AC Troubleshooting Part 1 Clogged Drain Line

[MMCMRET]

While running the AC I noticed that water was running down the side of my rig. Climbed up top and removed the AC cover, followed by the insulation cover, and lastly the plastic fan/coil shroud and found the drain line was clogged.
https://www.airforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1717355869

Blowing air, from the bottom up, was unsuccessful. The water would not move. went to Amazon and found this tiny brush and wire set-up.https://www.airforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1717356044
It was long enough to clear from the "T" almost to the tire. All the water drained out. I think I ended up about a foot short. For good measure I cleaned from the "T" to each condensate cup.

Just thought I would pass this along in case any of you were having the same issue.

[Rich Jenkins]

Very useful, thanks.

I did find the 118 inch ac drain condensate tool on Amazon, link below:

"Auto Sunroof Drain Cleaning Tool, Cleaning Brush Hose Pipe Brush, 118INCH Drain Brush Long Pipe Cleaners for Car, Tube Cleaning Brush Slim Drain Dredging Tool for car and Fridge"

https://a.co/d/hDU2SWL

I ordered one to try out, I'll give this a go on our 2019 FC25RBT, and report back.

[Rich Jenkins]

Right, so I bought the little brush combo tool off Amazon, and tried it on my A/C drain tube the other day.

I put the tool up and into the drain, until it bottomed out. It seemed to "hit" something solid. I never did feel like it was moving through any gunk or debris. When I pulled out the tool, the small brush on the end was as clean as when I took it out of the package.

At this point I'd guess based on this the tube itself it clean. I'm not sure what the end ran into, but I'll look at the drain performance on our next trip, which will start in September. If I have any updates then, I'll post back.

Picture of tool stuck into the drain tube, for reference.

[JJTX]

Airstream is kinking the drain tubes during assembly and they dont give to cracks about it yet. They will. People are starting to get mad, including me.

Theres either defective AC units, or the drain lines are being broken or crushed during installation and nobody is checking this during assembly.

[Mollysdad]

I bought 15' of 1/8" steel cable on the advice of "Airstreamin'"
Small enough to fit, stiff enough to poke.

[billrector]

Originally Posted by JJTX

Airstream is kinking the drain tubes during assembly and they dont give to cracks about it yet. They will. People are starting to get mad, including me.

Theres either defective AC units, or the drain lines are being broken or crushed during installation and nobody is checking this during assembly.

On my unit, they make a 90 degree bend as it goes down the side of the unit. It is here that it gets kinked. A very poor design.

[Rich Jenkins]

A bit more of the mystery was revealed today.

In preparation for our next trip, I took down the A/C intakes to clean. When I went to re-install them, what did I find in the opening but this "three way" that people refer to sometimes.

Turns out the drain tube was bent over, almost as if intentional, such that no condensate would get past.

I manually squished the sides until the tubing flexed round enough to open, and sure enough, DW reported that a few drops of water came out the other end near where she was looking outside at the pavement. So now I think I understand my problem.

I didn't have many supplies with me (trailer in storage) so I kinda sorta splinted the tube at the squish point with a bracket which had come loose and was just there (this is the white plastic gizmo in the picture).

In future, I'll take off the drain line at the three way, send my cleaning brush through, and maybe then pour a bit of white vinegar through and chase it with some water, then reattach it with some kind of reinforcement to reduce the risk of the tube kinking again.

Progress!

[Keys Dave]

You can also buy a 20 foot fiberglass fish tape from HD. Look in the electric department. I find it works well and is longer than others. The plastic end is unlikely to poke a hole in the drain line. Mine makes it all the way to the tee with some effort. There seems to be several restrictions along the way. A shop vac. set up to pull out the sludge also helps.

[Keys Dave]

Originally Posted by JJTX

Airstream is kinking the drain tubes during assembly and they dont give to cracks about it yet. They will. People are starting to get mad, including me.

Theres either defective AC units, or the drain lines are being broken or crushed during installation and nobody is checking this during assembly.

I'm in the process of installing a second unit on my FC and I ran PEX for the drain. Not as easy but it should be harder to kink. Not like they are not using PEX everywhere else.

[JJTX]

Pex is a GREAT Idea, if they gave a $@*&#@ ! They dont actually check anything. If they did, they wouldn't have let mine out the factory with either a bad water drain pump or obstructed drain tube.

I felt around next to the inside wheel well and I can literally feel where its pinched by the inside wall skin. No telling what happened between there and the 4-5 feet of hose. But it literally is squshed by the inside wall panel as it goes out into the wheel well opening under the shore power plug

As someone else said, Im going to have to do my own diagnosis and disconnect the hose up in the inside and see if I can get water to come out into the sink with a section of hose or a bucket under the intake.

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by Keys Dave

You can also buy a 20 foot fiberglass fish tape from HD. s.

Mine wouldnt get 5 inches in before it stops. I guess I could go from the top down.

[Al and Missy]

On a suggestion from someone on here I got some weed eater line, cut a piece long enough and chucked it up in my drill. Worked great!


Al

[Rich Jenkins]

Success!

Camped up here at our destination (Grayton Beach SP, Florida) and voila! A/C condensate line draining like a champ!

I think for me it was a question of simply unkinking the bend up behind the A/C return/filter. No unclogging needed in my case.

Will keep an eye on it but looks like I’m in the clear for now.

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by Rich Jenkins

Success!

Camped up here at our destination (Grayton Beach SP, Florida) and voila! A/C condensate line draining like a champ!

I think for me it was a question of simply unkinking the bend up behind the A/C return/filter. No unclogging needed in my case.

