[kestak]

Greetings,

I just found out an issue and I got a completely unsatisfying answer from the store.

I live in Augusta, GA.

I have a refrigerator Frigidaire (classic top freezer, bottom refrigerator) in my garage and it is now the THIRD summer I have it there. We bought it brand new. There is no water distribution connected to it or any ice maker. I use it to keep my "survival" food and my VERY important garage refreshments like ...hmmmm....beer...

I saw some water on the concrete ground coming out from the bottom of the appliance. The top part is still hard frozen and the stuff in it has the exterior of the containers lightly frosted.

The bottom part now....Condensed water EVERYWHERE. On the top it was full of water drops, every container inside was wet. the drawers had 2 inches of water.

Yes, the garage is hot and humid.

It is the first year it is happening. Anyone has an idea if there is a thing inside it that is malfunctioning and need to be cleaned or replaced?

Thank you

 

[dw60]

Might be the evaporator pan at the bottom is dirty/dusty and spilling over. It has happened to me before, Just a guess. Also, make sure rodents are not getting in there to drink.

 

[Jules64]

Sounds like a blocked evaporator drain line. Not sure where your's is, but if it's blocked with ice, you'll need to pour hot water into the drain hole and then soak up the excess water.

 

[woowoo2]

Check the door seal also.

 

[kev1n69]

drain tube plugged with a bread tie or critter

or bad door seal/ door not shut all the way
like they said

 

[kestak]

Checked the drain...good.
Removed the grid in the front and it is clean.
The seal however, I had to clean it because it was full of black crap. It is like mold grew on it....there was some also where the seal was in contact with the metal of the main frame....

Maybe it is that.

 

[Sprig]

This can happen from time to time due to the environment.

If the interior temp of the garage is high, the inside of the re-fridge may be cooler due to the location of the temp sensor.

Your compressor may have shut down for a few hours due to thermal overheating.

You may not have otherwise noticed? It could have been doing this "leakage" for all three years, but the cycle this one point in time was when you walked past?

Keeping an eye on every little detail is a good idea ... since you have "good stuff" in the machine that is now apparently living life on the edge.

But, for the moment, you should be in observation and diagnosis phase of exploration. Surgery should come when you figure out exactly what is wrong.

 

[Sulfur]

+1 on the door seal going bad, happens all the time. Me and my father have a small appliance repair company, let me know if you need help geting the part.

 

[Rockyriver]

You can try this. My fridge froze up about a week ago.
Take everything out the freezer
Take the back plate off, the one inside the freezer on its back wall.
Look to see if the evaporator is froze up, if not I'm wrong, put back togeather.
If its froze up, take a hair dryer and de thaw it.
Fridges out in garages are in the high humidity and over time the evaporator on the inside of the freezer will collect ice until its totallly froze up and no cool air can be drawn off the evaporator.
Also take a vaccum and clean the outside coil on the back of the fridge, sometimes this one is in the open and sometimes you have to remove a plate.

 

[MikeK]

It's probably triggered by the heat and humidity. Heat making it run often, and humidity to form condensate. Make sure the condensate is able to get out of the unit and into the pan. If not, that'll cause moisture inside the fridge.

 

[Awesome]

The heating element is shot or not receiving a signal to de-ice. Likely the defrost thermostat or timer are to blame. You can test each part with a simple multimeter and I'd bet you can find a walk through online.

Let me guess, your freezer has frost all over the back wall and the tunnel that connects the fridge to the freezer has a chunk of ice in it which causes the fridge to stay warm while the rest of the freezer ices up. As the warm fridge melts the ice the containers fill with water.

I'd put money on this being the problem.

 

[aletoledo]

sounds to me like the automatic defrost. When you say you checked the drain, where exactly was this drain? I don't think you checked the right drain. It's supposed to be right underneath the cooling coils.

 

[nomadjanet]

The heating element is shot or not receiving a signal to de-ice. Likely the defrost thermostat or timer are to blame. You can test each part with a simple multimeter and I'd bet you can find a walk through online.

Let me guess, your freezer has frost all over the back wall and the tunnel that connects the fridge to the freezer has a chunk of ice in it which causes the fridge to stay warm while the rest of the freezer ices up. As the warm fridge melts the ice the containers fill with water.

I'd put money on this being the problem.

this happens even when you don't have the fridge in the garage. need to clean out the freezer and defrost the tunnel from the freezer to the fridge then reset the fridge by unplugging it and leaving it unplugged for about 30 40 mintes vacumm the coils while it is unplugged and make sure the little fan in the back is turning freely. plug it back in and keep an eye on it but I think once you go this it will be OK.

 

[Bontemps3]

I had something like this happen to mine. Turned out to be the "defrost thermostat." About a three to five dollar part and easy to replace. I went to a used appliance and repair place, described the symptoms, and bought one from them. Had to take the back panel out of the freezer, cut the wires to the malfunctioning unit, wire in the new one. Quick and easy. If you do this, it may fix the problem, and it's a cheap way to diagnose something bigger.

 

[panhapp]

I dont think your evaporator is frozen up. When it rains in the refrigerator section a lot of times I find that the temp is set to cold in the refrigerator section. This causes the defrost drain line to freeze shut. When it goes into defrost the drain below the evaporator runs over and into the refer section. Empty the refer and shut it off with the doors open over night. when you turn it back on set the refer temp slightly warmer. when the ice melts you should get water in the drain pan below the refer. If not something else is blocking the drain line. An indication that you have this problem is if anything EVER freezes in the bottom. If so its set to cold.

PAN

 

[kestak]

Still rain this morning in the bottom section but a lot less. It must be because it was only an overnight time.
Yes i had ice in the bottom section completely in the back in the center. I am emptying it today and let it shut with doors open for 36 hours.

And yes the bottom was set a little bit over half temp. So it may be too cold.

Thank you guys for the info.

 

[kestak]

A little follow up.
I emptied the appliance. Unplugged it24 hours ago. I ll restart the thing in 6 hours. I think it is enough time because it is 83 in my garage.
When i emptied it, it canted by accident toward the front ( doors were still full but appliance almist empty) and tons of water poured out from the bottom pan under the appliance. I guess that means the main drain was not clogged.

Will try to keep you posted if it resolved the issue. I should know within 1 week

 

[panhapp]

Sounds good. When you turn it back on set the cold control as cold as you can keep it so that nothing freezes in the bottom. Put some jar lids with water in them at the top and bottom of the refer section to check. You can set the control anywhere in between the numbers if you want.
You did good. saved a service call and someone possibily selling you parts you didnt need.

PAN