A/C Humidity

[Jerry Emert]

New problem in the adventure.
Is, or can, the air coming out of the A/Cs be humid enough to cause the cushioned/fabric roof to be wet?  The outside roof was sealed when I bought it but I went up and looked and can't find anywhere that looks like it could be leaking.  The wet spot is 6 inches in front of the forward most A/C vent on the vertical part of the frame around the swing down front TV.  The air from the vent is blowing directly on the frame.  The frame is cushioned fabric.  I should have taken a picture but forgot.  This is Orlando and it rains every day.
I looked inside the A/C from inside the coach.  There was no sign of leaking around the frame gasket on the roof, everything there was dry.
So can the air blowing out of the A/C contain enough moisture to make that vertical surface damp?  I'll try to post a pic later.
Thanks for your patience folks.
The adventure continues!!
Jerry

[George H. Wall]

Likely condensation from the cold air blowing on the metal frame. Redivert the air flow for a couple of days and see if that is the problem.

[Dennis Crawford]

Jerry,

I don'T what coach you have,  but my 2005 Monterey has condensation collecvtion pans with dedicated lines to drsin them.  If coach is not level a pan could overflow.  If the lines ared clogged, this could also be problem.  The front air uses the same line as the refer.  You should see plenty of water dripping frtom this.

Dennis

[Jerry Emert]

Thanks all!  I placed a piece of card board in front of the air vent to block where it is hitting the TV box.  We'll see how that works to narrow down the issue.  I've noticed that there is a lot of water draining off the coach roof when the A/Cs are on which is all the time.  If they have dedicated drain lines then I suspect that they are plugged.
I also noticed last weekend that there is a lot of condensation in the fridge too.  I guess I'll go look for those lines.  

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Jerry,  my refrigerator drain li e was loose at the fitting, drained into the basement thought the bay light underneath. I repaired and now works properly.

[Edward Buker]

Jerry,

My experience has been that once the moist air has been pulled into the air intake, it is then pushed through the cold evaporator coil and it gives up most of its moisture at that point before being pushed out through the ductwork. The evaporator dehumidifies the air and most of the moisture stays on the coil until it melts off or drains off. Once in awhile when the humidity was very high and I first turn on the air that excessive moisture condensation has dripped out of the intake vent to the floor in my coach just in the bathroom when the compressor shuts off.  I have never had water come out of one of the outlet ducts nor had the air be cold enough to form condensation on a nearby metal surface. Not to say that it cannot happen but it seems less likely then another source. Your test will be interesting. There are lighted extendable small mirrors that you could peek at the ductwork that may go a little beyond the last vent and see if it is water stained or wet to help source this.

Later Ed

[Joel Ashley]

I think a lot of this is due to Florida's high humidity conditions at the moment, probably a factor in more than one Forum topic of late.

Joel

[Jerry Emert]

Ill give it a couple of days to dry out.  I am not very hopeful that it is the problem, nothing has been that easy yet!  I'm thinking of getting one of those pressure tests where they pressurize the inside of the coach and look for leaks,  Any idea how much that costs?

Also found another leak. Looks like its around the input to the ice-maker filter.  I'll post some pics.

[Jerry Emert]

The forum gremlin is stopping me from posting pics tonight!

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Jerry,
In high Rh conditions consider running your AC fans on high. If keeps the condensation from freezing and then thawing, causing the dripping.
Steve

[Jerry Emert]

Jerry,
In high Rh conditions consider running your AC fans on high. If keeps the condensation from freezing and then thawing, causing the dripping.
Steve

Will do Steve.  Thanks

[Bill Dean]

Although this topic hasn't been discussed in some time, I find that I'm in a similar situation- ie. -
Ed's statement:
"My experience has been that once the moist air has been pulled into the air intake, it is then pushed through the cold evaporator coil and it gives up most of its moisture at that point before being pushed out through the ductwork. The evaporator dehumidifies the air and most of the moisture stays on the coil until it melts off or drains off. Once in awhile when the humidity was very high and I first turn on the air that excessive moisture condensation has dripped out of the intake vent to the floor in my coach just in the bathroom when the compressor shuts off."
My question is without removing the shroud over the AC, do I have a "tube" or other exit from a pan underneath the AC, and if so, where would I look (on the edge of a pan, underneath the pan somewhere or?). This is a 2001 Patriot Tic 37.
What I'm dealing with is currently visiting our son & granddaughter in Ft Lauderdale with the rear AC dripping in the bath area - maybe a plugged drain?
Thanks for any input!

[Gerald Farris]

Bill,
Beaver used drain hoses on the later model coaches, but I am not sure they started using drain hose on Patriots. If the A/C units do not drain onto the roof and run down the side of the coach like my 1993 Patriot did, you have drain hoses.

Gerald

[Jerry Emert]

Bill, I never found any drain hoses on my Patriot A/Cs.  They just drain across the roof and down the sides.  I never did figure out what caused the wet spot in front of the front AC.  It just stopped, but funny thing is that the front AC was only blowing hot air when I turned it on for the first time this year.  It's in the shop now with a long laundry list of things to fix including ACs.
Good luck
Jerry

[Bill Dean]

Thanks Gerald & Jerry. Yes, the unit is draining off the roof & down the side (I just didn't know if that was correct or a line plugged). I started to get concerned when, similar to Ed, the rear unit began leaking onto the bathroom floor - intermittently on low fan & constant on high. Guess it's just the high humidity here in FL vs our home area in CA.