700 Series Freezer Drawers (700BF)

The freezer side of the 700 drawer family

The 700 Series drawer units share one cabinet in three versions: the 700BR is all refrigerator, the 700BC combines the two, and the 700BF is freezer top and bottom. Only the freezer drawers are covered here. On a 700BFI the ice maker serves the lower drawer, and the ice container comes out once that drawer is pulled to its stop. Unlike the current Designer drawers, the 700 guide has the ice maker pause by itself while the container is out.

A condenser that asks for frequent cleaning

The 700 Series guide puts the condenser at the bottom of the unit, behind a kickplate held by four screws, and asks for a clean every three to six months, a shorter interval than Sub-Zero gives its newer drawers. It warns that skipping it can cost temperature and end in mechanical failure. The job it describes is power off at the control panel, then a soft brush and a vacuum worked along the fins, never across them.

The service indicator and the board

When the word SERVICE flashes on the display, the guide’s own first steps are a clean condenser and switching the unit off and on at the control panel. If it keeps flashing after that, the fault needs a meter on it: the temperature sensors, the fans and the board that reads them. The board is priced under control board cost, and only once its inputs and outputs have been checked.

Seal, slides and the top drawer’s cable

A drawer gasket on a unit of this generation can harden and stop pulling tight at the corners. Frost along the top edge of the opening is the sign, and a new seal sits in the band shown under drawer gasket cost. A drawer that stops a little short of shut is more often sitting on ice than on a broken slide, which is the subject of ice on the rails. The upper drawer also carries a control cable that the guide says must be disconnected before the drawer comes off, so a jammed top drawer stays on its slides until someone who has done it before is there.

Asked about this unit

What should a 700BF read on its display?

The 700 Series control comes preset with the freezer at 0°F and changes one degree per touch. A thermometer left among the food tells you more than the display does. If it reads well above zero while the setting has not moved, call Sub-Zero Repair Kirkland, (425) 699-2400, and have the model number to hand.

Does the 700BFI ice maker need switching off before the bin comes out?

No. The 700 Series guide says drawer models stop the ice maker by themselves when the container is lifted out and start again once it is back. The ice maker drops eight cubes about every two hours, and cubes left unused can fuse into a block; tipping them out lets fresh ice build up.