Help: refrigerator water line pulsing

12 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.

Featured Answer

tom_g_dc
Original Author

12 years ago

I *think* (fingers crossed) I may have figured this out so I thought I'd post a follow up in case others have this problem in the future.

It appears the problem is with the Water Filter Head (part 67006524) that the filter mounts on to. The filter head has an integrated valve (presumably so it doesn't spray on you when you change the filter) that may not fully open when the filter is in place. I found a description of the valve on another site and it actuates when two little plus-shaped buttons are depressed by the filter. So to get them to depress further I cut a little washer out of foodsafe plastic of the right size and put it in between the head and the filter so they get pressed down further. So far so good.

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Comments (10)

jeremyharrison3
10 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.
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peter_menchu
9 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
8 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
8 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
8 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
6 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
5 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
5 years ago
Plastic washer made from a milk jug worked. Thanks for the info!👍👍
Jonathan Higginson
2 years ago
10 years later (2024) this thread helped me out, too. Thanks to all the previous commenters for the tips and ideas! I have a different model fridge (Kitchenaid KRFC300ESS01) but the filter setup is the same. I thought maybe those two white "+" valve buttons had got stuck, so I manually pressed each of them a couple of times with the side of a flathead screwdriver to see if I could loosen them up. It seems to have worked for now so I'll see if the problem stays fixed. If not, I'll try the washer trick.

Important note: I pressed the buttons while the water supply was still connected and I can confirm water sprays out quite aggressively. If you are going to try it, definitely cover the dispenser head with a towel before you press either button (they both work independently).