Norcold Icemaker Tubing

[Revconguy]

Has anyone had the joy of trying to replace the icemaker water tubing behind the fridge on a Norcold 1210IM fridge? I appear to have a somewhat small leak somewhere high in the tubing behind the fridge cooling assembly. (I'm presuming the previous owner let it freeze without winterizing the icemaker). I haven't tried anything yet, but I'm concerned that the fridge would have to come out of it's cabinet in order to replace the tubing. I haven't checked how the tubing connects to the icemaker itself yet but I'm hopeful I might find a way to attach some new tubing to the old and pull it through from the bottom back of the fridge.
Anyone have experience in this area?

[hardy1000]

Just ordered one for my 1210.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[RonaldNC]

Originally Posted by Revconguy

Has anyone had the joy of trying to replace the icemaker water tubing behind the fridge on a Norcold 1210IM fridge? I appear to have a somewhat small leak somewhere high in the tubing behind the fridge cooling assembly. (I'm presuming the previous owner let it freeze without winterizing the icemaker). I haven't tried anything yet, but I'm concerned that the fridge would have to come out of it's cabinet in order to replace the tubing. I haven't checked how the tubing connects to the icemaker itself yet but I'm hopeful I might find a way to attach some new tubing to the old and pull it through from the bottom back of the fridge.
Anyone have experience in this area?

I had the same issue... twice! My tubing had several weak spots that eventually split and made a mess. I replaced it with copper tubing and have had zero issues since. I don't know your configuration, but mine was easy to replace. I have an access panel under the refrigerator where the valve off the water line is located. The other end is on the back of the refrigerator. I simply pushed the copper line down from the back and pulled it through underneath... added a couple of fittings and it was done. No need to pull out the fridge!

Good luck!

Ron

[Revconguy]

THanks Ronald. That's encouraging. So, I take it that its not an issue to push the tubing out from the inside of the freezer/icemaker compartment? If it will fit, I'd be tempted to try to use a braided stainless steel hose available at Home Depot.



https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...2-EB/205854155


...Rev

Originally Posted by RonaldNC

I had the same issue... twice! My tubing had several weak spots that eventually split and made a mess. I replaced it with copper tubing and have had zero issues since. I don't know your configuration, but mine was easy to replace. I have an access panel under the refrigerator where the valve off the water line is located. The other end is on the back of the refrigerator. I simply pushed the copper line down from the back and pulled it through underneath... added a couple of fittings and it was done. No need to pull out the fridge!

Good luck!

Ron

[RonaldNC]

Originally Posted by Revconguy

THanks Ronald. That's encouraging. So, I take it that its not an issue to push the tubing out from the inside of the freezer/icemaker compartment? If it will fit, I'd be tempted to try to use a braided stainless steel hose available at Home Depot.



https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...2-EB/205854155


...Rev

Rev,

Just to be clear, the plastic tubing connects from the water line (under the refrigerator) to the solenoid (on the back of the refrigerator). If you can access the valve under the refrigerator, then it is a relatively easy project. I just followed the same path as the plastic tubing you're replacing. I simply pushed the copper tubing down the hole (after clearing out some foam insulation around the hole) and fished it out from under the refrigerator.

Ron

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by RonaldNC

Rev,

Just to be clear, the plastic tubing connects from the water line (under the refrigerator) to the solenoid (on the back of the refrigerator). If you can access the valve under the refrigerator, then it is a relatively easy project. I just followed the same path as the plastic tubing you're replacing. I simply pushed the copper tubing down the hole (after clearing out some foam insulation around the hole) and fished it out from under the refrigerator.

Ron

Re-read OPs 1st post
Leak is UP High on the water line going into the ice maker....not from water shutoff to solenoid valve


Water supply line going into ice maker requires removing fridge to access that section


1/2" line connected to water fill tube with hose clamp.
Line has 'foil heater' 12V DC



see pg 79
http://rvrefrigeratorrepair.com/wp-c...d-Service-1210

[Revconguy]

Thanks. I have easy access to the the valve behind the fridge. I'll give it a shot this weekend.

[Revconguy]

Thanks 'Old-Biscuit' for the factual information and the reference to the manual!

• The manual page you referenced is very clear that the fridge must be pulled out to access the tubing. If I go to all the trouble of pulling it out, I'd probably replace the whole thing with a less fire-prone and more reliable residential fridge.

• Frankly, if you could just push new tubing out the back behind the icemaker compartment like was implied, I didn't see how one could make the suggested copper tubing turn downward toward the valve. That solution didn't strike me as viable.

• Given the location of the icemaker being so high, I wonder if one could access the tubing connection from the roof vent? I doubt it and I'm not inclined to even check.

I guess I'll be ripping out the icemaker so I can use the compartment for frozen food storage.


Thanks again!! Rev....

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Re-read OPs 1st post
Leak is UP High on the water line going into the ice maker....not from water shutoff to solenoid valve


Water supply line going into ice maker requires removing fridge to access that section


1/2" line connected to water fill tube with hose clamp.
Line has 'foil heater' 12V DC



see pg 79
http://rvrefrigeratorrepair.com/wp-c...d-Service-1210

[RonaldNC]

Originally Posted by Revconguy

Thanks 'Old-Biscuit' for the factual information and the reference to the manual!

• The manual page you referenced is very clear that the fridge must be pulled out to access the tubing. If I go to all the trouble of pulling it out, I'd probably replace the whole thing with a less fire-prone and more reliable residential fridge.

• Frankly, if you could just push new tubing out the back behind the icemaker compartment like was implied, I didn't see how one could make the suggested copper tubing turn downward toward the valve. That solution didn't strike me as viable.

• Given the location of the icemaker being so high, I wonder if one could access the tubing connection from the roof vent? I doubt it and I'm not inclined to even check.

I guess I'll be ripping out the icemaker so I can use the compartment for frozen food storage.


Thanks again!! Rev....

Rev,

Sorry, I misunderstood which line was leaking. The plastic tubing that I was referring to is the line from the water supply to the solenoid on the back of the fridge. I've never had any problem with the tube from the solenoid to the ice maker.

Good luck,

Ron

[Old-Biscuit]

Water input tube to Ice maker is attached to backside of fridge
Supply line comes up from water solenoid to water input tube and is attached via hose clamp......which could be source of leak


Reaching down from roof vent......doubtful

[Revconguy]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Water input tube to Ice maker is attached to backside of fridge
Supply line comes up from water solenoid to water input tube and is attached via hose clamp......which could be source of leak


Reaching down from roof vent......doubtful

Yes, I agree that there is about a 1 percent chance of getting there from the top. I'm not even going to check. I'll just rough-it and live without a ice maker. How primitive...[emoji41]

[Revconguy]

Originally Posted by RonaldNC

Rev,

Sorry, I misunderstood which line was leaking. The plastic tubing that I was referring to is the line from the water supply to the solenoid on the back of the fridge. I've never had any problem with the tube from the solenoid to the ice maker.

Good luck,

Ron

No problems. I appreciate your thoughts...