Leaking Fridge Freezer

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Jacobsond

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Who do you have trying to fix your fridge? There is a fix and it works well. I think you have a poor service company not a bad fridge. We got the service bulletin a long time ago. We are an authorized service center your guy should have got the same. You can blame the manufacture for the initial poor design but not for the poor service.Blame that on your repair man.The shop is hopefully an authorized service center. I hope its not Sears if it is that explains the problem.
 

DonL

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Who do you have trying to fix your fridge? There is a fix and it works well. I think you have a poor service company not a bad fridge. We got the service bulletin a long time ago. We are an authorized service center your guy should have got the same. You can blame the manufacture for the initial poor design but not for the poor service.Blame that on your repair man.The shop is hopefully an authorized service center. I hope its not Sears if it is that explains the problem.


When I worked at Sears and MW authorized service centers the service bulletins were available to the technicians, But they need to read them. And a good manager would make you sign off that you read them.

I would be pissed also, after all of the BS and promises.

At this point, I would buy my wife a new fridge of her choice and be done with it.

Make the old one a Beer cooler with a tap on the front, then the ice will not build up from opening the door.


Good Luck John.
 

Jacobsond

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The company can put out tech bulletins but if the service company does not read them what good are they.The 1st time I saw this problem my 1st reaction was what the heck is this stupid thing. Where is the p-trap? I determined that the rubber they were using seemed like it was turning to a sticky jelly and was never gong to work. I snipped a V into that "duckbill" so there was no chance it would stick together. At that time the fix was a different "duckbill" that was a little longer. Not going to work I thought so I just kept snipping a V in those things. Never a callback on my repair for that problem. Later the bulletin came out with the p-trap fix.Most of the bulletins we get are kind of BS with production changes and so forth so you have to be vigilant and identify the ones that matter. In our shop I read the bulletins and tell the other guys. I am not near as busy because I am the shop guy and part of my duties is to keep up with that stuff.
 

Jacobsond

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The old part had a rubber nipple they called a duckbill. The small slit in the duckbill took the place of the p-trap letting water out but not air in. The slit in the duckbill is what stuck together causing a clog.With the kit you remove the duckbill and put in a hose with a p-trap. Just like in plumbing water can go out and no air can get back in. That design has worked for plumbing for yrs and on the refrigerators for years also. Some bright engineer thought up that duckbill thing.I hope he does better at his new job because he sure blew this one.
 

JohnfrWhipple

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"Mr. Whipple,
You, sir, must be a fine individual for your superb posting about Whirlpool freezer flooding. I greatly appreciate your updates, photos and thorough descriptions. With that in hand, I have completed the temporary snipping of the duckbill and will promptly order the replacement part. The photos were a huge help.
Thank you.
May fine health and happiness come your way."


D.D.
Dayton Ohio US
 
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DougB

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I sh*t canned a farily new Kitchen Aids dishwasher about 10 years ago - cause of water leaks. They spend a lot of money in marketing the brand. Should spend more on engineering.

I now call it Kitchen Aids
 

DonL

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The good thing about Sears service, is that you can pay to keep your junk appliance working, or get a new one.

Service Contracts can be your friend, but you pay for it.


Most appliances are only designed to last for 5 years Max, Now a days.
 

JeannieOLY

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Glad I found this thread: our KA fridge-freezer has just started leaking!

The good thing about Sears service, is that you can pay to keep your junk appliance working, or get a new one.

Service Contracts can be your friend, but you pay for it.


Most appliances are only designed to last for 5 years Max, Now a days.

We also bought our KitchenAid fridge-freezer from Sears, here in Olympia WA, but didn't buy the extended service warranty for the extra five (or whatever it was) years. The warranty from our February 2010 purchase has run out, just in time for this leaking freezer problem to present itself.

Neither DH nor I are exactly clueless in DIY, but I've never attempted even pull this huge appliance out from the wall, never mind open bits of it up. For some reason, I couldn't see the photos showing How To in the earlier post. If I order the part, should I just bite the bullet and call Sears to come install it at however much $$? Any advice welcome!
 

DonL

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We also bought our KitchenAid fridge-freezer from Sears, here in Olympia WA, but didn't buy the extended service warranty for the extra five (or whatever it was) years. The warranty from our February 2010 purchase has run out, just in time for this leaking freezer problem to present itself.

Neither DH nor I are exactly clueless in DIY, but I've never attempted even pull this huge appliance out from the wall, never mind open bits of it up. For some reason, I couldn't see the photos showing How To in the earlier post. If I order the part, should I just bite the bullet and call Sears to come install it at however much $$? Any advice welcome!


