Icemaker problem

[Andy]

Andy writes:

I had a Sears Kemore with an icemaker problem. Every 4 years or so it would stop making ice and the tray would be frozen over. In every case the problem was due to sediment buildup in the plastic tray.

When the motor turns the tray around and it hits against a cam, the tray would twist and the ice would then fall into the container. The problem was that with a big sediment buildup, all of the ice would stop falling out. The next cycle would feed too much water into the tray, since a few cubes of ice remained, and the whole thing would freeze over. Nothing would "pop" out when the machine cycles...The tray would remain full of ice, and frozen over solid.

So, I ordered a new plastic tray from Sears. About 10 bucks. They just snap in and out. It ALWAYS fixed my problem..... This is an obscure solution that most people won't be able to determine, so they replace the motor AND tray and also pay a service charge.....

If this is your problem you can check on it easily by doing the following:

1) remove the tray and check whether it is frozen over, that is, ice is in the little compartments and is also coated by a layer of ice over the top.

2) Twist the tray and get ALL of the ice out. Clean the tray with CALGON or some other calcium sediment remover, that is like what you use in your shower...Put the tray back.

3) See if it works properly for the next couple weeks. This is not a permanent fix, since apparently, each sediment buildup messes up the slick surface of the tray a little more...

But it is easier just to replace the tray....

Anyway, that is how my icemaker worked, and how I solved the problem for over 20 years.... It is still working.......

Good luck,

Andy

[m Ransley]

Maybe a clogged water filter

[bargaindealsman]

We have a Kitchenaid refrigerator with an ice maker in the freezer compartment. Recently the ice maker stopped producing ice and I am wondering if there is anything I can check to determine the problem. A few weeks ago it did the same thing and suddenly it started working again for some reason. I am not sure what we did to cause the change, if anything. Now it's back to not producing again. I would appreciate any tips you may offer on how to troubleshoot the problem.

TIA

[William W. Plummer]

Sometimes the filler tube gets frozen. Use hot water squirted on it to free it up.

[Appliance Repair Aid]

Hi,

How did it stop? Icemaker sat there dead, icemaker was going through the motions but not filling with water, icemaker is stuck 1/2 way through a harvest?

As others have mentioned, check the fill tube for an ice build up. That is a common problem.

Freezer temp ok? Freezer temp must get below 15ºF before the icemaker will cycle on and run.

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle

In Over 90 % of the time when the filler tube freezes up, it is the water cellinoid valve leaking that is doing this at the back bottom of the refrigerator. Now 10% of the time it is not it.

TURTLE

[Art Todesco]

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Check

for trouble shooting. Sometimes it is simple. Is the arm moving freely or did it get wedged by something?

[Barry]

40 years in the HVAC and R Business. You would think you would get allot closer to solenoid. Just seeing them at the wholesale house after forty years in the business. Just reading any kind of literature you see the word solenoid over and over again. You would think the word would be so ingrained in you that you would hardly miss spell it this bad. It would be like a heart surgeon misspelling heart.

Barry

[bargaindealsman]

I could hear it making all the various noises off and on, but no ice cubes are in the tray. The freezer seems cold enough because all the frozen items are really solid etc.

I am not familiar with all the terminology of icemakers, so I'll have to read the web pages recommended and see what I can take from that. Thanks again for all the advice.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

Spelling is not my better quality. Also i type with one finger and only look at the key board and try to proof read it after I finish. Now i like spelling words a little different than most and have some different ways to spell stuff in my own way.

Figure ----- Figger. Solenoid -- Cellinoid. Short ------ Shirt.

Now I do get a lot of my words from Blue Collar TV for my words.

Also One thing here. Do you want a spelling lesson here or do you want me to tell you what it is. Also I'm Now a Surgeon and here is one for you to thunk about. Albert Einstein could not add or subtract numbers 80% of the time. When he wrote anything it was in Albert's own note writting and very few could read it. albert was ask one morning when he got to work on the new york project . What was 2 + 2 and Albert could not tell him for he was looking at 1,000 ways to look at it and would not answer. I'm not Albert but i just don't care much about being exact exact with everything.

TURTLE

[tm]

Readin' is overrated. Don't need no manual to fix an icemaker. Just move that mass of clogged cubes. Sheet, back in our day we didn't even have fancy icemakers, we just sent the houseboy out to chip i off a few cubes for our G&T.

