This is a fairly common problem for the water dispenser line in the GE and other side-by-side refrigerators to freeze. It seems there is an issue with the insulation inside the door taking on too much moisture so it doesn’t insulate the line well enough to keep it from freezing.
1 . Test to See if it’s Frozen
If you need to check if your line is frozen, simply remove the kick plate off the bottom of the fridge then unhook the water line just under the left door. Simply pull the two blue tabs apart to unhook the line. Place a cup under the line going towards the back of the refrigerator then activate the water dispenser. If water flows then the water line is frozen inside the door. Hook up the water line again and replace the kick plate.
2 . Thaw the Frozen Line
To thaw your line, use this handy the Water Line Buddy simply blow a hair dryer on high heat at the water line, water dispenser control panel and the back (outside) of the door near the water line for about 15 minutes. That thawed it for me but of course, it’ll just freeze again unless you fix the root cause.
3 . Fix the Root Cause
We purchased the water line heater from amazon that installs in about 15 minutes and fixes the issue permanently. Basically, it just clips in the electrical wiring of the control panel then runs a couple of wires up into the water line to keep it from freezing. Ok, a bit of a hack but it sure beats paying $200 for a serviceman to do it!
If this doesn’t fix the issue for you then you might consider replacing the water filter or water valve as both of those can slow or stop flow from the water dispenser.
Let us know below if this worked for you (or not) so we can all help each other fix these annoying refrigerator issues!
I have an lg with a frozen ice maker line. I tried the hair dryer to no avail. any ideas
Hugh – I suspect it is frozen but just having a tough time thawing. I recommend trying the water line heater as that will likely do the trick.
My husband could fix it himself, but i heard this fix can melt the housing and damage the housing on some models. Seems you can’t win. A piece of junk! GE will not help you. They want to send a tech out at your expense to verify it’s frozen. I will never buy GE anything again! If you fix it and there is water or fire damage, your homeowner’s insurance might not cover you.
Yes, it did melt the housing so much out of shape that the switch would not work and water would not turn off. Took it all apart to see how to replace switch and could not believe how misshapen the housing was. Had to buy a new housing and switch, although not sure the switch was bad since the trigger mechanism was not lined up to work properly. My advise, don’t FIX. With a hair dryer!
Charles Another problem is door flapper spring for the ice breaks flapper stays half open letting air in so people turn thermostat way down freezing the water line.
I have a GE cafe refrigerator which also freezes up. I just remove the drawer from the regrigerator and soak a dishtowel in boiling water. Wring it out and wrap it around the frozen water coil for a few minutes until the ice melts. It’s low tech, but it works!
This GE refrigerator is the WORST refrigerator I have ever owned. Ice maker auger broke, ice maker broke, water dispenser freezes up, evaporator fan makes noise when running. Engineering fail 100%.
I’ve replaced the auger, the brackets that hold the tray and now the mechanism that trips the ice and water dispenser because when I unthawed it with a hair dryer, it melted the plastic. You’re right , this GE refrig. is junk.
I used a water pick (the teeth cleaning tyoe) with hot water. Just squirt up the line. 20 seconds
Genius! Hair dryer wasn’t working but we saw your comment about the water pick and it worked! Thanks for the tip!
That sounds like a winner to me. Good idea!
Brilliant! Worked perfectly… just disconnect the hose at the bottom of the door, jam the water pick up inside the dispenser up top, and run it for about 30-60 seconds and the water started flowing right out the bottom of the tube.
Where do you squirt the water? Where is the exact spot?
Try raising the temperature in the freezer section one or two degrees and the same in the refrig box. I did this and several hours later water started flowing. The freezer is now set at plus one degree and the frig box is at 39 degrees. Prior to the temp setting rise we were at -1 degree freezer and + 37 frig section
Great suggestion. Thanks for the tip this worked. Didn’t want to wait a few hours so added by spraying some hot water up the dispenser line. Two squirt is all it took.
I had this problem, first turned off refrigerator, opened freezer door, put a blanket covering the freezer so the stuff inside would still be cold, after 30 mins turned on fridge and the water now is running. To avoid this happening again I put cardboard in the freezer door compartments against the door and I haven’t had a problem since.
Shouldn’t this be GEs problem and not ours? Why aren’t they reaching out to us to fix this problem? GE, have some integrity!
They don’t care. They have had this problem for 14+ years and they keep making the damn junk. And that is what it is ….JUNK.
No kidding; like do a recall or offer people a free water line heater install so that their product will work as promise rather than just repeatedly freezing up and not working at all.
I found that keeping coil clean on back of fridge stopped all freezing, it’s 2 screws and a shop vac, really just regular maintenance.
The coil in the back is the condenser coil. Seems like a dirty condenser would raise the temperature of the evaporator coil….not lower it.
Instructions for installing the WR49X10173 seems not to be applicable.
Question: The 6 prong plug in our refrigerator is as follows-Black-Red-Blue-X-X-White. The HOT wire is the BLUE wire.
