Grassroots Freezersports

Hey All,

Having a little trouble with our Admiral side-by-side refrigerator-freezer.  Occasionally (like once a week), we find a puddle of water below the freezer door.  Investigation shows the water is coming from nowhere else including the ice cube maker-door water supply tube.  The freezer box floor has an accumulation of ice on it, which seems to overcome the door seal when it melts.  The defrost heater appears to be working fine.  Our food does not have that frozen-thawed-frozen texture and taste.  The ice cream has no ice crystals in it so I'm thinking the box temp is okay.  We live in an air-conditioned house in LA, an area not known for excessive humidity so what gives?

Plugged drain tube.  The defrost cycle melts off ice into a tube that takes it down to a pan near the condenser coils to evaporate off.  If that tube gets clogged, bingo.  Puddles.

I get a puddle under our garage fridge if someone leaves the door ajar.  Happens pretty frequently.  Something will be not quite far enough back inside the fridge, door is nudged in the direction of closed, but stops short of closing.  Hours later, a puddle will appear as humidity from the air is wrung out and accumulates in the pan to the point of overflow.

I've seen a refrigerator respond to a period of unusually high humidity by leaving a puddle. Maybe it overwhelms the drain pan?

Anyway, is something else happening around the house like "once a week?" That might be linked with the puddle forming?

Curtis said:

Plugged drain tube.  The defrost cycle melts off ice into a tube that takes it down to a pan near the condenser coils to evaporate off.  If that tube gets clogged, bingo.  Puddles.

+1

Rons said:

Curtis said:

Plugged drain tube.  The defrost cycle melts off ice into a tube that takes it down to a pan near the condenser coils to evaporate off.  If that tube gets clogged, bingo.  Puddles.

+1

We had one where the pan got nudged and was no longer level. It would make puddles when the pan got really full. So check that while yours is visible too.

Pan's good, humidity's fine, the door does not get left ajar.  I think the cure will be allowing the freezer to thaw, then finding and working on the drain tube.