I launched a thread last week in search of advice for patching/repairing the tray below the freezer that routes defrost water into a collecting bin.  After today's experience, I thought it would be better to start a new thread since another issue has surfaced.

Per suggestions from the previous thread, I went with the easiest method first and bought Flex Tape.  It's not the friendliest thing to work with and I had to layer it in some areas that were uneven, but a leak test was successful.

Today I got out my handy De-Frost-It heater and began the process.   After about half an hour or so, I checked the progress and found the inside of the freezer door was very hot, but not yet hot enough to melt it.  I bailed on the De-Frost-It, but the heat it generated had already loosened the frost build-up on the bottom outer surface of the freezer/evaporator.   The drain tray assembly was in place, so with the ice chunks laying on the tray I had no choice but to extract the tray and, due to its minimal clearance below the evaporator, allow nearly all of the ice to be scraped off the tray and to fall onto the shelves and contents below.

Oh, how I miss the no fuss, no muss defrosting experience of the two-door '57 GE Combination.  This was a disaster, and there was never even enough melted condensate to test out the patch in a real world situation.  I was hoping for a fairly painless operation and this was anything but.

As I stated above, this fridge hadn't been defrosted since I got it six months ago.  It appears that shorter intervals are required.  I don't have any owner's guide information to reference how frequently defrosting should happen, and assume that it would make sense to passively defrost more often and overnight so the amount of melted condensate would be contained in the collecting bin. 

This fridge is mainly used for drinks, so typically the door is opened a few times a day at most.  The door gasket isn't real soft, but it makes a good seal.   How often should I defrost?  The catch bin can hold a quart of water at most.  Any pointers would be appreciated, and in the meantime I'll be on the hunt for a late '40s - early '60s Combination.

Back in the days when I had to defrost these old kind of refrigerators I used to put a pan of hot water, (almost boiling) into the freezer compartment and close the door, leaving the control in the off position.  After about 20-30 mins I’d take a look at the progress and see if I could carefully loosen any of the “glacier”.  I’d also use an ice pick VERY carefully for help get out the ice.  I could usually complete the whole process in about an hour or so.  

Then I’d wipe out all the water, finish cleaning the fridge and turn it back on and put all the food back into the freezer.

It’s a job, and best done on a regular basis before it becomes Antartica. But of course, that’s not the way it usually happened.

Eddie

Thanks for the affirmations regarding this annoying process! 

Eddie, you are a brave man and a rebel -- ice picks have been ill-advised for potential fridgicide as long as I can remember!

I had a defrost timer long ago, but all it did was create stalactites hanging from the bottom of the evaporator (on my '39 Westinghouse) so I got rid of it.  I have a small Telechron defrost timer somewhere, just a little round metal box with a dial on the front and two prongs on the back to plug it directly into the wall.  I'll see if I can find it and if it can be set for a long enough period of down time.

Other old refrigerators I've owned have had a drawer or pan of some kind under the evaporator to catch the condensate.  As L. stated, they never had the capacity to hold several months' worth of melted frost and water always found its way into other parts of the interior anyway.

I'll go dig around for the timer while it's still light out since I'm starting from a point of zero frost.  If it's a nighly thing, then maybe I'll only have to empty the collection bin every week or two, or even less often than that -- provided the power is cut long enough for the frost to melt.

Well Ralph, I haven’t had a fridge that I had to defrost since I was 30, and in those days seemed like everyone knew enough to avoid the tubing and coils if you used an ice pick, just attack the big slabs with one to loosen them for removal.  It really wasn’t that bad.  Every fridge that I had to defrost always had a drip tray or pan to catch the water.  I never damaged one, but of course accidents can always happen.

I never thought about using a timer, but that might work if maybe you set it to cycle off for about 30-45 mins every say 3 am.  That should be enough for any frost to dissipate if done every 24 hrs and not cause any loss of food.  May be worth a try,

At any rate I think these refrigerators kept food better, not as drying as frost free.

Eddie

I remember growing up with a Frigidaire single-door refrigerator that was, of course, not frostless.  Mother kept a defrost timer at the wall outlet and it ran each night.  I do not know for how long it ran or when it kicked in but that's how she handled frost.  We rarely had ice cream but when we did she would comment that she had to remember to turn the timer OFF until the ice cream was gone.

lawrence

Eddie, expect a check-rate from Hans for your closing statement!

I couldn't find the Telechron timer but will try a regular appliance timer and see how it goes.

I do like the Kelvy even though it's missing the shelf that suspends the crispers, but a GE with alnico magnets would be the solution to my FWB's tendency not to close the Kelvy's door firmly enough.  He's used to his own fridge, which is tilted back so the door (annoyingly, IMO) closes on its own.  Even that won't work with the Kelvy, though.  Its beefy latch requires more force.

OK Stan, here are some pix!

The view from below shows the full width tray underneath the freezer.  The two long openings are covered by an insert, so any water that drips from the freezer gets routed to a drain hole in the right rear corner, which empties into the small collection bin located behind the Cokes. 

I'm still undecided about how long the timer should shut things down.  The temperature of freezer contents gets down into the 10F-15F range.  I don't know how that translates to surface temperature of the evaporator.  I'm also concerned that if there's not enough frost accumulation, whatever does melt will just sit in the tray and refreeze because there isn't enough of it to migrate to the drain hole (lather, rinse repeat) and form an ice blob over time.

I kind of think there's no easy solution given the complexity of the tray assembly and the minimal amount of clearance between it and the bottom of the freezer. 

Excellent suggestion, Tom!  I'm going to do that next time around.

Stan, here's a picture of the freezer interior:

Stan & Rich,

I'm hesitant to do much to this fridge since it's really a placeholder for something more complete.  I could use the extra shelf and storage space that's currently missing, but I highly doubt I'll come across a donor fridge.

The fridge doesn't seem to be running too much of the time, and I did use a dollar bill to check the gasket seal and it wasn't too bad.

If or when the Corona scare wanes, I'm hoping potential replacements will start showing up on CL, and I'll be limiting my search to fridges that are easier to defrost. 

Well Rich, I think the Kelvy's ears were burning when I typed out my most recent post.

That same night, and for the second time in about a month, I heard it try to kick in and then stop.  I was busy in the kitchen so was relieved when, a few minutes later, it tried again and started up normally.  How often this happens, I don't know.  It has nothing to do with the door being opened too soon after it has cycled off.

I'm stepping up my searches on CL, ND, and LG.  I don't do FB.