Patent ID: 8359874

Claim:
A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator cabinet having a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment, the freezer compartment mounted below the fresh food compartment; a first fresh food compartment door for providing access to the fresh food compartment; an ice compartment mounted at the first fresh food compartment door, the ice compartment comprising an ice maker and an ice bin; a secondary cooling path providing a single path for circulating liquid coolant wherein the liquid coolant is cooled by the freezer compartment and wherein the liquid coolant cools the ice maker and the ice bin as the liquid coolant circulates through the secondary cooling path; a pump positioned along the secondary cooling path for pumping the liquid coolant through the secondary cooling path; a tube having a first end proximate the pump and an opposite end exposed to atmosphere to thereby control suction pressure associated with the pump; and a three-way valve in fluid connection with the pump wherein the three-way valve provides for switching between circulating liquid coolant through the secondary cooling path and circulating a hot liquid through the secondary cooling path.