Refrigerator Ice Maker Frozen Fan

Question

Background:

I have a Frigidaire fridge, model #LFHB2741PFAA with a double door refrigerator on top and a pull out freezer of the bottom. The ice maker is located in the upper left corner of the fridge. Two months ago the ice maker stopped working, so I had an appliance repairman come take a look. He showed me that the fan had been frozen stuck. His solution was to take everything out of the fridge for a few days and unplug the fridge to let everything thaw out. The ice maker just stopped working again and I noticed the fan in the ice maker is frozen stuck again, and the ice maker tray is filled to the top with ice that is rapidly melting.

Question:

Can I just use a hair dryer to thaw out the fan? I remember the appliance repair man saying not to do it, but I can't remember why. The only thing I can think of is the heat damaging the components in the ice maker. If that is the case will low pressure compressed air (at room temperature) be okay?

As an alternative solution, can I remove the ice maker tray so the ice maker warms up to the temperature of the fridge, thus melting the ice?

Is there another solution, that doesn't involve unplugging the fridge?

Why does this happen? Could it be from leaving the fridge door open for too long and having condensation build up on the fan? Could it be caused by low water pressure to the fridge?

Thanks,

Joel

Answer 1

The main danger is hair dryers is that you damage the freezer parts. If you elect to use one, use it on low or no heat. Remember, most modern freezers use plastic for everything they can, and hair dryers are designed to dry hair fast, not defrost freezers.

Compressed air will probably not do it. Compressed air will expand when you use it, which makes it cool down.

My experience is that freezers will freeze up with either insufficient drainage or insufficient air flow. Used to have a Kenmore that would defrost into a pan, but there was nothing to keep the drain in the pan defrosted. After a few service calls, a repairman installed what looked like a specific device to transfer the defrost heat from the coils down into the pan and that problem stopped. Another time there was insufficient air flow into the refrigerator from the freezer, and the freezer became too cold as a result.