How to Fix a Leaking Refrigerator/Freezer | Samsung
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- #diy #samsung #freezerice #repair
If you have a refrigerator or freezer that is leaking water and freezing on the bottom of the freezer or crisper compartment, the problem may be with ice forming in the drip pan and drain line. The evaporator coil in some Samsung refrigerators does not do an effective job in keeping ice from forming in the drip pan under the condenser coils. This causes the water to freeze and block the flow to the drip pan. The fix for some models is to install an evaporator clip that extends into the drain. This will not work for all models. If the clip cannot be installed, a Force/Fast Defrost can be performed periodically to prevent water from collecting and freezing in the drain line.
In this video, I'll unfreeze the line and show you how to perform a Fast Defrost to get the ice unplugged. My refrigerator could not be pulled out of its cabinet, so the back drain line is not accessible. For the best results, pull your refrigerator out and check the drain lines for any blockage. Also, be sure to unplug your unit before doing any maintenance. I was unable to do that for this video because I could not access behind the refrigerator. It is best to check your Owner's Manual and follow all Safety Precautions advised by your refrigerator's manufacturer.
Samsung makes horrible fridges, just horrible. My fridge has exactly the same issue. Did they ever tested it before mass producing it and putting it out on the market??? Faulty design all through out. The worst feedback possible. Wasted money on this fridge.
Agreed.
Samsung should add the heat element in there to avoid freezing By the way gray job. My frig started to leaking from the bottom. I will try it. There is another video that shows how to clean form the back too.
Apparently this is a common problem so my question is...why don't they change the design?! 😊
People still buy samsung
I'm having similar issues with my Samsung. It seems like a high school student has designed their refrigerators. I miss the good old American maid Westinghouse which is being used at my parents for over 40 years!!!
They don't make anything the way they used to 😣
This was so helpful! You are a Boss Woman! I just checked and sure enough there is a layer of ice at the base of the freezer! Thank you.
I have a GE Cafe presenting the same problem, fixed it a few times but the problem always returns. Ok, so we are customers who paid a lot of money for these refrigerators and now we should do this procedure every 2 months? Really? I do not find that acceptable. BTW a steam cleaner will help to melt the ice. Is this a case for a class action?
I love the steamer idea! The internet is FULL of complaints about this issue. I would love to find a refrigerator that does not have this issue! 🙄
same problem with our refrigerator. Thank you so much. I will check my refrigerator after viewing this video.
Painful to watch you strip the bolts instead of using the correct tool
Sorry you're so sensitive. Good thing you don't have to watch.
You awesome...and spot on...are you on facebook
I like smart women
Thank you, Jose!
Thanks for sharing. I had to remove the icemaker first, but only two screws at the front was holding it in place. Also, I removed the cover at the back and cleaned the drain tube. I had a big dust clog in the rubber connection at the top, so water poured out when I pulled that off. Cleaned up everything and reassembled the fridge-freezer. Problem solved.
Nice! So glad you fixed it! 😃
Same problem with mine keep taking out those ice everytime
Thanks for your video, l have a same problem, and I can't move refrigerator at all.
What you think, just keep refrigerator unplug about a week, and all ice will be melt itself? Am I right?
It won't take a week to melt. I'd guess 24 hours or so. Be sure to put towels down for the water. Good luck!
Great video! Just got done and works great again. Step by step on everything was very well done 👍
Thanks, Bob! Glad you found it helpful!
the issue is your drain tube and how it is made - that is the failure on all units
I mentioned that I couldn't get to the back of the fridge to check the drain tube. The issue is at the entrance of the drain tube. There should be a metal piece that connects with the heating element that warms up the water as it enters the drain. The metal piece is not heating up so the water freezes at the inlet. It is a problem with Samsungs for sure.
Great video, thanks for making it. I have a similar issue and will check for a blockage now.
Ugh, I read most every comment good and bad. You are a wonderful person for being polite to not so polite lol.
Thanks! lol I hope your issue is easy to fix. I finally got tired of messing with mine and got a new one :)
Thanks for the video, had found other Samsungs but not this exact model. Pulled mine out and removed the drain tube with that goofy rubber piece that stops up. I clipped the end off of it and put it back. WARNING! Don't put your fingers behind that plastic panel that covers the evaporator or you get burned by the defrosting wire. Ask me how I know.... (Yes, I should have unplugged the fridge) If you can't unplug your fridge, just be careful...
