Ok, campers, here's my final post and pics on the work over the weekend.
Let's start with the thing that started the whole project... the drain cups and gasket(s). After doing the inside work including removal of the retaining bolts, I went topside, laid out the moving blankets and rolled the turtle onto her side to get a look at her belly. Here's a pic that shows the original single gasket and the streetside drain cup with the tubing going through the gasket. You can tell that the cup was siting on the roof surface from the staining on its underside and on the roof. Neither cup seemed cracked or broken, but the mechanics of the original, single gasket installation by JC means that the tubing was flattened where it passed through the gasket and the cups created interference that prevented the gasket from compressing as intended by Dometic before the specified torque was reached on the retaining bolts.
Attachment 317117 ***After posting, I noticed the first three pics were not loaded. I'll put them in the following post***
Closeup
Attachment 317118
And the inside of that cup after the screws were removed. Note the dry residue on the bottom of the cup and similar residue around a portion of the rim. That suggests to me that this cup has overflowed, leaving the residue on the rim. Dometic says not to seal this cup to the bottom pan of the unit. Their rationale is that overflow should be allowed if the drain becomes blocked. Note also the black plastic projection through the hole in the bottom of the steel pan above the cup's mounting location. This is the hole in the bottom of the evaporator tray. When working properly (ha!) the condensate drips from the evaporator coil, into the plastic evaporator tray which is integral to the evaporator housing, through that hole, into the cup, through it's drain and into the tubing. What could go wrong? In a few pics you will see that same hole from above with the cup below.
Attachment 317119
Those of you who are following this thread closely (you know who you are!) may note that the 12 v wiring is attached in the pics above. I had not intended to cut and resplice those lines until I realized that the alternative was to cut the lower gasket. I would recommend labeling and cutting the 12 v connections as part of the interior disassembly before going on the roof. Also, I was concerned that having condensate dumping on the roof next to a gasket that was under- thickness and potentially insuffciently compressed might have allowed water to move under the gasket and flow between the trailer's inside and outside skin. I had seen no evidence of water at any seems inside or in the insulation behind recessed lights (which can be pulled for inspection) in the area of the AC. However, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. On my trailer, one side of the AC has kitchen cabinets, the other the wardrobe. Neither is easy to access and test for moisture at the floor level. Good news! The area of the roof under the single gasket was perfectly clean with a sharp line showing wher the single gasket did its job. I do not suspect there was any water infiltration.
As noted in the original post, I sliced a notch on each side of the existing gasket as Dometic specifies to make room for the tubing, cleaned the roof area with denatured alcohol, installed the new cups and drain lines with the tee, sealed the space between the gasket and tubing with Parbond, peeled the protective film from the sticky strips of the new Dometic gasket and stuck it to the existing gasket. I rolled the turtle carefully back in place, went below where I could lift the unit to do fine positioning without dragging it (seriously... if you are tall enough, or have a ladder and eat a good breakfast or take a nitroglycerine pill that is a one man job) and was ready to reassemble.
After all the interior work and repairs described yesterday (120v wiring, 12 v wiring, drain tubing, base plate installations) was complete, I had a working system. There was one thing that bugged me... was I sure that everything was good
inside the evaporator area? After all, that's where condensate is produced and where it will leak from if the drain system isn't working properly.
Here's a pic from the roof level showing one of the two new cups sitting above the roof with a proper two gasket set behind it:
Attachment 317122
If you've never seen inside the beast, fasten your seatbelt and let's go for the tour! The fiberglass shell on my Penguin II is secured with four Phillips head screws. When the shell comes off, here's what you see:
Attachment 317121
That white mass on the right (front of the unit) is a styrofoam insulation cover over the evaporator section. It is friction fit and pops off easily (cut the low density foam strips first). Under that is the top half of the hard plastic case that seals the evaporator section.
Attachment 317123
The motor to the left in this pic has a shaft on each end. Both of those drive blowers. The blower in the open on the left of this pic (rear of the unit) circulates ambient air across the condenser coils to exhaust heat when the unit is operating in cooling mode. The blower for the evaporator section and the evaporator coil is under the black housing to the right in this pic. The cover can be removed by removing the five hex head screws around its edge and unsnapping the tabs that also line the perimeter. When removed you see:
Attachment 317124
That's the blower in back which exits air downward into the interior AC grille through the problematic duct discussed ad nauseum in yesterday's post. That air has been drawn up from the trailer through the two, wing shaped openings in the front of the unit. Those correspond precisely with the location and shape of the two pull-out filters on this model of the P II. Between the entry and exit the air passes through the evaporator coil where (during cooling operation) the warm, moist air is cooled and where our nemesis - condensation - is produced. Between the two return openings you can see the electric box and the 12 v wiring spliced in the open, inches from the coil which produces lots of water when running in the south in summer. Recall that the interior of my 120 v work box was wet when I opened it back in Chapter 1. Recall also that the exit ductwork of my blower was not secured and that condensation routinely flowed into the trailer. My belief is that escaping air from the blower circulated in odd ways through this housing including backflow that sprayed water on the work box and the area between the wing shaped return openings. From underneath, that area is a grey plastic plate about 3"x4" which can be removed... but those instructions are too long and complex to cover here. Note in this pick the new "wet location" workbox and soldered/capped/taped 12 v connections are visible in that center/forward space. One final point: if you look dirctly below the evaporator coil you will see the drain pan for condensate that is molded into the lower half of the evaporator section housing. At either side of that housing there is a hole. Below those holes are the infamous drain cups. For my final contribution... the last 1/4 teaspoon of knowledge I'll add to the brain trust... I present you with a closeup of one of those drain holes with the beautiful amber glow of Florida sunlight passing through the walls of a brand, spanking new Dometic Penguin II drain cup!
Attachment 317133
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my story.
Linear Mode
