Can rainwater get in A/C drain hose

[By the Bay]

Reading some of the archives of A/C units and the topic of leaks leads me to wonder if the leak we currently have could be in the drain hose? (hose or is it pipe?)

Here's the situation (we purchased the trailer in July... it had snow damage on roof in the winter with the PO):

We have a leak coming in between the interior skin and the exterior skin (thru the pink insulation).

When it rains, the water is coming out at the shade the eyebrow window at the front driver's side of the trailer.

The A/C cover is cracked and old looking. The unit still works, though. (Vents and seams and windows have been sealed with Sikaflex and Acryl-R... so I turned to thinking the culprit is the A/C unit)

So, when rainwater lands on the roof, can it get in to where the A/C drain hose is? And if so, could the hose be cracked somewhere along it and thus be causing the leak which is so far forward of the A/C unit?

See, I'm wondering it replacing the actual A/C unit *won't* solve my problem?!
If the drain hose is the problem then that is a different story. (How doe that get solved?)

So, to reiterate my initial question (more for my wrapping my head around the possible cause, not implying you smart folk need it rephrased! LOL):

Can rainwater get into the drain hose?? (And then leak, mid-wall)

Oh, water.

[azflycaster]

The drain for the Air Conditioner should run down and exit the trailer just in front of the street side wheels. If your leak is located at the shade to the vista view, it is very unlikely.

I would suspect the vista view, front vent, TV antenna or the front running lights as suspects in your case. Running water on these areas, starting with the lowest items first, should reproduce your leak.

Good luck, leaks are no fun...

[dwightdi]

The drain hose comes from the bottom of the coil that cools interior air. This area is not exposed to the outside air where the rain would have the potential to get into it. I do not think your lead is from the drain hose. You can verify it by taking off the cover of the air conditioner and using a garden hose to test vulnerable spots.

[By the Bay]

The exterior cover/shroud is so old and brittle and the bolts so rusted that it won't come off (and go back on again, that is!) Dwightdi (or anyone), can I run said garden hose from the inside? If I take off the *interior* cover, can I see the drain hose? Took a look thru the service manual and don't see the drain hose in the exploded diagrams.

Azflycaster (or anyone), I have done the water test from the outside (beginning at low at the leak spot and working higher) and nothin'. The only other thing I am going to do is replace the weather seal/weather stripping around the vent but it seems to me that if it was a matter of that weather stripping, then I'd be seeing some water in the light fixture inside. But water is interesting, so I will do that b-4 doing some major A/C fix.

Thanks for your help!

By the Bay

[HowieE]

Remove the inside cover of the AC and look up into the opening. There is only one penetration of the roof for the AC. At that penetration you should see sealant around the edges. If the roof had snow damage some portion of that seal may have a crack. If you play water around the base of the AC and watch for water coming through that sealant you may find a leak. I had a lead in one corner of this sealant that would drip water after a heavy rain on the kitchen table.

The fact that the shroud of the AC is cracked should not be a problem because water can get into the outer sections of the AC anyway and drain out through the pan edges. That portion of the AC that comes into the trailer, the air handling section, is sealed from the outside section except for the fan shaft which is horizontal and not likely to pass water.

One thing to consider when looking for a leak. Water will not travel far or fast through fiberglass insulation. The insulation will have to saturate before water will move. So the time delay from when it rains to when you see the leak will give you some indication as to how far away the leak may be.