Which two wire should I use to make the connection?
The “Blue and Black” or the “Blue and Red”?
Is the WR49X10173 (It Fits the Refrigerator Perfectly) the incorrect part and if not what is the correct part No#.
I my research about this issue I have found it’s a common design flaw with GE refrigerators.
I found an inexpensive solution that has been working for me for 6 weeks now. The water line is freezing just behind the dispenser. – I purchased an 8 inch by 10 inch white mailing envelope, the kind that has bubble wrap on the inside and is made of flexible plastic.
-I also went to Lowes and purchases some 1/4 inch felt insulation / pipe wrap and cut 3 – 10 inch strips and put them inside the envelope.
-Using a hair dryer I put constant heat in the area behind the water dispenser (freezer side) all the way down to the bottom of the door. After about 20 minutes the water line started to work properly.
-Using scotch tap roled back on itself I put this on the back side of the plastic envelope (about 6 strips) and taped the envelop to the back of the door panel. On my GE I started at the top of the flat portion directly behind the dispenser. Make sure the door I dry and it should be since you used the hair dryer to thaw out the water line.
Worked for me……now having said all this I will never buy a GE product a
Easy 30 second fix for a frozen GE water dispenser line. Literally just did it. Water bottle filled with hot water set to stream. Just squirt it up the dispenser end for about 30 seconds and you should hear pressure in the line release. The dispenser should now work. No tools, no hairdryer, no fuss. Insulating the back of the door sounds like a good fix too. Also make sure not to overfill the freezer in front of the dispenser panel so air can circulate to defrost the freezer. Aaaaaaand don’t buy GE?
Cheers
Thanks, just tried your method and it worked!! Yay!!
Also tried this method & it WORKED!!! yay! Thank you!!!!
Worked for me, too! Thank you!
Spraying hot water into the dispenser line worked great! Unclogged the frozen line in less than a minute! Great suggestion!
Where is the despincer line located
Thank you so much for that! If I could pay you for the advice I would! That did the trick! THANK YOU!
Nice trick. Worked for me as well. I’ve never had mine freeze before but after this I realized I had bags of vegetables on the top shelf. and probably were against the dispenser panel. Will keep space between the freezer items and the dispenser panel. Should do the trick.
Thanks!!
Squirting hot water up the dispenser worked! Thank you so much!!
This made the most sense to me… tried it and worked perfect.. I too had stuff blocking airflow….I love google
Just used the water bottle trick and it worked! I’ve had luck with blow dryer before but not this time. Water bottle so much easier! Thank you!!!
Genius! I used a small squirt bottle filled with warm water and thawed out the dispenser line. Took about 3 squirts. I will use the mailing envelope trick on the inside of the door .
Thanks, Gary. What a great idea. That worked perfectly!
Yeah that works…in fact the “water line buddy” on Amazon is a handy kit for just this purpose. I have increased the freezer temp to 4 degrees F and it *still* freezes. Will never buy another GE refrigerator. 100% engineering fail.
5 years later, it’s 2022 and your trick is still working! Awesome idea and thanks again!
Thank you for the tip! I did the same thing with a bubble wrap mailing envelope with insulation inside. Used velcro to attach it to the inside door panel. Works great!
Where exactly are you placing this bubble wrap insulation? Do I have to remove the interior freezer door panel? Or just stick it in one of the storage trays?
Thanks for an easy solution! Spent $95 to have a service person come out to look at the dispenser and they wanted another $250 to fix it by installing a heater. As you said I did it in about 20 minutes PS the service person said to unload the freezer and refrigerator unplugged And let it sit for 24 hours so that everything would defrost what a waste of time.
me too Black-Red-Blue-X-X-White but no warm at all.
GE PSS26NGPA refrigerator DOES make ice but no WATER in the door dispenser. Removed connector at bottom of freezer door and activated for water to flow. Water DID come from the supply side of then tube. Is line frozen in the door, and if so, how to thaw that line. Replace filter light just came on due to time, but can’t replace filter ’til I can get water thru the line to the water dispenser.
Water flows from the connector at the bottom. I bought the GE heated line from Amozon . Now where dose it go and how do I put it on?
Give me video if possible.
Thanks Dianna
It should come with instructions. It is very simple as one part connects to the light and the wire is pushed up in the water line. But you will need to defrost the line if it is frozen.
It’s frozen inside the freezer.
Is the GE WR49X10173 Water Dispenser Tube Heater a practical fix to frozen water line?
Yes, that will fix the frozen line. You may need to defrost it first with a hair dryer or something but once the heater is inserted into the line and connected you shouldn’t have it freeze again.
I have had my freezer door open for over an hour and using a blowdryer for 15 minutes and still no water. How long should it take to thaw?
Increase the temperature on yor freezer above -1. I had the heater installed a year ago and recently the line is freezing again. Once I did this I have had no problems.
