Frost Free Freezer icing up???

mjennens

Old Guys Rule!!!
Not audio, but... I have a frost free freezer that's icing up on me. Anyone know anything about these? The bottom inside of the freezer had a HUGE layer of ice I had to remove yesterday and this morning it's starting again. The door does seal; I can tell when I open the freezer that a "vacuum" has set, so I don't think it's leaking air. Besides, I'm talking ICE, not frost. When I cleaned out the ice yesterday, I noticed that it appeared to be coming from the inside rear of the freezer, from under a panel, of sorts. It appeared to have a flow pattern to it, from the panel I just mentioned. Is there a "drain" of some sort that might be clogged? I've read something leading me to believe so via a Google search of my problem.
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Mike
 
Depending on the configuration of your fridge you need to check the condenser coils, and make sure that they are not coated with hair, dust, etc. carefully vacuum them and check to make sure that the drain pan or hose is not clogged. Everyone should do this to their fridge at least once a year or more if you have animals. Make sure the condenser fan motor is running properly and clean if necessary.

Inspect the gasket again. And make sure that there are no tears in it. It might still "seal" properly, but a tear will still let in moist air. Check around all sides of the gasket with a dollar bill. Place the dollar between the gasket and the frame by pulling it out. The dollar should require a little effort to pull it out. If the fridge has an automatic ice maker...make sure it is not leaking water due to a bad shut off or leaky fitting.

If I can think of anything else I will post it for you.
 
Mike, it sounds to me like you have a clogged up defrost drain. When the freezer is going into the defrost cycle and the frost is melting off the evaporater coils, it is freezing up at the bottom inside. You need to melt the ice and unclog the defrost drain. You can probably google how to do it.
This was a pretty common problem I ran into when I was an appliance tech. Some how gunk and paper that gets rubbed off packages inside the freezer get down in the drain and clog it up.
 
Your heater tubes are out. Time to be replaced. I have put 2 sets in mine in the last 12 years. Never mind. What they said. If it's ice not frost.
 
The 36 year old GE that finally gave up the ghost had that same problem. The freezer coils are behind that panel in the rear. Under the coils at the very bottom is a quartz lamp, this is the defroster. Under that lamp is a sort of funnel arrangement that lets the defrost water flow into the evaporater pan below. What happens is that the water freezes in that drain because it is still cold. The cure was to cut a strip of thin aluminium about 1/4" wide by about 3" long. Make a J out of it, drop the long end into the drain hole and hook the J over the quartz lamp. Now when the lamp comes on to defrost the aluminium gets hot and keeps the drain hole from freezing. When we bought a second freezer, a Whirlpool, I noted this feature on it and it never has the problem. So I put all the contents of the GE in styrofoam boxes, cleaned it out and added this feature, never had problems after that.

PS: Use latex gloves and don't touch the quartz lamp with bare fingers, human skin oil will kill a quartz lamp quicker than anything.
 
I agree with the clogged up defrost drain. Turn off freezer and defrost it by putting a pan of boiling water in the freezer and the heat will dissolve the ice. The owners manual will have a diagram so you can locate the drain(s). Flush them with hot water several times. Be as thorough as possible to dissolve the ice as much as possible. I did it one time and had to do it again a few weeks later because of icing up. That was 2 years ago and haven't had a problem since.
 
The heating cycle is working or otherwise you would not have water at the bottom. Merrylander had it right; blow out the drain tube.
 
A turkey baster and some hot, boiling water is a good way to clear the drain. Just suck up some of that hot water in the baster and push it as far down the drain hole as possible. Then squeeze the baster hard and force the water through the drain. Do this several times and the water should go down easily.
 
The fridge in my house got water in the bottom every day when I first moved in. The coils are open in back with a catch tray below them with a drain hose going out the back. I eventually had to "rod" out the hose with a drywall screw to get out the junk clogging it. 17 years later - still no problems.

Edit: when I defrost the freezer, I just hang a fan in the open doorway, and wait. When I see water I start sponging it out and shortly thereafter the ice can be pulled loose from the walls and ceiling. BEFORE it melts up a mess. Very little fuss with a little patience.
 
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