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tom_g_dc

Help: refrigerator water line pulsing

tom_g_dc
10 years ago

Hi. I'm trying to diagnose an issue with my refrigerator. It is a Kitchenaid KBRS20ETSS01. It has a water filter that mounts inside the cabinet near the ceiling of the refrigerator section. The water comes into this filter and then seems to leave via another line down to the inlet valve where it splits to feed the drinking water outlet and icemaker.

The trouble is it will be working fine but after about 12 oz. of drawing drinking water there is a loud pulsing sound and the water flow slows dramatically. The pulsing will continue even if I let it rest a few minutes before starting to fill again but is immediately resolved if I just unseat and then reseat the water filter.

I originally thought it was probably the inlet valve (and that might still be right but am looking for your wisdom here), but when I pulled out the fridge from the wall, as best I can tell, the pulsing can only be felt in the line coming from the floor into the filter, not in the part from the filter to the valve.

I have tried replacing the filter with a new filter and the problem is the same. Any ideas?

Thanks.

Comments (9)

  • jeremyharrison3
    7 years ago

    Hi tom_g_dc, you will probably never see this, but I searched into your comment with a similar problem on my Kitchenaid KBRS20ETSS01 refrigerator. I hope my comment will help others with a similar issue.

    My fridge also started pulsing and making a jackhammer sound when I dispensed water from the interior water dispenser. I changed the filter once, and that fixed it temporarily. Then it started up again a few months later. I took the filter out, drained it, and re-set it. That seemed to fix the issue that time, but a few months later the noise returned and nothing I did with the filter would fix the noise.

    After searching online, most threads suggested I change the water inlet valve. I did this and the noise did not stop. Then I saw your thread and decided to change the filter head, which appears to have resolved the problem.

    The water inlet valve and the filter head were about $50 each and installation was quite simple. Here's a link to how to replace the filter head:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1IGWqCCx10

    The fridge he's working on isn't the same model as i have, but the filter head and lines are all the same. Thus, the replacement process is almost identical.

  • peter_menchu
    7 years ago

    Thanks for this post. It is clearly the problem I have with slow pulsing water with noise from a kitchenaid french door fridge.

    Did a temporary fix squirting water from the filter head valves by pushing them in and then putting a new filter in pressing a little extra hard. Had to try a couple times with the filter but working normally now. Will investigate doing the full part replacement if it comes back.

  • Bryan Pluta
    6 years ago
    Thanks for the post. This was the exact problem I was having. I used a plastic food container and cut a washer out. That fixed the problem. Much cheaper than replacing the $130 filter head.
  • Roaster M
    5 years ago

    Tom_g_dc you are brilliant cutting a plastic o-ring from glad we're worked perfect. I threw out Maytag filters before that did the same thing They should fix this problem. Anyways thank you for your post saved me a lot of frustration

  • rickf4812
    5 years ago

    Tom_g_dc thank you for figuring this one out! I was stumped until I found your post. I knew it had something to do with the filter because if I put the water filter bypass cap on it worked great. The washer is a great idea...I was lazy and wrapped some teflon tape around the outside of the water filter head so it would draw in tighter when inserted and this has also fixed my issue for now at least. The filters I was using were Maytag UKF8001. They obviously have some tolerance issues with the height of the plastic ramp that pushes the valve buttons. I'll try ordering a different brand next time.

  • Matt Mezzetta
    4 years ago

    Teflon tape worked for a few days for me. Making a washer didnt work for me and I ultimately had to replace the filter head. I suspected this was the problem because the pulsing started randomly with an old filter and carried over to the new one. Thanks for all the posts, still helping in 2020!

  • tghanner
    2 years ago

    Still helping in 2021! Just fixed with a washer cut out of a plastic milk container, good old paper hole punch, then trimmed the OD to fit in the filter housing. Flowed about a gallon without any issues! Thanks!

  • Ryan Thor
    2 years ago

    Plastic washer made from a milk jug worked. Thanks for the info!👍👍