FIXED RB217 Samsung water in bottom of refrigerator

[jimnkristy]

Model Number

RB217

Brand

Samsung

Age

Less than 1 year

I see a lot of posts all over the web about water pooling in the bottom of Samsung Refrigerator under vegetable drawers. I have seen responses such as condensation, water leaks from water dispensers, and so on. Remove drawers and look at back wall. If water is leaking from under panel, you will probably see streaks on the wall, your defrost drain is probably clogged. Remove back panel, 3 screws, and check drain. Mine was completely froze up. Manually defrost, I used hot tap water and poured it in and wiped it away. Poured it in and wiped it away. After a many pours, drain opened up and was clear. Re-installed panel and voila, no water in bottom of fridge. Good luck

 

[Pauls]

Help!!!!

I have this same problem and was trying to follow your directions. I removed the cool select pantry and crisper drawers and removed 3 screws from behind those drawers to remove the 2 plastic pieces on back wall. Im do see a couple of streaks. Im not sure where to go from here. Any clarification you can provide would be great. Im a novice so I apologize for my lack of knowledge.



Notice the ice coming out of the whole towards the top of the fridge. The rectangle hole behind cool select pantry seems to be clear of any blockage.

 

[panrak]

I had same problem (slightly different model number). Same thing as first post, but my water tank was froze too. You have to take out all the drawers to get to the back panel. The drain hole that gets plugged is directly under the evaporator. I just poured hot tap water, let it sit, and then dried it up with a rag. Then repeated until the hole cleared up, and then poured a couple cups worth down the drain for good measure. Also, there is a fourth screw behind the plug on the top of the middle support rail for the shelves.

 

[Pauls]

Thanks for the reply. I wound up doing the same thing and i have not had water since. However, i am starting to see some ice build up again through the holes in the back panel. I assume i will need to repeat the process again soon. Any idea why this keeps happening? The salesman at Sears forgot to tell me that if i spend 2K for a french door fridge I would have to defrost every 6 months.

 

[panrak]

Have you tried putting a regular thermometer in your fridge to see the actual temps next to the back panel? My fridge is getting anywhere from 34 - 36 degrees even when it's set at 38. You might need to up the temperature setting. There should never be ice forming on that part of the fridge.

Consumer reports neglected to mention that too, even though now I see it's all over the internet with Samsung's having this problem. I'm starting to think their not as reputable as they used to be. I've had my share of pain with Sear's customer service too. If you ask them about this they probably won't even know what you're talking about.

I just fixed mine so will see if I can leave it at 38 or have to up it to 40. I did read somewhere that you shouldn't set your Samsung fridge any lower than 38 degrees for this very issue. I'm not sure if they've fixed this with newer models, but I highly doubt I'll ever buy another Samsung appliance regardless.

 

[BoardSMITH]

We have just had this problem in a Samsung we purchased two years ago. The repairman opened up the back and showed me the stains and drip marks stating it was caused by a clogged drip tube. No amount of scrubbing will remove the stains.

Also, we have noticed a strong odor in the refrigerator like alcohol which the tech could not explain away. It isn't spoiled or old food, we completely emptied it out twice and scrubbed it down completely, removing the drawers and shelves completely. I am prepared to open it up again and pour Clorox down the drain tube to see if it is causing the smell. Any ideas?

 

[dcress]

Hi,
I'm having the same problem as you did. How hard was it to remove the back panel to get to the evaporator coil? A short "how to" would be appreciated. Thanks for your time, David

 

[BoardSMITH]

dcress - Wow! Someone is having the same problem. The Samsung rep that replied to this made it sound like we had spoiled food.

Remove all the shelves and drawers from inside the box. On the back there will be two or three exposed fasteners and one hidden behind a removable clip. Once these are out the back panel will come loose. In the upper left there is an electrical connection which makes the back easier to clean if it is disconnected. Tomorrow I will again remove everything from the box, clean and scrub the inside again and I will replace the foil tape in the drain and pour straight Clorox down the drain tube and try to clean it out. I can only hope this will solve the smell. If it doesn't, I am going to try to pressure Lowe's and Samsung to replace the whole thing.

 

[panrak]

BoardSMITH - I wonder if the stains could have been from a mold / mildew. What color are the stains? I would honestly try to bleach the mess out of the inside (per container directions, including rinsing with clean water after bleach solution sits a while). Pouring bleach down the drain would be a good idea. Another question -- does this smell come from the back area behind the fridge as well? Oh and after you bleach the drain, I would rinse it a while later.

If you did have time and space for it, the ideal would be to air out the fridge over a weekend, but I'm not sure that's an option for you.

And are you using something to absorb the smell? I would put at least four open containers of baking soda in various locations of the fridge and maybe try some other stuff. I've heard of using carbon briquettes or something called OdorRid, in case you'd like to try something.

