Water Dripping from A/C Vent in Ceiling - Basement Air '10 Adventurer

[RMChad]

Spending the week in Myrtle Beach -- nice rain storm this morning. The AC came on after the rain and we have several drops of water coming from a ceiling AC outlet. We have a basement air system and the vent is the one closest to the AC system.

Any ideas where the water might be coming from? As it is a basement air system, we have no drain tubes or compressors on the roof -- all in the basement. Also, I would not expect condensation on the outlet side of an AC.

We have been in lots of rain before -- first time water has come from an AC vent.

[BFlinn181]

Have you been on the roof to look for any obvious cracks in caulk allowing a leak? It's probably just so much humidity that it's just condensation, but it's hard to tell from here. Check that the A/C does have a working drain so that water isn't pooling and getting blown into vents. Short of tearing out ceiling, I'm not sure how you could check for voids in insulation allowing condensation to form on cold A/C ducts.

[KIX]

We have the same A/C system as you. Cool air flows from the basement A/C inside the rear cap to the ceiling distribution registers. The duct is simply a hollowed out track in the styrofoam ceiling insulation. IMHO you have three possible sources.
1. Condensation. But for that to be happening you would have to have a source of humid air inside coach. LIke leaving doors/windows open while running A/.C.
2. Roof leak near rear cap to roof joint allowing water to penetrate into duct.
3. A/C pan drain stopped up. Under A/C unit is a rubber duck bill valve that allows condensate water to drain from A/C pan. Is this drain allowing water to drain?

I hope this helps you find and fix your problem.

[fletch460]

Kix got it, #3

[RMChad]

Originally Posted by fletch460

Kix got it, #3

Yep -- that was it!

[RMChad]

Thanks for the ideas. I had previously checked the roof and as much of the duct I could see behind the endc ap (had fears a bird find its way in there and was building a nest with the duct!) but all looked good.

I ignored the A/C drain because it had been steadily dripping water. I checked it at your recommendation, and sure enough, water came rushing out after giving it a little squeeze.

Again, thanks for the help!

Originally Posted by KIX

We have the same A/C system as you. Cool air flows from the basement A/C inside the rear cap to the ceiling distribution registers. The duct is simply a hollowed out track in the styrofoam ceiling insulation. IMHO you have three possible sources.
1. Condensation. But for that to be happening you would have to have a source of humid air inside coach. LIke leaving doors/windows open while running A/.C.
2. Roof leak near rear cap to roof joint allowing water to penetrate into duct.
3. A/C pan drain stopped up. Under A/C unit is a rubber duck bill valve that allows condensate water to drain from A/C pan. Is this drain allowing water to drain?

I hope this helps you find and fix your problem.

[Ray,IN]

My drain got stopped up with crud too. Saw a drop of water on it, I squeezed it and got about a gallon of water out -in my face. It was one of those "wonder what that is" moments.

[RMChad]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

My drain got stopped up with crud too. Saw a drop of water on it, I squeezed it and got about a gallon of water out -in my face. It was one of those "wonder what that is" moments.

Wow -- not the shower you wanted! We just moved to another campground and I checked the drain again. It needed a little help to drain properly. I now have something else on my setup list to check -- good to know about it!

[KIX]

The likely cause of the drain continuing to plug is algae in the pan. My suggestion is to pull the A/C then remove the top cover and clean the pan.
It's not a hard job to do. The Electric does NOT have to be discoed.

[DancinCampers]

On my previous coach it was possible to remove the rubber plug to clean it better.