Samsung Residential Fridge Winterization Issue

dinmi · 11-09-2023, 02:22 PM

Just a heads up. Our 2022 Alpine has a Samsung Residential fridge. Apparently there can be problems with the fittings for the icemaker that results in blown fittings during winterization.

We were never told that we had an icemaker in the unit (probably because I threw a fit about the Samsung Residential when we looked at the unit. We had just canned a 4 year old Samsung fridge from our house because of icemaker issues. So my appetite for another Samsung appliance of any type was non-existent). On our last trip out with the unit I noticed something that I thought looked suspiciously like an icemaker, but didn't bother to poke around. I have a counter top unit that we purchased when our home Samsung icemaker stopped functioning (and the counter top unit was well used as we had 4 icemaker failures, 4 icemaker replacements all in just less than 4 years).

5th Wheel gets dropped off to be winterized and was told it was an extra charge for a unit with an icemaker. I clarified it wasn't the counter top unit they were talking about - it wasn't. Confirmation that thing I saw (and tried to ignore) was an icemaker. About 4 hours after dropping it off they called in a panic...when they went to winterize the icemaker the fittings blew. The dealer was going to have to keep it, obtain replacement fittings and get it fixed to complete the winterization.

Point of all this prattle - watch the Samsung Residential units with icemakers if you do your own winterization. They can blow fittings - leaving you with a mess if you are unaware.

**sourdough** · 11-09-2023, 03:09 PM

I would be very much in the middle and involved with that dealership - they don't know what they're doing. Nothing to winterizing the icemaker...just an extra step. I've had good luck with our Samsung fridges. Hopefully they get it taken care of soon. I wouldn't pay them an extra dime and I would SURE go over the work they did WITH them to see how they fouled something so simple up so badly.

GBR · 11-10-2023, 09:25 AM

Well I just want to report that we had not used our 2017 Alpine with the Samsung Residential fridge since winterization last fall until just 2 weeks ago and noted our pump was cycling every minute or so. Could not figure out until my friend noticed water dripping from under the slide. Fortunately my wife turned off the pump the night before (our 1st night)as the leak was from the water line. We had 9 days to dry it out. I talked with the RV dealer and he said that they do not put ice maker fridges in regular RVs because of water issues and only upon request in more upscale motor homes because of this issue of leaks.

dutchmensport · 11-10-2023, 03:44 PM

OK, your post has me confused (which doesn't take much at my age now!)....

Did the RV dealership "blow" the lines with air, or did they "pump the pink" RV antifreeze.

If they blew the lines, they should not have used air pressure greater than 55 psi. That is the rating set for the on-board water pump and the safe PSI.

If they "pumped the pink", they should have used the on-board water pump to do that, which means the PSI should have not been higher than max 55 psi. '

So, your post has me confused. Why did the ice maker "blow" apart????

Here's another "for what it's worth".... All you have to do is shut the water line off (usually under the kitchen sink) that goes to the refrigerator ice maker. Under the trailer should be a separate low-point line, exclusively for this water line.

Then inside the trailer (behind a cabinet, isolated somewhere) is a second cut off valve. At this second valve, you can disconnect the small line that goes to refrigerator, open that second valve, open the low point drain valve under the kitchen sink and let the water drain out of that line.

So, I don't understand how you can blow out any of the fittings, unless air was used and the air pressure was set too high.

Valve under kitchen sink, line that is T-ed off the cold water line:

Low point drain directly under the kitchen sink specifically for the water line leading to the refrigerator:

"For what it's worth".... I added an additional low point drain valve. I used this when I'm winterizing with RV antifreeze to purge the water line of water and displace it with RV antifreeze, up to that point. That saves having to press the cycle button on the ice maker 50 or 60 times to pump the water through 20 feet of pipes.

