On 5/27/2009 8:33 PM, Don Young wrote:

You did not mention whether you had determined that the condensate water
drain was clear or whether the defrost timer, heater, and thermostat were
working properly. Also, are you sure that the damper in the air passage from
the freezer into the refrigerator is wide open. That setting would likely be
marked for MINIMUM FREEZER temperature.

Many of these units have the thermostat in the refrigerator and the
evaporator in the freezer. Temperatures are balanced by controlling the
airflow from the freezer to the refrigerator. It can take a really long time
(2 or 3 days) for the temperatures to stabilize and if you keep opening the
door(s) to check the temperatures or to add food to either side, they never
will. Also, when you open either door, the airflows are changed by the open
door.

So your only problem is likely to be the failure to properly defrost and
dispose of the water.


I assumed the drain was clear because as I defrosted the freezer, the
catch basin on the bottom of the unit filled up. Thinking back, perhaps
it was blocked by a bit of ice at some point, and simply spiraled out of
control from there?

I *DID* find the reason that it wasn't cooling after my initial
defrost. Apparently I accidentally warped a piece of plastic that lined
the air passage way from the freezer to the fridge, so only a trickle of
air was moving down. I opened the passageway back up (two short pieces
of doweling), and that seemed to do the trick. I don't remember holding
the blow dryer close to anything for any length of time, but obviously I
must have.

If the coils freeze up again, I imagine that indicates the defrosting
system is on the fritz, and I'll have to pull out a voltage meter and
decide if its the heater or the thermostat.

Thanks for the suggestion, though. Hopefully, a blocked water line
will be the only problem next time!