Kenmore Freezer/Fridge Problems

[mandskish]

We just moved in to a house back in Sept that has a new Kenmore side-by-side fridge/freezer. Back in Nov., we changed the water filter in it, and have been having little problems with it ever since. At first, the water from the dispenser kept freezing up. I used to just take a hair dryer to the hose in the fridge and that seemed to resolved it. It happened about 6 times, and then has been working fine since. Then I started noticing ice build-up on the freezer floor. Every few days, I am removing this gigantic sheet of ice from the freezer. Shortly after that also, I noticed frost building up in the upper portion of the freezer (this is supposed to be frost-free). Now I am noticing ice/frost building up on the dial for the ultra chill zone inside the refrigerator (inside wall next to the freezer). Our food in the freezer is soooo frozen, that I have to microwave ice cream for a few minutes just so i don't break my spoons to scoop it out (I cannot even make a dent in the ice cream if I don't nuke it first). Can anyone give me any suggestions? I tries calling Sears, and since we didn't purchase the fridge (previous homeowners did) any, and all warranties only apply to the purchaser. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg to have a service guy come out here as I have heard too many horror stories.... Please, any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[woodchuck]

Frost free means you have an automatic defroster. There is a defrost timer which tells the heat elements when to turn on. Timer or elements may be defective. When you get enough ice build up the entire unit will quit cooling efficiently.

The sheet of ice in the bottom sounds like the frost melted by the defroster or some other wwater leak. is not draining out the drain. (stopped up?)

The thermostat may be turned to low to be freezing the dispenser and the ice cream.

Try this link below for more info.

Link to Acme fridge troubleshooting (http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/diagrefrigerator.php)

[tracy pless]

I am having many of the same troubles, first noticed frost in our frost free unit, followed by water freezing in bottom of freezer, cleaned out ice, and the drain. worked fine for several says, only to have it freeze again. sears tech came out and replaced main controller. water in bottom of freezer was not as often, but the bottom of fridge froze up (water line to indoor supply).
followed up shortly by the ice in the bottom of the freezer again. (and believe me, when i clean out the ice, i am making darn sure the drain is cleared also). the next sears tech replace the dampner between the freezer and fridge 5 days ago, now the freezer is -10 to -25 and the fridge is right at 40. and guess what, water/ice is starting to build up at the bottom of the freezer, again. and now my ice maker is froze over and will not make ice. as i am finishing typing this, i have the hair dryer in hand to clean it again. Please help, I am about at the end with this unit. this is a 25SSA. It is only about 1.5 yrs old. :eek: :eek: