Water leaking from small tube in back - Hoshizaki Commercial Freezer KM-500MAH

Hello Susan;


My name is Peter. I am a retired field service refrigeration technician.

You do not have any oil in your system with the exception of a few ounces in the bottom of your compressor. This is not your problem.

You have a water leak. The water will run across the bottom coils and the floor. By the time it reaches the front of your unit it looks oily.

Pull you unit out. Make sure you raise the leveling screws in the front first.
Remove the lower back cover. There are a few screws holing it on.

1.) Inspect the drain pan. Is it leaking?

2.) Inspect the water shut off valve. Is it leaking.

3.) Inspect the plastic tubing to your water filter, ice maker and water dispenser. Plastic tubing will dry rot and crack over time due to the heat.

4.) Have someone press your water dispenser while you observe for leaks in the back.

the drain tube is most likely clogged. if the lower vent is freezing up there is no way to confirm because it is covered with ice. the reason water leaks onto the floor is, the refrigerator goes into defrost, frost melts and runs down the ice to the door. use a hair dryer to remove all ice, then use hot water to check drain. drain tube may be up to a foot long and may have a trap. you may have to go in through the back to gain access to the drain

It has a clogged drain tube and bottom trays is already full.
De-clogged it using a solid wire, match enough to penetrate the drain tube.
Insert solid wire slowly to the drain tube, back and forth.
Put water to clean and rinse drain tube.
Regularly check drain tube for clogged and tray for full water.
Good luck.

Good day,
don't understand your question at all. When room is full. Full of what ??
But for know, I'll include a step by step procedure for repairing ice makers. Any further questions, please just ask..

First step is to take a small paper cup of water and fill the cavity until it is near full. With the ice maker turned on, close freezer door and wait 3 hours to see if it harvests. If not, the ice maker is bad, and must be replaced. If the cubes harvest then.......
Three possibilities.
1. The water supply from the house is not delivering water to the water valve. Shut off the house at the meter, disconnect the line going to the water valve, and with the line pointed into a bucket, have someone turn the valve back on for a 15 second count. The water should come out smartly. If not, the line and it's fittings will have to be replaced.
2. The fill tube from the back of the machine that feeds water into the back of the ice maker is frozen up. You will have to remove the ice maker to visually inspect that tube. If blocked, it needs to be defrosted, but use caution. Too much heat too fast will start to melt plastic and vinyl parts you don't want melted.
If this is the case, then once cleaned out, you will have to change the water valve located in the back bottom rear of the machine because it is leaking during the off cycle.
3. If everything checks O.K. up to this point, you will have to purchase and install a new water valve, and install it.
P.S. Under very rare occasions the electric circuity in the ice maker will fail to send a signal to the water valve. Although rare, it can happen, in which case the best option is to replace the ice maker and water valve.

Check the ice maker to see if there are ice cubes in the ice maker. If so, there is a problem with the ice maker heater and / or motor. You may be able to rebuild the ice maker by replacing defective parts, but it might be easier to replace it as a whole unit instead. If there is no ice present, it is likely a problem with the ice maker water lines / solenoid.

There are usually two solenoid valves and tubing systems for these types of fridges. One actuates on demand for water whenever requested, and the other operates automatically to make ice cubes until the ice cube reservoir is full.

Carefully push/pull the fridge away from the wall.

Unplug the fridge from the outlet.

Shut off the water supply to the fridge.

Remove access cover (usually the on the bottom) from the back of the fridge. Follow the tube that comes from the top of the fridge (for the ice maker) down to the bottom of the fridge.

Inspect visually for sources of the leak on tubing and related parts. Carefully check by hand for leaks in areas not readily visible - including the back sides of all the tubing, too. There may be sharp edges that can cut if not paying attention. If a leak is found where the tubing connects to other parts, you may be able to simply remove the tube and cut it back an inch or so if there is enough slack.

It may require that some special fittings and parts be obtained to reconnect and some compression type parts are designed for single use. If this is the case, gather the parts and bring them to a local hardware store for assistance obtaining replacements.

If a solenoid valve is found to be the culprit, due to a crack, etc. a trip to an appliance parts store will be required - unless able to purchase online. Part prices can vary widely , depending on the source.

