Anyone else freeze/break the icemaker plumbing?

After pushing all the antifreeze out of the lines today and getting the plumbing system going and tested to all appliances, my wife told me we were not making ice.

I remembered that I had not turned on the valve controlling water to the icemaker solenoid. I turned it on. Oops! Water was pouring out of the outside refer access panel.

I cleaned it all up and pulled the solenoid out a bit to inspect it. The plastic water line going into it has a brass compression nut and was very tight. It looked as though the vinyl water line coming out of it with a plastic nut was wet and dripping.

While I was loosening this nut, I noticed the vinyl tubing twisting.

The solenoid was wrapped in silver metal-like tape. An insulated white wire was running alongside the vinyl tubing as it went up to the top of the refer. I think this wire may be a heat wire to prevent freezing. Not sure about the tape. Maybe it helps conduct heat around the metal solenoid.

While a was turning the plastic nut at the end of the vinyl tubing back onto the solenoid, the tubing twisted again. I ended up having to pre-twist the nut/tubing in the opposite direction to counter-act the twisting when tightening. That worked to get it reconnected without a twist when done.

Turned the water back on and I had a gusher again. Left it off this time.

I plan to contact Dometic to see what they think. I read several posts on RV.net about others having this issue. In some cased, their soleniod froze with water in it and cracked In other cases, the vinyl tubing froze or cracked. From what I gather, the vinyl tubing seems to be the week link in the design.

So, anyone has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing?

Thanks,

Jim

Hi Jim
We haven't had any problem with our ice maker yet, even when we were in West Memphis and it froze several nights.

Guess it's just my luck Jim. Hope you had an enjoyable and warm winter in AZ. BTW, while at Lehman's this weekend, we ended up eating at that Wild West restaurant you told me about over in Union. Not bad. And handy too. Thanks and hope to see you later on in the season when you are back in Chi-town.

Jim

Jim:

I had the very same thing happen in my Sea Breeze. The solenoid failed water leaked in through my ice maker, overflowing down through the refer: then out on the carpet!!! A few $$ later (15-20), I installed the new solenoid. end of problem!

Denny,

Hope I get off as cheap as you did. I'll let you know next week as I gotta get this fixed - Nancy likes ice...

Jim

Jim
I've been thinking about getting the refer with the ice maker option, does it really make enough ice to keep you supplied all day, and how long on the average does it take to make a batch??
DZ

Jim, Just got back from Florida, did not have my trailer with me, picked up my trailer and took it home. Plugged the rig in, hooked up the water and then hooked up the ice maker. I have the same problem, water gushing all over, and too late to really inspect what the problem is. Going outside now but with your post I now know what to look for. Hope everything goes well. Unfortunately my warranty was just up so the cost is up to me now.

Dennis,

Not sure how many batches of ice it will make in a day. I rarely use ice. Got it because Nancy wanted it. My guess is at least 6 batches a day. Is that enough - who knows. Plenty for me though. I did read that the refrigerator thermostat setting directly affects the ice yield. It is suggested that when a high ice yield is desired, to run the refrigerator thermostat higher, then turn it back down to whatever you need it at depending on your ambient temperature.

Jim

Tom,

Well, sorry to wish any ill towards anyone, but it's good to know I'm in good company.

Not sure what size refer you have - I have the 10 cu ft model NDR1062RB. According to the parts manual for the icemaker, if it truly is the solenoid that I have broken, the part I need to replace is 3108706.270 - the Eaton Water Solenoid (valve).

I spoke to Dometic Service at 800-544-4881. The cost to buy this item from them direct is $39.89 delivered ($29.64 plus $10.25 s/h - no tax). They ship phone orders same day.

I called a local RV dealer but they do not carry them. I called my local Camping World (Bolingbrook, IL). They DO have it. Their nationwide part number is 24086 for Dometic 3108707.270. Price is the same as Dometic too at $29.64. I think I'll order over the phone from Dometic as the cost of diesel to get to CW is about break-even with shipping costs.

Jim

Jim, I have fixed mine already and got the solenoid from CW for the price you quoted plus tax. CW is only 5 miles from me and they know me by name. I destroyed my aluminum foil wrap and was wondering if regular aluminum foil will work. I do not plan on making ice in the cold weather and the foil is for a heat wrap to keep the solenoid from freezing.

Tom,

Glad your repair went fast and well. I was thinking the same thing - that the foil would be sacrificed.

Is it just me or is that vinyl tubing on the outlet side of the solenoid just a little wierd? Did you have to pre-backtwist your plastic nut on that tubing in order to get it back on so that it was not all a mangle when tight?

Not sure if you found your Winterizing instructions for the ice maker yet but if not, I started a new thread in Appliances on Refer/Ice Maker Tips and in it, I typed out the instructions.

Looking at the bright side, I did properly winterize all the pipes, the shower heads and the washer/dryer.

Friday, I will sanitize the fresh water tank and change the anode rod in the water heater.

Jim

Jim
I did have to back-twist the nut and like you said it is weird. I would have thought something better would have been thought up. I found my winterizing instructions for the ice maker after the mess. I winterized at a campground last year and did not have my manual with me, first time, and like you everything else is A-OK.

