Important: Refrigerator Drain Hoses!

[JudyJB]

Here is something I did not know and thought some of the rest of you might not know. When you defrost the vanes inside my Dometic refrigerator, the water goes runs down a little shelf and into a drain hose. I never thought about where it goes before.

I was reading through my manuals yesterday to try to find the right size shelf for my freezer to order an extra one, and noticed that it said that I should be able to see the end of the drain hose on the outside of my refrigerator. It said if you can't see it, the water could be draining into the wrong place, cause mildew and possibly damage walls!! Checked it and could not see any hose from the outside, so last night when my son dropped me off, I asked him to look while I poured water on that drain shelf inside my refrig where it disappears down the little hole.

Well, the water ends up draining out of a crack in the outside vent panel of my refrig!! Which means it could be causing problems. I need to open my awning and then take the panel off to see what has happened to the hose. It probably just needs pushing through to the outside!

Last thing I need is to damage my wall.

[Bethers]

Many rver's stick the hose back inside - think it doesn't belong outside the vents, where it rightly SHOULD be. Yes, you are right, it should be there.

Moving this to maintenance room.

[Aokay]

Judy,

When I first got my RV, I had a problem with one of my slides. After the serviceman fixed my slide, he noticed that my refrigerator drain hose was not on the outside so he took the panel on the outside off, reached inside and pulled the hose out through one of the grills in the panel. He cut it so that there is about 3" hanging outside the panel and draining to the outside. He said this is one of the biggest mistakes owners make...not putting the hose so that it drains outside. He said this is something most dealers do not tell you because they aren't aware that it should be done.

[snowball]

my panel fell off sometime this summer and noticed that the drain hose was deteriorating so went to a rv place to get a new one
he told me they no longer sell them to just get a vinyl hose need to do that and get it back up
sheila

[mitch5252]

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And don't forget that little drain cover thing to keep out the mud daubers and other creepy things...
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[JudyJB]

Strange. I took the cover off this afternoon and discovered two things:

1. The compartment is very well sealed so there is no way any water, even if you poured it into the compartment, could seep anywhere and cause mildew.
2. The drain hose is not supposed to poke out the side of the vent cover. On my unit, there is a heavy hose that is tied in place and actually cemented to the floor of the compartment. It has a little plastic screen on it and clearly is meant to stay in place. Water drains out of it and through the very bottom of the vent. It clearly is working fine and is not the same as described in the manual, but is much better because you could not move this thing or prevent water from draining properly unless you used a chisel on all the goop it is cemented down with. Obviously, Fleetwood decided to make this sturdier.

I will need to take photos. I don't know why I don't think of this when I actually have things apart! Duh. My son does not believe me so I told him we would take it apart again this weekend.

[linann]

The drain hose on our Dometic refrigerator ran to the slotted vent on the refrigerator side of the TT. It crumbled and had to be replaced. Camping World had to order the tube because it was no longer in stock. Didn't take long and was not expensive. Once it arrived, the tube was installed and fitted so it stuck out slightly between the slats on the vent, draining to the outside of the rig. The Camping World repair technician told me this is the way it is supposed to work.

[rvgrammy1953]

Had The Sultan open the compartment to the fridge...hose was draining into a small "pan-like" thingy...told him to move the hose to the slats on the cover....bet this will cure the water issue in the fridge...DAH!!!!!!

[Acadianmom]

I looked to see where mine was draining and there is a little cup like thing that the try drains into. Looked behind the refrigerator and couldn't see anything. I poured some water in the pan to see where it drained and it came out under my motorhome. I didn't get my mat out to look from outside. I will have to look from outside but I'm sure it's fine.

Martha

[snowball]

The drain hose on our Dometic refrigerator ran to the slotted vent on the refrigerator side of the TT. It crumbled and had to be replaced. Camping World had to order the tube because it was no longer in stock. Didn't take long and was not expensive. Once it arrived, the tube was installed and fitted so it stuck out slightly between the slats on the vent, draining to the outside of the rig. The Camping World repair technician told me this is the way it is supposed to work.

Maybe I will go to camping world when I get to SLC and order one won't be far from it this week end come to think about it so can order it and it will be there when I move the 5th wheel down good idea I just took their (the rv sales place I went to) at their word
sheila

[JoanE]

Checked my hose and it drains into a little pan. There was hardly any water in it so I suspect it evaporates from there.

[JudyJB]

I wanted to update this post with some photos. If you remember, I was worried because I could not see a drain hose between the vents from the outside. I finally opened it up and took some photos. This first shows the compartment as a whole.


The second photo shows a close-up of the drain hose (red arrow) and all the hardened putty (blue arrow) that prevents water from draining into the walls. It is really well sealed, and there is no way the drain hose can move. When I pour water into the inside drain pan, it goes nicely outside of the unit, so no more worries.

[Olive600]

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And don't forget that little drain cover thing to keep out the mud daubers and other creepy things...
..

I just had a mud dauber nest cleaned out of my refrig hose. Mitch, what is the drain cover you mention? I know about the round wire-mesh covers for the vents, but I haven't heard of a drain cover for the fridge. Same thing?

My RV guy said to run a wire into the hose now and then and to put diluted bleach in the fridge drain.

Nikki

[mitch5252]

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Nikki, the drain plug came with the trailer. It's a little plastic piece with holes that fits tightly into the drain hose. I noticed recently that is deteriorating. I plan to tape a small piece of screen over the end of the hose.

It looks like this:



I'll check with the big dealer that has my little trailer now to see if they keep these in stock. I just checked a price online - $3.50 + $9 shipping! Jeesh. For a part that weighs less than half an ounce!

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[Olive600]

Thanks, Mitch.