You may want to give Sears a call and see what they can do for you.

You do not need the extended service contract, If the unit had a Recall Sears gets some credit for repairing it.

You may need to pay for the trip call. Some Recall repair only covers Shop repair, and may not include trip time.

The Service Manager would be the one that could help you.

Sears may not install a part that you supply, They may need to provide it.


Good Luck.
 
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quickstarter

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Seriously? A pay wall?

I have the same fridge with the same problem and I read this thread from start to finish. When I saw that the original poster put the resolution behind a paywall requesting a mandatory donation I got offended. I am happy to pay for a professional's expertise, however, the original poster was soliciting free advice and got it. Out of principle I refuse to pay him.

Here is my story and solution:

Background: This fridge is about 3 years old, and it started leaking last year. We just lived with the issue, and I researched last fall and came across this thread. The symptoms matched mine and I knew I had a clogged drain.

1.) Clean/Replace Drain - I rolled the fridge out, took off the bottom back metal panel, removed the drain tube, and cleaned it. The drain tube is a black rubber tube piece that pops off and on. The inside of the tube was sticky, and and had poor flow. I cleaned it and inserted a length of drinking straw to promote better drainage. This is pretty easy actually, and I did it in about 30 minutes. Replacing the existing drain with the updated part should be equally easy. Another poster gave the updated drain part here: http://www.reliableparts.com/product/inv_11410877/Admiral-Refrigerator-Parts-461376. It really isn't hard to replace at all, and if my straw solution fails I will use the updated part. My drain was clogged inside the unit so this did not alleviate the issue.

2.) Defrost drain - I tried without luck to just let the drain unclogged itself by defrosting. I used a hairdryer and removed built up ice from the back and bottom of the freezer for about 30 minutes. Unfortunately I did not defrost completely and the drain was still plugged. Fridge was good for a month until the ice built up again.

3.) Disassemble the freezer to see what is going on - My wife had finally had enough, and I dove in and took the fridge apart. I wish I had taken pictures.
a.) Remove the top basket - Do this by removing the single screw on each side of the top basket track. With the screw removed you can lift the track up and slide the basket out.
b.) Remove the door assembly - This is easy actually. About 3/4 of the way back in each bottom track there is a white tab. Push this in and slide the track out until the door is removed.
c.) Remove the ice maker - This is done by unplugging the the electrical plug, undoing the 3 screws, and sliding the ice maker out.
d.) Remove the top vent cover - This is held by 3 snap tabs. There was one visible through the mesh and unsnapped it and broke it off accidentally, but it didn't seem to matter. After that I just pulled the cover out.
e.) Remove the back panel to access the coils - This is held on by 4 tiny blots removed with a small socket. After removing I just tilted it up and taped it to the roof to see the coils.
Finally I could the coils but not the clog. There was so much ice it was impossible to see the drain. I broke out a hairdryer and started melting, and melting, and melting... After about 40 minutes I could see the depression of the drain and 5 minutes later I broke through and the water started to drain. I finally knew I had unclogged it. Disassembling the freezer took about 45 minutes, and reassembling took about 20 minutes. If I had to do it again I could have it apart and back together again in 30 minutes. There was about 2 inches of solid ice, which is why it took so long to melt.

Step 3 is completely unnecessary, and could be done by simply heating up the freezer without disassembly. The drain is located in the center of the back panel and that's where the heat needs to go. A much easier way if you can clean out the fridge is to just unplug it for a day or two.

As painful as this sounds I bet I spent less time than the original poster did complaining to Kitchenaid. I am a computer guy with modest mechanical ability, and if I can do it a lot of others can too. I hope this helps someone.
 
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SteveW

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I have the same fridge with the same problem and I read this thread from start to finish. When I saw that the original poster put the resolution behind a paywall requesting a mandatory donation I got offended. I am happy to pay for a professional's expertise, however, the original poster was soliciting free advice and got it. Out of principle I refuse to pay him.

Here is my story and solution:

Background: This fridge is about 3 years old, and it started leaking last year. We just lived with the issue, and I researched last fall and came across this thread. The symptoms matched mine and I knew I had a clogged drain.

