Seven Rules for Replacing a Refrigerator

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.

Hello John;

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

A frozen or blocked drain may not be the problem, or it may.

You have one of two problems. Regardless of which problem it is you need to remove the back wall panel in your freezer. This is not a easy task. You must remove the freezer door, the ice maker, the side guide rails. There are two clips on the back wall air distribution center section using a screw driver to depress and then some. You need to install a hot wire from the bottom of the defrost heater to the drain. Do not attempt this, you may damage some of the components if you do not have the experience.

Ok, lets check out the frozen drain the easy way. Your unit goes through a defrost cycle every 8-10 hours. This is where everything shuts down for 20-30 minutes with the exception of your lights. Your defrost heater turns on during this time.

1.) Check the Drain:

a.) Pull your unit out from the wall to where you can get behind it. You may have to raise up the leveling jack screws in the front to do this. Remove the bottom toe plate. There are two Philips head screws holding it on. Turn the jack screws counter clockwise to raise.


b.) Having pulled the unit out from the wall, unplug the unit. Remove the bottom back cover. There are several hex head screws holding the cover on.
Pull the drain tube out. It just Pops in and out. If there is a black rubber grommet at the discharge end, remove it and throw it away. The initial intent was to keep warm air from getting into the freezer. However, over time they dry up and prevents the condensate from draining.


c.) Insert a wire up into the drain hole, such as a coat hanger, to check for blockage. If it is blocked with ice, you must unplug your unit for 24 hours to completely clear the ice.

2.) Obstruction or Refrigerant Leak:

Recently, I believed my friend had a frozen drain in the same unit that you have. Upon pulling the back cover I discovered a block of ice build-up at the refrigerant and capillary tube connection. The capillary tube is about 1/16" in diameter with a small needle size hole running through it. This tube can easily become plugged, which is common. This block of ice will continuously drip. A repair of this nature is about $450.00 - $550.00. The rule of thumb is: "If the cost of repair is 1/3 or more of the original cost of the unit, then replace the unit. You can get some good deals at a Sears Outlet (Scratch & Dent) Store.

Hello Barb;

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

Inside your compressor are two flat plate valves. Unfortunately, these plates are broken. This causes your compressor to knock loudly. You can confirm this. Pull your refrigerator out. Without unplugging, remove the bottom cover. Observe the compressor. You will see the compressor jerk and jump.

It is expensive to replace a compressor. Depending on your model it can cost between $450.00 & $650.00. The rule of thumb is: "If the cost of repair is 1/3 of the original value purchase a new unit".

Sorry for the bad news.

Peter, Baltimore, Maryland

Two things can cause the problem you're having. Either separately or collectively.

1. The drain hole in the drip pan near the rear of the unit is clogged.
Sometimes finding the drain hole can be a challenge. As the clog will blend in with the hole. Patience & persistence is what is needed in locating it. A pipe cleaner works well to clear the clog.

2. The rear of the unit does not have enough downward tilt.
The general rule of thumb for rear downward tilt is 1/4' to 1/2". This allows the water to flow to the rear of the drain pan and thru the drain hole. Rather than into the house.

Hope this helps you & thanks for choosing FixYa..

The rule of thumb for drain fall is ¼" per foot for 2" or smaller and 1/8" per foot for 3" or larger. If for whatever reason you cannot get this then just remember that you need to keep the solids suspended the length of the run to keep the drain from plugging over time.