Great advice! Thanks for sharing 😀
Yes, seen other videos, but it takes a woman to find the tricks like the syringe and two jugs one of hot water and the other the drain water. Great video thanks!
Thank you for your kind words!
I have a different model but Samsung is known for this problem. My blockage was in the refrigerator section and exactly the same issue. Now I think I have it in the freezer. I ordered that part and was able to install it at the bottom of the fridge coil but it still didn't go down enough to stop the freezing. I probably took an extra month after adding the part before freezing again. I saw someone else who said just attach a few copper wires to the heat coil and make sure they go down into the hole a good inch or so. That was about a year ago and no more freezing in the fridge section. I'll be attacking the freezer section tonight. Good video but if it happens again put a few copper wires (without the insulation on them) and get into the hole. That should do the trick.
Thanks, Mike! That's a great suggestion. My fridge has actually started to freeze up again. I can't seem to get it to do the auto defrost again, either. I really hate this fridge! LOL The leaking has completely wrecked my laminate floor. Maybe a new floor install video will be next? Thanks for the copper wire idea! I bet it will work!
@@diymaggie Maggie, that doesn't surprise me. The metal piece we both bought just doesn't go low enough. It's a bit more difficult to wrap the copper wire around the freezer defroster element than it was for the main part of the fridge. I would take off the piece you bought and wrap the copper around it, or drill a hole in the bottom and wrap the wire through and around the hole, and reinstall. I don't buy Samsung products any longer since they wouldn't admit they have a problem here and they could have easily fixed it. Good luck!
I’m curious if this needs to be repeated and how often? I’m debating on trying this or just getting a new fridge if it will be a recurring issue.
Mine turned out to be reoccurring. I just bought a new fridge a couple of months ago. If I would have been able to get to the back of it, I might have been able to check out the rubber drain. Honestly, I think it's just very poorly designed. I did NOT buy another Samsung! LOL
Same model but no force defrost when I hold the Freezer/lighting buttons-am I doing something wrong Larry
@@reakoe I don't think so. It took me several tries to get it to work. I may have just gotten lucky. The hairdryer definitely works though!
Hi Margaret! We just went through a list of troubleshooting for our fridge and the last step was this. Our fridge had water dripping into the fridge (the freezer is above the fridge.) We did a similar process, but with different fridge models than yours, and we were also able to get behind the fridge to see the pan where the water eventually drained after defrosting the drain hole. I was curious about how tonprevent this from happening. What was that little thing you had to put in the drain hole? Is that supposed to prevent the hole from freezing?
Yes, the clip is made to clip on the heating element and hang down into the drain. On some models the element is accessible. Mine wasn't. You can see on mine that the lower heating element was bent down to touch the drain pan and there was a clip already attached. Obviously that 'improved' design isn't effective. The clip I bought was too big. I'm not going to try to find a smaller one. Force defrosting it periodically should do the trick. Hopefully.
@@diymaggie thanks for your reply! We are renting out our house, so I can't rely so much on being able to defrost it regularly (and our fridge is very basic and doesn't have forced defrost). So, am hoping I can research and see if there is a clip type thing to help prevent the drain hole from freezing. Just thought it was a funny coincidence we were addressing this problem at the same time! I appreciate your post because maybe the clip will work and I hadn't heard of that before.
I've also seen that people have just taken a piece of copper wire and wrapped it around the coil and down into the drain. Here's the link to the part I bought. It's cheap, less than $7. www.amazon.com/dp/B08B7VST7V?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
@@diymaggiesadly you have only addressed the symptom. Your solution lies in WHY is that drain hole freezing. To actually fix the problem, you must pull the refrigerator out from the wall (it might be a snug fit but it should be on appliance wheels). Open the bottom rear panel where you will see both of the drain tubes (one for the refrigerator and one for the freezer). They are slipped onto their respective drain ports. Gently slide one of them off and you’ll notice that the top of that tube has a hard plastic restrictor fitting on it. Inside that fitting are two very small and slim slits that allow the condensate to drop down the tube into the drain pain which is part of the refrigerator where it just evaporates. You will notice those small slits are clogged with sediment which could be from hard water wetting then drying as the refrigerator (or freezer) cycles. All you need to do is make those holes slightly larger. Those slits appear to be only there to restrict ambient air from entering the refrigerator/freezer compartment. I suggest if you open the front doors, you are letting far more ambient air into the compartment than slightly larger holes in those plugs. With those slits plugged, water backed up until it reached the inside of the refrigerator/freezer where it froze resulting in a total blockage. In your case, that refrigerator went into that casement so it must be able to come out. Make those small holes larger. Problem fixed. I had this very issue and watched several RUclips videos until I stumbled onto this solution. When I took the top restrictor off the tube (it just slips onto the drain tube), the bottom part broke off from being brittle. I decided I’d just go with the now much larger holes than intended.
