What is causing water accumulation in bottom freezer

Hello;

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


You have one of two problems:

1.) Frozen Drain:
You unit goes through a defrost model every 8-10 hours. At this time everything shuts down with the exception of the unit lights. Then, your defrost heater turns on for 20-30 minutes to defrost your cooling (Evaporator) coils. If you have a frozen drain the condensate has no where to go except on the bottom of your freezer. This is a common problem.
A trained technician would pull the back wall out of your freezer, access your drain, clear the drain and put a heat sink in the drain to prevent this from happing in the future. This is a major task even for a technician. This will cost you about $350.00.
You can try unplugging your unit for 24 hours and let the ice melt.

2.) Refrigerant Restriction:
In the upper right had corner of your cooling (evaporator) coil is a small 1/16" diameter tube with a inside diameter about the size of a small needle. This is where it is common for refrigerant flow to get blocked. This is where the high pressure liquid refrigerant turns to vapor. If there is a blockage, a large block of ice forms and drips water into the bottom of the freezer. Also, your cooling coils will not have a full frost pattern. You will get cooling and after a month or a couple of months gradually no cooling.

A repair of this nature is about $500.00 +.

Rule of thumb: "If the repair cost is 1/3 or more of the original cost of the unit - buy new."

Here is what I suggest; Unplug your unit for 24 hours. If after 1-2 weeks the water problem reoccurs. Purchase a new unit. Go to a Sears Outlet Store. Purchase a scratched unit. Save $400.00. The unit comes with a full one year warrantee.

If you decide to go with the repair, go into the Sears Home Services site and print out a 10% coupon on services.