[JimL]

Hey Turtle.

You can spell however you like! I happen to like the way you spell.

I also appreciate the good honest answers you have always given to the home owners here and over on the 'other' board. Over the many years I've been reading these groups, you far surpass all the other professionals in helping the home owner. I'm not saying that you any smarter than the others, I'm just saying that you give good advice and the advice is given with a sense of caring that doesn't come across with the others. I don't think you carry a 'red tag' in your heart or your truck. For the uninitiated, several(most?) of the hvac people take great pleasure in shutting off the heat to the elderly or economically disadvantaged on a cold freezing night..

We have all seen the 'hidden camera' news shows and know what the general character traits are of the people doing hvac repairs, so you are a beacon of light in the dark dingy underworld of foul mouthed dishonest repairmen.

Enough well deserved praise. Now let me give you some advice that you can take or leave. Do you remember the phrase "Turn the other cheek"? It doesn't apply everywhere such as when someone is attacking your kids or spouse, but it certaintly applies to name calling on these usenet boards.

Let me quote someone smarter than me that points out the phrase: " The pacifist ethic to bear insults without complaint and to turn the other cheek is related to the ethic to love one's enemy. Here the emphasis is as much on the individual's internal attitude as it is upon the other's welfare. If a person responds to evil in anger or self-defense, he becomes attached to the evil and it can dominate him. The anger and hatred of his attacker is transmuted into his own anger and resentment at being a victim, and he loses his balance and spiritual strength. But by bearing and accepting insults and abuse without diminution of his own goodwill and mental concentration, he can stay above the hatred and preserve a foundation of spiritual independence and self-possession.

Ultimately, it is only by preserving his spiritual subjectivity in the midst of the insults that a person can have the strength to love his enemy and win him over. We include several striking examples: from the Lotus Sutra of a monk who is victorious through never disparaging his abusers, and the prophet Isaiah's servant of the Lord.

The concluding passages also deal with the justice of turning the other cheek. They assume an inexorable principle of Divine Justice, pp. 183-91, which will set things right and even vindicate the victim's passivity. Paul argues that worldly retribution would mitigate the punishment of God, hence, by not acting, the believer will heap burning coals upon the head of his adversary. The Sutra of Forty-two Sections likewise speaks to the demerit which will come to the evildoer when his insult is accepted without responding. The victim, on the other hand, gains merit through enduring persecution and building the virtue of patience.

Let there be no injury and no requital. ....."

You can read more than what I stole of this author at:

Good luck and God Bless JimL

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

Why Thank you for the words of the post. I have read it twice and have not got all of the thoughts from it yet. Now You sure did explain respect to a tee !

Thank You There

TURTLE

[JimL]

My icemaker just turned 4 years old and I love it. However, it has NOT been trouble free for these 4 years. I've had to unstick the cubes a few times when the noise it was making indicated that it was having a problem. I used vinegar in the tray to remove the deposits and it works smoothly again. yuck. I've had the inside fan stick once and the compressor fan stick once. (probably a rat caused this) I've learned that changing the water filter lets all the cubes fill instead of just half of them. I stir my ice cubes once a week and remove the ones that are stuck together. This gets rid of the 'old' bad tasting cubes, too. I use a feather brush to clean the condensor coils every few months and have to adjust the temperature up because it is more efficient when I do so. I keep two thermometers in the fridge to monitor the temperature. I shoot for 38 degrees in my vege drawer.

I love my icemaker.

[Stormin Mormon]

And a couple years ago, Turtle reminds us that a frozen filler tube can be a leaky valve. Lets water dribble in, where it freezes as it's dribbling.

[bargaindealsman]

Sorry. My normal Comcast news account used it's monthly limit. so I was unable to get back in. I finally had to use our sons ID in order to make a post.

I took a hair dryer and warmed the fill tube for a few mins moving it as I did. It didn't seem to help at all. I took a look at the web site

If you click on the "the elbow & tube" link, it looks like the icemaker I have. When I look under the unit, I can't see any plastic tray. It looks like an aluminum box from what I can see. I applied the hair drier to the fill tube colored blue in that drawing. I don't seem to have the tray device shown below it. Our tray just lays in the freezer and can be removed easily.