Air Conditioner condensation - R-pod Owners Forum

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rokndrumr

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Joined: 27 Aug 2014
Location: Louisiana
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Posts: 7

Topic: Air Conditioner condensation
Posted: 08 Oct 2014 at 9:29am

Okay Sir. Thank you all for the help.

Sean & Jerri

techntrek

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Joined: 29 Jul 2009
Location: MD
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Posts: 9059

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 11:21am

lol. If you are up on the roof with the first cover off to check the drains, you might as well take the 2nd cover off and see if you have the heat strip option (and then remove it if you do). Also push all the wiring out of the way if it is routed through the middle of the air intake.

Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

rokndrumr

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Joined: 27 Aug 2014
Location: Louisiana
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Posts: 7

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 8:10am

Thank you guys for all the great ideas. And yes honey, I'll get right on that heat strip thingy. Smile

Sean & Jerri

crayzie4dogs View Drop Down

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Joined: 17 Aug 2014
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Posts: 12

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 at 7:59am

Thanks for the reply's. Will check the mounting bolts and then sending idea about heat strip to hubby. I am sure I will be the one on the roof checking the drain plug. LOL

Have a great day!

Jerri

rcamper

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Joined: 22 Sep 2014
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Posts: 16

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 at 7:22pm

warmer air meeting cooler air . thanks for the tip

gone camping

techntrek

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Location: MD
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Posted: 02 Oct 2014 at 1:31pm

I've always used the low setting and have to disagree that it is the problem based on my own experience. I tried high and it didn't change (and was just noiser, I agree). I think the #1 culprit is the heat strip option. It hangs directly over the intake vent but right in front of the evaporator (cooling) coils. Condensation that freezes up on the evaporator will melt into the drain pan, with no chance of it dripping into the cabin (unless the drains are clogged, then it is going to leak inside eventually no matter what). Condensation that freezes up on the heat strip immediately melts once the compressor cycles off - and it doesn't have a drip pan below it, just open air all the way to the floor of the pod. This problem is compounded by the small and air-tight construction of the pods, which means little air volume to absorb the water coming off of 2-4 people, multiple liters per night, and that is what freezes inside the A/C.

At one point I had major water dripping issues. Over a few hours you could hear the water start to "gurgle" in the air stream and you knew it was coming. Whether the fan was on "on" or "auto", once the compressor cycled off water would start dripping heavily through the intake vent. Next time it cycled off, same thing.

Another kick in the pants is the heat strip is one of the major reasons the A/C is so loud, due to the extra air turbulence. Once I removed mine it became quieter.

Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

kymooses

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Joined: 01 Aug 2010
Location: Louisville, Ky
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Posts: 1807

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 at 12:32pm

Originally posted by kymooses

Originally posted by Budward

Not sure what you mean by "when you leave the fan on all the time it can cause unit to ice up".... The unit cannot ice up unless the compressor is running, just the fan running cannot form ice.

As for high vs low- I personally don't see a noticeable performance difference, just a whole lot noisier on an already overly noisy unit Ouch

Dometic and Forest River both provide this information about it icing up on low fan speed if left running all the time.

And let me rephrase that, the fan is not itself causing it to ice, but ice and frost can form on the evaporator coils under many circumstances, at that point keeping the fan setting on low is not letting the coils warm up enough to melt off this beginning frost. On your next AC cycle it builds up more and repeats.

And again setting it to low runs the AC fan at low when the compressor is running as well. It has been suggested during Forest River seminars and by Dometic on these units that the low speed can contribute to the above scenario more often.

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kymooses

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Joined: 01 Aug 2010
Location: Louisville, Ky
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Posts: 1807

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 at 12:21pm

Dometic and Forest River both provide this information about it icing up on low fan speed if left running all the time.

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Seanl

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Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Location: Fredericton NB
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Posts: 633

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 at 9:41am

When I first got mine I had this issue. The AC was Icing up. Turned out the sensor on the AC that is supposed to sense when the coils are icing up did not work so the coils would ice up and start dripping inside. with mine the AC would eventually shut down. If your AC is not shutting down check to make sure the drainhole for the AC is not plugged.

Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition

Budward

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Joined: 21 Apr 2014
Location: SC/NC
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Posts: 438

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 at 8:03am

Not sure what you mean by "when you leave the fan on all the time it can cause unit to ice up".... The unit cannot ice up unless the compressor is running, just the fan running cannot form ice.

As for high vs low- I personally don't see a noticeable performance difference, just a whole lot noisier on an already overly noisy unit Ouch

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