AC drainage

[DeltaRon]

2015 FC 28. Hot day in south LA. AC draining as normal in wheel well. For first time, however, I have some water also draining from the rain gutter on top toward front of trailer opposite entry door. It is dripping along outside skin by window. Is this normal? Or is there some other pending problem?

[AWCHIEF]

I have the same problem. Definetly not normal. I suspect my drain hose is clogged. Going to see if I can blow it out tomorrow.

[DeltaRon]

How do you blow it out?

[AWCHIEF]

Stick a high pressure air nozzle in the end of the hose and blow. Should not have to be to high to work. Start off slow and build up the pressure.

[NavyCorpsman]

Go easy with the volume of air... If the condensation pan is full to overflowing and draining from the sides, when you put the air to it you will clear the line and you could blow the water into your coach. I was able to clean my Armstrong 14 by removing the cover and getting at it the source. I cleaned a bunch of gunk that I wouldn't have otherwise blown into the condensate pan. It was really easy and enjoyable to fix.

[AWCHIEF]

My AC unit was replaced just over a year ago at Jackson Center. Pulled the interior cover off to access the drain so that I could clean it out because of water running down the side of the trailer. Made an interesting discovery. The drain line is there but not attached to anything. As far as I can tell I have no drain pan. That explains why the water run off. Now of course I am confused as to what my next step should be.

[HiJoeSilver]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

My AC unit was replaced just over a year ago at Jackson Center. Pulled the interior cover off to access the drain so that I could clean it out because of water running down the side of the trailer. Made an interesting discovery. The drain line is there but not attached to anything. As far as I can tell I have no drain pan. That explains why the water run off. Now of course I am confused as to what my next step should be.

Attachment 246989Attachment 246990

If the water running down the side doesn't bother you to much you can leave it. Other options would be lifting the ac to install a drain pan or the drain cups.

[AWCHIEF]

It is more a nit picking annoyance than anything else. It looks like all the water is going outside. Not really something I want to spend a lot of money on right now plus I physically do not think I am able to safely remove the AC top end unit by myself. I am very aware of my backs limitations. After I win the lottery I can deal with it if really necessary. What does bother me is that the new AC was put in by the Airstream factory and they did not install the required drain parts. I am going to give them a call and see why not.

[Foiled Again]

PLEASE don't blow on your drain hose, get a wet-dry vacuum and suck the crud out. You're probably growing algae and mold on the inside, and you don't want any of that to end up inside your A/C. Of course if you're cleaning the air filters at the same time you could spray the crap all over your living area. You don't need a nozzle that fits the diameter of the drain hose, just hold your fingers over the end of the vacuum leaving a small gap for the drain hose. We do this at the office about twice a summer.

You might also simply walk outside at 2 AM and look at the outside of your Airstream. Mine will have condensation everywhere on the roof because the A/C is running and the humidity is always +90% in eastern Virginia in the summer. Roof condensation could be what is running down the sides. If some moisture is coming out of the drain hose then roof condensation is the obvious culprit.

In extreme summer I've had it dripping INSIDE - but that happens if I forget to turn on the shower fan when bathing. I'm sure not tempted to make any hot meals inside during summer, and I've steam cleaned the whole inside once just by going to the truck for a few minutes and not hearing the teakettle start to whistle.

[Farmer Dan]

I was told that condensate water running down the side of your trailer will eventually etch it.

Dan

[Foiled Again]

PLEASE don't blow on your drain hose, get a wet-dry vacuum and suck the crud out. You're probably growing algae and mold on the inside, and you don't want any of that to end up inside your A/C. Of course if you're cleaning the air filters at the same time you could spray the crap all over your living area. You don't need a nozzle that fits the diameter of the drain hose, just hold your fingers over the end of the vacuum leaving a small gap for the drain hose. We do this at the office about twice a summer.

You might also simply walk outside at 2 AM and look at the outside of your Airstream. Mine will have condensation everywhere on the roof because the A/C is running and the humidity is always +90% in eastern Virginia in the summer. Roof condensation could be what is running down the sides. If some moisture is coming out of the drain hose then roof condensation is the obvious culprit.

In extreme summer I've had it dripping INSIDE - but that happens if I forget to turn on the shower fan when bathing. I'm sure not tempted to make any hot meals inside during summer, and I've steam cleaned the whole inside once just by going to the truck for a few minutes and not hearing the teakettle start to whistle.

[AWCHIEF]

Foiled, curious why the second identical post?

[KJRitchie]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

It is more a nit picking annoyance than anything else. It looks like all the water is going outside. Not really something I want to spend a lot of money on right now plus I physically do not think I am able to safely remove the AC top end unit by myself. I am very aware of my backs limitations. After I win the lottery I can deal with it if really necessary. What does bother me is that the new AC was put in by the Airstream factory and they did not install the required drain parts. I am going to give them a call and see why not.

Any word from Airstream? When Airstream replaced you AC did they install the dreain cups vs the drain pan. Did they install a Dometiv Penquin or another brand that drains externally. I've read somewhere on this forum that if the drain cups overflow due to heavy humidity the drain to the outside.

Kelvin

[AWCHIEF]

Kelvin, yes they called me back and emailed a copy of the work order. It simply says "4/17/14 new AC with heat pump new thermostat, n/c warranty total 1219.00". He said there was a Dometic recall for coil/gas leakage and they swapped out about 20 units around that time and occasionally still get one in. I mentioned the drain line not connected and he said it is designed to drain outside, drain cups could be installed if desired but are not necessary. He had no additional information.