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editorguy  
#1 Posted : Sunday, June 22, 2008 5:30:38 PM(UTC)
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editorguy

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Every 30 days I have to remove all the food in the (pull-out drawer) freezer and chop away ice build-up. The ice seems to flow like lava from the top of the rear wall of the freezer and then spread out across the floor of the freezer. A month of build up is so significant that getting the freezer drawer to open and close is a real chanllenge. Can you suggest a fix? Thanks.
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abadfish66  
#2 Posted : Monday, June 23, 2008 7:47:57 AM(UTC)
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abadfish66

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The easiest way to take care of this problem would be to unplug the unit and let it defrost overnight. What you have is a defrost drain tube that is frozen up, I can give you instruction on how to fix, you will need to take the bottom of the freshfood section apart, let me know which way you want to fix this.
editorguy  
#3 Posted : Tuesday, June 24, 2008 5:42:28 AM(UTC)
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editorguy

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Thanks for the reply. I would like to give this a permanent fix if I could, so taking the bottom off the fresh food section is not a problem for me. If you could pass along the remaining steps, that would be great. Thanks!
abadfish66  
#4 Posted : Tuesday, June 24, 2008 7:02:10 AM(UTC)
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abadfish66

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WE nee to determine what is at fault, so remove the bottom of the refer section, should be 2 screws in the front, but not the 2 screws facing you. you will need to pry up at the front of the bottom plastic cover until it is out, and pull it out of there. It is kinda difficult, but it does come out. Next take out the styrofoam cover and tell me what you see, is it heavy frost, or thick ice in there?
JohnnyTaco  
#5 Posted : Saturday, March 13, 2010 4:40:26 AM(UTC)
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JohnnyTaco

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Ok, I am going to throw my hat into the ring on this too.

Very similar situation. GE Profile, built-in 42" - the icing on the freezer is un-imaginable.

Since last September, it ices up really really bad. Then, I shut it off - for four straight days. Move my food to another location. Then I keep the doors propped open with a chair.

I figure that four days would thaw out any plug-ups or something. But, yes, like clockwork 5 weeks later it starts icing.

Temperature always looks good. Even external thermometers that I place in the feezer confirm correct readings.

The Ice maker appears fine, no apparent leakage from any of that area.

I called a repair man. Yes I did. He rips the freezer apart (after I let in thaw) and tells me this model has a known design error by GE and needs to be replaced. Since he has no skin in the game (he repairs, doesnt sell products) - I have a tendency to want to believe him.

Comments?
East Side  
#6 Posted : Sunday, June 27, 2010 12:15:34 PM(UTC)
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East Side

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After I got tired of scraping the ice off the bottom of the freezer, I too called a repairman, but I got mine from the GE website. He spent 10 minutes scraping the ice and told me that the unit had to be angled back. I did what he suggested and it didn't make a scrap of difference. If anything it was worse. I'm going to attempt a badfish66's fix and see if that works.

Abadfish66, if you're still around, how would the fix be different depending on the type of build up?

Thanks,

East Side
SteveHouston  
#7 Posted : Sunday, November 27, 2011 12:04:46 PM(UTC)
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SteveHouston

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I have a GE Monogram Built-In Side-by-Side Refrig/Freezer. I think that I figured out the lava ice problem.
. There is no drain on the bottom of my freezer section. On top the of my built-in is a compressor on right and a chiller section on the left. When you remove the face-plate cover on top (lift up and pull forward), you'll find a clear plastic hose ('defrost drain') that goes from the chiller section to a pan that is under the compressor. Plugging of this defrost drain may be the root cause of 'lava ice' in the freezer.
. This is how this unit works: Air is circulated from the freezer and refrigerator sections up into the chiller section where heat and moisture are removed and then returned to the freezer and refrigerator sections. Water vapor in the air freezes on the chiller coils and builds up - this keeps frost from building up in the freezer area. The chiller section goes through an automatic defrost cycle periodically where the compressor turns off and a heater coil turns on to melt the ice from the coils. This melt water is supposed to travel through the clear defrost drain hose into the shallow aluminum pan located under the compressor. The heat from the compressor and the air moved through the condensor coils evaporates the water.
. I had followed the full defrost routine described by others here and elsewhere on the net - but the problem came back within a few weeks to a few months.
. This time, I tackled the defrost routine with a vengence. I used a large commercial blower and a small space heater set nearby so that the blower picked up a little additional heat. I directed the blower to the back of the freezer, forcing warm air up into the chiller box until I felt air coming down from the top of the freezer area - through vents located near the front of the freezer just above the ice maker. This heated-air circulation brought down a rain of water from the top of the freezer.
. Next, I focused attention on the clear defrost drain hose. I had a small section of 5/16" transmission hose from my garage and pushed it into the end of the clear hose. I found the clear defrost drain hose to be totally plugged - I could neither blow nor suck air through it. Next, I took a short piece of 1/4" plastic water line (like the kind used for hooking up an ice maker) and pushed it up the drain hose - I placed the other end of the 1/4" plastic water line into my shop vac hose and used my hand to create a seal.
. Taking advantage of the fact that the drain hose is clear, I worked the 1/4" line all the way into the clear drain hose - until it disappearing into the chiller section. I worked the line in and out a few times, until I started to see water come out. When I pulled the plastic line out, the vacuum allowed me to pull out a solid plug of lint that seemed to be held together with bacteria or mold scum. A lot of water then followed the plug. After I pulled all of the water out of the line, it was easy to blow through the line - confirming that the restriction was gone.
. Thinking back, we recalled hearing a gurgling noise after we closed the freezer, and as the lava ice returned, there was no gurgling, and we had difficulty trying to re-open the freezer door after taking something out. Our theory is that when you open the freezer door, cold air falls out and is replaced by warm moist air, when the clear drain hose is open, air is pulled in through the defrost drain hose - and if there is melt water in the hose, we heard gurgling. When the defrost drain hose is plugged, then a vacuum forms as the warm air shrinks - making it harder to open the door.
. So gurgling sound is good - it means the defrost drain is open, difficulty re-opening the door is a sign that the defrost drain hose is plugged.
. We've been asking ourselves, where did the lint in the plug come from???? Here's my theory - everytime you open the freezer or refrigerator, warm air rushes in and when you close the door, the warm air cools off and shrinks, pulling in a little air through the clear drain hose, and bringing with it a little lint/dust/etc. Notice how dusty the coils get on top. We've had this GE built-in for almost 15 years now, dust apparently builds up.
.
I guess we'll see how long this fix lasts.
BobJH  
#8 Posted : Saturday, December 17, 2011 12:53:00 PM(UTC)
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BobJH

