Cool-Cat Heat Pump

[BigGrover]

I have an a-frame Flagstaff 19qbhw and have had it out for about 5 trips now in hot humid Alabama. Does anyone know where the ac unit is supposed to actually drain the condensation from? Last time out using it in ac mode I noticed the Cool-cat has two small clear hoses coming out the side of the cover for the unit near the bottom and thought they were the drains for the system. Water was draining from under the unit and not the two hoses so I thought the drain tubes on the side might be stopped up and got under the trailer to check it out. Found a round 2" screened drain in the floor pan. This weekend I was using the unit again and noticed water from the ac unit seeping out at floor level between the cover for the unit and the wall of the camper. Nothing at all out of the two hoses or the 2" drain in the floor. I raised the side of the camper a little and the water started draining from the screened hole under the camper. Does anyone out there know what the two small clear hoses on the side of the unit are for? I called the dealer and they were not sure what they are for, should they be draining or not when in AC mode?

Thanks.

[DobeFanatic]

See other posts today "A/C vent or drain"

[Pooneil]

Yes, the tubes are for draining condensation from the coolcat. IME, they work best if the door side of the camper is slightly higher than the service side. So when you level, let the bubble be slightly toward the door side. If they are not draining when sloped properly, the tubes or the pan may have a problem. You could clear a blockage in the tubes by carefully running a wire up each one. Mine drain when setup as described above, so I don't have any specific maintenance experience.

[BigGrover]

Thanks, I will probably take off the grill and do a visual to make sure everything is attached ok and sealer was used on the fittings.

[DobeFanatic]

If it is any consolation, I am in Central Florida, humidity is horrible and I ran my A/C for 8 hours today 11 am till dark, was 94 today, very slightly tilted trailer as described by Poonell. Now that it is dark, I took flashlight to see pan better. There is minimal moisture in the pan/barely enough to dampen a tissue if wiped. The 3 " drain tubes are set from the grill to the outer edge of the 1/2 in deep drain pan. Unless pan gets full, there will be no drainage outside the camper from those tubes. Something apparently is helping water evaporate. No sign of wet under the bed compartment or under the camper. Set at 23-25, the camper was quite chilly all day.

[Pooneil]

Originally Posted by DobeFanatic

Something apparently is helping water evaporate.

That would be interesting to know.

Originally Posted by DobeFanatic

If it is any consolation, I am in Central Florida, humidity is so good for the complexion

As a fellow denizen of the humid climes, I fixed that for ya, DobeFanatic! Call it a humiditarian gesture.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by BigGrover

I have an a-frame Flagstaff 19qbhw and have had it out for about 5 trips now in hot humid Alabama. Does anyone know where the ac unit is supposed to actually drain the condensation from? Last time out using it in ac mode I noticed the Cool-cat has two small clear hoses coming out the side of the cover for the unit near the bottom and thought they were the drains for the system. Water was draining from under the unit and not the two hoses so I thought the drain tubes on the side might be stopped up and got under the trailer to check it out. Found a round 2" screened drain in the floor pan. This weekend I was using the unit again and noticed water from the ac unit seeping out at floor level between the cover for the unit and the wall of the camper. Nothing at all out of the two hoses or the 2" drain in the floor. I raised the side of the camper a little and the water started draining from the screened hole under the camper. Does anyone out there know what the two small clear hoses on the side of the unit are for? I called the dealer and they were not sure what they are for, should they be draining or not when in AC mode?

Thanks.

Never ever heard of a cool cat are they the manufacture of them? curious just would like to know, and here I thought I have heard of every brand out there. Never mind I google it, They are made by dometic, there's your problem to start with.

[DobeFanatic]

Today I was slow to turn on the A/C, up to 92 outside at 1 pm, so checked frig temp (on elec), it had risen from 40 to 54 on my remote dial with AC off. I am using a small fan inside to distribute cold air-2 D batteries ) So checked AC after 10 minutes, bunches of water running out the rear lower corner of grill, none from tube next to it, flashlight reflects a good amount of water laying in the pan. Sounds like the drains are just cosmetic.

