What you are actually seeing
- Water appearing only after a defrost cycle
- Condensation on the outside of the cabinet or on the door
- Water pooling under the fresh-food drawers inside the cabinet
- A sheet of ice under the crisper drawers
- Not this fault: Water appearing near a dishwasher or a sink as well
Ranked causes on a Comptree Inc refrigerator
- Defrost drain tube blocked or frozen — Ranked here because: the compressor cabinets in the range use the same short rear drain as every other compact
- Water supply line, connection or shut-off leaking — Ranked here because: importer cabinets carry the tightest clearance requirements in the compact class and are the most likely to be built in without any
- Drain pan cracked, dislodged or overflowing — Ranked here because: this is a wear part with a service life rather than a component that fails at random
- Cabinet tilted forward so the drain runs the wrong way — Ranked here because: levelling is upstream of the door, the drain and the vibration path all at once
- Door not sealing, producing condensation inside — Ranked here because: the gaskets used across this range are light-duty and are the cheapest fault to rule out
- Frost melting from a manual-defrost cold plate — Ranked here because: how the machine is loaded and dosed changes its behaviour more than most owners expect
What to check, and in what order
- Unplug the cabinet, pull it out and look at the drain pan under the compressor
- Put a level on the cabinet front to back and set it slightly higher at the front
- Dry the floor completely, then look at where the water reappears — front, back or inside
- Take out the bottom drawers and look under them for standing water or a sheet of ice
Steps you can safely do yourself
- Dry the floor completely, then look at where the water reappears — front, back or inside — Tools: towels — Estimated time: about ten minutes, then a wait
- Take out the bottom drawers and look under them for standing water or a sheet of ice — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- If there is a water connection, close the shut-off valve and watch the floor for a day — Tools: none — Estimated time: a full day
- Find the drain outlet in the trough at the bottom of the evaporator area and flush it with warm water from a turkey baster — Tools: turkey baster, warm water — Estimated time: about twenty minutes
Safety
Safety
unplug-before-service branch-circuit-15-20a
When to call a technician
the leak is at a pressurised supply fitting, because a weeping fitting becomes a burst one the drain will not clear from the inside and the evaporator panel has to come off the drain pan is cracked or the leak is somewhere in the sealed area
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
Not this fault: the family pages that separate the compressor cabinets from the thermoelectric ones Not this fault: model-specific pages once a model number is known
Links: - [Common Comptree Inc Refrigerator Problems](/blog/comptree-inc-refrigerator-problems) - [GE Refrigerator: Ice Maker Fault](/blog/ge-refrigerator-ice-production) - [GE Refrigerator: Controls, Display or Error Code](/blog/ge-refrigerator-control-fault) - [Comptree Inc Refrigerator: Abnormal Noise or Vibration](/blog/comptree-inc-refrigerator-abnormal-noise)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
