Why does my maytag mqf1656tew have ice build up on bottom shelf and where is the drain plug at. This is a frost free freezer

SOURCE: Frigidaire Frost Free Commercial Freezer

The drain has most likely frozen over. It is at the bottom behind the back panel inside the freezer. You will need to remove all of the ice and run hot water down the drain until it is clear.

Ron Coons

• 2651 Answers
• Posted on Mar 20, 2008

SOURCE: Excessive Frost and Ice Build up in Freezer

sounds like you have a clogged defrost drain tube. removing back panel of freezer will give you acess to drain trough, melt away the ice with a hair dryer, youll find a drain hole under there somwhere,pouring boiling water down the drain will clear it pretty quickly( i use a steam machine purchased from the infomercials works awesome, after you clear it and all water drain down tube wrap a piece of solid copper wirearound the heater( black calrod heater right above the drain trough) and stick it in the whole maybe an inch or so. now everythime the heater comes on to defrost it will prevent the hole from freezing over

SOURCE: maytag side by side, bottom freezer compartment had daily ice build up

I’ve had my Maytag fridge for 8 years. But only this week did the same problem show up as cathy824 and lew223. When I poked a drink stirrer into the top of the drain hole, it was hard as a rock. Not knowing why condensate from the coils was not draining into the hole and tubing that would empty the water into the pan evaporator on the bottom of the fridge, I took everything apart in the back and messed around with the black rubber elbow at the other end of the drain plug. I shouldn’t have bothered, because what I finally did was to pour boiling, boiling hot water over the drain hole to melt the ice and gunk that was frozen solid in the drain tubing. While I was doing that, I poked the stirrer into the hole, washing the gunk down the drain and into the very dry evaporator pan. Keep pouring hot water into the drain hole until you’re satisfied that water can flow freely into the pan.

That solved the problem of condensate water freezing on the bottom of the freezer and running onto the kitchen floor. Thanks to lew223 for the fix! The fridge should be good for another 8 years now.

SOURCE: Kenmore Trio bottom freezer frost free. Producing frost

There are several reasons this can be happening...

1. The seal on the door may have a tear or may not be seating properly...this allows excess warm air into the freezer compartment and in its effort to remove the same ...frost appears.

2. There is something call a thermistor (which senses temp and ice build up) that is cycled on and off as needed to remove excess frost accumulation and or ice buildup on the evaporator (freezer) coils...it is a heat strip which actually defrost the frost/ice. If this is not working frost will accumulate and eventually it will become Ice......now the remarkable thing about Ice accumulation is that you would think everything would remain cold or get colder ..however in this case the opposite occurs...it insulates the coils and thereby increasing the temperature...put a thermometer...one that is calibrated properly...(calibration can be set by placing a thermometer into a glass of ice water...the temp of a glass of ice water..after a few minutes setting will be exactly 32 degrees)..if the temperature of your refrigerator is gradually rising over the period of a week...you will need to call a tech or replace the thermistor and or trouble shoot other problems that may have occur such as..

3. The evaporator fan may be going out although they usually make a high pitched whining noise of a whirring noise before they go out...not always and if they are intermittently cycling off then frost would build up...do you always here a fan running when you open the freezer...if so that is good...fan is working...but it may be cycling off at times when no one is aware.
P.S. the odds of it being due to overfilling are slim...I have been in the industry for 35 years and that is what freezers do...which a lot of people don't realize is that freezers don't actually cool anything ..they just remove heat and when you remove all the heat all that is left is cold (like in space) and when heat is removed quickly frost can appear like when you blow your breath on a freezing cold window..then right your name....but I digress...any way..if there was an excess of heat due to a lot of new food in the freezer it would correct itself by one of the processes i mentioned above..and it would never result in Ice..you probably have one or more of the problems I mentioned...evaluate how long its been going on...

4. Thermostat could be out of adjustment..and or not functioning
properly..which would delay or inhibit a defrost cycle..from occurring..unfortunately almost all of these problems require a tech...or a good handyman.

This should lead you in the right direction...if you need help in finding a reputable service company in your area let us know..I hope this has been helpful..if so PLEASE rate me....thank you... .......The Fang

SOURCE: water dripping from freezer onto top shelf of fridge with ice buildup back of freezer

the defroster isn't close enough to the drain to be effective. remove the back wall of the inside of the freezer, remove the excess ice. clear out the ice from the drain using hot water and a turkey baster. there is a kit from whirlpool that uses a piece of metal and a screw around the defrost rod, but I found out that a piece of 14 gauge solid core wire with the insulation stripped off works great too. stick the stripped wire into the drain, 2 to 3 inches, and wrap the rest around the defrost rod.