Sub Zero Fridge BI 36 U leak under crisper

Sub Zero Water Leak

[@vatd112]

A thousand blessings to you! Thanks for saving me a $300 service call!
A quick TIP - You don't need to remove all the shelves. Just remove the bottom 2 crispers and the metal plate sitting at the bottom of the fridge below the crisper. Its glued to the bottom so will take some elbow grease to yank it out.

[@adamrico3701]

Huge thanks to you for this video!
My model is subzero bi-42ufd/s/th.
I accidentally spilt chia seeds in my fridge a while back. Unbeknownst to me, some dropped down the drain channel and down the drain tube. Over 18 months or so, the chia had swelled from the water and slowly began clogging the tube. I always wondered why the drip pan had a reddish pink sludge when I emptied it.
Now I know the chia seeds began to rot and grow bacteria/mold in the drain tube over 18+ months.
This video saved me a service call as I was able to fix myself.
I used a straw brush from Amazon to clean the drain tube from the top and bottom of the tube.
Access was nearly impossible, but I was able to put my phone under the fridge to see the drain tube and FaceTimed my iPad so I could see under the fridge to locate the drain tube and guide my straw brush into the drain tube to clean/scrub.
This worked like a charm.
Top of the drain hole had 1 or 2 seeds, but the majority of seeds were stuck about 2” from the end of the bottom of the tube, which was the main clog that caused the problem.
A quick brush dislodged the clog and water and sludge and seeds came pouring out.
Be sure you have plenty of rags handy to soak up the spilt water.
I used a grabber pole to guide the rags under my fridge.
Probably took 30-40 minutes total including removing all food and shelves/drawers and reinstalling all drawers and shelves and food and emptying the trays and cleaning the tube with the recommended cleaning solution.
I needed a Torx T-15 and T-25 I believe to remove screws inside the fridge, so grab a set of those bits and a Phillips head to remove the kick plate.
I had to remove a total of 8 screws and 8 push pin rivets I believe.
I did have to take off top light, upper back panels, and center drawer support and all shelves and drawers to clean/unclog mine.
Every unit will be different as far as disassembly based on fridge features.
Subzero does recommend the following cleaning solution for the drain tube: 4 cups warm water, drop of dish soap, and couple ounces of bleach mixed together to be poured down the drain to to clean after the clog is removed.
Cheers everyone!

[@JohnFranz-mp9fr]

Our 1982 Sub-Zero with a bottom freezer drawer and all the working elements up top lasted 30 years. It had a spring loaded door up top permitting easy access to vacuum the radiator and the radiator compartment and the compressor. A simple stool made it easy to do. Our new one with double freezer drawers and all the working elements on the floor requires a screwdriver for access and for me to lay on the floor with a flashlight and vacuum to clean the radiator. In addition the condensate drainage tube tends to clog with debris. The old unit never clogged. I wish we had stayed with the old standby model. 0:08 0:08 0:08

[@brunopupo188]

I wondered why you had the fridge already pulled apart at the start of the video. I just got done clearing my drain tube for the first time and now know why you did. It was a real pain in the butt pulling off the panels to get to the drain. For some reason, my fridge had a fully frozen layer of ice covering in the channel and into the drain hole. Patience and hot water was the cure (and a little compressed air helped push through the crud that likely caused the backup). Your video, it gave me the courage to mess with my $10K fridge and prevent a $300 service call. Cheers!

[@noellangle]

Very helpful video! Although we have a BI 36 side-by-side this video clued me in to where the drain was supposed to be (towards the left side; you cannot see it but you can find the depression), and with a long zip tie I was able to clear the clog! Yay! No more puddles on the floor in the morning.

[@voda48]

I just wanted to say thank you!
We had the same issue with pooling water on our sub zero bi-36ufd and came to find out it was clogged by ice. I wasn't able to find much help online besides this video so dismantled my fridge and found the cuplret.
The big difference for me was I didn't remove the whole back panel, only the lower section. Unfortunately to get that section out requires removing one of the sides supports for the drawers. Once one side was removed I had enough access to swing the lower panel out, remove the ice (significant amount) and clear the drain.
Thanks!

