I had cause to work with one of the senior refrigeration techs in town recently while working on an art project (3 frozen heads in Perspex display cases, but that's another story) and mentioned it to him. He said it's a fairly common fault - something to do with a 'click out' inside the back of the fridge which will have died. He said just look for a new fridge - it's not worth the labor cost to fix it.

: Talk to your local appliance repair man and order a new defrost
: (they call them heater) element for the fridge. Next time will
: be the last time when you defrost and replace the $20 something
: element and you'll have time to "play" on the boat!

: Don T

: I definitely haven't given up.. it's just slipped down the priority