Tip for residential fridge owners

[morleyz]

This is my second year winterizing with a Whirlpool residential fridge in my Eagle 330RSTS. I use anti-freeze (I know many don't, but I do so leave it at that). Struggled last year getting antifreeze through the water line to the ice maker and then ended up with a moldy ice tray that I had to disassemble and sanitize this spring. This year, I decided that there must be a better way and I made two discoveries that make it really easy.

1) Take the bottom cover off (2 screws under doors). There are two quick disconnect fittings for the in door water fill and ice maker. Pull these and the water will drain out of the door lines.

Now for the fridge side lines and pumps. What I also discovered, taped inside that bottom cover was a pamphlet on fridge diagnostics. So, to get antifreeze through the ice maker pump/line...

2) Close the doors and turn the fridge off (hold buttons 5-6 for 3 seconds). Hold buttons 1-2 for 3 seconds and you start diagnostic mode. You can use buttons 4-5 to scroll up and down through numbered tests you can perform. Test 44 lets you rotate the ice tray in the ice maker by pressing button 3 then you can easily clean and dry the tray. Test 45 lets you turn the ice maker pump on and off. So easily pumped antifreeze into a small container.

I haven't seen this posted anywhere else, so hopefully it helps someone and isn't a repost.

[norty1]

Thanks for posting. Do you have the model # of that unit or is that the only model Jayco installs?

[Lake Huron]

Nice post.
I have the Fridgidare in mine that has the water and ice built into the freezer door. My first year winterizing this one I kept filling up glass after glass and dumping out the water into a 5gal bucket. I couldnt figure out why I kept getting water, 4 gallons to be exact, instead of the pink RV antifreeze. That's when the light in my head came on and I felt like a total dumba$$. I took a little taste of the crystal clear "water" in the glass and it was pure glycol. The water filter in the fridge worked so well it filtered out all the pink dye in it. I immediately went in the house to wash my mouth out and got on the internet and purchased a bypass filter, and some more regular filters since I just killed the one that was in it.
Live and learn.

[morleyz]

The model in mine is a Whirlpool wrs571cihz00,