[D-mo]

as for the ac ... sleep at the passenger side, and lean the trailer 2 degrees towards the cool cat unit .. it will have no problems draining .. or conversely, dump the nose down the same amount ... and you will loose any issues ..

as for the fridge .. ramp it up ..

d-mo

[DobeFanatic]

Strange thing is that after the initial AC startup drip today ( it was another hot/humid day ), it stopped dripping entirely, and I do have it slightly tilted to AC side. Yesterday, first day I used the AC, no drips at all though it was cooling down the camper nicely, go figure! I think the heat being blown out of the vent is actually evaporating some of the water in the pan.
I do wonder if the tilt, though minimal is affecting the frig. I have bumped it up from 3 to 5 several hours ago and it is barely responding, still 48, vs 54 degrees at noon today. Just took the tilt out and left it at 5 for overnight, low tonight will be 80ish.

[Pooneil]

Originally Posted by Pooneil

IME, they work best if the door side of the camper is slightly higher than the service side.

After reading this thread and looking under my camper, I have changed my mind about tilting the camper to aid in drainage. It now appears to me that the Coolcat under floor drain is meant to be the primary drain and the side tubes are the overflow. So no need to adjust the level.

[DobeFanatic]

X2

[D-mo]

kinda hate to disagree with two good members .. but i find that the coolcat will drain through the hoses if tilted just a bit to the drivers side... what i find with my unit is there seems to be a bit of a vapor/liquid lock that causes the hoses not to drain properly ...

try this if they are not draining ... give them a pinch with your fingers ... and you are sure to see condensate ... i use a small twig on the on both hoses .. and it drains both in heat and cool mode ..

d-mo

[DobeFanatic]

Those drains are just each about 4 inches long, open at each end, laying in the water catch tray. We've had rain threatening in Florida for two days, high humidity. The water pooled in the tray to where I could hear the rush of exhaust air passing over it, but until the tray overflows, no water drains. The tubes are basically worthless IMO.
Tilting the trailer could help empty the drain pan I suppose, but at cost of possible frig mis-function. FR has done it again, looks good, not functional !

[mzak]

I went to the local Rockwood dealer today and looked under the coolcat heat pump on a 2016 A122. There is no longer a drain under it just the plastic tubes coming out the side. When speaking with the dealer about drainage he stated the only drains for coolcat are those tubes. It appears at some point manufacturer eliminated the floor drain. My 2012 has the floor drain and does drain from there and also side tubes depending on how level camper is. Not sure what year bottom drain was eliminated but new ones apparently will drain from side tubes only according to dealer.

[DobeFanatic]

After reading the most recent posts, I went under the Flagstaff T12RB Flagstaff: there is no floor drain. AC has been running in driveway for a week here in FL, making popping sounds last 3-4 days, lots of water in pan, not draining at all, pinched tubes, no response, sent coat hanger wire thru w/ minimal drip started. All floors dry thank goodness. But where does the water go?? Tipped camper to the driver side and toward the back. Finally, some water dripping from tube as well as from under the bottom edge vent cover. Took a bulb syringe to tube, sucked out mucho water each hit but it stops when fan stops. Still tilted but minimal water running out past two hours, go figure ! I don't see how this setup could benefit the propane frig when camping with AC.

[mzak]

To help clarify how these coolcats drain I removed top panels above coolcat and also looked into outside cover where plastic tube drains are located and discovered that in my model (2012 a124) there is a thin plastic liner under the ENTIRE coolcat unit which incorporates the floor drain I spoke of in an earlier post but the actual drain pan made of heavy gauge metal for condensate, which is part of the coolcat and where the tubes come out of, is the primary drain as the dealer informed me and the installation and operation manual for coolcat also states. The plastic liner is not part of coolcat but placed under it similar to what some do with there home water heaters to collect any leaking water from ending up on the floor. I believe both D-mo and Pooneil in his original statement were correct to level camper slightly lower on the side with the coolcat. If plastic tubes are not plugged it will drain when water condensate reaches a certain level. I will add also you cannot see plastic liner from the outside because coolcat has kind of a plastic card board around it and it blocks the view of the plastic pan from the outside of camper but if you remove wood panels from top of coolcat on the inside you will see plastic liner extends to the wall of camper. I am very comfortable with the fact that if water leaks from anywhere around coolcat it will go into this catch all plastic pan and drain through floor. I repeat this is on a 2012 Rockwood a124. Hope this helps a little!

[DobeFanatic]

Mzak- thanks for going the extra mile on this issue.

[cheriesgeek]

My 2015 A122S has the 2" drain/hole in the pan.

[cheriesgeek]

The picture shows the hole and the shiny thing is the coolcat. This in towards the middle of the camper, not the outside edge.