Amana Refrig water dripping into frig

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
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1

I have an Amana top freezer that is probably 20 years old. The temp in the freezer stays around 14 degrees and the frig about 38 degrees with both the refrigerator and freezer temperature controls set to 1.

Initial Problem: Water leaked from freezer to frig. after going on vacation for a week. Discovered that the freezer drain was freezing up. A parts store told me about a freezer drain repair kit. It was about $100 and looked like it was just some thin foam insulation to add to the back compartment panel. I installed foam art board on the inside and outside of the back panel to insulate the cooling coils from the freezer compartment. This seemed to work well for several months.

Second problem: refrigerator compartment below 32 degrees even with temperature control set to minimum (one position). I replaced the damper control that controls the air flow from the freezer to the frig. This worked well.

Current Problem: water drips from freezer into frig compartment again.

Should I replace the main thermostat? If so, then how do you get the sensor threaded to the old position?

Is there something more in the freezer drain kit that is not obvious? Should I just spend the bucks for the official kit?

Thanks so much for your help.

3

A more effective freezer drain "repair" is to simply wrap a bare wire (one that conducts really well) around one of the evaporator coils, close to the defrost heater, and let it trail into the drain tube a couple of inches, to aid in keeping it from freezing. It is also a good idea to make sure there is nothing solid blocking or restricting the drain. You can test it by pouring some hot water down the tube and listen for its exit into the drip pan below.

Remove the extra insulation you installed, if it in any blocks the air flow from the freezer into the refrigerator. Insulation is not good in the evaporator, since it prevents the designed transfer of heat that makes your refrigerator work.

4

I bought a foot long piece of aluminum wire form a hobgby shop. I threaded it straight down through the evaporater coil, touching the defrost heater, and into the drain hole. Three weeks later, it still works fine and I can now control the freezer and refrigerator temperatures.

Thanks for the great advice. Allan