Everything was thawing so I unloaded the freezer to the back up. left the door open for a while longer and it finally thawed. Now I guess I need that heater.
I am having to replace the water tanks (the previous one froze)in my GE side by side with bottom freezer. I cannot find anything to help me figure out exactly how to install it…. any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
15 mins worked perfectly! Thanks for the help!
can someone tell me EXACTLY where to point the hairdryer? I’ve used a strong one and a heat gun and have seen sites saying up and down edge of open door and right behind the panel.
I put in weed wacker line and it can go in about 1 foot before getting stopped so it’s either right behind the panel or somewhere lower. I’ve set the freezer temp on “2” – it can only go “1” to “9”. Very frustrating…have tested behind fridge and water supply is fine and gets to ice maker AND I”ve replaced the valve at bottom back of fridge so it must be freezing. Just want to fix it once before I buy the kit.
All:
Our GE side by side water line froze up 3 or 4 times about 1 1/2 years ago. I got the heater kit and installed it then. Problem solved……..NOT. It is currently frozen again and has been for about a week and has been frozen up a couple of other times.
I’m going for the blow dryer trick tomorrow morning. Which seems ridiculous since I have the heater kit already installed !??
grab some weedwhacker line and shove it up there after you get it thawed. About 2 feet. If it freezes, grab the tip of the line with a plyers and pull to open it up, then push the line back in so just the tip is sticking out for the next time. Gotta make sure that the food is not packed in on that upper shelve where the air blows out.
Hi, apparently my water line is frozen on my GE Monogram side by side re fridge.
I am having no luck with the hair dryer. I temporarily turned my freezer temp. way down to try and thaw the line.
I want to purchase the GE WR49X10173 Water Dispenser Tube Heater on Amazon but can’t seem to find out if it will work on my model. I have model ZISW36DCA.
Also, does the heater come with instructions? Thanks for any help.
James – I believe it will work on the ZISW36DCA. It is really just a couple wires that attach to the light electrical so nothing complex but it does come with instructions. If it doesn’t work, just send it back to amazon and they will give you a refund.
C.
hi i have a hotpoint frig. water line keeps freezing. i have thawed it out like 4 times this week… anyone one know if that heater works for hotpoint side by side frig… or what kind of insulation i should put on the inside door of the freezer..? or any other solution. this is a really good frig and don’t want to get a new one just because of this problem
People please read the full info on those heaters, it states that it will not thaw out the frozen line, it will only work on the water spout tip, do not waste your money
We have only had our GE refrigerator for a few years.But now that water line is frozen 2 to 3 times a week! Very frustrating! We like to use this feature on or frig.We got so tired of taking everything out of it & putting it in our other freezer.So we leave the door open & block the freezer with pieces of ceiling tile.Should not have to do this with a refrigerator that is only a few years old! Wil never buy another GE!
I agree..our ge profile is only 16 mths old and water is freezing in dispenser every couple of days now only to find its not coverred on warranty…this will be my last ge appliance.
I have a GE gsh….. side by side model where the water dispenser line kept freezing up. I purchased and installed the GE WR49X10173 Dispenser Water Tube Heater Kit. It has worked flawlessly for several days now. It worked so well, I installed the same kit on my relative’s GE refrigerator (same model) and it works well.
I have same problem with our side by side…..not to mention ice maker does not dispense cubes only crushed, three of the plastic shelf brackets broke……………. will never by a GE product again……….its junk
Steve – unfortunately it isn’t just GE. I was doing some searches on amazon and noticed that the replacement drawers and shelves on all the units are some of the top selling parts for appliances. Looks like they’ve all started using cheaper plastic – http://bustedrefrigerator.com/whirlpool-crisper-drawer-cracked
Here is a link to a video installing the heater kit on a GE side by side. it works great. https://youtu.be/0xxyiDDDfwM
I have the same problem. My water line keeps freezing up. The repair guy put the heater on it but it only thaws it for a couple days and then it freezes up again. Before all this, I used to use a blow dryer on it and keep a weed eater line up in it. I melted the housing with the blow dryer the 3rd time I did it, so be careful if you do that. Don’t put the blow dryer on the hottest setting. We are now going to unplug the refrigerator for 24 hours and let the entire line thaw. The hope is that after it thaws completely, the heater will do its job and keep it thawed. No more GE products for me…ever!
Strange that the refrigerator water line heater didn’t fix it. Are you certain it is installed correctly? Maybe try reducing (raising) the temperature setting on the freezer to see if that might help. C.
Whirlpool just as bad. I think they are owned by GE.
We’re in the same situation as many of you with our Hotpoint side-by-side refrigerator. Everything works well except the water line freezes up. It makes sense to me that we should be able to open the body of the freezer door and replace the tubing with an insulated tube. Unfortunately, I am not aware if there is any such thing. Standing there with the blow dryer is getting old!
