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Ice maker tubing water leak

Yahoo Message Number: 23424
My coach turns 4 years old in a few months, and just like clockwork and just as Stan, Wayne and others have predicted, the plastic tubing that feeds water from to the Dometic refrigerator ice maker is starting to show a tiny leak. So it is time for me to replace the line, and I have a few questions for those who have tackled this job before me.

Is it necessary to slide the refrigerator completely out of the "box" to gain sufficient access to replace the line, or can access be obtained by partially sliding the fridge forward and gaining access from the rear door and roof vent?

If you had to do it all over again, what lessons did you learn from the first time?

Has anyone used copper rather than plastic to do the repair to eliminate this repair in another 4 years?
I figured that if I build a platform out of 2x4 lumber. I can have a place to slide the refrigerator and not have to lift it. Is it posible for one man to push and slide this double door refrigerator or is this a two man job?

How long did it take you to do the entire job?

Any tips or pointers are greatly appreciated.

THANKS

Bob Kumza
2003 Intrigue

Re: Ice maker tubing water leak

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 23425
Hi Bob,

I applaud your can-do spirit. Copper tubing is a great idea UNLESS you have a reverse osmosis (RO) water system on board for the kitchen/ice maker water supply. RO water leaches copper from the tubing. Plastic is immune. I look forward to reading other replies, as I will be doing the same repair one day...

Dean Forsyth 1995 Magna 38' Caprice #5233
Part-time meanderthal
'95 Magna 5233 - Luna

Re: Ice maker tubing water leak

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 23426
Quote
I applaud your can-do spirit. Copper tubing is a great idea UNLESS > you have a reverse osmosis (RO) water system on board for the > kitchen/ice maker water supply. RO water leaches copper from the > tubing. Plastic is immune. I look forward to reading other replies, > as I will be doing the same repair one day...
Being a strong believer in the KISS principle, I removed my ice maker and use ice trays. Works great, saves space and I don't ever have to worry about leaks again!!

Tom Fisher

Re: Ice maker tubing water leak

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 23427
I just assisted my mechanic two weeks ago in the line and valve replacement. We were able to pull the refer out far enough for him (medium size guy) to stand up into the opening on the outside and attach the line at the top. He used the old line to pull up (or down) the new line.
 
We also replaced the water valve that sends the metered water through the line, but may not have needed to.
 
There are several screws on the rear of the refer that have to be removed before you slide out the beast. On the front, we had to first remove the two doors (trick on the doors is that you need a skinny wrench for the second nut at the top, and we used an ignition wrench that worked), then take off the upper fascia panel to access two(?) screws at the top, and I think that there are two screws at the bottom front. We were able to support the box on a cooler that was just about the right height. It was a little difficult to get the refer to start to come out, but once moving we used some square edged (thick) magazines to slide in between the fridge face flange and the face of the wood cabinetry (protects the wood), to slide down the edges and act as a wedge. Finally, we had to take two vise grips (with cloth padding) to grip the bottom lip and pull (with side to side motion). Once it came out about an inch or so, it moved out OK. Easier going back in.
 
Start to finish took about two hours. Good luck.
 
Tom & Patty Crews
2000 Magna 5764
2005 Honda Pilot

Re: Ice maker tubing water leak

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 23429
Sorry but RO or reverse osmoses does not take copper from copper tubing. It will eat galvanized pipe like mad, but copper and plastic are almost immune.
I would use plastic as it is more flexible, but copper would not be an issue. Before I retired we used 1000 gallon a day of DI or RO water and we have 100's of feet of copper tubing, or pipe.

Thank you,

Jim Spivey

Re: Ice maker tubing water leak

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 23432
The "kit" you can get from Dometic is a tube that has the heat tape already on it. If you don't ever intend to use the icemaker in below freezing temps then your copper pipe would be fine. We occasionally find ourselves in cold weather and don't like to worry about the icemaker...and yes, I'm that lazy, to want the ice maker to be on! We opted to have Coach Care replace the leaky one with the whole kit from Dometic.

Jan McNeill

2001 Intrigue 11320

Re: Ice maker tubing water leak

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 23433
Hi Jim,

I always take everything I read with a grain or several of salt.
Having recently read the manual for installing an RO system I wanted to mention the possible downside of RO water when using copper tubing. It's going to work, but there may be a taste issue. Here is my source for information:

http://www.wattspremier.com/watts/webpage.cfm?WebPage_ID=29&DID=15#17
I found these folks after looking at their inexpensive system here in the Tucson Costco. Any comments from current users of RO systems?

Thanks,

Dean Forsyth 1995 Magna 38' Caprice #5233
Part-time meanderthal
'95 Magna 5233 - Luna

Re: Ice maker tubing water leak

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 23434
THANK YOU Jan for your reply. Based on your comments, it just dawned on me why the plastic tubing is in a black plastic sleeve -- the sleeve holds the heat tape close to the water line and keeps it from freezing. I also did NOT realize that Dometic made a "kit" to do this repair. THANKS so much for your very helpful tip.

Bob
 

Re: Ice maker tubing water leak

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 23440
Hi Bob

I had the same problem and got a friend to help. We probably did it the hard way. The unit is very heavy. We took out all the screws and slid the unit forward. We got it to the floor, but probably a good way to lose a couple of fingers. We slid it out where we could work on it and replaced the line with plastic tubing. We then put it on a "creeper", the kind mechanics use to slide under a car, and put it back in position to lift into the hole. Would have been easier if we used the creeper in the first place. If you build a stand, put some wheels on it to move it out where you can work on it. It was all we could do to get it back into the wall. Not a one man job. Good luck.

Jerry Sampson
2000 Allure 30555