The short answer
On the HD family the usual reason a Criterion refrigerator is leaking or pooling water is cabinet tilted so condensate runs the wrong way, and that is where the order below departs from the brand-generic article one level up: on the static cold-plate build it outranks drain pan cracked or off its seat. The check that confirms which build you have is simple — bare tubing on the back wall with no grille means condensate runs down the plate to a channel at its base. Meltwater causes are owner work; anything fed by the house supply is not, and the first move there is to shut the valve.
What you observe on these models
- Ice on the freezer floor or outside the bin — Ice forming where it was not made, which is a fill problem rather than a drain problem.
- Water that returns overnight with nobody using the appliance — A continuous source rather than a cycle-driven one, which points at plumbing.
- A puddle that appeared after a filter change — The one joint the owner operates by hand, and the one most often left proud.
- A puddle on the floor at the front — Either the pan below or condensate running forward instead of to the channel.
- Damp or beading around the door frame — Humid air meeting a cold surface, which is a sealing problem.
- NEAR MISS — water plus a cabinet that is no longer cold — That combination is a cooling fault with meltwater as a side effect, and that page is the right one.
Causes, most likely first on the HD family
- Cabinet tilted so condensate runs the wrong way — Ranked first here: it ranks first on a static-plate build because there is no powered drain path at all — gravity is the whole system, and gravity is set by the feet.
- Drain pan cracked or off its seat — Second: it ranks here because it is usually discovered after the appliance has been moved, which is also when it is easiest to check.
- Ice maker fill tube or overfill — Third: a fill that runs long, or a tube that has frosted at its tip, spills into the freezer rather than into the mould.
- Supply line or its fitting at the inlet valve — Fourth: a plumbed cabinet has a supply line, a shut-off and a valve, and every joint in that chain is a candidate.
- Door seal letting humid air in — Fifth: the same failure also explains any extra frost the owner has noticed.
- Water filter head or cartridge seat — Sixth: the filter head is a joint that the owner operates by hand, which makes it the joint most likely to be left slightly proud.
Check in this order, and why
- Check the cabinet sits with a slight rearward tilt — Flat or forward, condensate runs to the door instead of to the channel.
- Look under the appliance for the shallow pan — Cracked or off its rails, it puts meltwater straight onto the floor.
- Look into the freezer for ice outside the bin — Ice where it was not made points at the fill rather than at any drain.
- Dry the floor, then look behind the appliance after a few hours — A weep at a fitting shows itself as a returning puddle with the cabinet untouched.
Before you open anything
Safety
Isolate the appliance at the plug or the breaker before opening anything, and treat the capacitor as live for a minute after. The door interlock stays connected, always: it stops the fan when the door opens and that is the whole point of it. Stop at once if you see oil at the compressor or the tubing, because the sealed system is open and that is licensed work. Moving a loaded cabinet is a two-person job on a tall unit.
Models in the HD family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| HD-676RWEN(UR-BCD520WX1-SQ) | criterion:refrigerator:hd |
| HD-676RWEN(UR-BCD520WX1-SQ)-I | criterion:refrigerator:hd |
| HD-745FWE (UR-BCD572WX-SQ(B)) | criterion:refrigerator:hd |
When to call a technician
Call when the drain, the seals, the tilt and the pan are all clean and water still returns, and call straight away if the source is a fitting on the supply line rather than anything inside the cabinet. A plumbed joint under pressure is not a hand-tight repair, and the damage a slow weep does to a floor outlasts the appliance.