Renee – I’d really try the water line heater. For $30 it is well worth it – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H3XWCO/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004H3XWCO&linkCode=as2&tag=busted-refridge-20
This water line heater worked for me. I had to use the hair dryer trick to get it thawed out first. Once the heater line was installed I didn’t have any issues and it has been a couple weeks.
Once it’s thawed put 6″ of thin copper wire in the spout with 1/2″ sticking out. It acts as a heat sink.
where do you point the hair dryer
Deicer then flush REALLY good takes just mintes.
Explain the steps please, mine is frozen solid. Inside the freezer not the door. It’s a Frigidaire just a few years old. It makes ice no water.
How do you flush the line?
Mine has been frozen for years! I tried the heat gun, sticking random things down the tube, etc, and nothing has ever been able to clear it. It’s a Frigidaire, so perhaps that is what kept me off of this site until tonight, when I decided to take to door off to try to tackle it. I duct taped thick plastic over the freezer opening, which actually worked really well and set the door in front of the warm air coming out of my dehumidifier. The fridge is downstairs in my basement, so while I have missed the water, it has been on my “to do” list for a while, hence the years it has been frozen. While it was warming up I decided to search again and came across this forum. The one thing I never tried was hot water, so I thought it was a good time to try it, especially since I had the door off and apart. Surprisingly it only took a few ounces before it was free and clear! I’m a bit mad at myself for not having thought of that before and tried it while the door was on, but nevertheless it is free and clear now. Great idea! Hopefully it lasts. The fridge is 9 years old and we only had the problem when we moved it downstairs. I’m thinking that I may have not turned the heat on early enough that year. Anyway, I definitely suggest trying that as the first option, as I did everything else suggested and it did not work. Thanks for the suggestion and reading my long story!
My GE side by side was freezing up the water dispenser every few days in spite of having installed the heater add-on, raising the freezer temp as far as it would go and numerous hair dryer thawings. Our humidity is very high here…almost always over 70%. I figured the insulation behind the water line had become frozen solid with condensation and it froze the water line almost as soon as I thawed it. Then I found on-line a suggestion to glue a piece of 1″ styrofoam over the area behind the dispenser so I cut a roughly 12″ x 12″ sheet of cheap foam picnic ice chest and two strips of double sided tape and attached it over the panel inside the door behind the water/ice dispenser after doing the hair dryer thaw. It is now over a month and the water is flowing freely. The heaters GE sells are a total rip-off. Just buy a cheap ice chest and cut it up. Not real pretty but it is inside the box and cheap! Hopefully I can still sing this song in a year.
Chilling the water line and re-heating it is a waste of electricity, plus you have to by the heater. A simpler and cheaper solution is to tape some bubble wrap inside your freezer door to add some insulation from the cold air blowing on the door. My water line hasn’t frozen since I added it. Here’s a pic: http://imgur.com/cQSFEPr
Note: I found this solution in a Youtube video, but can’t find original post to give credit.
Randy my GE refrigerator has been freezing for years. I used a plastic tie in the door tube so I could get a grip to pull and it was working for awhile until it froze up with the plastic inside and I cannot get it to come out or move at all. I had insulated the inside of the freezer with cellophane packing envelope taped to the inside of the door and it worked for a long time. I moved the frozen food in the freezer away from the door. But here we are again. I called GE to see if they ever corrected the problem in their new refrigerators and they said yes because they had problems with the old ones. Duh!!!. Why didn’t they recall them?
. Anyway their suggestion was to make the freezer temp warmer. Well at #5 my freezer never gets to 0 degrees so warmer sort of concerns me. However, I did reduce to 4 and it still froze. I am trying the candle in the door right now and the hair dryer but so far it is still frozen. Turned it off 45 min ago. I have read the comments about the heater line only working for awhile, is really only for the tip, and melted some people’s parts so not too keen on trying that just yet. I think the paper insulated envelope works better than the plastic coated one though. Will go back to that kind.
This issue is so well known and so well documented why do WE have to try all these after-market Rube Goldberg “fixes”? Why doesn’t GE fix all of these themselves? I spent $2,000 for a refrigerator that works, not one that comes with a do-it-yourself fix-it kit. Now GE is trying to walk away by selling the company to Chinese company. GE addressed this issue the same way Ford addressed the Pinto.
There should be a class action suit started by some enterprising attorney.
I totally agree!! My brand new GE WORKED ALL OF 5 hours before it froze up! Then it busted the water filter! GE sent me a new water filter that took 7 to 10 day ….and they sent the wrong one!! Do they sent us another one,,,,7 to 10 days later we got it. Put it in and that night it froze up again! Now they are sending a repairman out! Why should we put up with this!!!?
You can also use a skinny straw and pour the hot water into it and blow it up into the tube or just use hot air. A combo of these two worked for me and the tube has remained open/not frozen over the last 18 hours. Statistically not a proven concept but if others use this technique and it works we can validate the effectiveness. I hope to not have to do it but will use it if/when my lines freeze up again.
