A/C Drain Problem

[BorninPalatka]

The a/c water is running from the roof down the sides instead of thru the Oliver drain. Any suggestions for an easy fix?

[John E Davies]

Get a tall ladder, a rope, some rags and a foam camping pad to kneel on.

 

Pad the ladder and secure it to the awning with the rope.

 

If your silly drip seal is still in place, you can’t do this, so tie it to the entry grab bar and be really careful not to knock your ladder over! If you have to go up near the door, you need to tilt the solar panel up to be able to walk past it. If you climb up near the rear, this is not needed. (This is another excellent reason to throw away that seal. You can clean the accumulated muck from behind it at the same time.)

 

Climb on roof, awning side only (so you don’t slide off).

 

Remove cover of AC.

 

Clear drain of debris.

 

Inspect and clean other components as needed.

 

Reinstall cover.

 

Climb down.

 

Go get a beer.

 

Blowing compressed air up from the drain bottom opening might work but it won’t get the debris away from the top opening, so it will probably plug up again. You need to physically go check out what is going on up top.

 

If you have some 303 Protectant, clean and treat the plastic cover to keep it from getting brittle.

 

Nobody said owning an RV was easy.... I just spent most of a day on the roof detailing. If in doubt, find a young person to do this for you or take it to an RV $hop! Note that the seal is gone:

 

 

Good luck.

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

[BorninPalatka]

John okay I will send Lou Anne up to the roof as you suggested!

[bugeyedriver]

Many years ago, my A/C drain problem was fixed by giving a firm tug to the tube as it exited the trailer. It straightened out a kink in the line and everything flowed nicely after that.

[BorninPalatka]

John good idea. I will send Lou Anne up on the roof like you suggested!!!

[rideandfly]

This is not about clearing the AC drain, but what I use under my knees while working on the roof. I'm sure this is overkill, but for protection of Ollie's roof and my knees at my weight of 215lbs, made two knee pads for working on Ollie's roof. Laminated two memory foam seat cushions together sandwiching a PVC cutting board in the center using adhesive to hold everything together for each knee pad. Used so far for waxing, antenna, AC, and roof vent work.

 

[John E Davies]

Laminated two memory foam seat cushions together sandwiching a PVC cutting board in the center using adhesive to hold everything together for each knee pad.

 

Those are definitely overkill but they look like they work terrifically well. I did fine with a scrap of Coleman sleeping pad (the blue dense egg crate foam). But I am a much smaller guy.

 

It is important to not wear shoes that have metal eyelets, or black marking soles, or they can leave dark scuff marks on the gelcoat.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Mainiac]

Where does the ac supposed to drain?

[rideandfly]

Mainiac,

 

Here's where the drain for our Dometic AC is located. It's a hose/tube run from the AC unit between the inner and outer hull shells to the location below:

 

[Mainiac]

Thank you. I am sure I have seen the drain hose, but just never associated it with the ac. Will have to find and keep an eye on the tube. We certainly would not want mud daubers or debris blocking the hose, especially those rare days where you run the ac in the afternoon and have sub zero nights. A split drain hose, from freezing, between the hulls would certainly displease me. We will make sure the top is clean, and probably probe the bottom of the hose with a thin flexible wire...

[BorninPalatka]

Bill is it a green tube near the hot water ? Or is the drain a small angled metal opening near the water connections?

[Mainiac]

I would think the hose near the water heater would be the drain for the fresh water tank. The metal plates are covers over holes that are hull drains. These (I assume) are incase water or condensation occur between the hulls. They do allow dust and cold air to enter the hulls...

[rideandfly]

The AC drain for our Dometic AC is a white tube or hose close to the exterior Cable TV inlet connection on the port & aft bottom hull corner of our 2015 Elite II. Don't have any close up photos right now, will take one during next visit to Ollie's hangar.

[donthompson]

Here’s a photo of my A/C drain on my ‘16 Elite II. Camped at Edisto Beach State Park in S.C.—A/C is running!

[BorninPalatka]

Thanks everyone. We finally found the A/C drain exactly where you told it was.

 

Jason said there is a water gathering ‘tub’ on each the A/C. These 4 tubs flow thru one drain? Under the center of the A/C ?

[rideandfly]

Thanks everyone. We finally found the A/C drain exactly where you told it was.

Jason said there is a water gathering ‘tub’ on each the A/C. These 4 tubs flow thru one drain? Under the center of the A/C ?

 

 

The condensation pan on our Ollie drains to the single drain tube discussed earlier in this thread. I've only had top covers and interior cover removed on our AC unit, but don't remember how the condensation pan was set up or if I could see it. Had a Coleman 13.5K AC on our previous camper and it did not have a drain tube installed like Ollie, it drained out on the roof.

[ScubaRx]

There are two catchment tub’s, one on either side of the air-conditioner bottom, joined in the middle with a tee. From there one tube leads to the bottom of your Oliver.

[BorninPalatka]

Convinced Lou Anne she was The One to climb up on the roof! We can see the 2 small whit tubs but only from side. Removed the the cover but have no view of the tubs or drain line. This clearly is out of our wheelhouse. Now that we know it is a more complicated I don’t trust local RV centers to fix the problem without damaging the Oliver. We were trying to avoid the 9 hour drive to Ollie plant. On the positive side Jason had told us that the repair is covered by their warranty.

[BorninPalatka]

Convinced Lou Anne she was The One to climb up on the roof! We can see the 2 small white tubs but only from the side. Removed the cover but have no view of the tubs or drain line. This clearly is out of our wheelhouse. Now that we know it is a more complicated I don’t trust local RV centers to fix the problem without damaging the Oliver. We were trying to avoid the 9 hour drive to Ollie plant. On the positive side Jason has told us that the repair is covered by their warranty.

[Townesw]

There are two catchment tub’s, one on either side of the air-conditioner bottom, joined in the middle with a tee. From there one tube leads to the bottom of your Oliver.

 

 

Remove the panel where the filter is located. Remove the filter

 

 

I think these are the tubes Steve (ScubaRx) is referring to

 

 

 

[ScubaRx]

...Remove the panel where the filter is located. Remove the filter...I think these are the tubes Steve (ScubaRx) is referring to...

 

Yes, you are correct, access to the tubing is gained from the inside of the trailer. Sorry I was not clear enough.

[bradbev]

I haven't seen the tub collector but you can see the drain tubing by removing the ac filter. You'll see two "T" into one that I'm sure goes outside. I got an unexplained dump of water onto the cabin about a week ago. Think i may have had the nose too low.

[bradbev]

That's what happens when you don't notice there's a second page.