defrost tube blockage

[retro-man]

I have a Whirlpool top freezer about 12 years old. Model # WRT771REYW. Been having defrost issues for awhile now. Have dismantled freezer totally and melted the ice that was built up. Every time it defrosted the water ended up on the freezer floor. Cleaned the drain and it worked for a couple of days. There is a tray under the coils that catches the water. Well that was frozen up till it ran over into the freezer. I took it apart yesterday for the same problem. Discovered that it drained a little then stopped. Pulled unit from wall and inspected underneath. No water in the pan under. Discover a rubber nipple on the drain hose, squish it in my fingers and water started to drain. Pulled it off and it was filled with what looked like lint. Cleaned it out and decided not to put it back on so as not to have this back up again. Is this nipple necessary to have on or is it ok to leave it off and have the tube drain directly into the pan. I really don't see a need for it. The only thing I can think of is that it silences the water draining into the pan. Other question is this defrost timer a once a day or more often

Jon

 

[DADoES]

 
The defrost control is electronic.  The board presumably varies the defrost cycle depending on factors it monitors such as compressor run-time and frequency of door openings.

The valve is commonly referred to as a duckbill.  I believe its function is a to limit airflow through the drain tube.

WRT771REYW00 or WRT771REYW01 ... it should be either 1996 or 2015 model-year per letter E in eighth position, which presumably 2015 is correct.  The serial number reveals the manufacture year and week.

 

[combo52]

Defrost train tube rubber cap

As Glenn mentioned this is designed to keep air from leaking into or out of the refrigerator through the defrost drain tube. It was put there to save a little bit of energy and also reduce moisture getting into the refrigerator.

The defrost system is automatic. It’s based on a number of factors one of the main factors is how long it took to defrost the last time if it defrosted if just a few minutes before the defrost thermostat cuts off the heat and it goes longer Before it goes into defrost the next time if it has to defrost for a much longer period of time, it will shorten the time between defrost cycles. A refrigerator like this might defrost as often as every eight hours or it may go more than 80 hours many days before defrost depending on usage conditions and what it’s detecting.

The thing I do when I encounter a blocked drain tube cap like this is I clean it, of course but I usually take a small scissors and I cut the opening much larger so that it’s not so likely to block again but it’s still retains some of its value, I guess you could also just throw it away and it probably won’t make much difference.

John

 

[henene4]

Most modern fridges vary defrost times based on how long/often the door has been opened for since the last defrost cycle and ambient temps (warmer air holds generally more moisture and actual moisture sensing is very finicky, so that analogy works well enough).

There are several kinds of those valves and they indeed are ment to stop air circulation into the freezer through the drain pipe.
Since freezer temps are way lower than in the fridge, that issue is much more pronounced than on fridge only ones.

There might be an issue with the seals for either fridge or freezer - that often leads to freeze up issues.
But usually, the way you describe your situation, I don't think there is much of an issue beyond the drain issue.

Removing the little rubber piece will probably not cause much of an issue.
If you still have freeze up issues that might be a culprit contributing then, but I doubt it.
Energy usage will be ever so slightly increased - but probably not actually noticeable.

 

[retro-man]

Thanks for the replies. I had no idea that the defrost was not timer controlled. I have noticed that it does not seem like it defrosts at the same time. We have had a very humid moist summer here so maybe it is defrosting more than once a day, plus living on the ocean, we have been getting many foggy days so I am sure that ads to it. Everything seems to be working normal again.

Jon

 

[bpetersxx]

late to the party

Our GE electronic refrigerator did this too

The defrost trough drain clogged and overflowed too

I think i blew air in it to clear it

I wonder if it had automatic defrosting like john said

it had the electronic panel on the front