Thanks, Mel. Very innovative idea to get the line unfrozen. You’ll likely need to raise the temp in the freezer slightly or purchase the line heater long term. I believe the insulation in the door breaks down in these units so they can’t keep the line from freezing.
C.
I would like to point out that the freezer line heater is not a permanent fix. The life of these in-line resistors is usually on the ~6 months to a couple years because the control lines they tie into are always on . . . just the nature of resistive heat. The housing that surrounds the water line is, in many cases, inadequate. Adding more insulation (applying bubble wrap, foam, etc), then covering it with a relatively gas impermeable material (tape, plastic, paint) to reduce airflow on the insulation should also reduce heat transfer, thereby keeping the water line warmer and thawed. I have applied this principle with success on fridges in the past.
Where is the line located?
The warm water straw worked instantly. Thank you SO much! Genius!
The warm water straw did the trick almost instantly. I think the spray bottle would have worked buit it was hard to position it. Use a stra with a bend near the top.
Unplug and defrost fridge. Clean cover on back of fridge. Remove cover and check fan motor for dust. Used vacuum to clean fan motor housing. Replace cover plug back in and the water works and is still working a week later.
Heat gun (no hair dryer here) to the inside of door panel worked like a charm. After waiting a few minutes, I tried the dispenser and it spit out a small bit of ice…. followed by a strong stream of water. Glad to have found this conversation site!
Also, out ice bucket was way overloaded, and our top “quick freeze” shelf was crowded with items blocking the vents in the back. I saw both of these issues discussed, and are good points to keep in mind.
How do you figure out where your line is frozen? I don’t want to buy a water line heater unless I’m sure the line is frozen right by the spout!
You might try and fish a trimmer line or some other type of stiff wire up the line and see how far it goes before hitting the ice. Chances are, it is just a few inches up the line as that seems to be where the insulation breaks down around the water line.
Where is the water line located?
my water dispenser stopped dispensing and I found that the water tube going to the dispenser was frozen. Yours may be too. To verify this do the following (after ensuring that you have water pressure from the tube at floor level) by:
1) pushing a flexible strip of wire up the dispenser tube until it would not advance any further. and pulling it out after letting it sit up there for about 30 seconds. Check the temperature of the wire immediately after pulling it out. If it is very cold, it was in contact with ICE.
2) once you know you have a blockage due to ice, just melt the ice. HOW? Many ways. BUT the way I did it (thanks to information I read on the great internet) was to squirt very hot water into the dispenser outlet tube using a 2oz syringe connected to a thin flexible plastic hose. BEWARE of the hot water. I burnt my finger as the hot flowed back out, so wear thick dishwashing glove(s) and eye protection etc.
1) The cause of my frozen line was the dispenser door flap was not closing fully, thereby allowing freezing air out of the freezer and down onto the water line.
2) The reason the door was not closing fully was ice chips /”snow”buildup got stuck around the mating surface of the flap.
3) This only happened after my children discovered the CRUSHED ice feature and started using the CRUSHED feature every half hour.
4) Explained and demonstrated this problem to the kids who now understand and vow not to use the CRUSHED ice feature ever again. They are happy with full ice cubes.
5) no more water dispenser problems.
6) Occasional wiping of the flap mating surface is probably not necessary but would not hurt if done gently.
7) My GE is 7 years old, no problems other except the cheap plastic coating over the water/ice selector push buttons have perforated.
8) I hope this helps someone.
Did you ever come up with a fix for item#7. Plastic panel perforation. I thought one could buy a new plastic overlay, but no luck there. Suggestions?
I flushed hot water into the dispenser with a turkey injector. Then used a hair dryer to the inside of the freezer door to remove all moisture and taped the lid of a styrofoam cooler to the inside of the freezer door behind the dispenser. It has not frozen again since. ?
Can you describe where that water line is located?
I tried forcing hot water into the dispenser tube with no success, just a mess, but isopropyl alcohol (like from your medicine cabinet) worked almost instantly. Isopropyl alcohol is used as a deicing agent in aviation and other applications and is safe for food surfaces as well.
Where did you put it?
Just wanted to say thank you. The hair dryer trick worked. I worked the dryer on the inside of my freezer door, behind the dispenser if that helps.
Thx for post. I turned down temp on freezer and blew hot water up water dispenser line. In 30 min water was dripping. I was about to use straw and hair dryer, but didn’t need to.
have GE sided by side and the water outlet freezes up, I shut the temperature down overnight and then get water, but when I turn the temperature back to normal it freezes again. Just started happening, I used to thaw out with hair dryer, but now that it keeps happening, not sure what to do???
