Let's Talk About Fridges with Icemakers

[Northendzone]

So we have a Fridgidaire refrigerator wide French doors (side by side), the fridge has an ice maker and water dispenser and we are having problems with the ice maker as it freezes up and quits working.

I believe we have now fixed it three or four times over the past few years to the tune of about $300 per repair. The guys from sears who fix the fridge say all ice makers are finicky- so I am looking to the CP collective for some insight.

For those of you that have fridges with ice makers, do you have issues with the ice makers? What type of fridge do you have?

[Ryan Coke]

I've had a couple of Samsungs and no issues so far (5 years or so) with the ice makers.

[Ahuch]

Sometimes my ice maker gets a little wonky and the sensor doesn't pick up the ice level so ice starts spilling into the freezer, that's about it
It's a Frigidaire side by side.

[Wormius]

If the ice maker is freezing up, you should probably set the freezer to a setting that is less cold. I have seen a few fridges where the freezer was set to max. cold and the ice cube maker wouldn't work consistently.

Just a thought.

[Nancy]

We have problems with blockages if we use the crushed ice setting a lot, so we just use the cube setting and that avoids problems.

For what it's worth, when researching fridges prior to buying our current one, I found that just about every fridge with an ice maker had complaints and negative reviews about blockage and freezing.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by Wormius

If the ice maker is freezing up, you should probably set the freezer to a setting that is less cold. I have seen a few fridges where the freezer was set to max. cold and the ice cube maker wouldn't work consistently.

Just a thought.

I should have been more clear, the freezer is on the bottom and the ice maker is in the middle top part of one of the doors. I don't believe adjusting the freezer would have an impact on the ice maker as the maker is not close to the freezer.

[photon]

Frigidaire fridge, 10+ years old, never had a problem with the ice maker. Had a problem with the control board last year so it wouldn't dispense water (still made ice!), couldn't even get the part anymore until I found one on eBay, now works fine again.

What I really want is the fridge with the built in SodaStream.

[flamesfan1297]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

I should have been more clear, the freezer is on the bottom and the ice maker is in the middle top part of one of the doors. I don't believe adjusting the freezer would have an impact on the ice maker as the maker is not close to the freezer.

Wouldn't the ice still be made in the freezer though? And it just comes out the door. That's how ours is anyways

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

I've had a couple of Samsungs and no issues so far (5 years or so) with the ice makers.

This is the same for me. We've had two similar Samsung fridges in our two houses and they have each been perfect.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by flamesfan1297

Wouldn't the ice still be made in the freezer though? And it just comes out the door. That's how ours is anyways

No, there is a separate compartment in the upper corner of the fridge for the ice. The freezer is on the bottom of the fridge. It is one of those models that is reversed.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by photon

What I really want is the fridge with the built in SodaStream.

What? Such a thing exists? Looks like I'm fridge shopping this weekend.

[puckedoff]

Do they ever tell you what they are fixing when they repair the ice maker? It could just be a water line freezing, or is it something like a board needing replacement? If it is a water line freezing, you could look at re-routing it so it stays outside of the freezer until it hits the ice unit if that is an option. You could also try insulating the line.

[photon]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

What? Such a thing exists? Looks like I'm fridge shopping this weekend.

http://www.samsung.com/uk/refrigerat...r-rf24hsesbsr/

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by photon

http://www.samsung.com/uk/refrigerat...r-rf24hsesbsr/

I don't know if I would go for something so proprietary, unless there was a way to pipe in CO2 from a non-Soda Stream tank.

[photon]

You could probably just refill the existing tanks if they ever went out of business (they've been around 10 years).

[Wormius]

Yeah, but pricy. Larger tanks, like from beer stores, would be cheaper.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

Do they ever tell you what they are fixing when they repair the ice maker? It could just be a water line freezing, or is it something like a board needing replacement? If it is a water line freezing, you could look at re-routing it so it stays outside of the freezer until it hits the ice unit if that is an option. You could also try insulating the line.

They usually put in some kind of gasket and seal kit. I am not sure I could reroute the line, as I have to pull the inside of the fridge apart.

I may have to search out an appliance forum to get more detailed thought on my exact model.

[jayswin]

If I had spent $1200 on four repairs of a damn ice machine I'd have given up and put a $2 ice tray in the freezer. Wow, that's a lot of money over one feature!

[Roast Beef]

My ice maker has never let me down, not once. I fill up the trays and put them in the freezer. I somehow get ice every time. It's a friggin miracle.

[Buff]

Ice maker in the fridge at work kept needing repairs. It cost $150 each time and it was supposedly just a freezing line. So I googled it and did it myself in under 10 minutes. It also has gone a longer interval before freezing again.