[DougButtimer]

Re: Frozen drain on Hotpoint Combination 8562

Dales-Electronic wrote:OK before it all goes up like a bottle of pop lets try and resolve the problem rather than the cause. Bearing in mind that you now have removed some of the insulation and can now get at the drain pipe this is what I would do – obtain a suitable piece of pipe and fix it to the existing funnel, seal the joint with silicon sealant. Now take the new pipe and run it down the outside of the existing insulation so that it feeds into the defrost tray. Leave the old drain hose in situ filling it in at the top with same silicon. Fix the new pipe to the outside of the insulation. Masking tape or similar will do the job. Finally, fill up the hole (if you have one) where you removed the insulation with suitable insulation material.

Hi, this is almost EXACTLY where I am !!! I have gone to the source of the problem (the leak !!) and fixed it (the adhesive) and tried to avoid a repeated of the problem (routing the hose outside the cabinet) I’m JUST about to root out the contaminated insulation (probably with the old hose as well !!) and just happened to mention the fact that, in my humble view, the original appeared to me to be a fairly poor “design” !!!

I have now had a posting implying that “I” have “wrecked a perfectly good design” !! I have asked for an expansion of this comment, but have received no reply so far !!

[DougButtimer]

Re: Frozen drain on Hotpoint Combination 8562

hotpnt wrote:no, not a deadfull design at all, if it was blocked you just need to clear it with a piece of wire, or some warm water, sound like you have wrecked a perfectly good design though 😯

What are you on about ?? !!
By the time it is blocked, it’s TOO late !!! (The water is IN the insulation at that stage, and YOU don’t know the consequences !!)

Tell me why I have WRECKED a “Good” design then !!!!!!!

The truth of the matter is that it is cheaper for the manufacturer to attach the drain hose in the way that he/she (!!!!) has done so, and enclose it within the foam insulation – purely cost-reduction to the manufacturer ( just the cost of adhesive on the funnel – that’s what caused the problem !!!!!)

Over to YOU !!! (Why did “I” wreck it then !!!!!!! – let’s have the details !!!)

[DougButtimer]

Re: Frozen drain on Hotpoint Combination 8562

kwatt wrote:As moisture fills the foam the insulation “breaks down” as we say. What this means is that there is no insulating properties when it gets wet therefore the internal temperature is not held stable. This means that the food inside will either not be stored at the correct temperature or that the run time of the unit is severely extended but, in most cases, you will get both. In addition you can and almost certainly will get an “ice ball” where the insulation is at its worst.

There is no way around these problems once they start other than removing all the affected insulation and re-foaming the unit. This usually involves cutting away the outer skin then cutting the insulation back until it’s dry then leaving it open and switched off for at least 48 hours to totally dry out.

There’s no short cuts and, if you take one the repair will fail. Cutting channels etc. will not help in the slightest as it only solves the problem that you see of water build up, it doesn’t solve the actual cause.

There is not enough heat produced to dry the insulation.

Running it in it’s current state you risk food that is not fit for human consumption and you will be running up a horrendous electricity bill as it will run almost constantly. Running for the extended time will obviously stress the compressor beyond its design and it will ultimately fail.

HTH

K.

Thank you for explaining the process of insulation breakdown – I hope that I have caught this problem early enough to save the unit, but time will tell. I have now cut the drain tube just below the funnel and was amazed to find that there is virtually nothing sealing the joint – the tape just held the funnel in place. So if ANY blockage at all occurs, the drain pipe fills up until the level reaches the funnel level and then “overflows” into the insulation. This is a truly dreadful design ! I have now glued the funnel in place and eventually intend to fit piping that exits immediately into the gap behind the radiator panel. Hopefully, this will fix the “leak” ! I have stripped the foam sideways at the top and the dampness seems to disappear quite rapidly – I’m hoping that the dampness will follow the old drainpipe downwards, and that most will have accumulated at the base where the iceball formed. We’ll see !!

[DougButtimer]

Re: Frozen drain on Hotpoint Combination 8562

Thanks for the replies, lads ! I wish there had been at least one that was slightly more optimistic !! However, “now that I have started, I’m going to finish” !!! 😉 If, as you say, the machine is scrap ( 😯 😯 ), then I have nothing to lose !! It works fine at the moment, apart from the accumulation of water. When re-applying the foam, would it be worth leaving a channel open (i.e. no foam) between the drain tube and the radiator ? That would tend to heat the tube somewhat and boil off any residual moisture, and I doubt that it would affect the fridge loss very much. What do you think :rolls: :rolls:

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