I got the water solenoid replaced today. Took about a half hour start to finish. I'll post some pics later. If anyone ends up cracking their (plastic) ice maker water solenoid and if you're fairly handy, it is a simple do-it-yourself job.

Here were my steps:

1. Turn the refrigerator off at its control panel. Turn the LP gas off at all tanks. Turn the AC breaker off to the refer in the breaker panel.
2. Take pictures of the broken solenoid and area before you unhook and remove it or draw it all out including wire colors and placements of the solenoid and anything else you feel you'll need to unhook (I also removed the electrical contacts from what looks like a large upright condensor to the right of the solenoid).
3. Turn the water valve feeding the ice maker to the closed/off position.
4. Unhook the 2 electrical contacts to the solenoid and move them out of the way by wrapping them around other wires etc.
5. Remove the one or two small self-tapping screws that hold the solenoid frame to a metal bracket. Leave the bracket screwed to the back of the refer.
6. Twist off the plastic nut with the vinyl tubing in it - the water outlet
7. Using a wrench and possibly Channel-Lock style pliers, loosen and remove the brass nut and plastic tubing - the inlet. Do not take the nut off the tubing, just off the solenoid.
8. Carefully unwrap and discard all of the metallic thermal tape that is wrapped around the solenoid.
9. Inspect the plastic parts of the solenoid to confirm that it is in-fact, cracked before replacing it.
10. Begin hooking up the new solenoid by holding the plastic but on the outlet tubing in the position (not location) that you want it to end up and then twist the solenoid onto the plastic nut. Twist until snug. Test fit the solenoid into position to ensure that the vinyl tubing itself is not twisted. If it is, start over but do a bit of pre-back-twisting of the plastic nut before turning the solenoid onto it.
11. Hand turn the brass nut with the plastic tubing onto the metal threaded water inlet on the solenoid. Then wrench tighten the nut.
12. Carefully re-wrap the white cold-weather heating wire around the plastic parts of the solenoid. Note that the wire will not stay wrapped on its own. Consider tie-wrapping it, wrapping with aluminum foil (careful of the electrical contacts) or order and use replacement metallic thermal tape and wrap with it.
13. Using one or both screws (I was only able to use one due to a slightly different design with the replacement solenoid frame), reattach the solenoid frame to the bracket in its final position.
14. Carefully re-route and reconnect the two wires to the electrical contacts on the solenoid.
15. Turn the water on for the ice maker line and test for leaks (repair as needed).
16. Turn the LP gas and AC electricity back on and turn the refer power switch back on.
17. Make sure the bail in the ice maker is in the down/on position.
18. When the ice maker calls for water to fill the mold, you should hear it run and fill.
19. Discard the first couple batches of cubes made.

Whew. Long list but simple to do. That all said, while my water flood due to the cracked solenoid was fixed, my ice maker did not start working. I will take a look at this and if need be, force it into a ice making cycle on my first trip out this coming weekend.

Jim

delay

there is a built in delay in the ice maker cycle. it had to be so cold to start wotking. but just put your freg. on the regular setting, because if it get to cold before it starts to cycle when the water get there the first time it will freeze in the line before it gets to the ice maker.
so just let it do its thing and it will work.

driver311None

Thanks Edgar. We keep the power and refer on when the trailer sits at the seasonal site as we keep food/drink in the refer but I always turn the water off and open a faucet to pull the pressure down a bit.

So we'll see if the ice maker wakes itself up this coming weekend when we hit the road for our first trip of the season.

Drive safe out there.

Jim

When I used my 5er for the trial run in Nov then re-anti freeze till we left for the winter months my ice maker valve (solenoid) froze and cracked had to run to a heartland dealer in Las Vegas to get a replacement it was 36 or 39 dollars to replace. They gave me the alum. Tape to replace the original. Notice when I anti freeze it the valve stopped the antifreeze at the valve and it couldn’t flow clear to the Icemaker and I left it unplugged for a month in Dec. think that why it froze. The last time I diconnected the lines and drained the water on both sides of the valve, to be sure!
I destroyed my aluminum foil wrap and was wondering if regular aluminum foil will work the original was taped to hold the heat tape around the valve. If you keep it plugged in the cold weather and the foil is holding heat wrap so solenoid (Valve) won’t freeze.
Our icemaker keep two couples supplied with ice for three month gave them a 12x12 plastic bag full every other day.
Sonny

SonnyBeech,

I found the wide foil tape at CW. It's stocked near the roof vents. It comes in a roll. It was about $3. I have not used it yet.

Jim

Foil Tape

Attached is an image of that foil tape I found at CW near the roof vents. It is the same stuff that Dometic used to wrap the water valve for the ice maker on my refer.

I re-wrapped my valve with the heating wire, then wrapped it with the tape. It's not pretty (pre and re-wrapped images attached) but it should work.

Tom - don't buy any if you haven't already. I'll have the rest of my roll with me so you can grab a foot of it and re-wrap yours.

Jim

Jim, Thanks for the offer and I will take you up on it. That is one of the things I keep forgetting to buy when I go shopping. You will probably have to remind me again though, old age sometimes has a way of letting you forget.