AboutEric Campion Expertise We have been repairing appliances for over 30 years and have owned our own business for the same. We can help in any or almost all complaints or at least give you some intelligent input to help you make rational decisions. If maxed-out... You may visit our website at http://www.affordableappliance.com for quicker service.
Experience 30 years owning our business and repairing Major Home Appliances
Organizations Chamber of Commerce. Better Business Bureau. Pottsville Business Association. EXPERIENCE
Publications 30 Years of Working on Major Home Appliances and selling parts. Our office staff is top notched and is supervised by My Wife Ann who is also very experienced in the Major Home Appliance Service and Part Sales Business
Question QUESTION: I have a Whirlpool Mod. ET8WTKXKQ0 refrigerator that has recently started accumulating a sheet of ice at the bottom of the freezer. After a day or so the ice will be gone and then, later reappear. Also, water drips into the back of the refrigerator, and collects on the shelves. Any information on the cause or repair of this issue would be greatly appreciated.
ANSWER: The first thing that must be determined is whether we have a sealed system problem or a defrost problem. Whether it is a side by side unit, bottom or top mount freezer, the cooling and defrosting principle is generally the same in all residential cooling units. The freezer is the section that makes the cold and then via the evaporator fan motor, blows the air into the refrigerator section. Most comlmon problem is the defrost cycle. The timer or adaptive defrost control energizer and turns on the defrost heater. This process melts the frost on the evaporator coils to keep them free of frost and allow air to flow through the evaporator coils to remove the heat from the air and recirculate it back into the refrigerator section as well as recirculating in the freezer section to maintain optimum temperatures. When this cycle does not function properly, the evaporator coils block with frost and thus restrict the air flow, first noticed in the refrigerator section and then the freezer section. To check this, remove the food and shelving from the freezer section, remove the rear inside panel or gain access to the area where the fan motor is. Once exposed, take a good look at the evaporator coils. Are they fully frosted...top to bottom, front to back? If they are, is the frost thick and blocking the evaporator coil from allowing air to pass through and not around the coils? If they are blocked, using a hair dryer, remove all the frost and ice from the coils. Once finished, reassemble and your unit will work fine for about 5-7 days...long enough for us to determine what your problem is and ship you the correct replacement parts. If you need further assistance, feel free to reply to this email or go to our website and fill out our request form at http://www.affordableappliance.com/request.htm
Waiting to hear from you,
Eric & Ann Campion
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QUESTION: Okay, I did exactly what you said and removed the rear inside freezer panel. The coils had no built up ice or frost. Nothing was blocked. It is now reassembled. Does this narrow down the problem or part(s) I need? Thanks for your help! Maria
Answer I am so sorry.....I answer 100's of emails a week a alot of them require the same information. I created macros and Unknowingly, I sent you the wrong one. Here is the correct one.
The problem you are experiencing is normally a blocked evaporator drain line. Whether you have a side by side model or a top mount freezer the solution is relatively the same. Most top mount freezer models have a rear evaporator panel covering the aluminum evaporator coils. There are some instances where the evaporator coils are on the floor. These instructions are for top mount freezers where the rear freezer panel covers the evaporator coils. First of all, if there is an ice maker in your unit, this will have to be removed. Normally there are two screws which can be loosened and the body of the ice maker can be lifted off the screws leaving only a plug in harness to disconnect. Remove the harness either from the plug at the left wall or rear of the freezer and set it to the side. Next, remove all the screws securing the rear panel. Remove the rear panel exposing the aluminum evaporator coils. Be careful not to damage these coils as they contain the freon that cools your refrigerator. If you look closely underneath these coils, there will be ice from frozen defrosted water. Using a hair dryer and not a heat gun, melt all the ice and sop up the water with a towel. Now you will see a drain hole which is normally still blocked with ice. Pour hot water in this hole and sop it up. Keep doing this until you pour water down the hole and it drains into the evaporator drain pan either under or behind your refrigerator. Once you have unblocked this drain line, reassemble and plug the refrigerator back in. Set all controls to the middle settings and within 24 hours, your unit will be functioning correctly once again. If you need further assistance, we are here. Eric Campion
