Line from fridge compressor frosting over
 

The line from my fridge compressor to the freezer compartment has been frosting over and dripping onto the kitchen floor.

I'm a novice at this but would rather avoid calling a repariman if it is easy to fix. Any tips?

Fridge is a Kenmore Model 106 side by side refrigerator and is about 7 years old.

has the compressor been changed at some point ? the most likely cause of the suction line frosting all the way back to the compressor is an over charge of refrigerant. If that is not the case then I would look at excessively long run times and or evap fan motor not working. What are the temps?

In January, a relay switch for the compressor was replaced and the refrigerant recharged. Since then it definitely does run more than it should, often for long stretches of time.

The internal temperature at this point is fine on each side. I don't have a thermometer to measure but I can't sense any decrease on either side.

I just took a couple of pictures of the issue. You can see that the frost doesn't actually make its way to the compressor, but nearly all of the line from the freezer to the point shown in the picture is frosted.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/638/img1639es.jpg/

theres your problem, it was overcharged. Was it low or why exactly did they recharge it?

The technician said it was low. No further explanation was given.

What do I need to do to get the water leak to stop? And could it have just started leaking recently, or would it have been leaking this whole time.

Also, does an overcharge cause the unit to run more often than it should?

an overcharge will make your compressor run longer and harder than need be, if left in this condition you are reducing the life of your compressor dramatically. Of course if there was a leak in the system it shouldn't be long before the overcharge is gone.

Then I should feel confident I don't have a leak since they re-charged my system eight months ago.

if that is the case then your repair tech ripped you off, if there is no leak there would have been no reason to recharge in the first place

That's unfortunate. he prob didn't use the correct relay/overload either. the only correct way to repair now would be; call Sears and they'll blow that charge, take out tap a line and recharge with new drier to correct amount. they'll insist you replace relay/ol if not oem. pretty $$$. if you call that guy back he'll just -totally illegal-open that tap valve for 30 sec' and see if that was 'good enough'.

Correction
 

Correction: when the freon was recharged, the tech measured the pressure in the lines (I want to say it was 4 psi, is that the right range), and he filled it to (14 psi?).

The same company was called today, and the did not give the same explanation: they said either the compressor line needs new insulation, or it is low on freon.

I'm going to start calling other fix-it guys.

funny since the compressor lines are never insulated anyway. If it was low on refrigerant it would not frost over, just the opposite would happen it would be warm to the touch.
If a tech is recharging a system and just going by pressure, he had better be prepared to spend a long long time at your home.
So now if a new company comes out and repairs the system PROPERLY, you will be looking at several hundreds of dollars.

How is refrigerant measured if not by pressure?

Would the $$$ be for a new compressor? Or just sucking out the refrigerant? If it is really going to cost hundreds then we might just throw in a few more hundred and buy a new fridge...
Don't worry! We're not going to expel the freon ourselves or do anything with the compressor.
But we also don't want to live with watching for puddles.

It's too bad no one on the phone will tell us the things we've learned here. I understand their liability worry, but they want the $45 visitation charge before they will tell us any sort of answer (several different repair companies would not give any answers). It definitely makes more sense that it was overcharged, rather than missing some insulation that it never needed before.

Yeah, most guys spend years learning and continuing to learn this trade. many hrs and much money involved [home study-days off to attend training, etc]. so other than cursory info, why give away that which it took you so long to acquire-can't blame them!...on residential refrig's they're criticaly charged [use very little R] so it has to be exacto-mondo. using just press' to charge won't cut it.