Water leaking from inside AC unit

Nobo200 · 10-13-2019, 02:53 PM

Hi....hoping to find some answers. I have a Forest River Forester, 2019, 2251 SLE, that I took out on my second trip this weekend to Bahia Honda SP. There was a lot of rain during the night, with strong winds on and off. This AM, while the AC was working well, water came pouring out, onto the floor, maybe 1/2 cup or so. I turned the AC off, removed the filter, and dried off the area. I have since Googled, recommendations include tightening four bolts found in the corners of the unit or going up top and inspecting the roof unit....... Has anyone experienced this? Any other suggestions? Thanks

SeaDog · 10-13-2019, 03:10 PM

It may be the roof gasket leaking sometimes tightening the hold down bolts will fix that and going on the roof and taking the cover off and ensuring all the drains are open and not plugged especially from the indoor coil is important.

Oldnapapartsguy · 10-13-2019, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nobo200

Hi....hoping to find some answers. I have a Forest River Forester, 2019, 2251 SLE, that I took out on my second trip this weekend to Bahia Honda SP. There was a lot of rain during the night, with strong winds on and off. This AM, while the AC was working well, water came pouring out, onto the floor, maybe 1/2 cup or so. I turned the AC off, removed the filter, and dried off the area. I have since Googled, recommendations include tightening four bolts found in the corners of the unit or going up top and inspecting the roof unit....... Has anyone experienced this? Any other suggestions? Thanks

What make and model AC?

Larry0071 · 10-13-2019, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nobo200

Hi....hoping to find some answers. I have a Forest River Forester, 2019, 2251 SLE, that I took out on my second trip this weekend to Bahia Honda SP. There was a lot of rain during the night, with strong winds on and off. This AM, while the AC was working well, water came pouring out, onto the floor, maybe 1/2 cup or so. I turned the AC off, removed the filter, and dried off the area. I have since Googled, recommendations include tightening four bolts found in the corners of the unit or going up top and inspecting the roof unit....... Has anyone experienced this? Any other suggestions? Thanks

I guess step one would be.... a roof inspection of the sealant around the AC unit.

They literally have a hole cut in the roof/ceiling, they set the AC unit down into that hole, and they apply dicor self-leveling sealant all the way around the perimeter after tightening the screws. You can change out an RV AC unit about as easily as you can change your oil in the car.....

If waters coming in, the first thing I would do is go up on the roof and make sure that the factory applied sealant was applied properly to actually maintain a seal. The next would be the condenser freezing/thawing. But start at the sealant, report back and you can be guided in deeper.

Nobo200 · 10-13-2019, 04:17 PM

So I was able to remove the cover from inside the rv.....and found what I suspect is mold! Very disappointed with this finding. I just picked up this rv @ 7 weeks ago, brand new, and have used it twice. Will contact dealer tomorrow.....

GLG311 · 10-30-2019, 01:09 PM

I had the same problem. Bolts holding AC unit down vibrated loose. Tech retightened them and problem solved.

Nobo200 · 10-30-2019, 05:41 PM

Ok, thanks for your response. I did have someone look up on the roof and they did not see anything grossly abnormal with the AC unit, etc. I did however tighten the 4 bolts inside, and some were noted to be lose. I hope this fixes the problem. Did your AC unit look like what appears to be mold or mildew? I applied hydrogen peroxide and gave it a slight scrub, without any improvement. I am waiting for the next rain storm and see how it does. Thanks again!

GLG311 · 10-30-2019, 05:47 PM

No mold or mildew. It happened on a trip. Took it in for repair as soon as I got home.

Nobo200 · 10-30-2019, 05:53 PM

Ok. Thank you.

01tundra · 11-01-2019, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GLG311

I had the same problem. Bolts holding AC unit down vibrated loose. Tech retightened them and problem solved.

Yep, has happened on every trailer we've owned.

Now when I get home with a new trailer it's one of the first things I do. Drop the inside cover and snug down the four bolts in the corners (not over tighten to the point of smashing the gasket).

Nobo200 · 11-03-2019, 02:35 PM

Ok, thanks for your response.

rk06382 · 11-03-2019, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nobo200

So I was able to remove the cover from inside the rv.....and found what I suspect is mold! Very disappointed with this finding. I just picked up this rv @ 7 weeks ago, brand new, and have used it twice. Will contact dealer tomorrow.....

This is the same cover I had that Dometic replaced with an redesigned cover.
See thread: A/C leaking FR3

I sent this to Dometic RV PRODUCTS:
E-Mail: customersupportcenter@dometic.com

"I have a Forest River 2018 FR3 28DS with an Atwood/Dometic Air Conditioner that started dripping inside this summer. I read that you have replacement parts to fix this. (part numbers are 3315930.010 and 3317230.000)"

After an email asking for my model & serial number, They sent me a new redesigned cover with a better airflow.

New redesigned cover:

Nobo200 · 11-04-2019, 08:28 PM

Thanks for info on this thread....this is exactly what I needed....I will be contacting Dometic tomorrow.....great thread and great info. Did you happen to have mold or mildew in the ac area.....on the sponge- like tan colored foam liner?

rk06382 · 11-04-2019, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nobo200

Thanks for info on this thread....this is exactly what I needed....I will be contacting Dometic tomorrow.....great thread and great info. Did you happen to have mold or mildew in the ac area.....on the sponge- like tan colored foam liner?

No mold. I guess I was lucky.

Nobo200 · 11-04-2019, 08:44 PM

Glad to hear!

Nobo200 · 02-04-2020, 11:27 PM

Hi, I wanted to give a follow up on this issue I had posted a few months ago. I did contact Dometic, they immediately sent me the new, redesigned cover, with no questions asked. As others have mentioned, the instructions are not too clear, but the information posted on the thread mentioned above helped immensely. When I took off more of the AC unit, I saw much more mold. I cleaned the area, sprayed it with hydrogen peroxide (over several days) and went ahead and changed the parts that were sent from Dometic.
Since my RV is “new”, I contacted my dealer, sent in pictures and explained my situation. They immediately told me to bring it in, that they would fix it. Since I had reservations scheduled for Christmas, I was able to get the unit to them @2 weeks ago.

I was just notified that the unit will be repaired under warranty, that “the mold came from a water leak where the a/c mounting bolts go through from the roof”.
They are going to “remove a/c and replace foam seals and put new sealant down. Replace AC. Apply mold killing paint to boards around the AC to kill any remaining mold. 4.5 hours of labor, paint, foam strips and sealant.”

I am concerned that there could be more water damage throughout the unit. What steps should I take? Any suggestions will be appreciated. I am not sure if I should be doing more. Thanks

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