, the freezer may have stopped for a while and restarted. Do not refreeze thawed food without judging its safety, and tell us what you saw.

What to prepare

The model label is on the cabinet, often inside or on the back panel. Clear a spot beside the freezer so the technician can see around it. In older Bay Area garages with uneven floors, tell us if the freezer rocks; the lid seals better on a level cabinet. We diagnose in your home, write an estimate, and wait for your approval before any repair. The GE Freezer Repair page covers the family, and the GE Freezers guide compares upright and chest models; the smaller GE FCM11SRWW is the other chest on this site.