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Got a problem that I can’t fix. The fridge drain hole will freeze up after a couple of days causing puddles in the bottom. I can unfreeze with salt or hot water and the drain appears perfectly clean with no blockage. I have searched the internet for possible causes and found that there could be a heater in the drain that may not be working but cannot find a diagram or description of exactly how this model operates.
I have noticed that little droplets of water freeze on the back of the fridge (wet wall) and then look to slide down to the chanel at the bottom where they could be running along the chanel and into the drain where they could get stuck and start the ice blockage.
Any ideas? Diagrams? Tips? what to try?
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
Assuming drain hole in fridge section, there is no easy fix.
What has happened is the ferrule in the drain hole has a poor seal to the foamed liner, water has soaked like a sponge and the wet insulation is freezing. The problem will grow like a cancer, the pipework carrying refigerant is foamed in adjacent to the drain trough, hence the cold spot.
The only fix is to lay the machine on its face, carefully cut open open the rear packing, gently hack out ALL the affected insulation from the contaminated area and beyond. Watch out as there will be pipework around, and if you puncture that, goodnight Vienna. Ensure all is 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} dry. Seal the drain tube fixing with silicone, then replace the insulation with an areosol waterproof foam you get from B&Q or builders merchants, ensure only fill to 2/3rds and thoroughly tape up your incision.
It does work, but you need to take your time & be vigilant in ensuring there is no moisture in the area. This is not unique to your make machine.
Never worth the hassle.
Alex
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
ok, what about getting a length of tube that fits inside the drain hole/pipe and silicone sealing it into place so that it is just proud of the current drain hole but not so much that it is higher than the little trough can hold (about 1mm proud), water will then still be able to flow down the drain without soaking the foam.
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
took the plunge and took the fridge out of the cupboard. Carefully unscrewed the top of the coils so I could get in and have a look, unfortunatly the coils are connected at both sides so it will only move away a few inches. Anyhow the drain pipe is a clear tube that enters the back of the fridge through the insulation but it is not heavily covered, in fact it looks like there is a small plastic cover or attachment(is that what is refered to as a ferrule?) that forms a collection area that is attached to the the main fridge wall that has a drain hole drilled in it. had a good look and everything looks sound enough, does not look like it has a bad seal but I do only have limited viewing though. I can get my hand in and I felt the insulation around the plastic bit that the pipe attaches to and its dry, I even blasted some water through it after thawing it out. one thing I noticed is that the plastic bit that the pipe attaches to is a little larger in diameter to the pipe, this forms a little ledge of about 1mm that a water drop or little piece of ice cold rest on, I think this may be the cause as it then freezes up and just gets worse.
One fix I thought of was to somehow attach something metal to the warm/hot coils that fits closely to the drain and therfore carries heat to the drain, it maybe will be enough to stop it freezing.
Note: the drain is in the fridge section and is no where near the inlet/outlet of the pipework
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
looks like I may be onto solving my own problem, I had to find out what was happening to the plastic bit that the drain attaches to, thought about drilling a slightly larger drain hole but didn’t like the potential for it to go wrong so I used a new blade stanley knife. I carefully enlarged the drain hole in the fridge to a size that my little finger just almost fits into (almost gets stuck in there too, lol), anyway I found that the plastic bit is in fact a mini funnel shape and that there looks to be nothing wrong with it. I don’t think I have altered anything so I am going to leave it for now and see how it goes, I can now see alot more and will be able to tell where the problem is and the slightly larger hole will allow easy fixing of a blocked drain.
Any more ideas from anyone?
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
farker wrote:ok, what about getting a length of tube that fits inside the drain hole/pipe and silicone sealing it into place so that it is just proud of the current drain hole but not so much that it is higher than the little trough can hold (about 1mm proud), water will then still be able to flow down the drain without soaking the foam.
Thing is, if the insulation has already become saturated, then by sealing the outlet pipe all you will do is in effect, “shut the stable door after the horse has bolted”. Once the foam is contaminated that is it, it will still freeze and give an ice ball. In time it will impair the compressor as the product is battling to keep itself cool as well.
Visually from the outside there may not be any pipework showing, but the evaporator is foamed inside the rear panel, and it still gets cold. You only need a couple of drops or even condensation from air ingress and the vicious circle has started.
There are some contributors to this site that will remember painfully the days of refoaming cabinets, especially in the late 80’s on certain Italian machines. In the early days we had to even mix our own foam.
There are heater patches available which can be wired onto terminal 3 of the stat in parallel with the evaporator heater. This is all very well if you can get one that looks the business, and even then it isn’t a fix as all you do is paper over the cracks.
The decision is yours what you do with it.
Alex
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
*** update ***
because the fridge is a cupboard mounted one I never noticed but the top of the door never seals. Last night after I had the fridge out of the cupboard when I put it back I left the cupboard doors off and noticed it. Maybe this is the root cause of problem???
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
farker wrote:Maybe this is the root cause of problem???
Well, it will certainly contribute to the problem, if not the main cause.