@feversol You both are very much appreciated. She was very helpful in helping me get that front cover off without busting it. And helpful in finding the ice blockage. But you're right too. It's not just ice blocking the drain. The plug on the back end is also stopped-up. Even if you defrost it, the ice will just turn back into water but it still has nowhere to go. it will eventually freeze right back up. To fully fix it, you have to go behind the fridge, remove bottom panel and unblock that rubber drain. It's not blocked with ice. It's blocked with gunk from hard water and the plug has a tiny slit opening that has sealed itself shut. Got to remove that rubber plug, clean out that gunk, and then pry that slit back open. I cut about a 16th of an inch off the tip inside the plug to make it take a lot longer to seal up agian. Works great. Fixed 100% for free. Thanks.
You did a wonderful job and video , you are really a doer ! great job making women proud . and a significant other if there is. lol🎉
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! 😂 Thanks!
@@diymaggie my daughter had that issue and same unit . she got the drawers out ,found your post after but was still very helpful
Excellent video superb presentation. It should be head of the search list as.most of the others dealt with sisebysides or just covered the upper compartment. so maybe retitle it so it comes up First in the search say remove bottom drawer and clear ice drain.
Thanks! I appreciate the input! I'll give it a try!
So getting behind mine, i found my drainage pipe internal flange had become rigid and sealed itself
Also thanks for the great video, between the two fixes l, hopefully no more ice!
@@davidw1860 Glad you found it helpful. Getting behind the fridge is key, if you can manage to. Good luck and I hope your ice days are over!
I managed to pull out the fridge by using my ice skate lace tied to the bottom hinge of the fridge door on both sides. Also to clear the drain tubes and remove the dust from the coil after removing bottom back panel. Use masking tape and cardboard to protect your floor. The leveling feet should be raised before by using a pry bar on the metal frame to lift up the fridge and then rotate it from left to right.
same problem but the drain hose is blocked so not fixed
Oh, man. I love the way the inset refrigerators look but they're so hard to pull out!
Thank you for adding this video, This is my exact fridge and exact problem, what are the chances?! I appreciate a short video with very clear camera work and detailed instructions so it was easy to watch.
Thank you for your kind words! I'd like to say it never happened again, but I did. I'm working on a way to pull the fridge out so I can check the line in the back. This is a regular problem with the Samsung 🙄
For now
Crazy design but it worked. Thanks.
Well done young lady.
Thanks, Bryan!
Thank you! This fixed my fridge🥳 I wanted to send you a tip to thank you, but you don't have a tip button!?
Hey Maggie! That is so sweet of you! I'm happy it worked for you! Your kind words are tip enough!
Hello, Maggie, enjoyed your video because I have the exact same model of refrigerator and it started to build up ice in the freezer section like yours several months ago. I was reading the comment posted by @feversol pointing out the issue with the drain port. Since you have fixed the inside of the freezer a year ago and you did not do anything to the drain port, has your freezer section remain ice free till now?
No, unfortunately I'm not able to get to the back of the fridge to access the drain line. The leak has caused the laminate floor to warp and I can't budge it from the right cabinet. The drain line should definitely be checked but in my case it wasn't possible.
You are supposed to unplug the fridge when you do this, and also don’t put bleached water into your fridge drain line…
Yeah, I mentioned that you should unplug. I could not. The bleach helps clear any mold or mildew in the line.
After watching this video, I thought I fixed the issue. By the end of the day it was starting to freeze over the drain again. I was able to catch it before the water leaked down to the bottom and froze. Idk what else to do. The freezer is not set at a cold setting. It’s only on the 2nd level.
