Maintenance Tip - Refrigerator Outside Drain Hose

[vicsryd]

I encountered a latent factory defect when de-winterizing the rig today which in turn points the need for a regular maintenance item I should have been doing all along.

The details...

A few minutes after pressurizing the water system using the city water connection I found water running out of the top of the passenger side wheel well (there is no plumbing within 15 feet of here). After turning off the water I located a little stream running alongside the inside floor/wall joint on that side. I traced it back to the fridge area.

Thinking it had to be related to the ice maker water line and finding some water at the outside fridge access cove I removed the cover. Sure enough the whole area below the water line/solenoid had about two inches of standing water. The water line at the solenoid turned out to be about 1 turn loose.

So the root cause was a bonehead move on my part probably left over from when I winterized in November. But the bigger mystery was why the water didn't drain off through the hole/hose that dumps out near the propane tank (in my floorplan). I was thinking something must of have gotten in there and plugged it up. However, I was not able to clear it.

Eventually I pulled the access panel under the fridge (has one of the base speakers from the surround sound system in it) to see what was going on with the drain hose. I found it had a 90 degree kink in it because at the factory they installed it around and over the much larger fresh water fill hose instead of going directly up from the floor to the bib/hole. It probably was okay for the first few months we had the rig but after some warmer temps it softened and kinked once and then became permanent. If I had been checking the drain once or twice a year I would have found the king long before it became a big problem.

To fix the hose I used a ¼"� closed end wrench to loosen the hose clamp (had to lay on my back to reach in and used my minds eye to feel/see what I was doing). I cut off several inches of the hose to remove the kinked part and make it shorter. When I re-installed it rerouted it so it was more straight up and down from the bib to the hole in the floor. I used a hair dryer to make the hose soft before pushing it onto the bib.

NOTE: In my case the hose clamp was facing away from me and I had to use the closed wrench pressing it onto the nut toward me with my index finger. When I re-attached it I turned the clamp around so the nut was facing towards me which was somewhat easier to manipulate. The tough part is you have to do it by feel alone.

In summary the maintenance tip:

Take the outside fridge access panel off and take a turkey baster or similar device and put some water in the hole. If it drains quickly and the water starts coming out on the ground then your okay. If not then next try "pushing"� some water through by putting the end of the baster directly on the hold and squeezing the bulb quickly. If that doesn't clear out whatever might be in there then your hose may be kinked. You'll have get access under the fridge with a flashlight to know for sure.

If you have the kinked hose problem and your coach is still under warranty and you don't want to attempt to fix it yourself I suggest you call Winnebago Service first and the dealer second.

[vicsryd]

I encountered a latent factory defect when de-winterizing the rig today which in turn points the need for a regular maintenance item I should have been doing all along.

The details...

A few minutes after pressurizing the water system using the city water connection I found water running out of the top of the passenger side wheel well (there is no plumbing within 15 feet of here). After turning off the water I located a little stream running alongside the inside floor/wall joint on that side. I traced it back to the fridge area.

Thinking it had to be related to the ice maker water line and finding some water at the outside fridge access cove I removed the cover. Sure enough the whole area below the water line/solenoid had about two inches of standing water. The water line at the solenoid turned out to be about 1 turn loose.

So the root cause was a bonehead move on my part probably left over from when I winterized in November. But the bigger mystery was why the water didn't drain off through the hole/hose that dumps out near the propane tank (in my floorplan). I was thinking something must of have gotten in there and plugged it up. However, I was not able to clear it.

Eventually I pulled the access panel under the fridge (has one of the base speakers from the surround sound system in it) to see what was going on with the drain hose. I found it had a 90 degree kink in it because at the factory they installed it around and over the much larger fresh water fill hose instead of going directly up from the floor to the bib/hole. It probably was okay for the first few months we had the rig but after some warmer temps it softened and kinked once and then became permanent. If I had been checking the drain once or twice a year I would have found the king long before it became a big problem.

To fix the hose I used a ¼"� closed end wrench to loosen the hose clamp (had to lay on my back to reach in and used my minds eye to feel/see what I was doing). I cut off several inches of the hose to remove the kinked part and make it shorter. When I re-installed it rerouted it so it was more straight up and down from the bib to the hole in the floor. I used a hair dryer to make the hose soft before pushing it onto the bib.

NOTE: In my case the hose clamp was facing away from me and I had to use the closed wrench pressing it onto the nut toward me with my index finger. When I re-attached it I turned the clamp around so the nut was facing towards me which was somewhat easier to manipulate. The tough part is you have to do it by feel alone.

In summary the maintenance tip:

Take the outside fridge access panel off and take a turkey baster or similar device and put some water in the hole. If it drains quickly and the water starts coming out on the ground then your okay. If not then next try "pushing"� some water through by putting the end of the baster directly on the hold and squeezing the bulb quickly. If that doesn't clear out whatever might be in there then your hose may be kinked. You'll have get access under the fridge with a flashlight to know for sure.

If you have the kinked hose problem and your coach is still under warranty and you don't want to attempt to fix it yourself I suggest you call Winnebago Service first and the dealer second.

[SargeW]

Thanks Jon, I would have never thought to check the drain hose. I will tomorrow!!

[peter griffin]

do you mean the white hose that dumps into a black plastic cup and it also has a little black cap/end that lets water drip out?

If so I led mine out the back of the panel to drain on the ground. I also made the hole bigger. It kept getting plugged.

[Frank (Wires) & Jean]

Also check the the auto AC drain hose (remove and blow out) mine was blocked with carpet fibers.

[MrTransistor]

Hi Jon,
Here is another one to watch out for.