REFRIDGERATOR LEAKS

[datajam]

My refridgerator is leaking from underneath somewhere. Not hooked up to water, no ice-maker, but puddle every day. Why?

[LazyPup]

No doubt your refrigerator is a frost free type. Frost free refrigerators have a timer and heater system that periodically turns the refrigeration system of, then turns on a defrost heater to melt any buildup ice off the evaporator coils. The melted water then goes down through a tube to a catch pan under the fridge. Usually the pan is accessible from the kick plate area at the bottom of the fridge. The condensate tray (catch tray) is located near the compressor and normally the heat of the compressor is enough to continually evaporate the water away. Usually, if the tray is overflowing it is an indication of excessive condensate buildup in the fridge. The most common cause is a defective door gasket. A simple method to test the door gaskets is to open the door, hold a piece of paper ( a dollar bill works excellant)in the doorway then close the door pinching the paper in place. Now try to slide the paper up and down. If it slides easy you have a problem. If you find you have a problem, check the gasket for tears or distorted parts that are not sealing well. Carefully check the folds in the gasket. Often food spills get into the gasket folds and glue them together so the gasket can no longer spring in an out as it should. An old toothbrush and a mixture of water and common dishwashing soap is an excellant cleaner for door gaskets. Also check door hinge alignment. Most refrigerator doors have adjustable hinges and sometimes they tend to work loose, especially if the door shelves are constantly loaded with heavy items, or as in the case of my house, people hang on the door while looking in the fridge. Usually adjusting the hinges is a simple matter. Remove the plastic cover over the hinge and you will see two mounting screws. On is in a fixed hole and the other is in a slot to allow adjustment. Simply loosen the screws, adjust the door to proper alignment, tighten the screws in place and snap the cover back on. A word of caution: Be very careful when cleaning the gaskets and do not force stuck peices apart, wet them with the soap and let it soak till it comes free easily. Although door gaskets are fairly tough and do have a long service life, they can be easily damaged by abuse, and replacement door gaskets are often very expensive.

[imeduc]

All the above is good. Id also check the condensate pan and see if its ok. Also when was the last time you vacuum out the coil there under the fridge and cleaned the fan that should blow air over this water in the condensate pan??????????

ED

My mistakes dont define me they inform me.

[BonesandFeathers]

I am thinking it is a clogged defrost drain. It happens in the best of homes,as I unclogged my very own fridge last Sat.
The previously described defrost cycle produces water, it's got to go somewhere.
So turn off your fridge, empty the fridge and freezer, turn it off.
Mostly because moving a fridge with the compressor is a good way to kill it (hard thumping like moving will also do bad things to a compressor, hence why reefers die during moving) is hard enough and a full one only adds to the problem.
So move the fridge to where you can get to the back comfortably, remove the cardboard cover and look for the def tube. It has the long piece from the freezer clamped or attached to a smaller piece that is convoluted especialy to make repair more tedious.
seperate the two hoses and run a flexible wire through the squiggly piece and look for crud to come out, if so repeat this till no more crud comes out and air or water flows freely out.
Now all you have to do is find the ice in the flow. Gently remove it and you should be back to normal. If you don't get any yecch out of the lower drain remove the back panel in the freezer and look for ice in the defrosr drain trough/funnel thing in the very back.
then if you find ice you can gently defrost it and look for what small piece of what ever got there and made the mess.
if you have a side by side the iceberg will be readily visible, and cause of flooding instantly apparent once you know what to do.
I used to charge 85$ to do this, and that was a while back.
So even if it takes you a while it's worth the trip.
Questions?
Paul