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Old 07-05-2017, 06:57 AM   #1
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Refrigerator drain hose

This is meant as a precaution for anyone who has a refrigerator with a condensation tray drain hose which, I suspect is many of you.

Our 92 2470 did not have one and I had to empty the water from it after each trip, but our 2007 T-2499 does and I have, since purchasing it, assumed that the copper tubing I saw below the refrigerator (passing through the cabinet below and down through the floor) was for this connection. That's as far as I thought about it.

Well, yesterday, I pulled off the outside cover for an unrelated reason and found wetness on the floor of the refrigerator enclosure. Not a lot, but no wetness should be there at all, so I investigated and found that the factory drain hose is a white, corrugated item that they terminated with a perforated plug in the end just above the outside cover. You wouldn't even notice it was there unless you deliberately looked up.

The way they arranged it, was to clamp it to the bottom of the service opening so that it made a bend and emptied into the grating formed into the outside vented cover. Water coming through the hose would drain through the holes in the cover and exit outside the camper.

The problem with ours is that this corrugated hose became brittle and broke at the bend so that the drain water exited the hose inside the refrigerator compartment.

I remembered seeing the Dometic refrigerator installation guide in the Sunline binder, so I found it and there, Dometic recommends a hole be drilled into the floor to route the hose to the underside of the camper so that all drain water drips to the ground. Seems like Sunline decided drilling a hole and supplying a longer hose wasn't worth the extra effort.

We're leaving on a trip today, so last night, I replaced the hose and exited it outside the vented cover like the factory did. When we get back, I'll drill a hole and install a longer hose to go to the ground.

So, it's probably a good idea to check your camper to see which arrangement was done and re-route the hose to the underside if it was done like ours.

Also, does anyone have any photos of where the holes are drilled for this method of hose routing? I'm sure it's not critical where it goes as long as it's not kinked and gets the water to drain to the ground, but I'd like to know how it was done by the factory when they did follow Dometics's guidelines.
Thanks,
Rich
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Old 07-05-2017, 12:09 PM   #2
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Hi Rich,

All 3 of our 2004 Sunlines have a black corrugated hose that is a hard plastic. While you said yours was white, maybe they changed colors but I did just see up close a week again a fellow forum member 2007 T2499 and his was black.

I do not know that the color is meaningful but yes, this hose has been reported to crack inside the camper and then leak all over inside from time to time. Some have replaced the hose with a better quality hose and some have added a pigtail trap to stop from loosing cold air. But you have to blow that trap out come winterizing time.

Ours have always had the tube exit the top of the fridge grate cover and you have to fiddle with it to get it to extend outside the camper.

I have not yet seen a drain tube go all the way through the camper and exit out under the camper. Even in non Sunlines. Granted my limited seeing of campers built may only be a few hundred but I had thought it is some what an RV industry common thing to run the drip tube out the vent on Dometic units. At least on year 2000 and up. Don't know on the older units.

Real curious if there are folks that have theirs run through the floor.

Thanks

John

Also, you stated your 92 camper did not have a tube. H'mm this seems to mean Dometic seemed to start having a drain tube some time after 1992.
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Old 07-10-2017, 04:16 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnB View Post
Hi Rich,

All 3 of our 2004 Sunlines have a black corrugated hose that is a hard plastic. While you said yours was white, maybe they changed colors but I did just see up close a week again a fellow forum member 2007 T2499 and his was black.

I do not know that the color is meaningful but yes, this hose has been reported to crack inside the camper and then leak all over inside from time to time. Some have replaced the hose with a better quality hose and some have added a pigtail trap to stop from loosing cold air. But you have to blow that trap out come winterizing time.

Ours have always had the tube exit the top of the fridge grate cover and you have to fiddle with it to get it to extend outside the camper.

I have not yet seen a drain tube go all the way through the camper and exit out under the camper. Even in non Sunlines. Granted my limited seeing of campers built may only be a few hundred but I had thought it is some what an RV industry common thing to run the drip tube out the vent on Dometic units. At least on year 2000 and up. Don't know on the older units.

Real curious if there are folks that have theirs run through the floor.

Thanks

John

Also, you stated your 92 camper did not have a tube. H'mm this seems to mean Dometic seemed to start having a drain tube some time after 1992.
Just checked my late '96 build '97 and it too has the black tube/white end drip tube. There's actually a cable clamp screwed into the frame of the opening to hold it in place there, and it drips down on the panel. I know my '07 has it, I think the same color, but I don't remember exactly. I think the tube is slightly longer though, but not by much. I seem to recall it actually fitting through the panel slightly, but not to the point of being visible outside.

I've seen a few manufacturers make the tube so long that it can hang out the panel a few inches and drain outside. But this is risky because it can drip inside if it isn't fed back through the panel. The setup Sunline did seems to be pretty reliable. I too have never seen a Dometic installation drain to the ground.
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Old 07-11-2017, 08:35 AM   #4
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Thanks for the replies, I can leave it the way it is, it's been working fine all this week as we're camping in promised land SP near Scranton PA, but the condensation drips all over the outside of the vent cover and we have to keep anything we don't want to get wet away from it.
Rich
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