This trick works! I’ve defrosted my Kitchenaid freezer dozens of times, and the freeze-up and dripping into the fridge keeps coming back. One month into this fix, and the problem’s gone away. Don, you da man!!! Thank you so much!
I'm a home repair guy.... not an appliance guy. A friend of mine has this exact fridge. I too used the wire trick, just today. I don't plan on fixing it ever again. Lol
You want a good heat conductor and metal is good at that but you want corrosion resistance too. Ideally you want something that clamps on. Aluminum is probably best. Dissimilar metals can cause galvanic corrosion so maybe it's best to use a factory kits. There are factory kits for this made of aluminum that clamp on with a screw. Same idea though. Some feel more comfortable with a factory part. There are factory kits for this made of aluminum that clamp on with a screw. Same idea though. Some feel more comfortable with a factory part.
of the million videos on the intern telling me how to use a turkey baster to get rid of the ice, this one is the only one with an idea on how to actually keep the ice from forming. I will install a piece of copper wire in my drain hole tonight. thank you for going rogue and showing the world how to fix the issue vs. how to fix the symptom.
I tried this to my fridge which iced up about once a year. I have not had the issue since I followed the suggestion and hooked a groung wire in the heating element. Thanks. Ice free for over 6 months..
I recently did this trick. I closed the loop on my wire so it won't fall off if the refrigerator gets moved. So far no more problems. 7 inches of 12 gauge bare copper wire.
Great fix. I just did this and am looking forward to the results. We have a 22 year old Whirlpool fridge that works great except that the drain tray frosts up once in a while. Maybe once a year or so. I’m hopeful this gives us a few more years of use. As an added bonus, my spouse thinks I am a genius.
I want to thank you for this fix. I have 2 of these fridges and while they are excellent at cooling I've had a chronic problem that the drain hole freezes and all the water would pool at the bottom of the fridge. Twice a year I would have to defrost the fridge and freezer so the drain would be unclogged. Instead of the kit I simply used a piece of scrap copper wire to the heating element and into the hole. It's now been 8 months and I've never had water pooling at the bottom of the fridge ever. Thank you so much as this was driving me mad!!!!!!!
we just did this on our LG, I wish I had noticed the water sooner for my wood floors sake. I thought it was just an ice cube that had melted under until the next day when I had a lot of water. Hopefully my wood floors go back to normal.
I had de-iced the drain and drain tube and screwed back the panel back on the Samsung French door refrigerator. Then I saw your video and just so happened that I do have copper tubing and created a little hook. I reopened the panel and installed the little copper 3-4" hook wire on the heating element over the drain tube. Hopefully, it clears the tubes from freezing and the drain canals leading to the drain. Thank you. Would you mind explaining what copper does to water.
I think the copper transfers the heat from the heating element it's hanging off of to keep the temps warm closer to the hole that would normally freeze over
I finally got my act together after first putting the candy cane on the cooling coil, but now I have it correctly located on the heat rod. Copper is a super conductor of heat but I doubt it could harm the plastic. First of all, water will be passing over it, right? Great idea. In fact, this was the original complaint of the previous owner. And the radiator coils were clogged with felt. Now I am back in the game. Tanks.
Are there any drawbacks to adding the cooper wire? It won't melt anything or cause a fire will it? I just added one to my freezer. Pain in the ass getting it on but success! Hope it solves our issue.
There is a temperature sensor that makes sure the defrost cycle is long enough. People can go to www.partselect.com and enter their model number. See the issue “LEAKING”, and follow the link to this page (for mine). www.partselect.com/AdvancedModelSymptoms.aspx?ModelNum=ET8WTEXMQ01&mfgModelNum=&fkMfgID=3&ModelMasterID=132935&PID=13 The website says it fixes the problem 72% of the time. I have defrosted mine multiple times and I even put in the wire fix but it keeps freezing over. Replacing this sensor will allow the defrost cycle to last long enough to melt and drain completely. I think this is the correct fix that is described below by someone else. If this works for anyone please reply and let people know. If this isn’t the solution, let people know as well.
I did this a week ago and so far zero ice at the bottom of the freezer, whereas before the entire back was frozen to the bottom. The real test will be the hot weather of the summer. I have tested the thermal conductivity of the wire and found it does not conduct as well as I expected. I have read that silver is an even better conductor of heat. A silver wire might cost $15. My wire source was a 12 gauge three wire cable. Maybe it is impure copper.
The factory make a kit for this issue. Its just an flat aluminum strap that wraps around the heating element with a screw to affix it tight. And some weatherstripping for the large back panel cover. Id suggest hammering your copper wire flat. More surface contact with the element
Now I am thinking how good a heat conductor copper is I am worrying about burning the plastic. That would be a disaster to fix. What it comes down to is what happens when the coils do not need much defrosting. Do they still get the 20 minutes? Twenty minutes in touch with the heat rod dry seems like it could do damage if the plastic is not intended for heat? Maybe I will do some experiments. Or find something better to worry about. Another question is how hot does the rod itself get? Red hot? Probably not. Probably you need all the heat it gets. If so, a perfect fix. Terrific. Does the heater come on only when it needs defrosting or is it by a timer? Or both? I onlky know I am better off than before.
Looks like a poor design on the defrost cycle of this brand of Refrigerator. I previously replaced the heater thermostat and it fixed the problem for a year. There was unwanted resistance on the old thermostat and I assumed the heater element was getting hot enough to melt all of the ice buildup. Using that copper wire makes perfect sense. Thank you for the tip.
Doesn't hurt not to try. Was getting tired of taking apart the freezer and using a hair dryer and hot water to unclog the drain port. Turned off adaptive defrost and went with the old fashioned six hour default and added a stripped awg wire used for outlets. Will report back after a few cycles.
I am going to try this the next time I get a freeze clog. I just did my second clean out. There must be a reason why, because I never had this issue until last year..Any idea? Thks...jc
One would get much better conductive heat transfer from the heating element during defrost mode through a copper wire to keep the drain clear if the wire was wrapped 2 or 3 times around the heating element. Just like electrical connections, the contact area between a wire just hung versus wrapped would be significantly increased and prevent shifting.
I did a little experiment but my results are confusing. I stripped a piece of 12 wire bare copper about 7 " long and put the end directly on the electric stove element. I expected it to get real hot real fast. Instead it hardly conducted the heat at all. Although after a few minutes i guess it works so that proves it. But my experiment showed little heat conduction. Maybe it is only my wire.
The copper wire needs to be long enough where you can wrap the wire several times around the heating tube before placing the other end of the copper wire into the drain tube. This method generated enough heat for me to keep the drain tube from icing up.
@@dq7143 Whatever floats your boat. I just did the candy cane thing and am now going through the hottest part of the summer--zero buildup. I would watch out for wrapping to tightly as I have read it can create a hot spot on the heater, leading to failure. Over all, it's a great trick. Thanks again, Don.
I have a Samsung side by side and it's junk. Frozen water need in the freezer side floor and running out all day and night. Real poor design. Going to try the copper wire trick. This fridge is new and there top of the line. Junk same as there HD TVs.
