Re: Refrigerator monitor ideas?

[Nick Hull <nhull@xxxxxxx>]

In article <OJWdnbbblZk_11jYnZ2dnUVZ_s6onZ2d@xxxxxxx>,
 "Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> > Getting back to your problem, I might be inclined to try an
> electromechanical
> > solution.  Could you arrange a slow-moving arm (motor geared way down) in
> > the area where the ice dam forms?  When the arm ices up the motor stalls
> > (or a clutch slips) and this can be detected.  As a bonus it might help
> > slow the formation of a blockage in the first place.
>
> What I really need is a pressure relief bypass valve to deal with a clogged
> filter line like you find in profession filtration systems.  The problem
> here is that we're talking about gravity feed!  That made me think about how
> the ice dam forms and what it would take to build a sensor that "knew" it
> was encased in ice.  I'd be afraid of trusting anything mechanical with a
> motor at low temperatures because of Challenger O rings and some years spent
> near Canada with a balky F-85. (-:

How about a dirt cheap solution; string.  Thread a string from the
freezer to the drain pan andup to where you can get to it.  The string
has a small knot and a big knot.  When you pull the string the small
knot in the freezer pulls all the way down the drain tube and clears it
and the big knot stops the string from coming out.  Then open the
freezer and pull the string back until the small knot is back inside the
freezer.  Do it once a month or so as PM.

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