Will keep an eye on it but looks like I’m in the clear for now.

Good. And like a house drain line, at some point some maint will be needed.

[rodsterinfl]

Two days ago I completed an install of a new Blizzard NXT AC unit to replace my OEM Penguin. The penguin drain was caulked in heavily and attached to a drain pan. I never had issue with drainage.

After doing a test run on the new AC I had condensate running down the side of the Airstream. I went up and looked at the left side drain cup filled to the brim with water. The other side was dry. I thought the drain was stopped up- it wasn't.

So yesterday I decided to check the AC unit leveling using a bubble level. The unit was down lower on the left side where the water was. I took the ADB off and redid the compression several times checking the level of the AC unit. I ran the AC unit for 30 minutes and had no condensate after that. I was getting a steady drip out of the tube on the tire.

You may want to check the AC unit level, especially with these "drain cup" setups.

[cwf]

Took different approach.. need 2 folks to do it efficiently… used a shop vac on the external condensate line into a clean shop “wet/dry” vacuum.

Inside, power off the AC. Get access to the evaporator coils. (I had to remove the inner mount bolts and plate..

Clean the evaporator. First wipe in direction of the coil.. then spray lightly with Dawn. Wipe coils again.. TURN On the vacuum….after 20 seconds, check that there is condensate and perhaps dirt being evacuated. If you are getting flow, proceed..

With a spray bottle filled with DISTILLED water, wash the coils slowly… if water doesn’t flow into the vacuum, stop. Use the shop vacuum to pull water from evaporator condensate drain trough. I used “foaming” coil cleaner.. most any flavor.. but I used orange based… spray on evaporator following manufacturer directions.

Turn on the shop vac, rinse the evaporator cleaner using more distilled water.. until condensate runs clear. Remove the shop vacuum.

Put ac together, power up on cool.. you should have nice clean condensate exiting the drain .

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by cwf

Took different approach.. need 2 folks to do it efficiently… used a shop vac on the external condensate line into a clean shop “wet/dry” vacuum.

Inside, power off the AC. Get access to the evaporator coils. (I had to remove the inner mount bolts and plate..

Clean the evaporator. First wipe in direction of the coil.. then spray lightly with Dawn. Wipe coils again.. TURN On the vacuum….after 20 seconds, check that there is condensate and perhaps dirt being evacuated. If you are getting flow, proceed..

With a spray bottle filled with DISTILLED water, wash the coils slowly… if water doesn’t flow into the vacuum, stop. Use the shop vacuum to pull water from evaporator condensate drain trough. I used “foaming” coil cleaner.. most any flavor.. but I used orange based… spray on evaporator following manufacturer directions.

Turn on the shop vac, rinse the evaporator cleaner using more distilled water.. until condensate runs clear. Remove the shop vacuum.

Put ac together, power up on cool.. you should have nice clean condensate exiting the drain .

Assuming the line is not damaged or the AC unit itself.

[MMCMRET]

Originally Posted by MMCMRET

While running the AC I noticed that water was running down the side of my rig. Climbed up top and removed the AC cover, followed by the insulation cover, and lastly the plastic fan/coil shroud and found the drain line was clogged.
https://www.airforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1717355869

Blowing air, from the bottom up, was unsuccessful. The water would not move. went to Amazon and found this tiny brush and wire set-up.https://www.airforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1717356044
It was long enough to clear from the "T" almost to the tire. All the water drained out. I think I ended up about a foot short. For good measure I cleaned from the "T" to each condensate cup.

Just thought I would pass this along in case any of you were having the same issue.

I ran the AC for several days this summer and noted that I now had water running down the left side of my rig. Water was also running out of the drain line, next to the left-front wheel. I fear I have a cracked drain cup on the left side.

This thread offered some great advice, and actual Dometic instructions, on how to replace the damaged cups. https://www.airforums.com/forums/f42...nt-214915.html

[MarkW]

I know this is not the same problem but maybe someone here can help. I have a 2019 flying Cloud with two ac units. The problem is that when I run the ac unit or both units it starts puddling water at the corner of the shower wall on the floor and works its way to the floor under the wardrobe and around the water pump.It has been in the shop four times to locate the issue. The shop has not been able to duplicate the problem. One shop had it two weeks and no problems. I take it camping and it leaks. It does not leak in the rain or when we don’t use the ac.i just dropped it off today at a different airstream repair facility and stayed all day. No leaks yet. I have left it for them to keep troubleshooting the issue.
Has anyone experienced this problem and don’t have any ideas? Totally frustrated!

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by MarkW

I know this is not the same problem but maybe someone here can help. I have a 2019 flying Cloud with two ac units. The problem is that when I run the ac unit or both units it starts puddling water at the corner of the shower wall on the floor and works its way to the floor under the wardrobe and around the water pump.It has been in the shop four times to locate the issue. The shop has not been able to duplicate the problem. One shop had it two weeks and no problems. I take it camping and it leaks. It does not leak in the rain or when we don’t use the ac.i just dropped it off today at a different airstream repair facility and stayed all day. No leaks yet. I have left it for them to keep troubleshooting the issue.
Has anyone experienced this problem and don’t have any ideas? Totally frustrated!

Sounds like you need moisture content to get the coils wet and start draining. I assume this is dometic gravity drain system. Tell them to leave the door open. Theres no shortage of humidity in TX.

Those lines in the celing could be cracked.

Is it draining water out of the AC drain hose?

I know in those dual AC campers theres a T between the two clear hoses, the T Is usually by one of them, coming from the other AC drain hose...