Ice is frozen together
I have a Kenmore Elite 79574015410 with icemaker ***Refrigerator Ice Maker Assembly AEQ72909602 (https://www.searspartsdirect.com/product...
First, a little back story. For quite a while we had problems with the coils freezing up in the refrigerator area and eventually leaking water. The thermostats and evaporator/heater were replaced at least two times by a repair technician in both the freezer and refrigerator areas. Each time, the problem would come back after a few weeks. This caused the temp. in the freezer and refrig to be higher than normal. In the freezer, our ice was always frozen together.
I had assumed it was because the coils were freezing up, and it wasn't cold enough in the freezer to keep the ice frozen in the defrost cycle. Eventually, I was able to track the problem with the coils icing up to a clogged drain in the refrig area. After unclogging the drain, there has been no freezing in the coils and the temp. in the refrig has been where it should be, around 36-42f, and the freezer has been consistently -5 to -15F. Plenty cold to keep the ice frozen
Yet, our ice is still clumped together. All I can come up with is that the ice maker is dropping the ice before it is completely frozen. I have ran a test cycle on it and it does not appear to be overflowing the icemaker tray and letting it drain into the collection bin.
The icemaker has what appears to be a thermostat attached to the bottom of the ice tray, and I assume this is what tells the icemaker when the ice is frozen. Unfortunately, you cannot replace just the thermostat, you must replace the whole icemaker.
Before I spend 100+ on a new icemaker, I wanted to get some feedback and guidance on if this makes sense? Are there other possible causes?
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I replace one - leaked. I went thru a similar adventure learning about ice makers. Replaced and ice making success. Refrigerator wore out years later as freezer and cold section gradually rose, indicating the compressor and/or refrigerant leaked. 30+ years is a good life.
Can you find ice maker thermostats (wiring diagram?) with specs? I presume all have the same if not close to same temperature rating to signal when water has frozen to enable ice ejection and begin another cycle. Also, can you determine if a thermal paste (white) is used to allow the tray/thermostat heat/cold transfer? Is this thermostat water damaged, soaked, possibly compromising it? There may be replacement thermostats with some serious searching if you can determine specs, dimensions, and other criteria for direct replacement instead of buying the entire ice maker. Perhaps a simple experiment to verify T-stat fault by separating it from the tray so it has to measure freezer temps instead of tray temps?
- de F Dryer