Sub-Zero 550 water dripping on right side of freezer forming ice on draw

I had a similar issue that started about a year ago with my Sub-Zero 550. My freezer gasket actually tore after several times of freezing closed. I thought that a new gasket would solve it, but a second but related problem developed where I was getting alot of condensation under the left side of the unit, with the water dripping onto the floor...eventually staining the hardwood floor in front of the unit.

I traced the problem to a clogged condensation drain pipe in the refrigerator. It is a corrugated pipe that drains a trough behind the crisper drawers. My pipe was clogged with black sludge and frozen down below. The condensation in the fridge would overflow out of the trough and leak below the crisper drawers, down out through the gasket.

To resolve, I used a piece of solid thin wire folded in half and twisted with a small loop at the end to fish out as much sludge as I could. Then squirted hot water into the pipe until it totally unclogged. I believe this will solve the problem without any need for a heater underneath the unit. The 550 worked fine for 4-5 years before this happened.

My Subzero 550 did this: The right side of the freezer has a drain that was plugged with ice. When the freezer defrosts the water runs down the inside of the box and onto the drawer rails, where it then freezes. The drain tube is normally kept ice free by an aluminum strap wrapped around the copper defrost tube in the freezer heat exchanger, which runs down into the drain tube. Over time the copper defrost tube gets some surface corrosion and the aluminum strap doesn't get warm enough during the defrost cycle to melt ice in the tube. If you can get it apart, you can clean up the tube surface with steel wool, or buy the electric defroster for the drain tube to replace the aluminum strap.

Sounds like your freezer drain is blocked up. You will require a freezer drain heater kit for this repair. It was a common problem for this unit and can be a easy fix. However it does take some patience to fish the heater down into the drain pan.

We have had a chronic problem with bottom of fridge getting wet/water puddles and leaks onto floor. when this happens, there is inevitably a lot of ice buildup on the bottom of the fridge, near the drain tube and the drain tube is usually frozen. i read many posts re: this problem and various fixes, and tried some (never spending any money), but have mostly just cleared the ice from the bottom of the fridge and put hot (boiling) water into the drain tube (which I disconnect) with a turkey baster until cleared. However, I did notice, recently, that there is water leaking down from the trough which is supposed to take the condensate into the drain tube and I have a new theory -- the seal at the back of the trough leaks, allowing water to hit the refrigerator floor and freeze. When the ice builds up to enough height, it contacts the drain tube and the draing water freezes, which then allows all condensate to spill over onto fridge floor and out onto kitchen floor. SOOOO, what I did was loosen the back trough screws (about 8 of them) and found that there is a white silicone seal strip which lifted right out (i.e., no longer adhered), which leads me to believe that it had just loosened over the years and was no longer sealing. I then put clear silicone seal into the gap with my finger and tightened the screws. I will now watch to see if this helps, but the hope is that the spillage onto the kitchen floor was due to ice buildup in fridge and the frozen drain tube also caused by the ice buildup in the fridge. Hopefully, by sealing the trough to the back fridge wall we have solved the problem? It sure was a lot cheaper than a $500 heater in a fridge.