refrigerator maintence, where would I look for water leaks?

Question

Kinda of dumb question. This was my second year owning a TT...my first year we only used a few weekends... This summer it was seasonal and left on same site for six months.. I kept my Dometic Fridge on auto for the six months... 99.9% of the time it ran on the electric, i think they lost power once up there and it ran on propane...anyways, to my question. I am usually good at reading owners manuals, but i didnt read the fridge one for some reason. I did not defrost the freezer once this season. if i went six months without defrost would that damage anything? and if there was a leak anywhere due to build up of anytype of water due to me not defrosting where would this build up be? the floor in the camper was never wet, i never noticed water anywhere.. even the tube outside the camper was dry all summer(the one hooked to back of fridge).
I just opened up fridge, im gonna clean it all out.. I noticed the fins in the fridge are all built up with ice. is this an indication for next season when to defrost it? or when does one defrost? I am just concerned that i now have a major leakeage somewhere and ruined something, not sure where to check..thanks

westend · Answer

If you weren't on the site opening and closing the door every day, the only moisture to freeze on the fins is when you did use the door. That small amount of moisture freezes on the fins and no water goes through the drain tube until you defrost the box. No worries.

When you are up there defrosting, observe the drain tube and make sure the melting ice water travels out of it. That is your insurance against any damage from the fridge defrosting.

yankeeslover · Answer

thanks westend. we only went up on weekends, so camper stayed there all week plugged in, but fridge was closed all weekend.. camper is now home and i will defrost tonight for the winter. i will empty it and keep the doors open and observe it all...thanks

yankeeslover · Answer

where does that outside drain tube hook to? the freezer or the fridge section?

donn0128 · Answer

The refer section.  Go outside, remove the lower access panel and look.  There should be a rubber drain tube with a plastic cap on it.  Push it outside through one of the holes in the cover and replace the cover.

barneys · Answer

I would put some towels in the bottom of the fridge just in case some of the defrost water ends of down there. Check that the drain tray under the iced up fins is pushed all the way back to the back wall of the fridge. This tray collects the water as the ice melts and routes it to the drain tube/hose

That hole at the back left edge of the tray is connected to the drain tube/hose that leads outside the back of the unit. Make sure that tube is not plugged by a wasp nest or something so the melting ice water can drain properly.

You will also probably have to mop up water from inside the freezer. Any ice on the back or bottom of that will often just melt and stay there so you need to get it with a towel.

Also, prop open the door for the winter when you are done.
Barney

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refrigerator maintence, where would I look for water leaks?

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