Air Conditioner Interior Leak

[Seneca]

Hey Friends.

2014 Airstream 27' FB International here.

Airstream was in storage for five months. Just pulled it out an shave been in it for 1.5 weeks. Day two the AC started leaking on the inside. It now is torrential. We have a 5gallon bucket that we use to catch the water.

Attempted to take off the AC cover inside the airstream but can't figure out how to get it off (?!) Not can I find online how to get it off...

Any help to stop the leaking, please?

Video of problem, here: https://youtu.be/gZ3eoB7wRl4

Many thanks! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[GMFL]

It is heels in place with 8 screws. Here are their locations in photo.
Are you getting any condensation from the drain tube located in the street side wheel well? If not the drain tube may be stopped up which should cause condensation to run out the drip pan overflow holes an run out onto the roof.
Getting the cover off and taking a look will hopefully tell you a lot.

BE CAREFUL WHEN REMOVING THE AIR DISTRIBUTION BOX! IT HAS SOME SNAP TABS LOCATED ON THE REAR FACING SIDE.

[CRH]

If no water is coming out of the tube, run a piece of weedeater cord up it to try and unclog.

[n2916s]

Another couple of ways to clear the drain tube:

Blow some compressed air back up the tube (go easy - no more than 10 psi) or
Vacuum the tube (again, gently)!with a wet/dry vac.

[cazual6]

Try something simpler before you do all that work. Try cleaning the filters. I had rented an SOB before and the water was leaking in the inside as you described.

Once I cleaned the filters, VIOLA!!! Problem solved.

Good luck.

[ZoominC6]

Check that condensate drain tube outside and under the trailer and if it's not dripping any water you may be plugged. It happened to me and I hooked up my air compressor and blew out the line. Works every time.

Happy trails.

[GammaDog]

Sorry to hear about your leak! I have the same year trailer as you and probably the same Dometic Penguin II model. I also live where the typical afternoon temperature + relative humidity tops 160. I AC the trailer all summer in storage. I've seen Niagara Falls indoors.

Good advice above. I'd start with filters, then look to the drain tube (1/2" clear plastic line that exits the trailer in the front of the street side wheel well). If the AC used to drain well and now doesn't, cleaning that line is probably the solution.

I'm not a fan of blowing compressed air up the tube. Two reasons: 1. There is a tee fitting in that line. At best, you'll completely clear a block in the main line. More likely, you only clear one leg or will blow a plug of goo up the line into one leg of the system above the tee. 2. At the top of the system are two small plastic cups that catch the condensate from the coil and direct it into each leg of the plastic pipe heading to the tee. You can see these cups on the outside of the rooftop unit. One one each side just above the roof surface. Blowing a clog up the lines with compressed air could fill and clog those cups. The clog is still in the system and even if it starts to drain, that goo is more likely to create a new clog quickly than it is to dissolve and pass quietly from the drain.

Running a tool up the drain in the hope of breaking up the clog is better than air in my opinion. A steel coil snake is about the right size and is flexible enough.

If you want to learn about the myriad other causes beyond the two obvious ones above, here's a 10 page thread started by RFP that is patterned after a 12 step meeting. Each participant joined by admitting they had a problem (myself included). We laughed, cried and found healing through sharing our worst moments and through the fellowship of wanting to live in a dry trailer. I hope you don't need to join our group, but if you do, we're here for you!

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f427...be-182389.html

[dudleymar15]

I get the problem occasionally. Live and travel in Florida with high humidity and heavy rain.
Usually it is due to a dirty filter. Cleaning has been sufficient though I do check the drain to be sure there are drips.

[AirstreamJim]

I’ll be the one to bring gloom and doom to the party.

We live in hot and humid South Florida and we were living full time in our Airstream this past winter while we renovated the house. Every day the AC leaked inside, but strangely enough, there were copious amounts of water draining normally through the drain line, out to the wheel well. I tried cleaning the filters with no luck.

This summer (no longer full timing in the Airstream), we noticed a strange chemical odor inside the trailer, which seemed to be present only when the AC was on. Assuming a refrigerant leak, I made an appointment at Airstream of Tampa to have it looked at. I mentioned to them that it also leaked inside.

They found no refrigerant leak, but the drain cup was cracked where the drain tube connects, and there was also a condensate leak internal to the AC unit. The only fix was replacement of the AC under warranty, which was three weeks from expiration.

All that said, try the easy stuff first. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred it’s a clogged drain line.

Jim

[Alumitater]

Originally Posted by CRH

If no water is coming out of the tube, run a piece of weedeater cord up it to try and unclog.

I have just tried to run the weedeater cord thru the tube....is there a junction or 90 degree somewhere along the run? Mine hung up at what seemed like a junction. BTW, just tried the JB Weld product for water, waiting for cure time. Same issue, water leaking from cup where tube joins the AC drain cup. Fingers crossed.

[GammaDog]

‘tater: On my 2014 model year installation, there is a tee fitting inside the ceiling unit. A weed whacker line run up the drain from its opening in the street side wheel well would go into the street side drain cup. The line from the curbside drain cup enters at 90 degrees to that path in the tee.

IMO, the weed whacker technique will clear a blockage in the drain line below that tee and one of the two lines from the drain cups, but not the other. Since Airstreams are hand built, yours may be different.

Also, a persistent problem in my installation was that the drain line hooked to one port of that tee fitting was about 1” too short. That lead to a kink in the line. I added a brass straight joint and 2” more tubing.

For my unit, the only way to know what you’ve got and to clean everything is to remove the grille inside the trailer, inspect the tubing (for kinks, clogs and such) pull the lines from the tee and flush them with algaecide. Vinegar and water works, so does a dilute bleach solution.

[Alumitater]

Originally Posted by Alumitater

I have just tried to run the weedeater cord thru the tube....is there a junction or 90 degree somewhere along the run? Mine hung up at what seemed like a junction. BTW, just tried the JB Weld product for water, waiting for cure time. Same issue, water leaking from cup where tube joins the AC drain cup. Fingers crossed.

GammaDog and others: thanks so much for the assistance. This forum is such a great learning tool. I think (hope) the info I learned may have solved my leak. The JB Weld Water Weld worked.....at least it is working for now! Thanks again for sharing your experience and knowledge. Tom