In short
- Freezer repairs on one Ottawa firm's list run $150–$450 with parts and labour; the part that failed sets the price.
- A full freezer holds food frozen for about 48 hours with the door shut, a half-full one about 24 hours (Health Canada).
- Sealed-system faults (compressor, refrigerant) are diagnosed and priced separately from fans, relays and defrost parts.
- The City of Ottawa does not collect old freezers at the curb; the cooling chemicals must be removed and the unit tagged first.
Typical prices in Ottawa
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Freezer repair, typical range | $150–$450 | One Ottawa firm’s list, parts and labour |
| Cold-control thermostat | $150–$300 | Same list |
| Fan motor | $200–$350 | Same list |
| Defrost heater, thermostat or control | $200–$400 | Same list |
| Door gasket | $180–$350 | Same list |
| Sealed-system diagnostic | $159 + tax | Compressor or refrigerant faults; labour quoted after |
Sources. B&M Canada Appliances, Freezer repair cost in Ottawa, one firm’s list, seen 29.10.2026. Health Canada, Food and drinking water safety in an emergency, seen 29.10.2026. Ontario.ca, Protecting consumer rights and safety, seen 29.10.2026. City of Ottawa, Special items, seen 29.10.2026. The company that calls you sets its own price after it sees the freezer.
What a failing freezer looks like
The first sign is often small: ice cream that softens, frost thicker than last month, a fan that squeals, a compressor that runs for hours. The worst sign is silence with a warm inside.
Write down what you see and when it began. A freezer that stopped overnight points the technician to power, the control or the compressor. One that slowly frosted over points to the door seal or the defrost system.
Chest, upright, or the top of a fridge
The type decides what the technician checks first.
- Chest freezers have few moving parts. One Ottawa firm notes that many are manual-defrost with no defrost heater, so the usual faults are the cold control, the start relay and the gasket.
- Upright frost-free freezers add an evaporator fan and a defrost system. Frost build-up and defrost repairs are more common here.
- The freezer section of a fridge shares its cooling with the fresh-food side, so a fault there often shows up in both. The fridge not cooling page covers the shared symptoms, and fridge repair covers the whole appliance.
What decides the price
The part that failed sets most of the bill. A thermostat or a relay is a small job. A fan motor, a defrost heater or a door gasket costs more. A compressor or a refrigerant leak sits in a different class: that work starts with its own diagnostic, and the labour is quoted afterwards.
Every figure in the table is B&M Canada Appliances’ own list as of 29.10.2026. Your quote comes from whichever company takes the request. For the wider picture see fridge repair cost and the appliance repair cost guide.
Protecting the food while you wait
Health Canada gives two timings for a power cut: about 48 hours for a full freezer and about 24 for a half-full one, with the door closed. The same page sets the targets at or below -18 °C for the freezer and 4 °C for the fridge. A closed door is the one step worth taking. Tell the company when the freezer stopped so it can judge urgency.
Basement and garage freezers
A second freezer often lives in the basement or the garage. One Ottawa firm notes that a freezer outside the room temperature its maker recommends can misbehave, so a cold garage in January is a possible cause before any part is. Give the location and the season of the fault in the request.
When the freezer is at the end of its life
The technician can say whether the repair makes sense against the price of a new unit. The same firm calls a freezer under roughly a decade old with a repair below about half the price of a new one a fair repair, and an older unit that needs compressor work a weaker case. The repair or replace page sets out the sums.
If the freezer goes, removal is yours to arrange. The City’s special-items page turns away untagged freezers at the landfill; the tag shows the refrigerant has been taken out by a qualified technician. The seller of a new freezer may arrange it, so ask before delivery day.
A quote with food still thawing
When a freezer is warming, there is pressure to say yes on the spot. Ask for the price written out anyway, part and labour apart, with the warranty term. Under Ontario’s rule on estimates, the bill may go at most 10 per cent over that written figure unless you agree to more.
Who answers a freezer request
A single Ottawa repair company with freezers in its line of work, chosen by your area. It phones you, judges the urgency from when the freezer stopped, and books. The Desk sends the request; parts, labour and price are that company’s. Related pages: ice maker repair, and the GE and Whirlpool brand pages.
Questions to ask the company
- Do you repair my type of freezer: chest, upright, or the freezer section of a fridge?
- Is the price for the visit and diagnosis only, and is it credited if I go ahead?
- If the compressor or the sealed system is the fault, do you do that work yourselves?
- Do you carry the common parts for my brand, or will the part be ordered?
- Will the freezer repair warranty be printed on the invoice, with its length for part and for labour?
Have this ready for the call
- A photo of the plate inside the lid or on the side wall, showing model and serial.
- Chest, upright or fridge-top freezer, and where it stands: kitchen, basement, garage.
- What you see or hear: warm, frost on the walls, a fan noise, a compressor that never stops or never starts.
- A clear path to the freezer and room to pull it out from the wall.
- A cooler or a neighbour's freezer for the contents while the unit is open.
Questions people ask
How long does food last if the freezer stops?
Health Canada says a full freezer keeps food frozen for about 48 hours and a half-full one for about 24, as long as the door stays shut. Note the time the freezer stopped when you send the request.
Why is there frost on the walls of my upright freezer?
Frost-free uprights run a defrost system with a heater and a control, and a failure there lets ice build on the evaporator and block the airflow. A worn door gasket lets in damp room air and does the same. The technician finds which one applies, and the quote names the part.
Can a chest freezer be repaired the same way as an upright?
Chest freezers have few moving parts. One Ottawa firm notes that many are manual-defrost units with no defrost heater, so faults are mostly the cold control, the start relay or the gasket. Uprights add a fan and a defrost system. Say which type you own in the request.
What happens to a freezer that cannot be fixed?
The City of Ottawa does not pick up freezers at the curb. Before a landfill takes one, a technician qualified for refrigerant has to empty the cooling chemicals and tag the unit. Ask the repair company if it does that, or who nearby does.
Does a commercial freezer go through the same request?
This page covers household freezers. Chest freezers in shops and restaurants are commercial calls, and one Ottawa firm bills the diagnostic for them at $129 + tax. Say in the request that the unit is commercial.
