Kitchen Large Electric Appliances - Whirlpool Gold freezer not freezing

We purchased a Whirlpool Gold (freezer on the bottom) fridge unit in 2000. Last month we noticed the fridge not cold, freezer was working though. We then noticed ice forming on the back wall of the freezer. We took the back wall of the freezer off and put a hairdryer to the iced coils (suggestion from a friend). Everything else seemed to be working again.
Yesterday, went to serve ice cream for my son's bday, and the ice cream was soft! :wall: The bananas on the freezer door are soft as well. The fridge seems to be working. I can hear the unit running, and there is cool air coming into the freezer. Ice has also formed on the back wall of the freezer again.

What's the deal?? Time for a new unit? Or can this be fixed?

Any advice/help welcome! Thanks!

It sounds like a defrosting problem. Can you post the model # so we can figure out what type defrost you have?

It's a GB22DK.
I checked everything again this morning, and the other things in the freezer seem to be ok. Ice cubes still solid, as is the meet in there. It's just the ice cream and the bananas.....

Ice cream is in the door? If so, maybe something is blocking it from closing completely?

Actually ice cream has much lower true solid freezing point. It is a good indicator of freezer problems if one has no thermometer, actually.

Ice cream is in the main part of the freezer, the bananas are on the door. We re-arranged the food and still no change

If you have frost forming on the back wall of the freezer, then you have a defrost problem. The components in question would be the defrost thermostat, defrost heater, and defrost timer.

We started thinking the same thing. I just emptied the freezer and took off the back wall. The coils are a sheet of frost/ice. I am in the process of taking the hair dryer to it.

The model # (which I just happened upon while on the floor upside down trying to get the back panel off), is located on the bottom of the fridge door. :o
# BG22DKXJB01

Any idea wether it's worth fixing the defrost problem, or calling someone in? Or getting a new one?

Definitely worth fixing. It would be much cheaper than buying new.

And make sure your melted water runs freely down the defrost tube into that evaporation tray either located under the refrigerator accessible after you remove the toekick plate, or located on top the compressor at the lower back of the machine.

Defrost line backups, and the opening at the bottom of the freezer where it can exit into this cup to get to the defrost tube, are a main cause of your problem without anything else beign wrong. The line fills with this gunk as a natural process. Then when the water can no longer drain, it backs up into the freezer where the defrosted ice (now water) has no place to go, and refreezes.