Refrigerator drain hose broken

[Galaxiedriver]

Just got back from a week camping and while getting the Sunline ready to put in the garage I see water leaking from the refrigerator vent grill area. Upon inspection, I find the drain hose is broken off way up inside.

How do I remove, or can I remove, the drain catch inside so I can attach a new hose. Very difficult to get to from the outside.

There is a spring metal hose clamp holding it on.

Plastic hose is very brittle and just falls apart. Plan on replacing with Tygon.


Any suggestions appreciated.

[Poppy & Nana]

I saw something about this over on RV.net...I'll try to find it and post it here.

Someone did remove the drain catch inside - they did have to drill the hole a little larger to push the hose thru.......

Ours is also in the same shape.....do you know where to find the replacement hose?

[Galaxiedriver]

Originally Posted by Poppy & Nana

I saw something about this over on RV.net...I'll try to find it and post it here.

Someone did remove the drain catch inside - they did have to drill the hole a little larger to push the hose thru.......

Ours is also in the same shape.....do you know where to find the replacement hose?

The original hose is not good material. I am going to go with Tygon.

[Poppy & Nana]

Dometic Refrigerator Drain Hose

I was wrong - here is the link I was referring to......

[Galaxiedriver]

That looks like what I will try. No way I'm pulling the refergerator.

Thanks.

[Galaxiedriver]

Poppy & Nana thanks much for the link. It worked. I just pulled on it and it came out. Took a pretty good tug. The clamp and hose remnant fell to the outside. Now to get some tygon and put it back.

[Poppy & Nana]

OK I found this but could not get the link to work............

OK, I got this fixed last night. I went out with a mirror to see if I could look up and see where the hose terminated and in the process I realized that there was a piece of 1/8" thick piece of wood that I could remove (2 screws) and it would allow me to see up easier. After doing that I could see where the hose terminated. The hose ran up through the coils and then over to a barbed nipple. That nipple is the end of the "drip well" that is inside the fridge. The old hose was held onto this with a zip tie. I had my DW hold the drip well inside the fridge to make sure I did not break it during this process and I pulled the old hose off. Other than working somewhat "blind" it was pretty easy. The old hose broke into about 4 pieces. It was very brittle! I replaced it with 1/2" ID reinforced clear rubber hose. This was a little stiff because it was cold but I just slipped it over the nipple and put a zip tie on it. The zip tie was the hardest part again because I was working somewhat blind. It probably wasn't necessary to hold it in place but I was already there so I figured what the hey. I did cut a small piece out of the vent cover (like Keith did) to allow the new hose to feed through the vents easier since it was 3/4"OD and larger than the old hose. I am very suprised at how brittle the old "hose" was. It could have easily cracked up in the coils where I would not have noticed and then leaked so a long time.
Lonnie

[JohnB]

Paul and Kathy,

I have not yet heard of this. My 2004 has a black hose and while stiff it is not brittle. Your campers are newer and has a white hose. I wonder if this is a Dometic change that did not pan out. Or my time have not yet come....

Those pics are great and thanks for posting. If this comes up I will be better prepared for it. The power of Sunline Club!

Oh yeh Paul, how is the new truck towing? How was your trip?

John

[Galaxiedriver]

Good morning John. The white tube is very brittle and just crumbles when squeezed. I got a piece of clear tygon yesterday and will put it on today. I will have to make the hole a bit larger. The tygon fits very tight so I may not need a clamp but got one to fit anyway.

As far as the Texas trip, that was cancelled at the last minute due to a family illness. All is well now. We have made two trips down into the Mizzouri Ozarks this spring and the new F250 does a splendid job. No problem on the big hills and with the hitch setup, thank you for the help, everything travels quite level.

Our next trip is to the Taps 150 event in Va. this June. This is the 150th anniversary of Taps, our National Song of Remembrence. I am a member of Bugles Across America and we sound live bugle Taps for military and Veteran funerals. We will be traveling through Pa. and stopping by to visit family in Beaver, County then on to Gettysburg and south to the Richmond area.

I'll provide more photos of the frig repair later today. Gotta plant tomatoes before the heat of the day is here.

[Galaxiedriver]

Drain hose repairs complete. Had to carefully make the hole 3/4 inch. Made sure the drill length and hole location would not cause damage to any of the stuff in there. Rather close quarters. I used a dremel to grind the tabs off the clamp so it would fit through the 3/4 inch hole. Used a 3/8 wood dowell rod to keep the tygon straight so it would go all the way through. It kept bending and wouldn't line up to the outboard hole. The wall is about 3 inches thick with foam insulation in between. Snipped one of the grid bars out of the grill so that the new hose protrudes outside the grill.

I put a roll of monkey poo on both the inside and outside of the penetration.

I recommend everyone check this hose as yours could be leaking inside and you not be aware. The original white ribbed tube is very poor material.

[JohnB]

Paul,

Thanks for those pics. They are priceless. I need to check mine even though it is the black hose, same thing may be happening. It was fine a month ago when I cleaned up the burner etc for the season but did not look at it in light of this new info.

John

[Poppy & Nana]

Paul - did you use 3/4" OD hose and how long?????