REFRIGERATOR DRAINLINE

[SULTINI]

When I buy a new rig the drain hose from the Ref. is always routed outside through the ref. vent panel. Every time I take the panel off I have to pull that little ringed tube out then put it back when I close up. The first ting I do is figure out a way to drill a hole to the outside through the floor of the rig to put the hose in and drain it outside forever. As a matter of fact I just did my new FW today.

[fpresto]

If you run your drain line straight down I hope you realize that you now have an opening from the drain in the bottom of the refrigerator to the outside. I am not talking about insects but cool air getting out. The reason that the hose is routed out the vent is to get it higher than the drain opening. The water that collects in the "U" blocks the air leakage. I replaced my drain with 1/2 in rubber hose from Lowes. No more breaking. Ford's RV and Training has an entire series of videos on troubleshooting and repairing RV refrigerators. I recommend that everyone take a look at all of them. Number 3 deals with replacing the condensate line.link and goes into detail as to why the hose is routed the way it is.

[D_E_Bishop]

To keep on subject I hope, I bought a pack of two of the vent plugs that are intended to keep insects out of the tube, I don't know where the tube is located or if I even need the plugs, tomorrow I will go out to the storage yard and see if mine runs down below the floor and ends where it can't drip on the rig. If not, I'll follow your suggestion and drill the appropriate sized hole and install a new drain tube to replace my 25 year old tube which may have turned to powder.

[TakingThe5th]

SULTINI wrote:
To all campers reading this. I was just giving a little tip on how to move the annoying little plastic hose away from the vent incase you need to open the vent for whatever reason. Repair, bleeding gas if need to, cleaning, moth balls in winter to keep spiders out, to plug Ref. directly in to power without plugging in main 30 AMP cord on rig, etc. etc. Yes I seal the tube wherever the drain leaves the rig and the underbelly, yes I put a screen on the tube, yes I will replace it when the other tube turns to powder. For all you naysayers if you desire to do nothing with your drain line that's fine. I will continue to pipe mine out under the coach. Just DIY tip that's all. Happy Camping.

Thanks for your thoughts. Much appreciated.

[austinjenna]

It should have a dip in it to form a "p" trap with the water run off to keep the inside of the refrig. cool

Thanks for reminding me to add this to my list of stuff to do to the rv, I heard this before and it made sense and meant to get to it but it fell off my radar.

[SULTINI]

To all campers reading this. I was just giving a little tip on how to move the annoying little plastic hose away from the vent incase you need to open the vent for whatever reason. Repair, bleeding gas if need to, cleaning, moth balls in winter to keep spiders out, to plug Ref. directly in to power without plugging in main 30 AMP cord on rig, etc. etc. Yes I seal the tube wherever the drain leaves the rig and the underbelly, yes I put a screen on the tube, yes I will replace it when the other tube turns to powder. For all you naysayers if you desire to do nothing with your drain line that's fine. I will continue to pipe mine out under the coach. Just DIY tip that's all. Happy Camping.

[rockhillmanor]

Every time I take the panel off I have to pull that little ringed tube out then put it back when I close up...

I'm still stuck on WHY you are having to take the panel off so many times:?

[John_Wayne]

It should have a dip in it to form a "p" trap with the water run off to keep the inside of the refrig. cool

[SULTINI]

Bobbo wrote:
I hope you sealed the hole around the hose well to keep moisture from getting into the RV through it.

Always seal silicone

[SULTINI]

Bobbo wrote:
I hope you sealed the hole around the hose well to keep moisture from getting into the RV through it.

How does plastic turn to powder?

[RTBabich]

Your drain hose is probably the "new thin cheap plastic fall apart after 4 years" hose like ours was. Replace it with a clear vinyl hose from Home Depot or Lowes. Fortunately there is a cabinet under ours so I made the holes where the propane line goes thru larger and routed it thru the floor. Add a cap with lots of small holes or some sort of screen on the end of the hose so bugs can't get into the refrigerator. Same goes for the hoses routed thru the grille. Only real problem with replacing ours was there wasn't enough room behind the refrigerator to get my hands up to the connection to pull the hose off. I had to push the refrigerator forward about 6" to get to it. Used a hose clamp with the new hose and sealed all the holes. There were a lot of leaves in the cabinet because it can get windy around here so I cleaned out all the debris and put a screen kit on the grille vents. Also, put polyurethane on the floor while the refrigerator was forward.

[Bobbo]

I hope you sealed the hole around the hose well to keep moisture from getting into the RV through it.

[2oldman]

In a year that hose will be powder anyway, so nothing to worry about.