Rick – you’ll want to purchase this water dispenser line heater. Worked on mine for many years without freezing again – http://amzn.to/2r0W4FR
Looks like a pain in the ass to install
Yeah, like if you don’t want to become a handyman and do a big hardware chore, like work, then don’t by a GE brand refrigerator with water dispenser. They know they have a problem, but do they install the line heater in their new units or have they done a recall to install them in those that people already paid a thousand whatever for? No, but they should. People who bought an automatic dispenser and automatic ice maker weren’t paying for that so they could repeatedly do hardware chores. If they liked that then maybe they’d be making their own ice and using a countertop operating water filter to filter their water manually. It’s like a bait and switch, the sale is ease easy and easy to use, but the catch is you will have to repeatedly engage in repair work and buy overpriced filters. People wanted easy, not hardware work. They should do a recall or offer people a free line heater install, so that their product works as promised.
New to the discussion here, hello! I had the same problems, hair dryer, leave the door open to thaw. Then I got to the in line heater and VOILA it worked .. for a month and now I’m back to square one! Any further ideas??
have had the same issue. It may sound weird but I fed about 18 inches of weed wacker line up the dispenser so that only a little bit sticks out. You don’t even notice it. Now when it freezes which it still does, you just move the line up and down a couple of times and that takes care of the frozen water. Its a no cost fix until you want to buy a new fridge.
Ps Obviously use a new thread of weed wacker line and wash it before you install.
I tried that, the line is frozen solid, won’t budge. : (
I used a plastic tie so I would have a little handle at the end to hold onto. It froze up too and I could not move it or pull it out. Had to resort to a candle in the door for 1/2 hour and the hair dryer. Finally freed it up.
Do not buy the heater do not buy anything take a Dremel and cut a door centered behind the dispenser only one and a half inches wide 5 in deep down tall remove the plastic take a spoon carve out the phone when you get to the plastic vinyl tube unscrew the spout remove it shove the plastic tube through the hole take a 1/8 drill drill 10 holes through to the other side tape duct tape the tube to the wall shoving the tube through the hole without the dispenser tube keep door warm Phil cavity between duct tape tube with Great Stuff foam trim off excess replace door that you created heat will come through the holes you drilled warm the tube insulation will keep it from getting cold fixed I fix my 2 years ago works fine looks like shit sorry I wish I had a junk door to trim
The hair dryer will work, but the freezing water line will happen again-and-again. Just put a 2″ thick 10″ square piece of Styrofoam on the door inside using tape doubled back on itself. Works perfect, & the freezing will never happen again. Easy fix. Ours is a GE refrigerator. ” Rog in Lake Wales, FL. “
There are some good hacks here.. I learned about squirting the hot water up the frozen waterline…will try that .. I have been filling my freezer opening with pillows pushing the freezer door as closed as I can get it to hold them in , propping a chair to hold that position. This works if you leave it like that for about 30 -45 mins or sometimes a bit longer. But I like the idea about insulating the back of that white plastic sloped section. I’ve been messing with this poor design feature for about 4 years now, so I’ve gotten good at it.. I had my freezer JAMMED packed full this winter.. it was so bad I couldn’t put anything more it in, I noticed during this time the water NEVER froze.. I was astounded, this lasted for 3 or 4 months. I started thinking it had “healed”.. yes, smile. Then I cleaned out the freezer down to 60% capacity.. Immediately it froze .. I did my pillow thing.. unfroze…. 4 hrs later FROZEN.. did it again..FROZEN.. repeat .. repeat, repeat.. So I searched and found this great thread.. I think based on my findings that it’s the cold air CIRCULATING that creates the problem but i did wonder about blocking that space at the very top over the white box unit which I usually have done.. but that space was also blocked in the 3-4 months in which no freezing occurred . I’m off to insulate… Poor designs should not be the burden of paying buyers. Sad situation. Thanks for your input !
Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear the information on this site helped.
Can you tell me where the water line is located?
I stuck a sheet of rubber insulation to the inside where the dispenser is. Did the trick.
Is the dispenser in the back of the fridge?
Here’s what worked for me. I got the idea from the water bottle trick.
I heated up a small cup of water, near boiling in the microwave (a kettle would work).
I sucked up a drinking straw full of the hot water and blew it into the dispenser hose. Worked a treat.
Be careful not to burn your mouth with the water.
Why buy a refrigerator that was designed by the same company that designed Fukishima?
Quick fix for constantly frozen water line.. (after de freezing the line) Drill a small hole in the back area just below the ice dispencer. Use a can of expanding foam shoot it slowly into the hole. Insulates the inside compartment and around the tube. let the foam expand and come out the hole. Once dry trim off the stuff coming out of the hole. No more freeze ups.
Is this remedy still working for you? Has it frozen since?
We used to defrost it every night with the hair dryer. Finally we duct taped a piece of foam siding on the panel inside the freezer. Hasn’t frozen since!!
We used to defrost it every night with the hair dryer. Finally we duct taped a piece of foam siding on the panel inside the freezer. Hasn’t frozen since!!
