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
- Not this fault: Water appearing near a dishwasher or a sink as well
Ranked causes on a Conserv refrigerator
- Door not sealing, producing condensation inside — Ranked here because: a single-function cabinet is opened and loaded harder than a combination unit, and the gasket carries the whole load of keeping one compartment at one temperature
- Defrost drain tube blocked or frozen — Ranked here because: with no ice maker in the cabinet the defrost drain is the only water path, so any water at all points at it
- Frost melting from a manual-defrost cold plate — Ranked here because: a good part of this range is manual or low-frost rather than fully frost-free, so frost build-up is expected behaviour that becomes a fault only when it is ignored
- Water supply line, connection or shut-off leaking — Ranked here because: these cabinets are frequently built into cabinetry that does not give them the clearance the platform assumes
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 for the all-refrigerator, upright-freezer and chest lines Not this fault: model-specific pages once a model number is known
Links: - [Common CONSERV Refrigerator Problems](/blog/conserv-refrigerator-problems) - [Common Conserv Refrigerator Problems](/blog/conserv-refrigerator-problems-2) - [Common Conserv Freezer Problems](/blog/conserv-freezer-problems) - [CONSERV Refrigerator: Abnormal Noise or Vibration](/blog/conserv-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.
