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.
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.
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!
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?
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?
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
I have a GE Monogram Built-In Side-by-Side Refrig/Freezer. I think that I figured out the lava ice problem.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I guess we’ll see how long this fix lasts.
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.
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.
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
BTW, I meant to add the fact that all the service tech did was remove some freezer compartment panels, clean the ice from the fan area and leave. Since I wanted to be assured of some use of it between then and 10 days when he is scheduled to return I ran it through a couple of defrost cycles, siphoned 2+ cups of water out of the drip tray/pan & then put about 4oz of rubbing alchohol in & after about 30 minutes suddenly the apparent ice plug melted and the solution drained rapidly into the tray under the compressor, which seems to suggest no algae type “funk” was causing the problem.
Bob
Built-in GE Monogram Portfolio with drain tube/tray on top model ZISB42DCA
I have the same problem. I can see water sitting in the drain tube and not getting out. The tray is dry and rusted.
I can’t see the end of the drain tube from the tray side. There is big ball like black (compressor/condenser?) sphere like part on top of the drain tray covering where the drain tube may be ending.
How are you all accessing the drain tube to clean any blocking? Are you all removing parts to to do this?
Thank you.
Rag
[SIZE=“4”]ragsj[/SIZE]
You would be better off starting your own thread in this forum section using “Post New Topic”, then perhaps someone with experience with this specific unit may be able to help you.
I am guessing here:
It looks like you can disconnect the drain line behind the fridge.
If you can then you should be able to clear it with a compressor (use a low pressure) or a turkey baster using warm water.
[quote=ragsj;710599]Built-in GE Monogram Portfolio with drain tube/tray on top model ZISB42DCA
I have the same problem. I can see water sitting in the drain tube and not getting out. The tray is dry and rusted.
I can’t see the end of the drain tube from the tray side. There is big ball like black (compressor/condenser?) sphere like part on top of the drain tray covering where the drain tube may be ending.
How are you all accessing the drain tube to clean any blocking? Are you all removing parts to to do this?
Thank you.
Rag[/quote]
Hi Rag,
You definitely can use the instructions posted by SteveHouston on the previous page. This problem is very common for such built-in refrigerators made by GE. It happens because of the condenser coils never been cleaned or being cleaned very seldom which leads dust and lint to be accumulated and sucked into the drain tube.
Gene.
Fortunately my problem has been handled by the warranty company replacing my unit, finally:)! (At a retail price of $8,000 I’m glad they paid for it:eek:!)
So I do not have as much vested interest in a fix but I am planning to repair & sell my old unit so Gene I question the likelyhood of dust being drawn into the drain tube when it is constantly full of water (or ice at times) as it forms a type of plumbing “P-trap” to prevent chilled air from escaping the freezer compartment. Evidence of that is observed by watching this trapped water move slightly down the clear drain pipe while firmly & quickly closing either door of the unit…This was always an acurate indicator that no blockage existed, besides that I regularly cleaned the condenser coils and fan compartment.
Rag I still think, and plan to do it, that the best fix will be configuring a method to melt the ice that forms at the neck/spigot of the evaporator drain tray (inside the freezer) during the defrost cycle such as what I suggested in an earlier post with an additional piece of heater wire.
The hose is difficult to get to from inside the compressor compartment as there is a plastic strap (similar to the one securing it to the bottom of the fan compartment) that also secures it to the compressor tray just inside the vertical partition wall. I did this once, it was a major hassel and not necessary but if you want to the only way to get to it is remove enough of the louvers in front and the compressor/conderser/fan assembly is mounted on a track that slides out (like a drawer) for servicing.
Steve’s idea will work effectively if you just have a build up of crud but that was not the case with mine. I hope this helps & good luck!
[quote=BobJH;717773]…Fortunately my problem has been handled by the warranty company replacing my unit, finally:)! (At a retail price of $8,000 I’m glad they paid for it:eek:!)…
…Gene I question the likelyhood of dust being drawn into the drain tube when it is constantly full of water (or ice at times) as it forms a type of plumbing “P-trap” to prevent chilled air from escaping the freezer compartment…[/quote]
You are very lucky they did it for you. I use to work for a few home warranty companies and I know they will fight very hard not to replace such expensive products.
My recommendations to Rag based on my experience which definitely does not cover all possible scenarios. Keep us posted if you’ll find the solution for your old fridge please.
Gene.
I read all your replies. I left the fridge completely unplugged for a week. I still see some water sitting in the drain tube. That remaining water can’t come out as the tube is bent like an arch and there are things holding the tube down - so not possible to lift the tube to get all the water out to the tray.
I still haven’t figured out how to reach inside the drain tube from the drain tray side. I need to figure out what things can be removed to pull things out for servicing (as mentioned in some responses). If I could only reach the tube end to put something to suck the water out or put a wire or somethng to clean the tube, I would be ready to plug the unit and see if the problem goes away.
I’m not a handyman or electrician kind of person to understand everything. But want to try this out myself as it seems like warranty technician may drag it with several trips.
Would appreciate some clear (laymans term) instructions on how to reach the drain tube from the drain tray side and clean it.
BTW, as this is a built-in unit, not sure what is in the “back” to reach and clean. It is all in the top.
So i was able to pull out the tray on top and access the drain tube. There was no blocks/clog except just dirty pipe and some stagnating water.
I sent a cable wire through the tube and on the freezer side I could feel a HARD BLOCK (inside the freezer box/compartment), softly pushing it tells me if I push hard I might break something. The wire is going for about a foot and then get stuck.
Question: Should the wire go iinside the drain tube unblocked? Should I put more pressure and “break” the block- I’m not even sure it is a block or not, may be it was deisgned that way.
Here is the photo (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/68490330/Fridge%202012-04-15%2013.45.52.jpg)
of the top area and drain tube (pulled up to clean). BTW, when I blow hard into the tube air doesn’t move through the other side. If I push water with bleech with a medicine injector it seems to go somewhere with some amount (2/3 of the tube) stays in the tube - it never overflows…puzzling where the water is going (inside the freezer section).
I’m waiting for responses to continue (fridge sitting unplugged for a week), doors open top removed…I doubt any ice is still there clogging anything.
Hi Rag,
GE had designed a special icing kit to fix this problem with refrigerators similar to yours. That’s the best solution in such situation. Before you will order it, read the installation instructions attached to this reply. It will help you to determine if you are capable to do this job.
- The icing kit AP2636547
Gene.
Icing kit WR49X10021 installation instructions.pdf (156.7 KB)
Hi Gene,
Thank you for the info. Before I get someone to come and do this, I like to complete my exercise.
Please let me know if the drain tube should have anything blocking on the EVAPORATOR (top of freezer) side. Should I be able to blow air or run a wire unobstructed through the drain tube from the pan(compressor side) to the EVAPORATOR side? Something hard seems to be blocking on the EVAPORATOR side of the tube - I don’t know if I should poke it hard to make an opening (the unit has been unplugged and left open for about 10 days).
Thank you.
Ragsj