8285 WS A/C unit leaking condensate inside

Hoo Dad · 03-03-2012, 03:14 PM

This is the second time this has happened. The first time my Dealer resealed the roof unit thinking rain was leaking into the camper through the A/C. I didn't think that was the problem. That was 6 months ago. Now, condensate is leaking into the camper again. (Hasn't rained). Condensate is running down the outside of the roof as is normal but why is it also coming into the camper? I removed the A/C cover on the roof and do not see any leaves etc and did not see any water pooling around the condenser or coils. Any help would be appreciated.

Nigels · 03-03-2012, 05:40 PM

If this only happens when the AC is running and not when it rains and the unit has been resealed to the coach roof then my guess is that the resealing is not right, (unlikely if rain does not get in) or there is a hole or a crack under the condenser somewhere out of sight, possibly where conduits come and go.

The condenser will drip moisture onto a tray which should then trickle away to a pipe or gutter or just to the coach roof and away. Obviously this is happening but some is finding its way inside possibly by a blocked route. Only thorough investigation is going to find it.

Sorry for only stating the obvious here but removing the roof cover and searching possibly with the aid of a water bottle and plastic tube might you duplicate the ingress sufficiently to find the hole.

dimurrrw · 03-03-2012, 06:25 PM

I make the assumption that you are in a place with high humidity.

Try this if the condensate is primarily on the ceiling within a couple of feet of the AC. Close all windows, vents and doors. Turn AC fan to high and constant run. With the exception of mopping the ceiling, leave everything alone for a few hours.

High humidity in outside air will condense and drip from the ceiling where the ceiling is coldest, near where the ducts exit the AC. Close up to stop the humidity from entering the trailer and increase the fan speed to temper the temperature of the air exiting the AC. It takes the AC a while to deal with the humidity that is already in the trailer. Also take it easy on hot, steamy showers and cooking that produces lots of steam.

PS Condensate is running down the outside as normal because the AC is doing its best to get all of the humidity out of the inside air.

rockwood06 · 03-03-2012, 07:42 PM

I had a problem with our RockWood when we first used it in the summer of 2006. What had happen was there was not enough insulation around the duct work right at the units openning, the ceiling around the return had condensation on the in side on the ceiling panel. Once insulation was added the problem went away.

When the units are installed on the roofs the seals that come with the units seal up nice and tight and in most cases the roofs on RV's have some kind of crown in the middle and rain will run a way from around the base of the unit.

Where I work at we have 6 ticket booths and all 6 have Demetic RV A/C units, the only time we get water dripping from the units inside of the booths is because the roof drains get block from leaves and other junk causing the water to rise on the roof and then the water is higher then the base of the A/C unit, the leak comes out of the return side...Note: the roofs on the ticket booths are almost flate but do have a slight pitch to the drain hole.

Hoo Dad · 03-04-2012, 09:15 AM

When I state leaking I mean quite a bit of water. I had been in a high humidity environment for two months with no problems. We moved a few hundred miles and it is currently less humid. I'm thinking traveling may have opened up an entry into the camper for the condensate to flow. There is no drip pan on the roof so the condensate just flows onto the roof and off the back of the camper, however, I believe some of it is flowing back through the air handler. Currently no need for A/C so I'll get back on the roof soon and check out again. Thanks for the responses. All suggestions/ideas are welcome.

Celicabob · 03-06-2012, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoo Dad

When I state leaking I mean quite a bit of water. I had been in a high humidity environment for two months with no problems. We moved a few hundred miles and it is currently less humid. I'm thinking traveling may have opened up an entry into the camper for the condensate to flow. There is no drip pan on the roof so the condensate just flows onto the roof and off the back of the camper, however, I believe some of it is flowing back through the air handler. Currently no need for A/C so I'll get back on the roof soon and check out again. Thanks for the responses. All suggestions/ideas are welcome.

A possible issue might be with unit's clamping bolts. Before we bought our unit another thread talked about the 4 main bolts that "clamp" the AC to the roof & water coming in. Upon checking ours I found them to be very loose, luckly I hadn't washed it yet. Your's may have worked loose?
They are accessed from inside by removing the filter cover then taking out the 8 screws that hold the control panel.
Hope this helps,
Bob

Iggy · 03-06-2012, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celicabob

A possible issue might be with unit's clamping bolts. Before we bought our unit another thread talked about the 4 main bolts that "clamp" the AC to the roof & water coming in. Upon checking ours I found them to be very loose, luckly I hadn't washed it yet. Your's may have worked loose?
They are accessed from inside by removing the filter cover then taking out the 8 screws that hold the control panel.
Hope this helps,
Bob

ditto
Check the 4 srews from the inside after you take the cover off.
Do not over tighten and hopefully you will see yellow or orange pieces of materials along the space of the roof on each side. That is a measuring device to not to compress any more than that plastic spacer.

