Problems with Water Build Up in Crispers on Samsung

This is a common problem with a lot of refrigerators....You need to empty the freezer section and remove the panel on the bottom, you will find the drain hole and probably a wire that acts as a drainage assistant....clear any ice buildup and pour water in bottom to test drainage, adjust wire as needed....

The problem is in the top half,the freezer is on bottom on this model.

Freezer works fine.

There is a separate evaporator coil/defroster for the freezer.

Thanks for the feedback!

Samsung fridge/refrigerator RF217 water under drawer/crispers ...

Samsung Refrigerator DIY Repair - Water Under Vegetable Drawers ...

I did not watch this, but assume it may help.

I tried these suggestions already...did not solve the problem long term..only a temporary fix.

Thanks anyway for your input.

I got excellent phone help from Delta faucets before.

Try that maybe?

1-800-SAMSUNG

1-800-726-7864

Mon - Fri: 8AM - 12AM (EST) / Sat - Sun: 9AM - 11PM (EST)

Sat - Sun: HOME APPLIANCE CLOSED

I have a similar problem with a completely different make of fridge. Fortunately you don't have to dismantle the back to get at the "gutter" and drain hole so I just used to regularly pour hot water in the gutter and then poke a piece of piano wire up from the base behind the fridge (greater than a foot of tube).

Anyway my wife got so annoyed with it that we bought a new fridge. the backs of the two fridges look very similar they are mostly covered and protected so that you can push them right up against the wall.

But: the new one came with two little plastic standoffs (about two inches/five centimeters long) which screw into sockets on the back. I can't think of any reason for these other than to keep reasonable air flow behind the unit which is where the drain tube runs.

I have moved the old fridge away from the wall, but, I haven't checked to see if it's cured the problem. Hopefully I'll remember tonight.

I think Del The Cat had the same problem several years ago. Don't know if he solved it. I'll try to find the thread, but I don't hold out a lot of hope.

Found it

https://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/28795/Damn-Fridge-Freezer

Not quite the same problem, but, some good stuff in there.

I have moved the old fridge away from the wall, but, I haven't checked to see if it's cured the problem. Hopefully I'll remember tonight.

No joy the "gutter" is full of ice.

Two things I have found. First I have a (Whirlpool bottom freezer). FWIW I think there are only 2 manufactures. The drain on mine gets plugged with mung after 3 yrs and 2 days, guess how long the warranty was? There is an o ring that serves no purpose other than to collect mung, remove it and it will drain faster. The pan has a wick and a fan, fan cools the coils and facilitates the evaporation. The fan gets covered with dust. Next even though there are two coils, it will sometimes freeze. This is due to defective a thermostat. This is a device that attaches to the coil(s) and determines the length of the defrost cycle. A typical fridge will do 3 defrost cycles a day. This may be defective, I don't know how to test it. The service guy said it was bad and to replace it. Sears wanted X, the local appliance store wanted 1/4 x. Again they are all the same. To paraphrase the Russian Cosmonaut stated in the film Armageddon "Russian parts, American parts all made in China"

The remedies thus far have dealt with door gaskets,which I have verified are in good condition and sealing properly,and adding heat to the area of the drain pan to keep the water from freezing before it drains out of the pan.

One remedy involved a kit consisting of a very small piece of aluminum that wrapped around the heater element of the defrost coil.This proved to be ineffective.

The problem seemed to be not enough contact with the heater element,and insufficient thermal mass to hold the heat after the element turned off to ensure that all of the water has drained form the pan.

In other words,the water froze before it could drain completely.

Once this occurred only one time the drain is blocked from future drainage,and the water overflows the drain pan.

I thought about trying to extend the defrost cycle time,but this required access to the CPU that controls the entire refrigerator,which is not available to the general public,or modifying the setting of the thermostat that ends the defrost cycle,but I decided not to do this for obvious safety reasons.

I am implementing a Hitekrednek solution to the problem,and I will give feedback on the results if my ideas prove to have long term benefits.

Update for smsung problems.

I may have found a solution to the problem in original post.

I was stripping some coax,and noticed the copper braiding shield.Copper is an excellent thermal conductor,so I stripped out about 6 inches of the copper shielding,flattened it out and wrapped it around the defrost heat strip,and routed it down into the drain line about 1/2 inch.