 

[BoardSMITH]

Today, the fifth service call by A & E was made to fix the soggy refrigerator. The last guy out to work said the back panel had a lip that was out of place which allowed the water to drip inside, again. So he ordered a new back panel and a new drip tray liner and installed it today. We will see if it helps. If not, I will call them out again.

The stains in back of the refrigerator were caused by the galvanized liner and drip tray rusting. Samsung must use some super low grade galvanizing for it to rust through in 2 1/2 years. I would have thought that aluminum would have been a better metal to use.

 

[clobberator]

Apologies for resurrecting this 4 month old thread, but I have the same thing happening to my Samsung fridge, but having tried everything mentioned here it's still leaking.

Yesterday I aired out the fridge (and gave it a good cleaning) and unplugged it to try to fix the problem. After work last night I dried everything up, poured a little bit of salt down the tube and chased it with 2 cups of hot water, then dried it up.

Plugged everything back in, put the food (minus the veggie drawers) back in and let it do its cooling thing all night. Came home today and there's quite a bit of water pooled on the floor of the fridge section.

I'm thinking that the lip mentioned by BoardSMITH is the same thing that somehow got knocked out of place.

Here's some pictures.


The foil lining the bottom of the drip tray front (in the third pic) has also "rusted" right through, so that may be it.

Shouldn't have to do ghetto repairs on a $1500 CDN fridge.

 

[BoardSMITH]

Your looks to be a twin for mine complete down to the stains. Looks like Samsung took the cheap route out for their design. There is no reason why a refrigerator that cost so much should rust and perform so poorly.

BTW The probe that goes down the drain tube is a known defect for Samsung. They make a longer probe to stop clogs due to freeze ups in the drain and the fix was described in a bulletin the the repair techs.

 

[clobberator]

Thanks.. do you know the part number for the correct probe? As much as I want this fixed I don't think I need a repair tech at this point.. my warranty might be up already so if I can I'd rather go the DIY route.

I agree.. there should be a TSB (similar to vehicles) for major household appliances that fixes these issues without cost to the end customer.

 

[BoardSMITH]

Here we go again. Just inspected the bottom of the refrigerator under the deli drawer and found several cups of frozen water where it had pooled up. And more gnats. It is time for Samsung to step up to the plate and admit there is a problem with their poor design. A&E is secheduled to come out this afternoon for what I believe is the 6th or 7th service call for this problem. Maybe a class action suit will get their attention.

I'm not sure what a TSB is but here in NC I believe there is a lemon law for appliances. I need to do some deep research to find out. You can bet I will NEVER buy another Samsung product no matter what!

 

[BoardSMITH]

UPDATE:

The A&E technician just finished. He said, "I just worked on one of these yesterday with the same problem. It is a design flaw." Hear that Samsung - a design FLAW!

He wrote on the repair receipt, "Numerous service calls for the same problem. No further repair can be made. Recommend replacement if leak still occurs." All he did was level it and wish me the best of luck.

 

[mikek753]

how to open the panel?

hi,

I unscrew 3 screws. What else should I do to open the panel?
Yes, it had ice in multiple holes.

Please, guide me for this matter
any pics are very welcome.

opened it ;-0

 

[mikek753]

As you can see it has ice on that collector plate.
Where is drain hole? And where the water will go?
At what place or hole did you add bleach?
What did you clean?

thanks

 

[BoardSMITH]

Samsung has an upgraded probe which goes into the drain hold under the coil. The older model which is shorter was evidently to short to do the job adequately. The drain hole is located under the coil and the water is directed there with the slanted channel. I poured the bleach solution down this hole and the solution i collected in the drain tray on the bottom of the refrigerator. This is all I cleaned. The repair people from A&E replaced sensors, fan motors, defrost probes and several other things and to date the drips still happen and no one has been able to stop the drips. One repair tech stated he worked on another with the same problem just prior to his visit to my house. This is a design malfunction Samsung knows about and will do nothing to correct it.

Looks like your probe needs to be replaced and the foil tape across the bottom lip has degraded and also needs to be replaced. (A&E replaced the tape twice.) The galvanized metal backing behind the coil has been replaced as well as the entire front cover. Both metal pieces were rusted and about to fall apart. In just six months, the replaced metal also shows signs of rust.

I am trying to get A&E to replace the refrigerator under the terms of their master service program which is proving to be a tough road to travel. If nothing else, I will just trash the Samsung, buy a Whirlpool and use the Samsung for target practice.

 

[mikek753]

hi,

Why or what makes draining hole to accumulate ice that blocks drainage?
Is upper gets so cold that freezes condensed water in the channel and drain hole?

What newer upgraded probe looks like?
Can I upgrade the probe by myself and how to get that new probe?

thanks.

 

[mikek753]

Is the "probe" only aluminum that's longer to get into drain tube?
Will this probe helps
Defrost Heat Probe 819043


I don't see, why it can't as it's generic, but I'm not pro, so I need your comments, pls.

BTW - people complained about the same issue on other brands.
So it looks like one designed it and the rest just copied ...