1.) Clean/Replace Drain - I rolled the fridge out, took off the bottom back metal panel, removed the drain tube, and cleaned it. The drain tube is a black rubber tube piece that pops off and on. The inside of the tube was sticky, and and had poor flow. I cleaned it and inserted a length of drinking straw to promote better drainage. This is pretty easy actually, and I did it in about 30 minutes. Replacing the existing drain with the updated part should be equally easy. Another poster gave the updated drain part here: http://www.reliableparts.com/product/inv_11410877/Admiral-Refrigerator-Parts-461376. It really isn't hard to replace at all, and if my straw solution fails I will use the updated part. My drain was clogged inside the unit so this did not alleviate the issue.

2.) Defrost drain - I tried without luck to just let the drain unclogged itself by defrosting. I used a hairdryer and removed built up ice from the back and bottom of the freezer for about 30 minutes. Unfortunately I did not defrost completely and the drain was still plugged. Fridge was good for a month until the ice built up again.

3.) Disassemble the freezer to see what is going on - My wife had finally had enough, and I dove in and took the fridge apart. I wish I had taken pictures.
a.) Remove the top basket - Do this by removing the single screw on each side of the top basket track. With the screw removed you can lift the track up and slide the basket out.
b.) Remove the door assembly - This is easy actually. About 3/4 of the way back in each bottom track there is a white tab. Push this in and slide the track out until the door is removed.
c.) Remove the ice maker - This is done by unplugging the the electrical plug, undoing the 3 screws, and sliding the ice maker out.
d.) Remove the top vent cover - This is held by 3 snap tabs. There was one visible through the mesh and unsnapped it and broke it off accidentally, but it didn't seem to matter. After that I just pulled the cover out.
e.) Remove the back panel to access the coils - This is held on by 4 tiny blots removed with a small socket. After removing I just tilted it up and taped it to the roof to see the coils.
Finally I could the coils but not the clog. There was so much ice it was impossible to see the drain. I broke out a hairdryer and started melting, and melting, and melting... After about 40 minutes I could see the depression of the drain and 5 minutes later I broke through and the water started to drain. I finally knew I had unclogged it. Disassembling the freezer took about 45 minutes, and reassembling took about 20 minutes. If I had to do it again I could have it apart and back together again in 30 minutes. There was about 2 inches of solid ice, which is why it took so long to melt.

Step 3 is completely unnecessary, and could be done by simply heating up the freezer without disassembly. The drain is located in the center of the back panel and that's where the heat needs to go. A much easier way if you can clean out the fridge is to just unplug it for a day or two.

As painful as this sounds I bet I spent less time than the original poster did complaining to Kitchenaid. I am a computer guy with modest mechanical ability, and if I can do it a lot of others can too. I hope this helps someone.


If there is THAT much ice, doesn't it seem like the fridge may not be being automatically defrosted? Should't accumulate that much ice based on a bad drain system.
 

neustkg

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Not sure where to post this question on my Kitchen Aid fridge. My wife just paid a repair man $140.00 today to fix a plugged drain line on our kitchen's fridge/freezer. It is a French Door fridge with built in ice maker and water inside.

We started noticing water dripping out of the freezer and first thought it was the kids leaving the door open or dropping ice cubes. Then I pointed my finger at my wife since I caught her one morning leaving it slightly open. With very careful use of the fridge and freezer we still had water dripping out and pooling in front of the fridge.

I pulled the fridge and turned the water off. I defrosted the ice build up in the bottom of the freezer and thought I had at least solved the problem. Nope. Keep happening.

What a piece of crap this fridge. So today the repair man comes and tells us the fridge is not under warranty and the drain line is plugged. What drain line? There is no drain line hooked up to the fridge so what was he talking about? Where does the drain go?

The repair man went on to say this will continue to happen every 2-3 years.... Are you kidding me? So every 2-3 years we can look forward to water staining our kitchen hardwood floors. Nice.

Any thoughts? Can I rig up a better drain line and run it into a separate plumbing line?

I have teased my wife about installing a linear drain in front of this fridge and she said no - but now it's looking like a good idea. Maybe I'll just pipe it in 1 1/2" ABS and run the line down into the laundry room's sink - kind of like a washing machine back in the day.

By chance, does your ice maker also do crushed ice? And do you use it a lot? I have a Whirlpool side by side with ice maker/water dispenser on the door of the freezer. We noticed a pool of water on the floor on the freezer side seemingly at random times. I could never predict when it would happen, but it was happening at least once every two weeks at it's worse. I noticed that if I took very hot water and a turkey baster and injected the hot water into the freezer drain I could induce a leak, so I thought there might be a loose connection near the back of the fridge. I never got to taking the back of the fridge apart.

