"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
news:f5877477-5154-40ec-8fa1-
On Apr 4, 4:37 pm, Rebel1 wrote:

stuff snipped

Presumably the tube from the freezer to the evaporator tray is clogged,
maybe due to 14 years of dust. I've tried heating with with a hair dryer
on medium, and compressed air from a WD-40 size can of office duster.

Any other theories, or ideas for opening the drainage tube?

I once had a fridge where the drain tube would get clogged with ice
every couple of years. Pouring hot water down the tube cleared it for
a long time.

In my experience it airborne dust that gets into the drain line that causes
a clot that then cause the line to freeze.

I never figured out what conditions caused it to freeze...once every
couple of years wasn't enough occurrences to track anything.

That sounds like the slow build-up of crud in the lines. Unfiltered room
air circulates over the coils. In time, dust builds ups. Every time I've
had to blow out the drain line with compressed air, there's been a big clot
of black gunk expelled. Pets increase the possibility of a clog.

The problem went to the curb when I bought a fridge with a freezer on the
bottom.

For now. I suspect you'll find that a top freezer's drain line is a heck of
a lot easier to access than one on the bottom of the unit. You may have
gotten some relief just because the drain line is much shorter and hopefully
much bigger than the older unit. The problem could actually get worse
because the closer to the floor, the more dust. That's based on years of
dealing with floor mounted PC's. They get incredibly dirty compared to a
desk-mounted unit. Especially when pets are around.

--
Bobby G.