House Fridge

[Luckiest Dreamer]

We have a 2012 Winnebago Journey with a Residential frig installed. IT cools and freezes just fine, yet with one problem! The frige is the three door type (bottom drawer freezer) During it's use there is a small amount of water seeping into the freezer compartment that freezes on the bottom of the drawer and at times it will overflow on to the carpet in front of the freezer.
My expectation is there is not enough circulation behind the frig to disapate the condensation and the drain tube freezes causing the water to take another path into the freezer compartment rather than drain to the outside. Yet at the same time i question my logic because the frig in my house never has a puddle under it and it does not have a drain hose to the outside. This continues to happen even after there has been no use during layup times. In other words the water always comes back once we restart the frig.

[wa8yxm]

My theory is improper installation... here is a fact.
On the standard Dometic RV fridge there is a drain tube for the Fridge section (NOT the freezer, NOTE follows)

This is tube, on the outside, is supposed to be extended out via one of the holes in the outside cover so it drip, drip, drips on the ground, not the electrical connections board inside the compartment.

Well, when This RV was new,, the dealer did NOT extend it (Thankfully I read the manual) When I took it back for the Dometic Recall,,, The tech said "I always do that" Visual inspection before I even unlocked to door to get in, told me "No, he does not" as I did it again.

On the last two Refrigerators I had at home the freezer drained into the fridge which drained into a drip (Evaporation) pan.

With the freezer on the bottom this is not possible.. (Mine were clearly top freezer) I do not know how they do it on yours but I'm guessing two drains.

you need to download the SERVICE manual for your device.

Google; {make} {model} service manual

(Where you replace the curly brackets and word in them with the actuall make and model such as GE 132312 service manual (Modem made up)

[Gary RVRoamer]

I don't think wa8yxm's comment is relevant to your residential fridge drainage tube, but a service manual is always a plus.

You are probably right about the internal drip tube, but that is often a failure in the fridge itself rather than installation problem. The water never reaches the evaporation pan because it freezes in the tube behind the walls. Sometimes the tube clogs (from food & beverage spills inside the fridge) and sometimes it's just does it. We had a Samsung in the S&B house that did it all the time and could never figure out why (we finally replaced it).

Talk with the fridge manufacturer tech support about what can cause that. I would also strip out the interior panels and thoroughly clean the tube area. Or at least try to get some detergent bleach down through it, in case it is gummed up. Turn the fridge off to let it thaw the tube - it may take many hours!

[Pigman1]

Get your refrig model number and then do a search for W10619951. That should be the model number of a new P trap that will take the place of the rubber duck bill valve and slanted drain tube. Do a check of your refrig model number to be sure this is the correct part number. If it is, it's easy to install from the rear of the refrig. The only issue you may see is that depending on what the trap is made of, you may have to drain it or put some RV antifreeze in it when you winterize. A rigid plastic P tube can crack if it freezes.

I need to do the same repair on my house and RV refrigerators, and will order my parts in about 2 weeks.

[Jim28730]

If you have an icemaker, make sure the water valve is closing completely after it fills the ice tray. I had the same problem and the valve was bad allowing the ice tray to overfill, causing water to freeze in the freezer. Had to replace the filler solenoid on a brand new refrigerator. May not be your problem but an easy check....

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by Luckiest Dreamer

We have a 2012 Winnebago Journey with a Residential frig installed. IT cools and freezes just fine, yet with one problem! The frige is the three door type (bottom drawer freezer) During it's use there is a small amount of water seeping into the freezer compartment that freezes on the bottom of the drawer and at times it will overflow on to the carpet in front of the freezer.
My expectation is there is not enough circulation behind the frig to disapate the condensation and the drain tube freezes causing the water to take another path into the freezer compartment rather than drain to the outside. Yet at the same time i question my logic because the frig in my house never has a puddle under it and it does not have a drain hose to the outside. This continues to happen even after there has been no use during layup times. In other words the water always comes back once we restart the frig.

Had the same problem. If you have shut down the frig after using it for a while this will happen. Here is the fix. Shut the frig off and remove the bins. Clips in each bin need to be released to remove them. For ease of access remove the front of the freezer. Use a hairdryer carefully to defrost the back of the freezer compartment. At this point I am a bit forgetful. I think you can remove the back wall plate in the freezer. Use a air gun with air pressure around 10 to 15 # and blow some air through the drain holes.

If you really want to get into it you can, with a bit of a struggle, pull the frig forward and gain access through the outside door to the back screws. A few folks have removed the 'duck bill' and installed a 'P' trap to overcome the storage problem.

The defrosting fix cost me $100 for a service call. I know I could repeat the process in about a half hour or so.

Hope you get it fixed. Happy trails.

Rick Y