Time will tell I guess, once you’ve refitted the door correctly.
Dave.
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
here is a diagram of the fridge
Not to scale but you get the idea
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
********* Fridge update ********
Looks like it is fixed, its been a week and the drain hole remains ice free.
I think what was happening was the water drops were somehow going in through the small drain hole and instead of going down the small funnel part they were remaining at the top where they would freeze. Eventually the hole would reduce and freeze up more causing the blockage.
Now that I have enlarged the hole the water droplets run down the drain chanel and into the drain hole and right to the bottom of the small funnel part, I think that part is a but warmer because it is quite close to the back of the fridge and the warm coils.
Spoke too soon, it iced up again
Found out that it starts where the little funnel is connected to the drain tube, looks like it gradually creates a coating of ice that eventually closes up and blocks the tube. If only I could move the coils at the back out the way I would just put a bigger tube out the back, but I will never get enough access to it.
Thought about putting a kind of heat collector plate that deflects some rising heat from the coils into the back of the funnel tube attachment, maybe it would provide enough warmth to stop it icing up
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
As per my earlier postings, I’m convinced you have contaminated and frozen insulation between the plastic liner and rear panel.
Water from the drain spout will ingress into the foam insulation and create capillary action between the plastic lining and the foamed in transfer pipework of the evaporator. This creates a cold spot where the hidden part of the evaporator then freezes the saturated foam and gives you your fault. Give it time and you will see an ice-ball develop.
Put your fingers onto the plastic liner in the affected area just above the drain hole, give it a good push and you should feel a little bit of flexibilty. Now try in another position to the right or left of the area and see if there is a difference. If the liner feels hard and not pliable in the affected area, Ice has formed in the insulation.
Make a note if possible if there is a temperature change in those areas. If the temperature around the drain hole is colder than 1 degree Centigrade then I’m right in my diagnosis.
If you need a second opinion, I can only advise you ask on this forum if what I’m saying holds creedence and has anyone else has met or dealt with this fault.
Alex
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
Alex, First of all thank you!, I am with you on your theory and don’t dispute it one bit, sounds like it could be the cause but I just cant get into the area because the coils wont move out of the way enough for me to get a good look in, I will try the push test tonight when I get home.
The reason why I didn’t think it could be water freezing in the foam is that the drain funnel which is one piece looks to have a good seal onto the drain pipe. One thing I didnt check but will now I though of it is the seal of the funnel on to the drain hole, that could be suspect. I will try and get some good photos of the drain setup tonight.
also, does the freezing foam theory still hold if the cooling coils of the fridge are in the upper portion of the compartment? the drain hole being about a foot away from the bottom most part of the cooling coils.
Looks like the fridge is gonna be moved out again tonight!
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
farker wrote:!does the freezing foam theory still hold if the cooling coils of the fridge are in the upper portion of the compartment? the drain hole being about a foot away from the bottom most part of the cooling coils.
Looks like the fridge is be moved out again tonight!
Most definitely.
You probably have one compressor, (Black motor thing that gets hot), which runs both the fridge & freezer sections. In 90{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of cases the refrigerant starts working in the freezer section, and then is transferred up into the fridge area inside the rear foam insulation. Assuming this is a fridge freeezer of course.
Think of it like a radiator in your house, but in reverse. The lower section gets cold, and fills to the upper section, being the fridge. The evaporator in the freezer has 2 pipes which must go up into the fridge sector from the freezer area. The link will have to traverse from the lower cavity to the upper one. Therefore they will be in close proximity to the drain area as they have to pass it. Now you get the picture, these pipes will be part of a continous evaporator and you don’t see all of it. Once water of moisture gets in the foam, and near to any cold pipework, being these transfer pipes, the cancer sets in.
Sorry the prognosis is not good.
Alex
Hi,
Finally got around to moving the fridge out this weekend. Talk about small job turning into big job! Anyhow, I took 3 out of 4 screws holding the coils out and let it move away from the back of the fridge. Then I disconnected the drain pipe and found a problem, when I had a look there was ice around the area. The whole drain fitting was like a little funnel inside of a small pipe, Ice had formed inside this pipe. I decided then that I would be better off if I could remove the drain completly and make sure it was ok. So I started to remove the foam from around the area. about an hour later I had the drain exposed fully and had discovered that there was a cooling coil that ran horizontally near the drain attachment, the area was slightly damp and frozen. I ended up leaving the foam aroung the coil so as to not damage it. The drain was secured to the fridge compartment by some sticky gum type glue, took a little wile to work it free. When I got it off and cleaned it up I noticed a small crack in it, when I looked it was a hairline crack that probably wouldn’t have let too much water through but I couldn’t be 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} sure. Also when the drain pipe is on it would seal it all except for the very top of the crack. I used some hot melt glue to seal it back onto the back of the fridge.Now that I have the drain unfrozen completly what would you suggest? I have a big chunk of the back with no insulation, about 2 inches of cooling coil are exposed. I can refoam the area but don’y wnat it to happen again, can I just do a portion of the area and leave the drain attachment exposed?
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