water under fridge Dometic RM 1350

[radman1420]

I have been trying to read up on all the 1350 problems but it seems there are just way to many post so here is my new problem. We have a 2012 BC 3650 RL and my wife opened the drawer below our refridgerator last week to a puddle of water. I couldnt locate where the problem was so I have been just turning the water on when we need to use it. I was convinced it was the icemaker line until pulling off the wall panel and visually inspecting the line. I didnt see any leak there. I went ahead and closed the icemaker shut off valve to confirm this. I just checked under the fridge and I still have water dripping down from the particle board that the fridge is sitting on. Oh and I noticed the problem about the same time the ice maker quit working. That is what made me think it was the ice maker line. I have checked to drain line to make sure water is exiting the back of fridge and it is. We are fulltiming in this now and man are we ready for the problems to stop!

Thanks in advance for the help.

brad

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Brad, It certainly sounds like a pin hole in the ice maker line. These are very hard to find. Depending on how long the leak has been occurring, it may show signs of leakage for a couple days. Another possibility is the tube from the ice maker solenoid going up to the fill port. A visual inspection will not show a pin hole leak. Get your hand in there all along the line. Good luck and I hope you find something, one way or another.

 

[bdb2047]

There is a drain tube in back of fridge.On ours it is a white flexable tube that drains to the outside thru the slots in bottom vent.I had same issue you are describing and that was problem.

 

[radman1420]

hmm well... where the solonoid is i think thats what the icemaker line goes into then the portion going from there i cant see. It goes into the back of the fridge or at least it looks like it does. It has some tape around it and it says this ice maker is equipped with a heater to prevent freezing on it. Thats where I lose the line. Im guessing you have to pull the fridge I have no idea.

 

[KENNY COCHRAN]

I've had the same leak. Pull the drawer out and look at night in the dark with a flashlight. If it is a "pin" hole leak, it will be very small and you may not be able to see it squirting out in the day light. Move the tubing around and watch and see if you can get it to leak while you are watching it. Do the same to the back of the fridge. Follow the tube everywhere you can.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

hmm well... where the solonoid is i think thats what the icemaker line goes into then the portion going from there i cant see. It goes into the back of the fridge or at least it looks like it does. It has some tape around it and it says this ice maker is equipped with a heater to prevent freezing on it. Thats where I lose the line. Im guessing you have to pull the fridge I have no idea.

Brad, since you have the back vent cover off, is the base that the fridge is setting on at all wet? If no, you might have to pull the drawer under the fridge. You will need to trace the ice maker line to determine the location of the leak. It may have started to leak right at the spot where it goes up through the floor to the back of the reefer. Mine leaked behind the reefer but it was very difficult to to find. Once I found it I used wire ties to loosely secure the line to keep it from rubbing against anything metal.

Once the water line leaves the solenoid, it becomes harder to deal with. That Tape (silver) you mentioned is a heat tape. There is a white wire that runs along side the clear tubing inside of the black sheathing. This is a heater wire. It has been known to cause the clear poly tubing to harden and become almost brittle and crack under the black vinyl sheathing. That would be a second place to check for a leak.

 

[57chevyconvt]

Brad,
Along with others, I have experienced the same water leak as you have noted. If your refer is in a slide, the water line up to the solenoid is subject to ware and tare from the slide moving in and out. I my case, the 1/4 poly line from behind the UDC that goes to the refer had several very small leaks and as a consequence water leaked from the under the refer in the drawer area. One of the pin hole leaks saturated the fiberglass insulation around one of the the underfloor heating duct. I ended up having to replace the duct work. To solve the water leakage problem, I purchased a special refer ice maker water line from Lowe's. There are two types of ice maker water line for home use, one has a stainless steel braided cover (recommend for refer in slides) and the other is a nylon reinforced hose which I used. Both of these hoses have fittings crimped onto each end of the hose. The hoses come in 5' lengths up to 20'. I think I learned of the hose replacement on the HL forum or from one of my RV buddies. To replace the hose, I connected one end of the new hose to the original poly tubing and managed to pull the new hose into place in this fashion. You may have to remove some for the kitchen lower drawers to gain access for assistance in pulling the new hose in place. Hope this helps you in solving your problem. Please let us know about what you have done to locate and solve the problem.

 

[Gaffer]

Everyone should check the white drain hose once in awhile to be sure that it is still outside. Just walking around the last park we were at, I saw several on various brands of RVs that were not.

 

[radman1420]

Well I couldnt find a leak so I bit the bullet and called a service man to come out after seeing these pics. He also couldnt find the leak. Now they want it to go into the shop so they can pull the fridge and rebuild the platform that the fridge sits on due to the water damage. I will keep you updated.

 

[57chevyconvt]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Boy, what a mess. Looks like the leak has been around for quite some time. I removed my RM1350 refer about two months ago to add more fans and to replace the icemaker water line and white convoluted plastic drain line. At such time, I varnished the particle board refer support floor to prevent water intrusion if a leak does occur, which I had shortly after re-installation. Since you will have to have the particle board replaced, how about using a piece of treated plywood? Much stronger and will withstand some water without this kind of noted failure. My thoughts.

 

[radman1420]

Ok so I now know it is the icemaker line. After shutting off the water supply to the ice maker the area under the fridge has dried out. It took two days with a fan blowing on it to dry it out. Now im just waiting on the service center to tell me when they will be fixing it. I wonder why heartland didnt put the shut off valve somewhere that you could get to it easily. I dont know how many of you are like me but my storage area is so full of junk its depressing even having to think of removing that back wall.

 

[57chevyconvt]

Bradley,
Your question as to why there is not a shutoff valve at the reaf of the refer is very valid. After going through a similiar circumstance, I placed a small 1/4" valve about 6" from the icemaker solenoid valve located at the rear and bottom of the refer. I also replaced the original 1/4" poly line (all but 6") with one from Lowe's that is designed specifically for refer icemakers. I now have two valves, one at the Pex pipe supply point and one at the refer.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Shut offs for ice makers need to be close to the source. It they were near the reefer in the back, closing the valve would possibly not isolate the leak. I do agree better access would be great. Perhaps in one of the many pex lines under the kitchen sink cabinet? For mine, that would be ideal.
One thing I've done in the basement was removed the screws for the plumbing access panel and replaced them with little cabinet latches. Now accessing the plumbing behind the UDC only takes a few seconds.