And here's the valve inside the camper that attaches to the small water line running to the refrigerator:

dinmi · 11-11-2023, 09:46 AM

Oh it gets better - we got the unit back, didn't bother to open it up until today so I could put peppermint oil and Irish Spring soap in to keep the squatter rodents out over the winter. When I opened the slide for the kitchen and went to open the cabinet under the sink and found it hanging by one hinge. They broke the top hinge and never reported it or fixed it. I got pictures and told my husband he better make the phone call because I guarantee they would never speak to me again after I was done with them. We have warranty work that needs to be done and we were told to bring it back in the spring..."and it should be covered". I basically told them it will be covered.

I have no idea what is wrong with this dealer. This is the 3rd purchases from this particular dealer and it has been an absolute nightmare. I am searching for another dealer near us but this particular dealer appears to have the RV monopoly in the area and they need to fix the things identified with the unit since they were the ones that sold it. I am about to call Keystone Corporate and lodge a formal complaint with them.

dutchmensport · 11-11-2023, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinmi

....

I have no idea what is wrong with this dealer. ....

If I had to guess, I'd say this sounds like Camping World.

dinmi · 11-11-2023, 09:54 AM

I have no idea what they did. They aren't talking at least to me. I assumed it was antifreeze, given I just found it all over the floor in the unit today when I went in to finish the winterization that I do to keep rodents out.

They could have used air, they could have used the pink stuff. All they said is the fittings blew when they called us to tell us. I am assuming it was the fittings for the water line to the ice maker/fridge as I did open the fridge today, took a look in the freezer and the refrigerator and didn't see shrapnel anywhere. And I would have found pieces and parts as this dealer is horrible about cleaning up after themselves.

**JRTJH** · 11-11-2023, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinmi

Oh it gets better - we got the unit back, didn't bother to open it up until today so I could put peppermint oil and Irish Spring soap in to keep the squatter rodents out over the winter. When I opened the slide for the kitchen and went to open the cabinet under the sink and found it hanging by one hinge. They broke the top hinge and never reported it or fixed it. I got pictures and told my husband he better make the phone call because I guarantee they would never speak to me again after I was done with them. We have warranty work that needs to be done and we were told to bring it back in the spring..."and it should be covered". I basically told them it will be covered.

I have no idea what is wrong with this dealer. This is the 3rd purchases from this particular dealer and it has been an absolute nightmare. I am searching for another dealer near us but this particular dealer appears to have the RV monopoly in the area and they need to fix the things identified with the unit since they were the ones that sold it. I am about to call Keystone Corporate and lodge a formal complaint with them.

YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND need to make an appointment to discuss all this with the dealership general manager. NOT the service manager, NOT the business manager, but the GENERAL MANAGER (the one that signs all their paychecks)..... Monopoly or not, there's been a disconnect between you, the service center and your trailer's repair process. The person that needs to address it now, is the person with complete authority for all the divisions of their business. When you go for that appointment, take a "chill pill" beforehand, so you can remain calm, focused and "not angry" as you try to work this out to your benefit. Yelling, threatening, demanding will get you nothing but "out of the office ASAP" and earn you a reputation of being unreasonable and a PITA. Your future appointments will be "the last one made and the first one rescheduled".... Don't go there !!!!!

Now, that said, reading through your posts, apparently you bought this trailer, didn't realize it had an ice maker, I'd suspect from that, the first winter of ownership, that ice maker wasn't properly winterized ????? I'd also suspect that it was "serviced for delivery" and had water in it ?? So, if that is true, then freeze damage during the first winter storage probably is what caused the issues with "things blew apart when they tried to winterize it"...

Without placing any "blame on anyone", it may be quite likely that the damage was done long before the dealership attempted to winterize your ice maker....

Whether that is what happened or not, at this point, the issues seem to be compounded by the service department, which is probably busy with other service appointments and simply can't work you in for repairs at your convenience. They apparently wanted to make an appointment "for the spring" (maybe you agreed or even suggested that time frame???). Their statement that the warranty "should still cover the repairs" may well be a comment you misunderstood ??? They may have simply stated that your warranty will be expired by then and Keystone may deny warranty repairs if the 1 year warranty has expired ????