This is the only good and permanent fix. Our fresh water line had been freezing up every week or even few days on or Sears side by side. I used a couple of pieces of 1/2 inch Tuff-R insulation. cut it carefully and neatly to cover about a foot of the inside of the freezer door from the dispenser down into the storage shelf under the water and cube dispenser area. Had to slit it in a few places so that it would flex to fit neatly to the inside of the door in that area. Then I used white Tyvek tape to completely cover it and tape it tightly to the inside of the freezer door. The Tyvek tape stuck really good and doesn’t let go in the cold temperatures in the freezer. Because it is white you hardly notice that the door has the extra insulation when you open the freezer door. It hasn’t frozen up since.
Thanks so much for this discussion. Same GE fridge & same problem. Fixed!
My Kenmore water line froze up 3 days ago. I found these tips while googling for an answer. Decided to raise the temp in freezer from zero to 5f before I tried anything else. Took 3 days, but it’s fine now.
Mine arrived this afternoon and I had water flowing within just a few minutes! Thank you!
Great to hear! I’m assuming you used the IceSurrender Frozen Water Line Tool and Water Line Heater combination?
I have a GE Profile…nothing is working!!! HELP!
I have a GE Profile…nothing is working!!! HELP!
First make sure it is a frozen line. Remove the trim at the bottom of the fridge. On the left hand side facing the fridge you will see a water line going into the hinge. There should be a coupler fitting before the hinge. Separate the water line there and press the water dispenser. If water comes out, it is a frozen line, if not it is most likely the control valve in the rear of the fridge. If it is a frozen line use the tool on Amazon or make your own to thaw it out. I used a squeeze bottle with a small tube attached from a continuous flow printer ink supply that I purchased but never used. Fill the container with hot water and shove the tube into the water line until you hit the ice jam. Should be about 10 to 15 inches. Put a wash cloth or cup under water line to catch the overflow and maintain light pressure on the tubing as you squeeze the container or syringe and you will feel the hot water slowly melting the ice and the tube will advance a little at A time until you feel it break free and clear the line. Refill your container as necessary. I worked on mine for three days trying to raise the temp in the freezer and poke plastic and wire up the tube to break up the ice but nothing worked until I tried this.
We used a Water Line Buddy to fix our frozen fridge water line. Get it on Amazon for $12!!
https://www.amazon.com/Water-Line-Buddy-Refrigerator-Dispenser/dp/B07KGLHC1N/
i’ve found that my line freezes when then ice maker is full. I believe this full bucket of ice causes the line to repeatedly freeze. Try moving the ice maker arm to the top full level before it fills up completely.
I am going to rig the wire arm in the ice bucket that tells the ice machine to stop making ice – to stop at half way point. I think I can just add something to the bottom of the arm so the ice hits it first and pushes it to the top sooner. Perhaps tape a 1 or 2 ” foam block to the bottom of it or add a wire – to have it start moving up sooner once the ice hits it.
Try this if you are tired of clearing the line all the time. I might add some insulation to the inside of the door as well.
I used a water pick (the teeth cleaning tyoe) with hot water. Just squirt up the line. 20 seconds
I tried the hair dryer on the outside of the door at the water dispenser and almost melted the hose dispensing the water. Then I read one post where the owner ran the hair dryer from the water tube going into the bottom of the refrigerator by the lower hinge up the inside of the door and over the back of the door behind the water dispenser. I also tried shoving the weed wacker string up the front tube of the water dispenser but it only went in about 3″.
I was about to give up the I inserted the weed wacker string again and a drop of water came out. Again it only went in about 3″. I continued with the hair dryer and it finally worked. Took about 25 minutes. I went back and pushed the weed wacker string into the water tube dispenser to see how far it would go in and it went in about a foot. The frozen line was at the dispenser so this is a good check to determine if your line is frozen.
I tried the hair dryer on the outside of the door at the water dispenser and almost melted the hose dispensing the water. Then I read one post where the owner ran the hair dryer from the water tube going into the bottom of the refrigerator by the lower hinge up the inside of the door and over the back of the door behind the water dispenser. I also tried shoving the weed wacker string up the front tube of the water dispenser but it only went in about 3″.
I was about to give up the I inserted the weed wacker string again and a drop of water came out. Again it only went in about 3″. I continued with the hair dryer and it finally worked. Took about 25 minutes. I went back and pushed the weed wacker string into the water tube dispenser to see how far it would go in and it went in about a foot. The frozen line was at the dispenser so this is a good check to determine if your line is frozen.
Thanks for sharing that we could check if the line is frozen by removing the kick plate off and unhooking the water line. I did that a while ago, and it is really frozen. This might have something to do with how old the fridge is since it was passed down to me by my mom. I should definitely call a pro to fix this rather than damage it more.
I made a YouTube video of my fix based on a suggestion in these comments. Please thaw the door panel first before attempting this method.
https://youtu.be/pRQr6z3BUiM
This is happening to our new Bosch 20 cu.ft counter-depth fridge. Bosch has organized warranty repairs within a week of our first call.
