Evaporator plate accumulates los of ice regularly

[jcapo]

Originally Posted by LifesBetterWhenYoureBeating

Turns out the seals on the front door are in bad shape and fail the dollar test bill. Would something like https://www.amazon.com/Weather-Strip.../dp/B07WTYXDCY be a good option for new seals?

Edit: based on the Amazon reviews it probably isn't as many people report issues with the adhesive tape. Any other suggestions?

I'm using foam tape from this Amazon seller. Excellent adhesive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Bill O]

Can you do a double seal?

[LifesBetterWhenYoureBeating]

Originally Posted by Bill O

Can you do a double seal?

As in, foam tape on the door and the frame?

[Bill O]

No, two separate seals in different parts of the door (i.e inner & outer edges).

[jimellifritt]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

The more you open the door, the more ice you will get. I would not believe anyone who says they never get ice on their evaporator plate. We defrost about every 2 months and live aboard full time.

Spot on. Our expierence I same.

[Bluechart]

We have had this problem in southern Mexico, Bahamas, where there is higher, humidity, but not in the sea of Cortez or northern California.
Once the plates get too thick with ice hour, system stops working because the thermostat believes it’s holding a cold temperature when in fact, just the thermostat line is frozen. In these cases we’ve lost our food.
Now When we’re in areas of high humidity and lots of buildup of ice on the plates, we defrost every two weeks to keep everything functioning normally.
What we found works well is the transfer everything temporary to the freezer or the countertop/cooler and use a heat gun to carefully melt the ice on the plates and soak up all the water with towels. We’re able to do this now in about one hour.
(We do have new gaskets on the freezer and the refrigerator and they do help, but in areas of high humidity we get in enormous buildup. But now that we know how to handle it, it’s not a big deal to stay on top of it.)

[teneicm]

Originally Posted by jimellifritt

Spot on. Our expierence I same.

Same here. If you are not getting ice buildup, it means that the average temp of the fridge is probably too warm. You want your food to be sitting at 34-36 degrees, which typically means there isn't enough warmth or time for the frost to fully thaw and drip off the evap plate, hence the ice build up. If you keep your food at 40 or above, you probably won't have ice, but your food won't stay good as long either....

[Rjt]

We’re living aboard along the Queensland coast. I upgraded to. BD50 as well. There’s always some ice in ours. What stopped the freezing was adding a 12v 50mm fan on the chill plate. And adjusting our thermostat to a 1 deg Celsius range. Our insulation and seals still aren’t good, but ice doesn’t build up.

[Buzzman]

Has anyone tried rotating containers of silica gel or similar dessicant in and out of the fridge box to help control moisture build up..??

Just curious. Seems like an idea worth looking at..?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Buzzman

Has anyone tried rotating containers of silica gel or similar dessicant in and out of the fridge box to help control moisture build up..??

Just curious. Seems like an idea worth looking at..?

That won’t work because any moisture removed will be pulled back in through the defective gaskets. Replacing the gaskets is by far the best option and using magnetic gaskets is optimal.

Of course during normal use, minimizing the number of times the fridge is opened helps as well.

[sinnerman]

Air leaks:

Bad or no gasket on door/lid
Leaks through holes in sides(where Freon / thermostat lines enter)
If icebox, put a cork in the drain hole.

My two cents

cheers

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Bluechart

We have had this problem in southern Mexico, Bahamas, where there is higher, humidity, but not in the sea of Cortez or northern California.
Once the plates get too thick with ice hour, system stops working because the thermostat believes it’s holding a cold temperature when in fact, just the thermostat line is frozen. In these cases we’ve lost our food.
Now When we’re in areas of high humidity and lots of buildup of ice on the plates, we defrost every two weeks to keep everything functioning normally.
What we found works well is the transfer everything temporary to the freezer or the countertop/cooler and use a heat gun to carefully melt the ice on the plates and soak up all the water with towels. We’re able to do this now in about one hour.
(We do have new gaskets on the freezer and the refrigerator and they do help, but in areas of high humidity we get in enormous buildup. But now that we know how to handle it, it’s not a big deal to stay on top of it.)

That method of defrosting seems a bit like overkill.

We get ice build up that needs to be removed about once a month, usually to free up space before we restock the freezer.

Technique: (about 5-10 minutes)

• Turn off Refer/Freezer
• Remove food from freezer
• Pour warm/hot water on evaporator plate
• Remove ice chunks
• Suck out water from bottom of box (with pump and suction hose)
• Turn on refer/freezer
• Replace food

[Cotejaz]

i'm looking for clues too on our isotherm plate, in a top loading box. Not very big and not used frequently either, but it started to not cool anymore.
It's an isotherm SP seawater-cooled refrigeration system, 260 liters. We know the performance is lessened when on the hard or not sailing through water.
There is power to it and refrigerant seems full, compressor working...so we're trouble shooting as to why it's not cooling any longer and what else I can check to find the problem.

[sv_isara]

I just fixed this problem with my freezer. new gaskets cut very very carefully to have no gaps. Thin neoprene type. Make sure to warm up and really clean and decrease surfaces for best adhesion. Problem has been completely solved, 2 months in so far.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by sv_sharky

I just fixed this problem with my freezer. new gaskets cut very very carefully to have no gaps. Thin neoprene type. Make sure to warm up and really clean and decrease surfaces for best adhesion. Problem has been completely solved, 2 months in so far.

Yep, it’s always the gaskets. Glad you took the right recommendations and were able to fix this