I am not traveling for a few weeks/months and after emptying the ice maker of cubes I want also to remove the water left in the tray where the cubes are made/frozen.  Does anyone have any ingenious way to get that water out rather than just letting it evaporate?  I really don't want the residue left from evaporation in there.

Guys maybe your wife has a trick or even the guys.

Leah,
I just cut off the water pump, bleed any pressure out of the system, and wait until the icemaker dumps another tray. Since there is no water to refill the tray, your ice maker will be clean and dry.

Gerald

Gerald
Thanks for your response, but pardon my ignorance, how do you bleed the ice maker system?

Good question Leah, I'd like to know the answer to this one myself.  Seems the 1st batch of ice after coach has been sitting is not pretty.  If I could purge the system, maybe that would alleviate having to make bad ice on start-up.

We have an in line valve and just turn it off and the ice maker will not fill after the harvest cycle.

Richard;

Where is the valve?  I have had my fridge on only for a few days so far, and it has made no ice.  I opened the panel on the outside of the coach, but did not find a valve. I will be using the coach next week, so it would be nice to have ice.

I know there is cutoff valve in the back access (from outside the coach) at least that's been the case on fridges I've had in the past.  It is a plastic round valve with a flange that can be turned.  It feeds from the water tank or off the outside hookup.  If you have to winterize a coach you need to make sure there is no water left in the valve/water line so it doesn't freeze cause it sure will.

Leah,
In your original question, you wanted to know how to empty the water that sets in the tray where the ice is made. That is easy, you just turn off the water supply, either with a valve or cut off all water pressure and wait until the icemaker cycles and makes another tray of ice before you turn off the icemaker (if Uline) or refrigerator.

Most coaches have a valve in the line going to the icemaker that you can turn off when you break camp on the last morning and there will be no water in the icemaker tray when you get home. That valve can be behind the refrigerator or in the basement close to the icemaker filter in most cases.

If you want to empty the water line going to the icemaker and it's internal valve, that is a lot more complicated and I would not recommend going to that much trouble to store the coach in the summer. It is a lot easier to just discard the first tray or batch of ice that is made.

Gerald

Ours is behind the referigerator in the plastic line. If you do not have one it can easily be added using push on connectors. Our line uses 1/4 inch ones. We have an RV refer with an easily accessable back vented panel.

Keith, as others have related, it's common to find the icemaker line shutoff valve near the icemaker filter.  In our coach, that is right next to the water pump, along with a valve to shut off the line between pump and tank, a winterizing valve for easily drawing RV antifreeze into the system instead of tank water, and a drain valve for it all.  They are all together in an extruded plastic housing, accessible via a removeable panel that "blends in" to the carpeted left wall of our main basement storage bay.  As others point out, that may or may not be how yours is configured.  Your model year is closer to Richard and Babs' coach, so the valve you seek may be behind the fridge.

-Joel

Richard, Joel;

Thanks, I will see if I can find it tonight.  Work still gets in the way of such pursuits.

Keith

My icemaker shutoff valve is in the "box" with the water pump and icemaker water filter.

Discovered the  "box" and the ice maker valve.  The valve seems to be one that you turn to line up with the 1/4" line to open  across it to close, or is it?  I "opened" last evening, but by this morning there was no water in the ice maker.  So this morning I put more pressure on the valve, and sure enough I got another 1/2 turn out of it.  If it is a screw type, it sure doesn't have much travel.  But alas, still no water in the ice maker.  I'll check it again after work.

Keith,

I don't won't to sound like a smart *** but if your not hooked up to city water make sure your water pump is turned on. Been there done that.

Chuck

Quoted from Chuck Bayman

Keith,

I don't won't to sound like a smart *** but if your not hooked up to city water make sure your water pump is turned on. Been there done that.

Chuck

It also has to be cold enough for the ice makers to cycle. An ice maker has a thermal override.

Yes, the valve handles in the box follow standard procedure and need to be in line with their hoses to be "on", and perpendicular (90 degrees) to them to be "off".  A quarter turn is all that is needed.

If you open the outside access door behind the refrigerator, Keith, you may be able to locate the icemaker's on/off solenoid.  If it's like mine, it will have a 1/4" line going in one side of it, and one coming out.  When the icemaker cycles and calls for water to fill the tray, a switch activates the solenoid's valve, allowing water to flow into the icemaker itself.  

You could pull off the hose from the "in" side of the solenoid with your fingers, aim it to the ground, have the Mrs. turn on the water pump, and see if water flows out.  If it does, you're okay from the water pump up to that point.  Turn off the pump.  Replace that hose.  If you have the refer/icemaker manual that shows you how to force an ice cycle, follow the instructions (with persistance, you may be able to find those instructions on the refer manufacturer's website online).  Remove the line on the solenoid's "out" side, aim it to the ground, turn on the pump again, and force an ice cycle to turn on the solenoid.  If water flows, then the solenoid valve is okay, and you should get water in the ice maker when the outlet hose is reattached.  But if the solenoid valve isn't getting an electric signal from the icemaker, then something is haywire electrically.  

Keep in mind, the icemaker side of the refrigerator requires AC to run, not 12v. DC.  And our refer won't run off the inverter either - it draws too much juice;  you're either on gas, generator, or plugged in.  The icemaker won't work if you are just on gas - it needs 110v AC.  And it has a seperate cord that needs plugging into an outlet in addition to the refer's cord;  check that both are in their outlets behind the outside refer access door.  

Also, the solenoid may have heat tape around it to help prevent wintertime freezing of the valve;  if that ever failed, your solenoid may be damaged from freezing and need replacing.  I usually take extra steps to drain and blow out the solenoid and attendant lines when winterizing, just in case.  But some pump RV antifreeze into the icemaker instead.

Hope there is something in all this that helps.

-Joel

Hmm
pump is on
freezer is cold (on for 24 hrs so far)
valve is twisted all the way out AND the T handle is lined up with the hose.
water tank is full
and yet, no water coming into the ice maker.

Just checked in the outside compartment and found the line from the solenoid to the ice maker busted.  The plastic is brittle, so must get pretty hot in there.  There must also be an electrical disconnect somewhere, as the solenoid is not calling for water.  I'll look for that, after I repair the water line.

One obvious thing that wasn't mentioned, Keith, as sometimes the solutions are simpler than we think:  is the bail on the icemaker up or down?  Like most icemakers, residential or RV, the bail has to be down for the unit to make ice.

-Joel

You can blow out the line, by putting air on the water system.    
All you have to do is make a jumper to open the water solinoid.
Take a extenion cord and cut off the female end.  Put female lugs on the end.
Unplug the solinoid wires, and plug the cord you made onto the solinoid.   Plug that into a 110 volt outlet and the water line will be open for air to purge the watermake line.
Great way to put antifreeze in the icemaker, when you winterize.