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Energy Saver: Refrigerator & Freezer Clean Condenser & Evaporator Coils
(continued ...) above freezing. The blob of ice drips off as liquid water and is collected in a pan below the appliance. This water evaporates into the surroundings over time. To heat the evaporator coil, sometimes hot gas is circulated through the coil or electric heating elements melt that blob of ice. You want the evaporator coil clean and free of any obstruction.
If your appliance doesn't do this automatically, you need to do it manually. A manual evaporator defrost is a task hated by many. Fortunately the ice issue is usually only present in the freezer compartment. The bad news is that you may have to remove all the contents to get it done. Turn off the refrigerator at the thermostat. Remove your frozen goodies and place them in an insulated cooler. Once accessible there are a number of things you can do. Use can use a vacuum cleaner rigged up with the hose on the exhaust side to blow warm air in. You can use a hair dryer. Whatever it takes to melt the ice but do not chip it away with a screwdriver. Mechanical removal may result in coil damage and potential loss of refrigerant.
A refrigerator or freezer with clean coils is a happy appliance and one that will serve you well with the least energy cost. Be sure to re-inspect at least once a year. If you notice that ice builds up on the evaporator coil quickly, you may have a door seal problem. See the article that talks about inspection and replacement of refrigerator and freezer door seals.EnergyWrite.com