Fridge Leaking; (a) repair person ? or (b) buy 2nd hand ?

[musical box]

help please

a. repair, water leak at bottom (have defrosted twice)
b. shop that sells 2nd hand

[abbby]

I think depends on:

1. Cost of repair for the leak
2. Possibility of recurrence
3. Age of current fridge

vs cost of a new set

I am not certain if you should buy a 2nd hand one because it's used and does not carry a warranty and you would end up repairs again.

[Lisafuller]

help please

a. repair, water leak at bottom (have defrosted twice)
b. shop that sells 2nd hand

Personally I would try to repair the fridge if it was possible because I think items like refrigerators shouldn’t be bought secondhand (just because I wouldn’t be very comfortable with using a fridge that’s been used by other people.) This doesn’t apply to all appliances though, just refrigerators because I feel like they are used in such an intimate way.

[Lisafuller]

I think depends on:

1. Cost of repair for the leak
2. Possibility of recurrence
3. Age of current fridge

vs cost of a new set

I am not certain if you should buy a 2nd hand one because it's used and does not carry a warranty and you would end up repairs again.

Warranty is a good point, typically used refrigerators come with no warranty at all because they more likely than not have already passed the period of coverage. If the fridge that OP currently has is relatively new, it may still be covered by warranty in which case repair should be a no-brainer.

[Myasis Dragon]

There is a drain hose that runs from the evaporator coil at the top of the fridge (usually in the freezer compartment but sometimes lower down) to a shallow pan at the bottom of the fridge. The idea is that condensation from the evaporator coil runs down the hose to the shallow pan where the water evaporates.

If your fridge is leaking water, I would not only defrost but would move stuff out of the fridge so that you can leave it off for several hours to ensure that if there is an ice damn in the evap coil or the drain hose, it will have totally melted.

The other common problem is that the drain hose becomes dislodged from the shallow pan and the water pours onto the floor instead. Can also happen if the hose splits with age.

You'll need to get in behind the fridge, remove the back cover and see if the drain hose is in the evaporator pan.

[Lisafuller]

I remember we once had our drainage pipe freeze up entirely. Ironically, everything in our fridge pretty much went bad. You would think it would freeze instead.