[@chrisruggio8140]

Thanks so much for this. We were actually able to get to the drain by taking out only the crisper drawers and the metal panel on the floor of the fridge. No tools required.

[@vatd112]

How did you take out that bottom metal panel? It almost seems welded on to the bottom of the fridge

[@briancrounse7473]

This is exactly what I expected I would need to do after I took a few drawers out myself. I was hoping to be able to get at it without taking the back panel, but still saves a few hundred dollars to do it myself. Thanks for the confirmation.

[@paulamato7880]

Thank you, this was helpful, we used hotwater to help, but I did not realize that the hole could get plugged with debris!

[@kkleck]

thanks. It was a real hassle getting to the drain on mine. I couldn't find any videos on how to remove the panels. I had to remove all drawers and shelves, top glass over light. then top panel then bottom panel. I thought I needed to remove a side panel but it wasn't necessary. I have the BI-36S/O

[@OK-xl4ss]

Thank you! you encouraged me to fix my refrigerator

[@akirayamada4727]

Thank you so much! I did not like repair company and start research about this problem!

[@goforbroke2]

I have a Subzero BI 48SID/0 model and this was exactly my problem. My drain hole was clogged also, saved me a service call. Thanks.
My drain hole was on the far left BTW.
On my unit I only had to unscrew the bottom panel.

[@cwtrl4453]

Great video. Helped me fixing my sub zero issue. Thank you.

[@peterdoherty8069]

Thank you. This was a great help and saved me a lot of work.

[@barbarareimelt3716]

Thank you so much!!! This was very helpful. I figured it out and it was exactly as you described...well explained ...thanks again B

[@ace08290]

thank you so much！i just fix the same problem.but i didn't take off the panel，using a copper wire go through that hole.

[@deboraharmstrong2436]

Thank you SO much! This is our exact problem, so I will now be able to (attempt) to fix it!

[@STEPHMENS]

Subzero is replacing our BI 36 which is the first model to come out tomorrow. Fridge is a 2010 but we have been dealing with water leaks since 2015. They have been here to fix leaks 3 times with all kinds of components then finally decided to upgrade our fridge for $2700.
Sounded like a deal since brand new BI-36U/S/Th-RH cost about $9,000
I am just worried I might have similar problems.

[@mikedunlv]

Nailed it! Thank you!

[@mikefreedom5612]

Thank you

[@yvongarceau6424]

Thank you for the video.
Once I have seen where the drain was located, WITHOUT REMOVING BACK PANEL, I used a trimmer line (tiny blue plastic string used on trimmers) and tried till I found the opening of the drain. I pushed the line all the way in for about 3 foot and then the drain was cleaned up. Much easier then dismantling back of fridge when you know what to look for !
Thank's

[@billkapp3787]

I tried this repair and water returned in a few days. Ice blockage in drain again. Call sub zero. This is a warranty issue. They fixed our BI36 at no charge. It involved a change in a wiring harness that changed the direction of the air flow. They also seemed to indicate that if we had further problems they would make some sort of concession. Sounded like replacement.

[@gemichels]

+Bill Kapp We ended up having a wire harness change as well . That still didn't work. Eventually they upgraded our heater when it became available. That seemed to resolve the issue.

[@gemichels]

+Bill Kapp Yes we eventually had the heater replaced under warranty. But this fix sometimes works without heater replacement

[@ko6128]

GEM Monk how long did you have your SZ ? Mine is 6 years old and for $10.6k I can believe I have to deal with this.

[@gerardhickey9608]

great video - made it v simple to correct

[@gavinrz1886]

Sub zero??? Ricky rich

[@kief4diamonds]

go on sub zeros webpage and call and authorized servicer, so that you can get the drain heater/air flow kit to properly solve this and keep it from happening.

[@ko6128]

kief4diamonds is that covered under 12 year warranty?

[@gregnagy758]

your video makes me dizzy, can not watch