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Old 06-02-2023, 06:06 AM   #1
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Purge water from residential refrigerator?

Hello friends, I wonder if you can help me.

We have a new fifth wheel (317RLOK) that came with a Whirlpool residential refrigerator with a water and ice dispenser. While we have the rig parked, I would like to purge the standing water from the water lines but cannot figure out how to do this?

Also, after unpacking from our most recent trip, I turned the fridge off and opened the doors so as to warm up and dry out before parking it for a couple of months. I emptied the ice bin and dried it out also. I noticed that there was some standing water in the ice tray where the freezer makes ice cubes. Would love to drain/dump the water from there also.

Any ideas are welcome and thank you in advance for your guidance.
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Old 06-02-2023, 06:59 AM   #2
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The only true way is to disconnect the water lines and blow them out with air, but you need to figure out where to disconnect them at the solenoids in the back of the fridge. Myself and many others just purge the lines with anti-freeze and let it be if not using the drinking system. 5 gallon water jug system in storage compartment?
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Old 06-02-2023, 07:21 AM   #3
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The only way to do that is to pressurize the drinking water system with air (which it is not designed to do) and blow air through it. Turning the pump on with no water will not do this and you will likely burn the pump out. Remember, this is not connected to the main water supply which is much easier to drain and fill with air, and even if you did manage to do it, how would you get the water out of the ice maker which likely has standing water in the cube slots. You can unhook the water from the rear of the fridge and drain it there but that still won't guarantee that it won't freeze and crack over the winter. The easier solution is to suck PG anti-freeze into the system as Edutron described.

We love the residential fridge but it comes with a set of challenges. Some have even gone to not using the drinking water system as it is not worth the trouble and just filter the water coming into the camper and leave it there. We like it, but haven't had to store the camper over the winter yet so....
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Old 06-02-2023, 08:31 AM   #4
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There is another thread on here that tells how to cycle the ice maker manually. ( whirlpool). Comes in handy for winterizing but could also be used to empty the ice tray. Not solving your original problem with water in the fridge but may be helpful come fall. Search for “winterizing residential fridge”
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Old 06-02-2023, 09:08 AM   #5
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Here’s the link to the thread mentioned above. One of the posts tell how to cycle the ice maker you can cycle it to empty the water and then shut it off before it refills

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f6/winterizeing-98526.html?highlight=Winterizing
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Old 06-02-2023, 03:39 PM   #6
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All, thank you for the tips and ideas.
Having the ice and water in the fridge is novel (to us), but I see it as a big pain. It's time consuming to flush out and winterize and if not properly done you get leaks. I think I'll find a way to drain the water and then install a bypass so that I can cut the water off to the fridge entirely and just rely on the small drinking faucet going forward. We don't live in the rig, we just primarily use it on weekends and can live without it.
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Old 06-02-2023, 07:03 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigkidz895 View Post
All, thank you for the tips and ideas.
Having the ice and water in the fridge is novel (to us), but I see it as a big pain. It's time consuming to flush out and winterize and if not properly done you get leaks. I think I'll find a way to drain the water and then install a bypass so that I can cut the water off to the fridge entirely and just rely on the small drinking faucet going forward. We don't live in the rig, we just primarily use it on weekends and can live without it.
Did you check for a bypass to the fridge? We have one in our unit and there is absolutely no water going to the fridge. Like you said "a big pain". After spending about 3 hours trying to make sure all the water was out, DW said no more. And we cannot run antifreeze through our fridge.
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Old 06-03-2023, 06:55 AM   #8
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We love the system as setup from the factory. We do not live in the northern latitudes, although it does get cold sometimes. In winter, we remove the water bottle and turn the pump off. I seem to have read where adding antifreeze is a no no with these res.units. I do keep heat in the camper via a couple of small electric heaters when its forecast to be very cold. A new twist for you all. Our ice maker on the Whirlpool fridge quit before last trip. it worked as it should turning on/off switch and making all the right noises, but no water. We have the same identical unit at home, so very familiar with it. My wife bought it because of the great amount of ice it made! Once home, our local repairman stopped by and, drum roll, the water line was frozen!! try that in 80F+ lol. he proposed two solutions, one being to power unit off for 24 hours or so and leave the freezer door open. It has 4 doors so its a small inconvenience while keeping everything else still cold. Solution #2 was to actually remove the water line. He was challenged to do it, so I said lets go. It was an education for me, and might answer some of the questions posed here. behind the outside access door, you find the water lines. One comes in, in our case, from underneath to a blue round piece. Never did ask him what it was called. I thought it might be the drain, but he said that was the incoming water which makes sense. From there it snakes up the back of fridge to the ice maker. As installed, there is very little access to the two screws holding the tube going in the unit. We had to remove the screws from the bracket holding the fridge in place, then slide it out from inside until he had enough room to remove the screws. I laid a 2x6 board about 3 feet long in front of the unit with 2 big towels under it to protect the floor. We slid it far enough to let it drop past the lip of the platform it sits on. After that, removed it and shook the ice from the tube. it made the first tray within a couple of hours after that. In hindsight, it was not a very complicated maneuver, learnt a lot from it. The first solution is definitely easier. Here is another takeaway from this. With the fridge slid out and the access door open, you quickly realize that outside access door and seal are your only protection from the elements. At the same time, I also realized that if you can maintain any type of heat inside the camper during cold weather, It will certainly protect the water lines as there is ample room for heated air to reach the back. I am still not sure why it froze. The tech guy speculated, my wife turned the pump off but left the ice maker on, That air somehow got in the line and allowed the water there to freeze? I still don't quite comprehend that part, but going forward, we are leaving the pump switch on and ice maker on as long as the bottle has water. Once tray is full it will stop requesting water just like it does at the house.
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