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This is specifically to Steve but to anyone else having the same problems too...I have been dealing with identical symptoms on my 1994 ZISW42DSC for several years & finally got a guy from Sears A&E Service who claimed to be familiar with this problem & installed a modification kit from GE. It included a new evaporator defrost drain pan/tray, the foam underneath, a new drain hose as well as some adhesive backed foam to line the complete evap compartment on the inside. I thought my problems were solved until last week when the freezer fan started making noise & then quit because of ice interfering with the blades, almost 12 months later, but it is back! During that time I was even able to kick the freezer temps down as low as I wanted. A different service tech just left the house & has ordered some parts & scheduled to return in 10 days. I am not very encouraged:(.

This is what I observed however and may be helpful because I took this thing apart several times myself after paying a service tech to thaw things out & leave. It appears that ice is forming in the outlet "spigot" of the evaporator drain pan/tray as it travels through the wall from the freezer to the compressor compartment. Several things support this; I actually took it apart & saw it; longer duration w/o lava ice occurred if I kept the freezer temp warmer than 5 (normal); several times cycling an extra defrost cycle (by advancing the timer) if I caught it just right got it flowing again; & finally I have used rubbing alcohol as "de-icer" and fed it into the pan to clear it.

This unit was in the house we bought 6 years ago so I do not know if this problem occurred prior. I have a home warranty & after 8 service calls I am ready for them to replace it, wish me luck. But if that was not the case my cure would be to get an extra piece of the "orange" colored heater wire, similar to what is wrapped around the icemaker fill pipe & wrap it around the "spigot" on the evap drain pan/tray. It connects electrically with male/female insulated spade connections & I think it can be plugged in in series with the pan/tray heater circuit. I feel pretty certain this would work. Hope this helps.:cool:
denman  
#9 Posted : Sunday, December 18, 2011 5:09:45 AM(UTC)
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denman

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One thing to try is to thoroughly clean the drip tray under the evaporator coil ans then give them a coating of wax, Buff the wax and the defrost water should get to the drain faster so it cannot freeze.

Flush the drain tube with a 10 to 20 % bleach solution.
You do not need a lot of the solution.
Let it sit for 15 minutes then do it again.
do this several times and then flush the tubing with clean water.
Just be careful to not overflow the drip tray under the unit.
Gunk can grow in the drain tube and greatly reduce water flow.

And the last suggestion is a jiggery pokery.

Get a length of #14 or #12 bare copper wire.
Wrap it snugly (not tight/tight) around the defrost heater,
Then route this to the drain without touching anything else and an inch or so down the drain.
Now every defrost cycle it will also defrost the drain.
Once done let the unit cool down and then force a defrost cycle so you can see how warm the wire gets.
You do not want to melt anything in the unit so you want warm not hot.
THIS FORUM IS DEAD!!!!!!!
BobJH  
#10 Posted : Sunday, December 18, 2011 7:36:23 AM(UTC)
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BobJH

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Thanks denman for the quick response. The copper wire idea sounds ingenious & simple although as tight as everything in there is I'm afraid it might be difficult, if not impossible, to ensure routing that willl not melt something. What do you think about adding the extra piece of orange heater wire around the outlet of the pan, might it inadvertantly reduce the necessary heat generated underneath?

I just sent a detailed and direct letter to my home warranty company hoping that they will replace this thing. I know anything can be fixed but I do not feel comfortable with some type of "jerririgged" arrangment when I am paying for a warranty.

I added to this post to share my observations & suggestions to anyone out there to be helpful and at the same time hoping that I will not have to go that alternative route. Be assured I will take your advice as well as drop my warranty policy if I do have to fix it myself but I'm not there yet.

You sound experienced & knowlegable on this subject. Is there any credibility to the claims on this forum of an actual design problem by GE? I am perplexed as to why this thing went for almost 12 months without incident. At one point I felt that the foam in the common wall had become satuarted & was freezing and therefore contributing to the problem so I actually thawed the unit out for 4-5 days at which time water continued to "seap" out of any opening such as screw holes in that wall but it made no difference what so ever. As I stated the most effective fix was when the installation of the modification kit was done however a puzzling part of that was a week after it was installed it froze up again and the only thing the tech did upon his return trip was to remove the factory plastic strap that secured the hose to the floor of the compressor compartment and used it, laying on its side, to lift it up slightly. This actually reduced the drop of the hose coming out of the chiller compartment. I was not impressed with this "fix" but at the time I just let it go and as it turned out that seemed to have the most dramatic effect on the problem, go figure.

I will report the outcome of my situation as it happens, which will be sonner than later. Thanks again. Bob
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