How to remove internal back panel of Hoover freezer?

[ceecjc1]

Hello,

I've got a Hoover frost-free fridge freezer, just over a year old, model HVBF5182WK. The drain hole in the bottom of the freezer is frozen/blocked and as a result the drain water is now forming ice under the bottom drawer. It's not a big problem and it should be an easy fix to defrost/clear the drain pipe.

Unfortunately I can't get the internal back panel of the freezer off. I've removed all four screws but it seems to be stuck at the top. I don't know if this just needs a good hard pull but I'm not keen to do that without advice in case I break it. I've uploaded an image - has anyone successfully removed one of these in the past?

I can't get at the drain to defrost it without getting this panel off and I'd rather not do the alternative of a full defrost on the thing as it's full of food.

Thanks!

Chris

 

[sircerebus666]

Not taken the back off no , but looking at your pic it appears the very top section is separate to the rest of it (the section with oval vents)

Have you tried removing that first ?

Could be more screws under it if I'm right

 

[ceecjc1]

Thanks sircerebus666, the top section with the oval vents does indeed appear to be a separate section and there are screws behind it but unfortunately it's slotted in behind the bottom section and so can't be removed first. I don't know if it's just frozen on but if I leave it switched off and door open long enough to confirm that then I may as well just defrost the entire thing. The entire back section you can see there moves as one piece.

 

[sircerebus666]

Personally I would like you say stop messing and let it all defrost , stick a bucket of hot water in it to speed it up.

There's no harm in letting food defrost a little whilst it defrosts

 

[ceecjc1]

Yes I reckon you're right, it is probably the simplest solution! Thank you.

 

[foxhole]

Removing the panel will not give access to anything you need to touch.

 

[ceecjc1]

Removing the panel will not give access to anything you need to touch.

There's a drain hole in there which gets frozen up and needs unblocking. Without removing the panel the only way is to defrost the thing in the traditional manner and that is a pain in the arse.

 

[foxhole]

There's a drain hole in there which gets frozen up and needs unblocking. Without removing the panel the only way is to defrost the thing in the traditional manner and that is a pain in the arse.

Hair dryer will quickly defrost.

 

[danechip]

And, put your food in a big black bin bag, chuck in on the bed and cover it in your bedding. Stay frozen long enough to defrost and rechill freezer. Thats what I do.

 

[plumplumb]

old thread, but for future reference...

Had same problem today, same model. The panel at the back of the freezer can be removed as follows.

Remove the two screws at the top, then pull at the top. The curved part (covering the fan), will bind a bit. It should fold down revealing the fan. This reveals two more screws, remove them along with the ones at the bottom, the panel will now partially come out. Unplug the red fan connector and the panel will come out.

You cannot get to the defrost tube (as far as I can tell) from this panel.

The end of the defrost tube terminates above the evaporation pan. There is a plastic bung about 1" wide with a slot cut in it pressed into the end. You can remove it and clean it. After much prodding and poking from both ends, I have determined there must be a trap or sharp 90 about halfway in the defrost tube.

The solution I found was to repeatedly use a syringe with boiling water to fill the drain hole up. Then use a tube on the end of the syringe to suck all the water (along with crud) out. Repeating this about 4 times cleared the trap out. You'll know when you've cleared it because the water will just come straight out.

If this still doesn't free it, i could only suggest using a 3/8" drill to go through the hole so you go out the back of the fridge at 45 degrees downwards and glue in a hose. Trail it down the back of the fridge, and somehow attach it to the evaporation pan. Getting at the trap is near impossible as there seems to be no obvious way to get the back panel off.

Why the designers thought it would be a good idea to design it this way is beyond me. But then they did stick a blue-tinged LED light in it, that makes all your food either look awful or you cant see it.

anyway hope this helps the next guy with this model.

 

[danechip]

Thanks for sharing plumbplumb...