I just purchased a used chest freezer 7 cu. ft. When we went to pick it up to bring home, we were told not to plug it in for 24 hours. We asked why and were told that’s what they were told by the people who delivered the new one to them. Why?
To allow compressor oil to settle to proper level before cycling. If immediate use after moving, potential for oil starvation and ruined compressor.
Hello,
Thanks, sir for helping this thing really works I am really impressed to keep up the good work
Does frozen water line cause plastic pipe at bottom of refrigerator to break?
It is possible that a frozen line can crack due to the expansion of the water/ice. However, it usually doesn’t freeze at the bottom of the freezer but inside the door. Are you certain that it is cracked at the bottom or maybe that is just where the water is dripping off the line?
I used to thaw ours every few months, but eventually got sick of it and installed the water line heater. It worked for approximately the same amount of time as before and now freezes every day.
Installed water line heater and fixed problem for 6 months. It apparently “died” and having same problem with frozen water lone
I put some towels on the shelves above and below the ice maker and that fixed the problem. Very cheap fix
A simple 15 second temporary fix for your freezer door water line is to use weed eater trim line and to stick it up the water line tube from the outside front. Stick it up a few inches to a foot and wiggle it around like doing the hooky pokey. Remove line and repeat when it freezes again.
You might want to buy or make a water unit Water Proof insulation blanket and duct tape or otherwise secure it to the inside door water unit for a more permanent fix.
Or try the electric current connector thing to warm your line up. This would be my third choice.
Also … Keep your Display exterior light on to keep it a bit warmer.
Thank you for your help! We were almost ready to give up after about 15 minutes with the blow dryer, when all of a sudden, water came flowing out! Don’t get discouraged, this works!,
How do you install the water heater
I tried all of the above. The fix was a bicycle pump connected to the bottom of the line. At 110lbs, the small ice module popped out.
Bosch fridge hot water did the trick. Save me hundred.
A good solution avoiding the use of a hairdryer is a hot pad. Heated up to just above body temperature, won’t damage your line. Placed inside the ice shoot for an hour or so. You may need to reheat it.
I thawed mine then turned the light on and left it on, it doesn’t freeze anymore
Sure fire way to permanently fix the frozen water tube problem: Cut a half inch thick piece of styrafoam the width of the inside of the freezer door just behind where the water dispenser is located in the front. Tape it on the inside of the freezer door, or glue it if you’d like, it prevents the tube from freezing. Did this several months ago, haven’t had a problem since, I was thawing it out about once a week before that. You can even use scrap styrafoam. It works, You’re Welcome.
Hi there. I have an over-under Frigidaire FRT21LR7AQ1 from 2001 that’s leaking water from the inside at what appears to be a water drain line…? The picture I attached is looking up into the very back of the fridge and the black part is a rubber hose/line where the water was coming out in steady 3-4 second stream. If you haven’t figured it out: I know nothing of refrigerators. Any help is appreciated.
I read about the heater fix, instead I simply turned the dispenser panel light on all the time and it generated enough heat to keep the water line thawed. Better yet, After replacing a faulty evaporator fan and getting proper cold air circulation, no more need for light being left on and water line no longer freezes on my GE side by side.
Could my water line be frozen if I’m constantly getting a pool of water underneath the bottoms Rt corner of my refrigerator?
After using a hair dryer numerous times, I found a better way that has worked every time. Insert about a 2 ft length of weed eater string line into the water dispenser tube, leaving an inch sticking out. When your water line freezes just give the string a tug. ( may have to use a pair of long nose pliers to get a grip) Pull it a couple inches and slide it back and forth a couple times to open up the line.
Thanks for the info. We have a GE side by side purchased in June 2008. Our water dispenser recently stopped. I did a preliminary inspection with no result. Realizing it could be any number of reasons I was ready to call a repair person – until I saw this post. I tested it with the weed trimmer line and sure enough, it was frozen solid. I thawed it with a hair dryer (front and back of door) which worked. As for a final solution, the only thing I did was install some self adhesive insulation/sound deadener to the back side of the dispenser inside the door.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08564D194/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Worked like a charm.
It wasn’t until after this that I remembered my wife just recently cleaned out all the old food in the freezer (tossed 40% of what was in there) and now the fan was able to blow directly onto the back of the dispenser. Clearly, that was the issue.
were do the wires connect for the water line heater on a Frigidaire mod. FFSS2614QE38 I tried it myself and blew the heater out. I connected to wrong wires i guess.
My water line started freezing every other day. I’d have to leave the freezer door open for it to thaw, not good. I read a hack on another website to line inside of door with insulation. I bought one of those mylar type hot/cold bags, cut it open and taped it to the inside of the freezer door. Its been 3 months and line has not froze.
Been thawing out with dryer for years now – heater sounds good but this 78 year old can’t install!!
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Try this fix. Go to home depot buy 1inch think insulation sheet. Cut to fit over the inside of the freezer door over the water dispenser. Use double sided tape. Haven’t had a problem since