I have had more trouble, too. Someone posted that they twisted a copper wire around the heated coil and directed it into the hole. The heat from the wire helps keep the water from freezing. The Samsun design doesn't keep the water from freezing. Super frustrating for sure! My laminate floor has been completely ruined. I will NEVER buy another Samsung appliance. I also had a dishwasher and washing machine - both of the exteriors rusted terribly.
Hi Maggie, did your display do anything after you held down the 2 buttons for 8 seconds - or did it just start defrosting without any furthuer indication on the screen?
I got no indication. I heard sizzling and smelled the coils heating up. It kind of freaked me out. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get it to defrost for me again.
i had watched a few videos and they got me half way there, The video from you with the syringe was the finishing touch! Thanks you!!
You're welcome! Glad it helped!
So was it necessary to take all that apart? Or could you have just done the auto defrost and not taken anything apart at all? Or are you saying it necessary to disassemble to get rid of the ice in the drain first before running an auto defrost? Thank you!
If you can get your fridge to auto defrost first, try it! I couldn't get mine into the defrost mode. It finally kicked in. I'd definitely try that first. It may warm up enough to melt the ice in the drain. You won't be able to confirm that until you take it apart, though. Unless you can get to the back of your fridge? Like I've said, I'm no expert. I'm just sharing what I've done and show how it worked for me. Good luck!
Thank you for sharing your video! You are a gem!
You're so welcome! Glad you found it helpful 🥰
what happen if you are a older person and can't blend down.
Well, I guess you'll have to call a repair-person.
Where does the water will drain? Is there a bottom pan under the refrigerator? Thank you
Refrigerators are supposed to have drip pans to collect water from the drain line. They should not overflow as the thought is that the water will evaporate before it overflows. I was unable to get behind my fridge to check my drain line or drip pan, but there was no water underneath the fridge when I checked. I took off the front kick panel to check.
Did you unplug the refrigerator first?????
I wasn't able to pull my refrigerator out in order to unplug it. I did put a disclaimer at the beginning of the video instructing YOU to unplug yours. Worst case scenario, you can turn off the power at the breaker - if you don't need power to film a video....LOL
Yes it worked for me. Thanks!
Yay!!
How did you find out it had a force defrost?
I googled how to defrost a Samsung refrigerator.
Wow I’m impressed
Next time, tap bottom frozen ice with a hammer or channel locks to break up.
I've used a hammer before. It makes a real mess with all the ice breaking into pieces. Also, there's a chance of cracking the plastic freezer floor using a hammer. Using the hair dryer was quicker and a lot less messy.
I open the door and lay on the floor and use a metal spatula on an angle and slide it under the corner and the entire piece pops up and I can just pull the slab out from underneath the drawer. It looks like an ice skating rink but no more removing food saves me a lot of time! If I need a little push to pop it I tap the spatula with a meat tenderizer!
Thank you.
just unplug refrigerator for 24 hours and all ice will melt
You could do that. But, like I said, I couldn't get behind the refrigerator to unplug it. And I didn't want to leave my frozen foods in a cooler for 24 hours. They would have thawed too.
@@diymaggie dry ice in cooler would have kept food frozen - circuit breaker would turn off refrig
Finding dry ice and turning off the breaker that powers the rest of my kitchen for 24 hours is too much inconvenience. Using the Power Defrost was simpler and quicker. Thanks though.
Thank you so much .
You're very welcome! Hope it helped!
7:36 " i can t figure out how to put the piece back in" lol
Oh no! Lol It is a bear! I had to trim the video and cut out all my cuss words! Lol The styrofoam backing is hard to get lined up right. Hang in there. If I got it, you can! Good luck! 😊
Oh, wait! I just re-read that. That piece wasn't original. I didn't remove it. I bought it to help keep the ice from forming. It works on most models.
What causes this?
It can be caused by the drain being blocked or more likely, the water in the drain plug freezes. That has been an issue with this model. The heating element/coil isn't long enough to reach into the drain hole. Water freezes and clogs the drain. Super frustrating!!
thank you for your info
Check the drain tube on the back for clogged. There should be 2 of them. One for the frig the other for the freezer. Very common problem with these fridge.
Like I said in the video, I can't get to the drain in the back of the fridge. The fix I tried worked :)