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Topic: Air Conditioner Leak (or condensation) (Read 19 times) previous topic - next topic
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Air Conditioner Leak (or condensation)
Yahoo Message Number: 125564
Before we purchased our used 2006 MB (our first rv) the dealer installed a new ac.  It was replaced with a unit identical to the stock 13500 btu low profile DuoTherm.
 During a very hot and humid stay on Fort Myers Beach we started getting a small drip on our kitchen floor from the ac.  I took off the filter covers and noticed that along with the dripping there was moisture building up on the wood framing surrounding the unit.
 I'm assuming that the seal was improperly installed and the water comes from the pool on the roof.  If there was condensation wouldn't the water come straight down the unit and not affect the framing?
 We've never had condensation issues on our travel trailer under the same conditions.  I'm fearing the worst but would like to hear better news.
 The dealer wont honor any warranty since the unit was installed pre-sale and the RV was sold as-is.  Either way we would have never expected to have problems with a brand new ac.

Thanks for your feedback.

Danny Miami, FL
Re: Air Conditioner Leak (or condensation)
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 125584
Quote
It should be easy to find out if water is getting in from the outside.  With the A/C off, climb on the roof and spray the base with a garden hose or pour a few buckets of water in the area.  Check for water inside.
 First guess - the foam seal between the A/C unit and the roof needs to be compressed a bit by tightening some bolts.  This is not hard or expensive, so no need to worry too much yet.
Great advice!  Ill check out the link and do the leak test.

Thanks Rich.
Re: Air Conditioner Leak (or condensation)
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 125587
I'm assuming that the seal was improperly installed and the water comes from the pool on the roof. If there was condensation wouldn't the water come straight down the unit and not affect the framing"

Danny

Leaks the wet the wood framing indicates a leaking A/C roof seal.
Have you tried tightening the A/C mounting bolts?
 LD glues the original foam A/C seal to the roof, helping to keep the seal in the correct position.
If the seal was damaged and replaced, during the A/C's replacement, it may not have been glued down and has moved, allowing water from "Lake Newton" to enter.
Blocked A/C condenser drains can also cause interior leaks but usually do not wet the wood framing.

Larry
2001 MB
* Not to be confused with Larry W (3000 of my posts are actually from expert Larry W due to Yahoo transition mis-step)
Re: Air Conditioner Leak (or condensation)
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 125592
Rich/Larry,
 After further inspection I noticed that there are only two bolts (towards the forward part of the unit) that are bolted through a metal rail at the lower part of the assembly and bolt into the threaded hole on the belly of the ac unit above.  The two rear bolts are missing and so are the predrilled holes in the rail.  Weird.
 I called Dometic and confirmed that I have a Penguin DuoTherm Low Profile 13500 BTU.  Assuming that this is the exact replacement for the factory unit I guess that the dealer used new rails and never finished installing the rear bolts.  If that's the case then I'll just go to ACE and pick up some hex bolts and finish the install.
 I'm a bit dissapointed but not surprised that the dealership's service center would not finish the job correctly.  Luckily it has only been about 6 months and hopefully there hasn't been much if any water damage.

Thank you all for your feedback.

Danny
Re: Air Conditioner Leak (or condensation)
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 125598
On Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:27:09 -0000, "dan_e2001" dan_e2001@...> wrote:

Quote
I'm a bit dissapointed but not surprised that the dealership's service center would not finish the job correctly.
Now you have learned and others should take note that far too many RV service places have little idea of what they are doing and could care less as the customer will be down the road when problems surface.
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: Air Conditioner Leak (or condensation)
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 125610
Danny,
 You might add a 'Pan' record for the dealership service center to the 'Maintenance/Installation Facilities ' data base if you have not done so.

Barry