Kenmore ice maker hose broke

I noticed my ice maker had stopped making ice so I pulled the frige out. It's a side-by-side Kenmore Coldspot made in 2000. Apparently the clear/white hose that runs from the bottom of the frige to the top where the ice maker is had come out of the fitting at the top. It appears to be plastic or a nylon.... I'm not really sure. It also appears the fitting was adhered using some type of glue. Almost like a rubber cement or super glue. I scraped some of the loose glue off. I can push the fitting back in and it is tight enough to stay in the fitting but it should be adhered in some way to prevent this from happening again. Does anyone know what type of adhesive I should use to repair the line? Or do I need to replace the fittings? Could I get these fittings at Home Depot, Lowes, or Sears? Since some of the water I will eventually be drinking is passing through this tube and over the adhesive I want to make sure it's something safe.

Here is a picture of what I'm referring to.

http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=frigezs5.jpg

 

The fitting is broken. Go to a Sears parts store and order a new one, they should be able to show you the diagram of how it's installed.

You may be able to find it online at Sears.com...you'll need the complete model number from the label plate.

 

I also suggest Sears far more than attempting to reglue this and/or going to a big box (besides Sears).

The fitting at the top appears to be removeable.I'm betting you'll have to buy a complete assembly that includes the hose and the fittings but it's the way to go here.

A second possibility if Sears is a problem is that it's probably made by Whirlpool and therefore it may be also a Whirlpool part.

 

Thanks for the suggestions but it seems to only be a "glue" problem. Why replace all those pieces when it looks like a simple adhesive is all I need? If it doesn't work or breaks again then it would make sense to replace the parts.

 

Well, I don't think it was just glued, might have had some sort of sealant that was used. I think that is actually a type of nylon/plastic compression fitting. Possibly some sort of sealant is applied then it is screwed together.

You have to remember, when the icemaker kicks on, you have house water pressure applied to the line. What if the joint fails while water is flowing, does it just keep spraying out until someone notices the water on the floor? I dunno, but I'd hate to find out when I came back from a weekend trip somewhere.

I'd at least take the screws loose and see whats on the inside...may be just another compression nut.

Post your model number...someone will probably be able to tell ya.

 

Unfortunately I'm not home to get the model # so it'll have to wait until tonight.

The adhesive may have been a sealant... I don't know. But it definitely did not screw into the fitting, nor was it a compression fitting. I can insert the hose into the fitting and it will stay there on its own and it's fairly snug. I think some type of sealant or glue is all it really needs. The question is... what do I use?

If this fails, than so be it... I can replace the components when I get to that.

As far as leaking it's not a constant flow that comes up the hose. When I pulled the frige out I saw where the hose had leaked water onto the hard wood floor. It discolored the wood and warped slightly but it's behind the frige so it doesn't matter. not that much water comes out of it anyway and it's not a constant flow. everything is hooked up still and i have the hose end resting in a bucket so if it does shoot any water it will be safely collected. it's now been like this for 2 days and there isn't enough water in there to cover the bottom of a normal sized bucket.

 

smashclash,

These tubes and connections are not designed to withstand full water pressure. They work on the assumption that the path to the icemaker tray is open at all times.

That said, have you checked to see if the tube going into the back of the refrigerator is open? It is VERY common for this pathway to get blocked by an ice dam. When that happens, the tube IS exposed to full pressure, and the connection you're having a problem with is subject to coming apart. Again, this is VERY common.

You should be able to remove those two screws and pull that whole assemble out of the back and check it out.

Good luck,

 

Yes, when I was looking at the ice maker from inside the freezer I noticed a dam of ice on the ramp that goes from the back of the freezer to the ice tray. I chipped the ice out and now the ramp is free of any ice. I am not sure however if there is any remaining ice in the track that goes from that inlet in the picture at the top of the fridge to the ramp itself inside the freezer. I will pull out the inlet at those 2 screws and see if I can inspect.

If that's clear then that was what probably caused the hose to break the seal with the fitting. The question now is, what adhesive do I use to secure the hose back into the fitting now that the ice is all cleared out?

 

It's been a few years since I serviced refrigerators professionally. However, I don't recall adhesive being a part of this connection. Compression fittings, spring clamps, maybe, but no adhesive.

Is it possible that this adhesive was a bandaid applied by someone before you? I don't remember if you indicated whether you were the original owner. Then again, this could be something new "to me."

At any rate, I highly recommend to anyone with an icemaker to ALWAYS flip the lever up to the "off" position if they are going to be away from home for any length of time. I've seen more that one hardwood floor ruined.

Good luck,

 

I am not the original owner so it is possible it was a band-aide by a previous owner. However, I do not see any evidence of the connection being altered. That is, I do not see any way it could have been hooked up differently.


With me i think the problem was that I almost never use the ice maker. It had been in the off position for months. I was going out so I needed all the ice in the tray to fill up a cooler so I dumped all the ice in a bin and flipped the switch back to the on position. A day or 2 later I opened the freezer and noticed no ice was being replenished and that's when I discovered the ice dam and pulled the frige out and saw the disconnected hose.

I just went to he hardware store and picked up this: http://www.inventiondb.com/browse.php?cubeid=691

Even if this isn't the proper solution I don't see how this can cause any damage. If the ice dam reappears the water will just be pressurized in the tube to whatever my home water pressure is. I don't see how pressure could build up and do damage to a more expensive part elsewhere on the frige. If for whatever reason it doesn't work then I can go to Sears and look for replacement frige plumbing.

 

"I don't see how pressure could build up and do damage to a more expensive part elsewhere on the frige."

It won't damage anything else on the fridge. The worst will be that it will dump water on the floor every time the icemaker cycles. That can be fairly often when there is no water in the tray. It will reach the trigger temporature fairly quickly after a cycle ends.

Go ahead and pull the tube out and thaw as necessary. Then keep and eye on it for a while.

Good luck,

 

I used the plastic weld on saturday and sunday i turned it back on. it's been pumping out ice like a champ ever since.