Persistent Drain Line Freeze on Freezer-on-Top Hotpoint HTS17GBSERWW Fridge

[LugNut20]

Hi All,

Newbie here.  I just moved into a new place and the freezer unit was giving me the frost characteristic of a clogged/frozen drain line. So I took the thing apart and sure enough the line was frozen. I melted the blockage. To my disappointment, somebody before me had already done the trick with the wire wrapped around the evaporator coils going down into the drain line, which I was planning to do to prevent the problem from coming back. Just to be sure, I pulled off their wire (which evidently didn't fix the problem) and replaced it with a thinner piece of solid copper wire which would be more conductive than whatever they had in there before. 

Unfortunately the freeze came back within just a few days and we now once again have a frosty freezer. This is telling me the freeze is further down the drain line than the wire could reach, is this correct? And if so, what can be done here? As title states, model is Hotpoint HTS17GBSERWW. Thank you all!

[16345Ed]

Gotta find drain outlet in machine compartment end of it probably gunked up causing no flow so water freezes. Also raise your front legs a tad to be sure it does drain well when clear. 

[evaappliance]

4 hours ago, LugNut20 said:

with the wire wrapped around the evaporator coils going down into the drain line

Hope you mean to say defrost heater !

[LugNut20]

6 hours ago, 16345Ed said:

Gotta find drain outlet in machine compartment end of it probably gunked up causing no flow so water freezes. Also raise your front legs a tad to be sure it does drain well when clear. 

great to know, thank you. any recommendations on how to clean the gunk out? also, great tip about raising the legs!

[LugNut20]

5 hours ago, evaappliance said:

Hope you mean to say defrost heater !

oh my gosh, you are right! I wish I meant to say that, but I did put the wire on the evap coils by accident. Maybe thats the cause. Also, the pre-existing wire was wrongly wrapped on the evap coils as well so that might explain why the last person's fix didnt end up working. I'll go back and fix my work asap. Thank you!

[16345Ed]

Sometimes there’s a rubber grommet on end of drain in back run it under hot water and make sure it’s clear.