A friend up the street also had the leaking problem and totally disconnected their ice/water dispenser water line from the back and shut the water off. I didn't want to lose the ice dispenser or water dispenser. But in the last 4 months, my wife made a connection with the ice crusher and the puddle problem, so she stopped using the crushed ice (button) and only used cubed ice. So far within the 4 months, no puddles.
 

Eurob

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Is this better :eek:o_O

Jennifer Dixon said:
This review is from: W10619951 Whirlpool Extension-Drain Factory Replacement for Gromet W10309238
Whirlpool will supply the part for "free" for fridges over 2 yrs old only if you pay $100+ for technician visit. This part is very easy to install (once you defrost the fridge). I slipped on the water pool left by the defective part and jammed my wrist which finally led me to address this issue and attempt a fix. This fridge is a piece of garbage. Replaced once in 1st week by vendor. Control panel broke 1.5 yrs into purchase. Leaked for over a year.
This is a factory replacement for their defective part that they will not replace. Unbelievable.

from here This review is from: W10619951 Whirlpool Extension-Drain Factory Replacement for Gromet W10309238Whirlpool will supply the part for "free" for fridges over 2 yrs old only if you pay $100+ for technician visit. This part is very easy to install (once you defrost the fridge). I slipped on the water pool left by the defective part and jammed my wrist which finally led me to address this issue and attempt a fix. This fridge is a piece of garbage. Replaced once in 1st week by vendor. Control panel broke 1.5 yrs into purchase. Leaked for over a year.This is a factory replacement for their defective part that they will not replace. Unbelievable.


By far much '' worse '' than our JW -- which complained exactly of

JW said:
This is a factory replacement for their defective part that they will not replace. Unbelievable.
 

Getty74

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Thanks men. Could I send the water instead to a separate drain line like I mentioned? If this line can plug every 2-3 years like the repair man said maybe I need to go medival on the fridge and install a larger drain line. I do not want to pay some repair dude $140.00 every 2-3 years for the life of the fridge nor do I want my floors damaged anymore than they already are.

We did a poor job of cleaning the coils or something he said as well. Could the dirty coils have slowed down the evaporation effect?

This same fridge specifies a self piercing water line hook up which I did - that failed a year and a bit ago and flooded the basement. We have had nothing but problems with the fridge. Anything in the back freezes - just a pile of junk.

I'm so glad our custom kitchen was designed for this fridge ------ NOT.

JW
Not sure where to post this question on my Kitchen Aid fridge. My wife just paid a repair man $140.00 today to fix a plugged drain line on our kitchen's fridge/freezer. It is a French Door fridge with built in ice maker and water inside.

We started noticing water dripping out of the freezer and first thought it was the kids leaving the door open or dropping ice cubes. Then I pointed my finger at my wife since I caught her one morning leaving it slightly open. With very careful use of the fridge and freezer we still had water dripping out and pooling in front of the fridge.

I pulled the fridge and turned the water off. I defrosted the ice build up in the bottom of the freezer and thought I had at least solved the problem. Nope. Keep happening.

What a piece of crap this fridge. So today the repair man comes and tells us the fridge is not under warranty and the drain line is plugged. What drain line? There is no drain line hooked up to the fridge so what was he talking about? Where does the drain go?

The repair man went on to say this will continue to happen every 2-3 years.... Are you kidding me? So every 2-3 years we can look forward to water staining our kitchen hardwood floors. Nice.

Any thoughts? Can I rig up a better drain line and run it into a separate plumbing line?

I have teased my wife about installing a linear drain in front of this fridge and she said no - but now it's looking like a good idea. Maybe I'll just pipe it in 1 1/2" ABS and run the line down into the laundry room's sink - kind of like a washing machine back in the day.

Sounds like a reasonable charge considering the company has to pay fuel, tech wages, office staff wages, phone bills, office supply bills , workman's comp, vehicle insurance, wear and tear costs on the vehicle, advertising, company building expenses, etc . Most naive people don't know what it takes to run a business and scrape through to make it profitable. Try to run a business and put people and trucks out on the road and see what huge expenses are involved. Most are under the impression you just show up at the home and the charge is 100% profit. 15 % of that $140.00 charge might go back to the company as profit if you are lucky. Before spouting out negative comments, do your homework and educate yourself. The problem with today's society is all about entitlement. What's in it for me and what don't I have to do to get ahead.
The information provided for the solutions to this drain issue were spot on. It happens to all refrigerators and more often due to the lack of a clean frig. on the inside. Periodically clean out the inside, especially the freezer and you will most likely never have this problem. Hygiene in the frig. Is a good thing.
 
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