Whirlpool / Kenmore Refrigerator with Chronic Water Leaking Problem Inside the Beer Compartment

This problem is on the top-and-bottom refrigerators (as opposed to the side-by-side). What’s going on here is that the condensate drain hole in the freezer gets plugged with ice. Once this happens, all the frost melted off the evaporator during subsequent defrost cycles can no longer drain and so spreads out on the freezer and dribbles down into the beer compartment below, as shown here (click for larger view). So, here’s whatcha do…

Unplug the refrigerator and pull everything outta the freezer, and I mean everything. Then, remove the bottom panel inside the freezer so you can see the condensate trough in the back of the freezer as shown here, click it for a larger view. Notice that the condensate trough is filled with ice– all that has to be cleared out. Take it easy back there, delicate parts are exposed– don’t start hacking at it with an ice pick because chances are you’ll just end up puncturing the evaporator and you’ll turn a simple, inexpensive repair into a majorly expensive one.

Once all the ice is cleared away and the condensate drain opening is cleared, then you’re ready to apply the fixite el permanenté, as they say down in Ol’ Mehico. Here’s the three-step repair procedure: