Dometic Penguin Drain Kit

[Frank's Trailer Works]

my 1972 Coleman runs the condensate right down the side of my 1962 Overlander and it does not bother me one bit. Some people are bothered by it however...

[lewster]

Try wrapping the suction lines with foam pipe insulation.......just like the residential A/C units use. Should do the trick.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Oh, no. I am taking it off and doing as you showed in this thread. It is either right or it is wrong. I knew something was not correct with the install direction! This is the trouble with having to buy three parts and having three separate instructions with no two really overlapping correctly.

[Steve Bryant]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I don't mind wrapping the suction line from the evaporator to the compressor. I don't know why it's been so hard to wrap my mind around what I what to do with the AC.

One thing that I'm glad about is that my AC works well. I've had a lot of problems with other things in my trailer and I'm pleased that the AC isn't one of them. After I took the picture shown above, I carefully blew everything our with compressed air and then rinsed the condenser coils, compressor, etc. with water and got a ton of dirt out of everything. Then I installed the old shroud on the unit and ran it for two days... no unusual sounds, just cool air. I've also bought replacement filters. I'll be replacing the baffle foam as I believe that new foam is included with the new shroud.

All my best,

Steve

[Skatiero]

We are very interested to know more. Does the pan catch everything?

[Crusty]

The pan allows the overflow when the drain plugs up to run inside the trailer. The cups make that same overflow run on the outside of the trailer.

I just found an easy way to deal with the drain plugging problem. I bought an inexpensive hand operated transfer pump in the automotive section of Wally World, and I connected it to the bottom of the drain hose and then pumped a Clorox and water mixture into the hose until it overflowed out of the cups. That should keep the grunge from growing in the drain line for quite some time.

[Steve Bryant]

Being a retired engineer, I'm still in the habit of looking for more information. In the quest for clarity on just how to install the 3107688.016 Dometic Drain Kit, I decided to call Dometic's Customer Support and get a copy of their installation instructions. I talked to a lady there named Heather Perry and she was very helpful. It turns out that Dometic updated and expanded their instructions in April of 2012. It has additional pictures and explanations.

Thanks,

Steve

[adonh]

Originally Posted by Steve Bryant

Thanks for the replies everyone! I don't mind wrapping the suction line from the evaporator to the compressor. I don't know why it's been so hard to wrap my mind around what I what to do with the AC.

One thing that I'm glad about is that my AC works well. I've had a lot of problems with other things in my trailer and I'm pleased that the AC isn't one of them. After I took the picture shown above, I carefully blew everything our with compressed air and then rinsed the condenser coils, compressor, etc. with water and got a ton of dirt out of everything. Then I installed the old shroud on the unit and ran it for two days... no unusual sounds, just cool air. I've also bought replacement filters. I'll be replacing the baffle foam as I believe that new foam is included with the new shroud.

All my best,

Steve

Hi Steve you may have already done this but when I cleaned my Carrier AC on my 1976 Sovereign a week or so ago I noticed just before sealing everything back up that the Squirrel Cage blower cupped blades were full of dried on dirt and grime. It still worked and blew air but with the blades full of dirt it certainly did not get the bite it was supposed to. Mine were hard to get to but I was able to clean them out and it should make a difference in the air flow. Just a thought.

[Steve Bryant]

Originally Posted by adonh

Hi Steve you may have already done this but when I cleaned my Carrier AC on my 1976 Sovereign a week or so ago I noticed just before sealing everything back up that the Squirrel Cage blower cupped blades were full of dried on dirt and grime. It still worked and blew air but with the blades full of dirt it certainly did not get the bite it was supposed to. Mine were hard to get to but I was able to clean them out and it should make a difference in the air flow. Just a thought.

Don,
Thanks for the reminder. Yes, my squirrel cage had everything in it except acorns! By cleaning it with air then water, I'd say the aerodynamic efficiency nearly doubled. Note: in my opinon, it's typically fine to gently spray the wiring, motor, blower, coils, etc. off with water. Minimize the use of water by first brushing the dust off or preferably blowing it off with compressed air or even a leaf blower will help. The important thing is to give the water plenty of time to drain and evaporate off of the electrical equipment before operating it.

Steve

Steve

[Ranchodelux]

The Penguin 13500 Btu just failed this week after about 30 hours use on our 22FB with a "Sweet Smell" of graham crackers (freon) and white smoke in the cockpit.

The Airstream dealer in Tucson, AZ (Lazydays) replaced under Dometic Warranty. The Tech noted that the original cups were cracked as it appeared that The Airstream Factory hand not used double foam for clearance so the A/C must have been sitting or vibrating on the the plastic drain cup. He added the Cup Drain Kit #32284 3107688008 plus what came with the new upper Penguin 2.

The installed unit sets about a inch higher and the double foam blocks need to be added to support the rear metal pan.

There seems to be less vibration from this configuration as the stand off and extra foam cushions better.

The drain cup bottoms sit a inch away from the top of roof

You loose some overhead clearance though.

Attach a pic as video for reference

Cheers

[Westfalia]

Originally Posted by Steve Bryant

The important thing is to give the water plenty of time to drain and evaporate off of the electrical equipment before operating it.

Go low tech. Wrap all electrical and motor components in saran wrap before spraying to condenser or cage fan assemblies. Saves on drying time or other damage.

On the drain pan, I've ordered a new 15K Penguin II from Lewster so I will be doing an install with the unit soon and will provide relevant commentary as to its installation.

[AWCHIEF]

After a cleaning of the drain tube, half a tube of sealant and torqueing down of the AC unit I no longer have water leaking inside my trailer. It is all going down the drain hose or outside. I can live with that.

[Steve Bryant]

For anyone who is interested, I complained about not being able to attach .pdf files and Janet (moderator) posted the new Dometic Drain Kit Instruction file for me back in this post.

Steve

[adonh]

I am installing a new Dometic BriskII AC on my Sovereign with the Auxiliary Drain Kit. Thanks for Lew for posting the instructions and pictures on the install of the kit and for the PM's answering my questions.

I did notice that on the Dometic Brisk II unit that there are already pre-drilled holes in the base of the unit that match the screw holes in the drain cups which will center the cups over the drain in the base.



Now moving on to getting the old AC off the Airstream putting the new on top.

[Lance M]

What happened to the original Armstrong, Don?

[adonh]

Originally Posted by Top

What happened to the original Armstrong, Don?

The old Armstrong stopped working a few years back and I replaced it with the Carrier AC.

The new Dometic Brisk II is installed and works fine including the auxiliary drain kit. The one thing I am not completely satisfied with is the manual control air distribution ceiling assembly. It does the job but the actual vents, 4 of them 1 front and back and 1 on each side are just holes cut in the assembly with plastic doors that open and close. No directional vent louvers of any kind. Also the front vent get less air flow than the back and sides since the air must be funneled around the return air duct. This seems to cause the very front of trailer to heat up during day since the air flow does not reach that far. I am not sure about the side vents in a narrow trailer and I have these closed. Time will tell

[Lance M]

You wouldn't happen to still have the old Armstrong, would you?

[adonh]

Originally Posted by Top

You wouldn't happen to still have the old Armstrong, would you?

No that was 8 or so years back

[johnamjr]

I am about to remove my Armstrong unit. Needs a fan motor. That's it.


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[Lance M]

Originally Posted by johnamjr

I am about to remove my Armstrong unit. Needs a fan motor. That's it.


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Why don't you fix it?