Once replacement parts have been secured, reconnect after disconnecting power & water supply lines. When satisfied with the installation, reconnect power and water lines and test.

Carefully slide the fridge back into position - taking care to not crush the power or water lines.

The water inlet valve on the back of the unit where the water supply comes in can have a slow leak and will cause ice to buildup and block the fill tube. Disconnect the ice maker line from the valve and watch to see if it has a slow drip. It doesn’t take much to eventually block the fill tube.
The valve can leak because of sediment in the water preventing it from closing or low water pressure.

You can thaw out the fill tube and replace the inlet valves.

Hello, this sounds like you have a blockage in the drain tube, remove bottom shelf from fridge and remove the styrofoam..you may see ice build up...melt ice with hair dryer/heat gun...you will see a pan below evaporator...melt ice in pan...dry water up in pan with paper towel...now you should see a hole in pan that leads to drain tube...pour some hot water in pan..wait a couple minutes..mop up water and repeat this step 2-3 times....once you have done this find some flexible curatain wire or electrical wire..poke down the hole until you see the water drain..now it is clear..put back panel back and you are good to go. The reason you see water in the Freezer is because the water has been leaking into the freezer instead of running into the drain hole...Please feel free to comment again if you need any further assistance. Mike

An easier fix is to redo the connection. Turn off the tap the supplies water to refrigerator, should be on your cold water line under the sink. Remove not on the solenoid valve(blue valve) slide the nut further up the vinyl tubing cut the tubing above the old connection. push the tubing into valve and tighten nut finger tight. turn the tap on a little and check for leaks at the solenoid. If no leaks open tap all the way. If leak tighten nut a little more only until leak stops. then turn tap on all the way.

Hi TJ,

It'll cost around $65.00 to take care of this problem. The problem is the water inlet valve. The part number is 4389177 and can be picked up at your local appliance parts retailer or you can get one online maybe for a better price (just plug the part number into your favorite search engine).

Here's what's happening... The valve I mentioned is actually a "dual coil" unit. One coil supplies the cold water, the other feeds the ice maker. These "coils" are independant of each other, so one coil can fail and the other can keep on truckin', no problem. But what you have is an Ice Maker coil/valve that is weak and it's allowing water to bypass.

Basically the IM valve isn't closing shut completely. Imagine a dripping faucet... that's what it's like except you can't hear the drops, you can only see the results. Imagine drop by drop rising up that tube behind the fridge and into the IM. One drop at a time. These drops of water go into the freezer compartment through the IM fill tube. Now when these little ***** drops slide down the fill tube inside the freezer compartment they flash freeze before they reach the IM. One drop after another... drip drop drip drop. All these little droplets of water eventually form a glacier inside the fill tube. 

OK, now we're at the point of glatiation. The fill tube (just behind the ice maker) has completely frozen solid. Now... when the IM "calls" for water to refill itself, the (failed) valve opens up and lets full pressure through. But where is this water/pressure going to go? The pressure builds inside the 1/4" water line until it can't handle it any more, the pressure looks for the path of least resistance. That path is the connection that you found loose. It blew out because the fill tube (into the freezer) is blocked with ice and the reason it's blocked is because the valve isn't shutting off completely.

That's alot of words to say this... it's an easy fix. Get the valve (above). Pull the fridge out. Unplug it. Turn the water off at the wall. Remove the water line going into the valve and set aside. Remove the cardboard panel. Remove the 2 screws holding the valve to the fridge. Pull the valve out. Note the electrical and tubing connections carefully. Get your new valve out and install the electrical and tubing just like the old one. Then rebuild, turn on the water and look for any leaks (use a flashlight and take a minute or two here... finding a leak now will save you alot of misery later). Replace the cardboard and plug it back in.

There ya go! Your first major appliance repair job done successfully? Priceless.

SG

After a defrost cycle the ice around the evaporator melts, that water goes out and lands in a tray under the refrigerator. But sometimes the tube gets clogged and water spills inside the freezer and if enough water accumulates, it will make it to the floor. To fix this problem look for a small hole inside the refrigerator and open it up using a can of compressed air. Hope this helps