Samsung American Style Fridge Freezer water dispenser line keeps freezing

[GrahamWatson]

Hi.

Can anyone help with the issue I'm having.
Samsung American Style Fridge Freezer with water and ice dispenser. About 10 years old.
Around 18 months ago, the water dispenser stopped working. I did some research and it said to empty it and leave it with the doors open for several days.
I didn't do that but left it off overnight and the dispenser worked again for a few months.

Lately it's been doing it again.
I checked various things. Confirmed the switch and the valve were working and eventually discovered that the tube from the valve to the water reservoir inside the fridge had a frozen blockage.
Tried the syringe and hot water trick but in the end had to disconnect the tube and run it under the hot tap then reconnect it.

All good for about a week, then it froze again. I repeated the same procedure and all was well. But it keeps freezing up again, sometimes the following day, sometimes after a few days to a week.

Both the fridge and freezer seem to be funtioning normally otherwise.

As it keeps freezing is there something else going wrong that may be easy to resolve.

Thanks in advance.

Graham

 

[GrahamWatson]

Just to add the tube freezes somewhere where the tube passes through from the inside to the back of the fridge to connect to the valve.

 

[RoyalDurham]

Graham, you’re dealing with a common design flaw in older Samsung American-style fridge freezers: the water line that runs through the door or near the cold spots isn't well insulated, and over time the insulation degrades or the fridge settings make it more prone to freezing. The real fix is to either install a small heater kit (Samsung sells them, or you can DIY with a low-wattage pipe heater or heat tape carefully applied near the problem section) or adjust your fridge temp slightly warmer (aim for 3-4°C rather than colder). You can also try increasing airflow by not overloading the fridge or blocking vents, but honestly, at 10 years old, parts wear out and these freeze-ups often get worse—not much else to tweak unless you’re ready to modify or replace.

 

[GrahamWatson]

Hi RoyalDurham. Thanks for the speedy reply.

That's very interesting. I had no idea you could get pipe heaters for fridges, although I suppose they are no different to the ones for large pipes.
I'm not sure how much room there is around the pipe to fit such a thing. I'll see if I can find the thinnest possible one.

I had a quick search and there's a lot of options, but they seem quite pricey and way more than I would need. I guess the ideal would be a short section that can piggy back off the supply to the valve, rather than needing a separate mains plug.

I'll do some more digging and post back if I get a working solution (or get stuck).

But thanks again.
Graham

 

[GrahamWatson]

Also when you refer to 'older' fridge freezers, does that imply if I do eventually buy a replacement the situation will be improved?