Been a while now since the mod,and so far,so good.

Usually there is water in crisper by now,but it is dry now.

I secured each end of the braiding with a small piece of metallic tape,so that I could get a tight wrap and good contact with the heater coil.

I routed the braiding so that is does not make contact with any plastic parts.

I also installed new gasket material all around the cover,since the original was frozen solid to the back and damaged when removing the cover.

At the far right of the photo,you will see the (Whirlpool) factory recommended mod,which is a small piece of very soft aluminum,with a screw clamp.

This did not make good contact with the heater coil,so was not very effective.

It was subsequently removed.

The copper braid is a much better conductor,and conforms tightly to the coil when secured with metal tape and pulled tightly.

The photo is the first one I took,before making adjustments to the braid,and securing it with foil tape.

There was a slight smell when the heater strip came on,and I attribute this to the adhesive on the foil tape,but it soon dissipated,and a subsequent exam of the coil and tape reveled no damage.

If you have concerns about this,you might be able to use red RTV silicon on the very end, to secure the end of the braid,but this would require waiting for it to cure in order to tighten it up.

Since I do have any control over how anyone may apply or misapply this information,and I do not wish to incur any legal difficulties from this posting,I cannot recommend this for anyone to try.

This is simply my way of solving the problem that seemed to puzzle the manufacturer(s).

Because we have become such a litigious society,you assume all liability and risk for using anything listed or described here.

signed: D,C&H (Dewey Cheetham and Howe)

GA

Why is the photo dated the 1st of March (BTW most people from this side of the pond would read that as the 3rd of January).

Calendar needs resetting on my camera..OOPS!

The date format is the civilian mode over here,particularly used by those old stuck-in-the-past Redneks.

I am no longer an international traveler,who use ISO 8601 "YYYY-MM-DD" and the older I get,the more I revert to my younger habits.

My wife says I am an old dog just because I circle the bed a couple of times before I lie down.

( I told her at least I don't raise my leg to pee)

The ISO standard was originally implemented to reduce keystrokes, when programming was a lot more intensive than it is today,sort of like RPN was for the first compact calculators.It also keeps the sorting order of dates more logical.

Gotta try to remember I am in an International forum..

I installed many appliances and Samsung is unfortunately the worst of them. Most Samsung refers freeze themselves up within six months or freez up their ice makers to the point where the feed screw for the ice strips it's gears.

They have a very poor defrost system and condensation and re-freeze of condensate is the crux of the problems they exhibit. They don't circulate air very well, they over heat the walls when in defrost mode, and then they don't drain very well. One reason for the draining problem is the lay of the land post proper installation. The lean of the horizontal surfaces assume the unit is installed perfectly level, however, a properly installed refer leans back so the doors close themselves when open < 90deg from closed. This lean causes condensate to build up and not drain, and the poor airflow prevents moisture evaporation.

I always recommend that Samsung and LG appliances be replaced with a Whirlpoool brand or Bosch brand unit (OTRs excepted).

While searching on line for a solution,I discovered that DamSung is not the only one having problems with the drain freezing.

Whirlpool models are having the same issues,and devised a"fix" that did not work.

It was a small piece of very soft aluminum,shaped like a flag with a tab on one end.

The procedure was to wrap the wide end around the defrost element and insert the tab end into the drain tube,allowing heat from the defrost coil to conduct down into the tray,preventing freeze up,and consequent overflow.

This method did not work on my DamSung, even though it was a recommended fix.

Apparently there was not enough thermal mass in the aluminum to provide enough residual heat to prevent freezing once the heater turned off.

So I implemented my RedNek fix,and it has been working great so far.

Replacing the gasket all around the cover of the cooling coil cover is a necessity,because it provides good air flow around the cooling coils,as well as the rest of the refrigerator.

I cleaned all of the old foam gasket from around the cover,and replaced it with a self adhesive EPDM D_Profile Self Stick Weather seal.

It is composed of two hollow tubes,Siamesed together,but they are easily separated.

I used one single strip all around.

I have had no problems with freeze up of the drain tube since I did my RedNek modification,and Mama Bear is very happy.

And when Mama Bear is happy,Everyone is happy.

Here are a couple of ideas:

Seal food in zip-lock bags and liquids in sealed containers.

There are dehumidifiers that you can buy for refrigerators. I don't have any experience with them.