After reading another post I decided to venture into the outside access for my fridge. Inside I found a plastic hose that seems to have an opening in the wire mesh of the access cover.Is this the drain for when it defrosts, or drops condensation?This hose is very brittle from being so old. Is it easy to replace? It just kind of disappears up into the cabinet area. This hose did not have a cover on it at all....any worry of bugs finding their way up there? Or, was this originally suppose to drain through the mesh of the access cover? Someone cut a hole through the mesh.Thanks!

That hose needs to drain out side of the compartment and not inside, that way the bottom of the compartment does not rot, route it to the outside, you might have to clean the streak now and then.navegator

yes, it is the drain. It should empty outside of the lower refer access. Some are very hard to replace. Look for make and model of refer. Then look for service manual at "Bryantrv.com"

I had to replace mine on my other trailer, took the screws out that hold it in place an slid it out a little then was able to reach in from the outside an replace the hose just feel your way up the old hose so you can tell where it goes. Got the replacement hose from a home improvement store it is the clear plastic hose.

Yes it is supposed to have a cap with small holes in it to keep the bugs out

It is important to be intact because warm air will enter the refer and raise the temps more that you would imagine. In one friends setup I was able to slide a clear plastic tube inside the old tube. Enough of it was intact to hold well. In some setups there should be a U so the end is higher up so it can trap a bit of water to act as an air plug.

Fridge hose on outside? | Good Sam Community

beemerphile1
Explorer
Jul 28, 2015
kellertx5er wrote:
dbbls wrote:
There should be a plug in the end. This keeps air out but let's water drain.

That's a good trick, letting water through but not air.

Yeah, I'd like to see how that works.
kellertx5er
Explorer
Jul 27, 2015
dbbls wrote:
There should be a plug in the end. This keeps air out but let's water drain.

That's a good trick, letting water through but not air.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Jul 27, 2015
Question is already answered but I would add that many people don't realize the hose should be installed with a dip in it to create a trap that holds water. The water filled trap is what stops air leaking.
YC_1
Nomad
Jul 26, 2015
Watch this video.

They have some excellent videos.
Ozlander
Explorer
Jul 26, 2015
Since the fridge is a closed box, except when the door is open, I can't imagine there's a lot, if any, of air flow thru the hose.
D_E_Bishop
Explorer
Jul 26, 2015
I don't want to start a controversy but what make, model and year of your fridge and do you have a manual or have you looked for one?

My Dometic is older than most and the drain tube is also hard and brittle, mine terminates with the plug to keep bugs out and in a plastic cup. I was in an RV store someplace and saw the plugs and bought a package of two for about $5.00.

I can't find Dometic fridges in my catalogs so just for kicks I'm going to Google them or look them up on Chris Bryant's site to see if any have the tube with a "U" trap bend in the hose.
TNGW1500SE
Explorer
Jul 26, 2015
wa8yxm wrote:
The two major brands of Fridges are Dometic and Norcold
Norcold there is an evaporation chamber (AKA CUP) inside the compartment into which the hose should drip

Dometic the hose is supposed to exit via one of the holes in the outer cover so it drip, drip,drips on the ground.

My dealer the service techinican said "I always put it out" (I was there for the dometic recall) When I returned to the rig.. He lied.

My old Norcold Model N611 had hose that drained by the tire.
SquirrelyM
Explorer
Jul 24, 2015
I just replaced the brittle and broken hose on my Dometic unit. From the outside access I was fortunately able to see and reach the spot where it attaches to the drain, without having to move the whole fridge forward.

I replaced the hose with some clear 1/2" ID vinyl tubing, and I did add a loop as a trap. This Youtube video provides a lot of good information.

The OEM drain plug is available on Amazon but you can find replacements much cheaper on eBay (for example, this listing).
dbbls
Explorer
Jul 24, 2015
There should be a plug in the end. This keeps air out but let's water drain.
acritzer
Explorer II
Jul 24, 2015
Well, mine is a Dometic. What I'm trying to figure out now is if there's suppose to be a U curve in the hose. Or, there's some other trap in there that helps keep the hot air out.

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Fridge hose on outside?

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