Pulling and Resetting an Undercounter Unit During a Remodel

An undercounter unit barely notices a new backsplash, but it notices the floor, the toe-kick and the space around its cabinet. On Mercer Island the joinery around it is usually rebuilt close during a remodel, and a unit that went out breathing freely can come back to find its one air opening narrowed or covered.

We repair these units; taking one out and setting it back is the installer’s or cabinetmaker’s work. This note covers what to ask of them and what to watch once the unit is home again.

Before it comes out

Switch it off at its own control panel first. The UC-24 guide says turning the unit off there saves unplugging it or going to the breaker, and on Designer models the power-off control sits in the Settings menu. Then empty it and lift out the shelves and drawers, so nothing slides or breaks while it travels.

If the unit is going to spend weeks in a garage, treat it the way Sub-Zero treats a long vacation: off, empty, and the door blocked slightly open so the inside stays dry. A switched-off cabinet closed up in a damp lakeside garage is how a clean unit comes back smelling musty.

On the current Designer undercounter line, Sub-Zero also warns that the refrigerant is flammable and that the refrigeration circuit must not be damaged during installation or service. That is reason enough to ask the crew to keep pry bars and tools well away from the back of the unit.

What tends to go wrong on the way back

The toe-kick comes first. A new board fitted tight across the grille, flooring that changes the height of the opening, or a rug laid right up to the kickplate all trap the heat the unit is trying to shed. Sub-Zero’s Designer guide tells owners to keep ventilation openings clear in the appliance and in the built-in structure around it, and the note on toe-kick ventilation shows what that means in practice.

The door comes next. A cabinet set down out of level, or squeezed by a new panel beside it, can stop sealing evenly, and a door that leaks lets room air in all day.

Water comes last. On a combination unit with an ice maker, a supply line pushed in behind the cabinet can end up kinked. Sub-Zero tells owners of its undercounter ice makers to discard the first few batches after start-up, because new plumbing connections can leave impurities in the ice, and a remodel that remade the connection is a sensible time to do the same. Water on the new floor is worth a call rather than a mop; the page on the condensate drain and pan explains where a unit’s meltwater is meant to go.

After the reset

Let the unit run until the display settles at its set points before restocking. Then feel for air moving at the grille, watch the door seal, and compare a probe with the display. On a UC-24, a SERVICE indicator that starts flashing soon after a remodel points first at the condenser, which may have collected plaster and sawdust while the work went on. If anything is off, it is booked as refrigerator repair, and we look at the unit together with the cabinetry around it, not in isolation.

Before you call

1. Step 1

   Switch it off at its own panel, then empty it

   Turn the unit off at the control panel, take out food or bottles, and lift out shelves and drawers so nothing slides about while it is moved.

2. Step 2

   Keep a parked unit dry

   If it waits for weeks in a garage, leave it empty with the door blocked slightly open, as Sub-Zero advises for a long vacation.

3. Step 3

   Look at the toe-kick before the trim goes on

   The grille at floor level has to stay open to the room. Ask for it to be left clear of boards, trim and the new flooring.

4. Step 4

   Check the door and the level after the reset

   Close the door gently and look for an even seal all the way round without a push. A cabinet set down out of level can pull a door out of square.

5. Step 5

   Probe it before restocking

   A thermometer in a glass of water on a middle shelf, read against the display, tells you the unit is holding before the food or bottles go back.

Past these checks the fault is inside the machine. Call Mercer Island Sub-Zero Service on (206) 208-3377 and say which step changed nothing.

Asked about this

Will you take the undercounter unit out for our contractor?

No. Pulling a unit from its cabinetry and setting it back is work for the installer or cabinetmaker running your remodel, and we do not offer it. We repair the unit: beforehand if it already has a fault, or afterwards if it comes back warm, noisy or wet. Mercer Island Sub-Zero Service is on (206) 208-3377.

It ran perfectly before the remodel and runs warm now. What changed?

Usually the surroundings rather than the machine. What we most often find is a grille narrowed by a new toe-kick board or flooring, a door that no longer seals because the cabinet sits out of level, or a condenser coated in dust from the work. All three are ruled out before anything inside the unit is suspected.