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Old 08-15-2016, 10:23 PM   #1
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A/C dripping water

When it rains, my a/c drips (gushes) water whenever it cycles off. This does not happen when it isn't raining. My first thought was a clogged drip pan, but that would probably happen when it isn't raining as well. While the a/c is running, you can hear the water inside. Turn it off and grab a bucket! Any thoughts?


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Old 08-15-2016, 11:29 PM   #2
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I'd get on the roof and take a look. There may be a cracked AC cover, or some other way that water is getting in. Rain will put a lot more water in than normal moisture removal, so the drains may be open, but not large enough to get rid of the amount of rain water coming in.
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Old 08-16-2016, 12:14 AM   #3
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I've noticed in high humidity days I have the same thing going on. I assumed it was a partial freeze on the coils and when it kicked off it quickly defrosted from the fins and dumped.
Let us know what you find. I have a wasp nest to contend with first.
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Old 08-16-2016, 04:16 AM   #4
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Its most likely one of three things;

Make sure all your vents are wide open on those rainy days at least so your coils are partially freezing as noted above.

Make sure your condensate is flowing freely from the unit outside. Also check out the drip pan up there.

Make sure that the water your seeing inside during rainy days isn't actually rain water. Although I have not done so myself, I understand that there are some hold-down bolts are similar which attach the A/C to the roof. These can become loose, which loosens the seal between the A/C and the roof.
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Old 08-16-2016, 05:16 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 05CrewDually View Post
I've noticed in high humidity days I have the same thing going on. I assumed it was a partial freeze on the coils and when it kicked off it quickly defrosted from the fins and dumped.
Let us know what you find. I have a wasp nest to contend with first.
I bought Stainless Steel screen and installed it in the openings of my AC units. Now there are no more wasp nests to clean out in the AC.
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Old 08-16-2016, 06:25 AM   #6
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I bought Stainless Steel screen and installed it in the openings of my AC units. Now there are no more wasp nests to clean out in the AC.
Thanks. I've done everything else with screen, AC is the last.

Also, when my unit does this, all the water runs down the roof and off the gutter. Nothing leaks inside at all. That's why I never considered it to be a problem.

Larry, is yours leaking inside or just dumps on the roof and then runs off?
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Old 08-16-2016, 06:53 AM   #7
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As 05 said, if it's running off the roof, there's no problem. However, if it's leaking inside then you need to find the source of the leak. The roof gasket is the most common culprit. Check the hold down bolts to see if one or more are loose.
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Old 08-16-2016, 07:06 AM   #8
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I had the same problem. Found that all 4 of my mounting bolts were loose, one had backed itself out over an inch. Pop the inside cover off and the bolts are in the corners.
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Old 08-16-2016, 08:03 AM   #9
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X2 on tightening the hold down bolts on the AC unit. The gasket gets compressed over time and therefore the bolts will be loose. Sometimes, you have the replace the gasket. If you need a new gasket, let me know. I have a brand new on still in the box I would be happy to give you.
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Old 08-16-2016, 09:20 AM   #10
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05CrewDually, it is inside. While a/c is running, you can hear it 'gurgling' up inside, no drips. Once the unit is turned off, or cycles off, it gushes, not drips, down on the bed.
Thank y'all for these tips. Will check them out. Been raining, so climbing on the roof will have to wait.


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Old 08-16-2016, 10:32 AM   #11
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You can check the hold down bolts from inside. Just take the cove off and you will see them. These bolts almost always need to be tightened every few years because the gasket really does compress a good bit.
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Old 08-17-2016, 02:01 PM   #12
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Tightened the hold down bolts. Leak got very minimal, and now seems to have stopped.
Thank y'all for the help! Hopefully, that fixed it.


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Old 08-17-2016, 02:30 PM   #13
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That's great. Thanks for the follow up.
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Old 08-17-2016, 02:31 PM   #14
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Thanks for reporting that you got it fixed and how.

Just keep an eye on it, as you may need to replace the gasket if it keeps dripping.