I wasn't there, have no idea what you, the service manager or someone else you "spoke with/argued with/threatened" during those conversations, but if you "PO people" you can fully expect they aren't going to be "overly joyed to help later".....

Cut the chase, make an appointment with the general manager, state your problems and concerns, then LISTEN to what he has to say before you start telling him what he has to do to make you happy.

If, as you say, that dealership has a "monolopy on RV sales" in the area, it's a pretty sure indication that they didn't grow that large by making every one of their customers angry. So, give him a chance, listen to his recommendations and see if maybe you can get your RV "back on track" rather than being "derailed all winter and starting over at the back of the line next spring"......

GOOD LUCK !!!!!

dutchmensport · 11-11-2023, 10:14 AM

After settling all the dust from your current RV dealership, if looking a good RV dealership, you might check out Bish's RV dealership in Coldwater, Michigan. It's around 85 miles from Monroe, Michigan.

Modern Trailer Sales in Anderson, Indiana recently sold out to Bish's. At first I was extremely skeptical, but they proved themselves worthy adversaries in the RV market place.

Next time, check out Bish's. Josh the RV Nerd series of YouTube videos also all originate from Bish's. Bish now has about 22-24 locations across the USA. They seem to all have good reputations and satisficed customers.

dinmi · 11-11-2023, 10:23 AM

I sure didn't request the icemaker in the unit but it was part of the build that the dealer had in inventory. They had two units. The first one we wanted and made the deal on they ended up calling us back in to notify us that the unit was going to be a hold for warranty parts. The hydraulics had failed for the stabilizers. This unit was almost identical so we took it....not sure that it was the best decision we made. I am starting to think this dealership took the "culls" from Keystone assembly and was selling them hoping people wouldn't catch the problems. (just kidding)

dinmi · 11-11-2023, 10:31 AM

Thank you - that is good to know. I am looking to find one and Coldwater is nice drive from where we live so a couple of hours to get there is well worth it. Not to mention we go right past one of my favorite stores on the way there and back. Yeah!

dinmi · 11-11-2023, 10:42 AM

Great suggestions and I do appreciate the help.

Alibaddy · 11-16-2023, 11:28 AM

Can you elaborate on winterizing the frig? I have a Samsung and simply open the water line to the ice maker with a connection just where it goes from the main structure to the slideout, and the blow the lines with 35-40 psi air. Then I close the valve allowing water to go to the frig, and winterize all the lines.

**sourdough** · 11-16-2023, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alibaddy

Can you elaborate on winterizing the frig? I have a Samsung and simply open the water line to the ice maker with a connection just where it goes from the main structure to the slideout, and the blow the lines with 35-40 psi air. Then I close the valve allowing water to go to the frig, and winterize all the lines.

On mine I just push the button on the ice maker until pink comes out into the ice tray. Took 5-6 pushes to get it running good. I had previously blown everything out at 35psi including the icemaker.

dutchmensport · 11-16-2023, 12:25 PM

Alibaddy,

sourdough has the answer for you. Just push the cycle button on the bottom of the ice maker over and over until pink runs out. Let the ice tray dump water into the ice bucket. Then dump the water out of the ice bucket. You "un-winterize" exactly the same way.

With mine, I got tired of standing there pushing the button over and over again. That's why I use the low-point drain, added the additional low point drain, and disconnect at the blue water line eventually. I can bleed the water out of that line by using those low points as it's being displaced with the pink-stuff antifreeze. Once the pink stuff flow to that point, then go inside the camper, push that button, and then it only need to be pushed a few times, as the water has already been displaced with antifreeze.

It's very easy to do it by pushing that button, but it is time consuming waiting for the ice maker to cycle and dump, cycle and dump, cycle and dump that water.

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