Check this document and see page 8 and the image insert in the circle to give you an idea.
They are called gasket indicating tabs.

Hoo Dad · 03-08-2012, 10:58 AM

Celicabob and Iggy, Thanks so much for the information! I removed my grille and found the clamping bolts. I did not find the bolts to be what I consider loose. However, I snugged them up a little more. I'd rather fix the problem myself than have to haul the camper back to the dealer. So, I will wait and see if it leaks again. The second year warranty isn't up until January 2013.

Hoo Dad · 03-08-2012, 11:02 AM

Nigels, I may have to resort to your recommendation concerning removing the roof cover and looking for the leak by putting water around possible entry points. Thanks also.

shooted · 03-08-2012, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigels

If this only happens when the AC is running and not when it rains and the unit has been resealed to the coach roof then my guess is that the resealing is not right, (unlikely if rain does not get in) or there is a hole or a crack under the condenser somewhere out of sight, possibly where conduits come and go.

The condenser will drip moisture onto a tray which should then trickle away to a pipe or gutter or just to the coach roof and away. Obviously this is happening but some is finding its way inside possibly by a blocked route. Only thorough investigation is going to find it.

Sorry for only stating the obvious here but removing the roof cover and searching possibly with the aid of a water bottle and plastic tube might you duplicate the ingress sufficiently to find the hole.

Water derived from humidity will condense on the evaporator coil not the condenser coil. The condenser coil will condense refrigerant as it rejects heat, the evaporator coil will condense water on the coil as it absorbs heat. Look for the pan and drain line from the evaporator coil, I suspect the pan or drain is blocked or damaged if you have no reason to suspect rain intrusion. Good luck!

Hoo Dad · 03-08-2012, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shooted

Water derived from humidity will condense on the evaporator coil not the condenser coil. The condenser coil will condense refrigerant as it rejects heat, the evaporator coil will condense water on the coil as it absorbs heat. Look for the pan and drain line from the evaporator coil, I suspect the pan or drain is blocked or damaged if you have no reason to suspect rain intrusion. Good luck!

Is the evaporator coil on the roof? If so, there is no drain pan the water just drips onto the roof and flows down the back of the camper and into the gutter.

Hoo Dad · 03-08-2012, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoo Dad

Is the evaporator coil on the roof? If so, there is no drain pan the water just drips onto the roof and flows down the back of the camper and into the gutter.

Shooter, sorry, you can disregard the above as I found your private message. Thanks so much, and tomorrow (if the weather stays nice) I'm going to investigate the problem again.

Hoo Dad · 03-09-2012, 09:41 PM

Update
Ok, I went on the roof and removed the A/C cover and then I removed the sheet metal housing to expose the evaporator coil. Just below the coil is a plastic tray that collects the condensate. At each end of the tray there is a hole that allows the condensate to drip onto the roof. A problem I see is that the drip tray hole is extremely close to the roof and it wouldn't take much to block the space between the hole and the roof. A blockage would allow the condensate to back up and drip water back into the camper through the filter housing. My question is has anyone checked out or cleaned out their drain and if so how close is the hole in the drip tray to the roof? Mine is only approximately 1/16 of an inch.

Nigels · 03-10-2012, 04:36 AM

1/16 inch does not sound enough to me, just the surface tension of the water between hole and roof would be enough to stop the flow. I have the exact same RV as you but its in storage and I am 8000 miles away so I cannot check mine to see.

1/16 is no gap at all, dust would block it! Perhaps some one else can investigate theirs.

Hoo Dad · 03-10-2012, 07:21 PM

Hopefully when it warms up someone will get curious and check theirs out and let us know.

Nigels · 03-11-2012, 04:08 AM

Maybee ask FR if 1/16th is sufficient, perhaps its installed without spacers or something?

Hoo Dad · 03-11-2012, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigels

Maybee ask FR if 1/16th is sufficient, perhaps its installed without spacers or something?

I actually placed a spacer under the tray to increase the gap from the roof another 1/8 inch. I also plan on contacting FR. I was still curious to what others find or have found as to the gap from their drain to the roof of the camper.

Nigels · 03-11-2012, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoo Dad

I actually placed a spacer under the tray to increase the gap from the roof another 1/8 inch. I also plan on contacting FR. I was still curious to what others find or have found as to the gap from their drain to the roof of the camper.

Yup me too

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