I think the torque for the hold-down bolts is 45 in-lbs (not Ft-lbs).
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Old 08-17-2016, 04:25 PM   #15
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On my previous camper I had that same problem. I have a friend who does RV repair so I consulted with him. He started smiling the minute that I started telling him my problem. On that Dometic unit there is a little plastic drain piece under the evaporator and the condensate that runs off the evap collect in this drain channel then runs out towards the edges, both sides. The real problem was with the drain holes in the pan that sits on top of the RV. This would allow water to accumulate then run down into the RV. Without taking the wiring loose we removed the unit from the roof enough that he drilled a couple of holes as near the actual bottom of the pan as possible. The allowed the water to run out onto the roof, as it should. I have also seen plans on this forum of a way to make a 3/4" "pedestal" which goes under the rubber roof and holds the A/C unit 3/4" off of the roof. This helps to prevent water from intruding through that infamous foam gasket.
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Old 08-17-2016, 05:03 PM   #16
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Thanks, Thurman. That'll be my next move if it ever stops raining....


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Old 08-17-2016, 07:37 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thurman View Post
On my previous camper I had that same problem. I have a friend who does RV repair so I consulted with him. He started smiling the minute that I started telling him my problem. On that Dometic unit there is a little plastic drain piece under the evaporator and the condensate that runs off the evap collect in this drain channel then runs out towards the edges, both sides. The real problem was with the drain holes in the pan that sits on top of the RV. This would allow water to accumulate then run down into the RV. Without taking the wiring loose we removed the unit from the roof enough that he drilled a couple of holes as near the actual bottom of the pan as possible. The allowed the water to run out onto the roof, as it should. I have also seen plans on this forum of a way to make a 3/4" "pedestal" which goes under the rubber roof and holds the A/C unit 3/4" off of the roof. This helps to prevent water from intruding through that infamous foam gasket.
Holy smokes that's exactly what I did to mine today!
I pulled the shroud and got rid of 3 wasp nests first. Then with the unit running I saw the water laying in the rear lip of the pan. Occasionally the fan would blow some out but for the most part it held water.
The issue is the pan drains are designed for a flat roof such as on a tag along trailer. On my 5th wheel (and majority of them) the rear roof is sloped back so the water can never properly drain from the drain holes that are close to the center. The moisture is mostly sweat from the expansion valve tubing going to the evaporator.
So I took a thin piece of sheet metal and slid it between the rear of the pan and roof to use it as a back stop for the drill bit. I then drilled a proper drain hole. Put it all back together and it works great. No more water.
I also noticed the trough drain you spoke of for the evaporator. That was clear and has its own large drain hole so no issue there.
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Old 08-17-2016, 07:49 PM   #18
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Premature celebration... Rain picked up and was pounding. Water started dripping from ceiling in bedroom. When I turned it off, it briefly flowed freely. Rats!!


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Old 08-17-2016, 09:16 PM   #19
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May I clarify that the a/c leaks only when it rains and only when it is cycled off after running.


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Old 08-17-2016, 10:38 PM   #20
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When your fan runs, it pulls a suction (vacuum) on one side of the fan (the return air side). This suction can hold up water from draining. When the fan stops, the vacuum goes away and all the water that's been held up drains out. With low humidity, you may not get enough water to see this effect, but with high humidity you would. If this is happening, there's a problem with your drains.

(The other problem with this is that, since no water ever drains out while the fan is running, you aren't really removing any moisture from the air in the TT. We had this issue in a building I once worked in. Couldn't figure out why the AC wasn't removing moisture from the building. Turned out the "drains" were just a hole on the suction side of the fan. The water couldn't drain out due to the suction. Fix was to put a 6" long "J" shaped drain attached to the hole. The 6" of standing water overcame the fan suction and the water could drain out.)

It's certainly possible that when it rains, you have a higher relative humidity, and thus more moisture for the AC to remove from the TT air, and hence more water being held up by the vacuum I described above. But I don't see hard rain necessarily being worse than a light rain in this case (it would be the actual relative humidity, which isn't necessarily directly proportional to the rate of rain fall. Therefore, I'm still not convinced that you don't have an external leak on your AC unit above or at the roof. In fact, you seem to have improved the situation with your bolt tightening, which certainly makes the roof seal suspect.
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