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CamJam1 · 09-26-2021, 06:20 PM

After pulling into camp tonight I noticed water dripping down the outside of the coach from the bottom of the refrigerator access panel. Turns out one of us had left the fridge door open so the freezer was starting to defrost. I emptied the drip pan at the back of the fridge (Dometic NDR-1062) and closed the door, which stopped the dripping, but shouldn't there be a drain hose that routes the runoff under the coach? The drip pan inside the fridge attaches to a hole in the back of the fridge but I can't see where it goes from there. As water was dripping out the bottom of the access panel and running down the outside of the coach I'm afraid it might get inside the wall and cause delamination.

Old-Biscuit · 09-26-2021, 06:29 PM

There is NO Drain from Freezer...sealed/self contained compartment

Drip Tray under Fins in the food compartment drains out the back of drip drain to a drain hose that should be sticking thru thru the lower Access Panel Louver....unless RV MFG cut hole in bottom of fridge cut out cabinet and routed it down below RV

See page 7 of Parts List
https://www.gas-refrigerators.com/pdf/NDR-parts.pdf

See pg 3 Fig 1 in Installation/Operation Manual
https://manuals.heartlandowners.org/...or_Dometic.pdf

tap4154 · 09-26-2021, 06:29 PM

I'm not familiar with your model fridge, but my Dometic has a little corrugated drain line that exits out the back, then goes to the bottom of the access panel area. When water comes out it just leaks down the side of the motorhome. By the way I recently found that the corrugated drain hose had all fallen apart, so replaced it. The way it was broken it would be dripping on the burner tube.

CamJam1 · 09-26-2021, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tap4154

I'm not familiar with your model fridge, but my Dometic has a little corrugated drain line that exits out the back, then goes to the bottom of the access panel area. When water comes out it just leaks down the side of the motorhome. By the way I recently found that the corrugated drain hose had all fallen apart, so replaced it. The way it was broken it would be dripping on the burner tube.

Thanks for the responses. Is this a plastic corrugated hose or aluminum? Don't see anything that looks like tubing but lots of corrugated black plastic wire wrap back there. Based on the height of the drip tube leaving the fridge on the inside vs the height of the access panel, the hose must connect to the fridge up inside the wall somewhere. I'm not sure how you'd replace it short of removing the fridge. How did you get to it?

CamJam1 · 09-26-2021, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

There is NO Drain from Freezer...sealed/self contained compartment

Drip Tray under Fins in the food compartment drains out the back of drip drain to a drain hose that should be sticking thru thru the lower Access Panel Louver....unless RV MFG cut hole in bottom of fridge cut out cabinet and routed it down below RV

See page 7 of Parts List
https://www.gas-refrigerators.com/pdf/NDR-parts.pdf

See pg 3 Fig 1 in Installation/Operation Manual
https://manuals.heartlandowners.org/...or_Dometic.pdf

Ok, thanks for that. Obviously frost melting off the fins then. The diagram looks about the way I imagined that drain to be. Now to find the hose. It must be back there somewhere, though perhaps in pieces.

Old-Biscuit · 09-26-2021, 09:02 PM

2004 vintage...guarantee it has crumbled/fallen apart
Cheap thin wall white plastic....some times black

To replace...yes you have to slide fridge out enough to allow access to the drip tray drain

See the LINK to the Installation Manual for removal etc

John Wayne · 10-02-2021, 05:58 PM

And when directing the drain tube out the back through the vent cover you should have a bend in the drain tube to make a P trap to hold water so warm air can't enter the refrig. through the drain tube.

CamJam1 · 10-03-2021, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wayne

And when directing the drain tube out the back through the vent cover you should have a bend in the drain tube to make a P trap to hold water so warm air can't enter the refrig. through the drain tube.

Sounds like a good idea, thanks!

Sigfamily · 10-05-2021, 04:26 PM

On my 2000 Tradewinds the fridge drains out right in front of the rear passenger side tires.

MikeandRuth · 10-15-2021, 03:40 PM

My fridge drains through the belly in front of the passenger side rear tires also, because I plumbed it several years ago to drain that way!
I got tired of the mess behind the fridge. Problem solved!
Keep an ere on your ice maker solenoid if you have an ice maker.
I did a bunch of work to an '03 Islander that had a leaking solenoid that went undetected for a lengthy period of time. It seriously damaged the structure of the fridge deck and the side wall.

donr103 · 10-15-2021, 04:01 PM

I had to use step stool and cell phone with camera and flash and record up under external tubing.. until I could watch recording and see a tiny nipple coming out the back. Next was trying to figure what to use.. some say here dishwasher drain hose perfect fit.. I had old dishwasher hose laying around.. after struggling to check fit.. I used RTV around nipple and pushed on hose.. zip tie.. and set up to drain through vent.. then i added heat sock to keep burner tube from making new hose brittle again.. should last long time.. oh.. put heat sock over hose 1st.. if you can.. there was so limited room.. i had to fish sock on last .. then re use cell phone with camera and flash and record up under coils to verify sealed..
Then took a lot of time to re seal rear access with eternabond tape and caulk..
I found with cell phone.. where factory pushed in frig there was Hugh gap and missing insulation all around the rear of frig.. so.. I packed rock wool insulation behind burner tube and regular insulation and foam opposite burner.. sealed with e tape.. used ALUMINUM tape over by burner.. now it's all sealed back there..
Good luck and let us know what you did and maybe better members then me will help you

CamJam1 · 10-15-2021, 06:48 PM

Thanks for all the responses. I did find the drain line, but it must be broken or disconnected up above where I can't get to it. I'll haven't had a chance to pull the fridge yet to see but that will be my next project.

tap4154 · 10-15-2021, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamJam1

Thanks for the responses. Is this a plastic corrugated hose or aluminum? Don't see anything that looks like tubing but lots of corrugated black plastic wire wrap back there. Based on the height of the drip tube leaving the fridge on the inside vs the height of the access panel, the hose must connect to the fridge up inside the wall somewhere. I'm not sure how you'd replace it short of removing the fridge. How did you get to it?

I wish this forum had notifications, I never saw your comment. I know we get emails of threads we subscribe to, but it's just time consuming to read down through them. A notification on the website would be much easier.

My original hose was white corrugated plastic, and it had fallen apart mainly up higher in the cabinet, so I hadn't noticed it.

I just happened to have some Fisher Paykel corrugated black dishwasher drain hose which was exactly the same size. Just to be clear, most dishwasher drain hose is much larger, it just happens at Fisher Paykel drain hose is smaller and is the exact same size as the original white hose that came on my Dometic refrigerator.

Maybe because I'm used to working in tight spaces, I was able to get the old hose off and the new one pushed onto the fridge drip fitting. In fact because I didn't have someone on the inside to hold it as I pushed the drain hose on, I made a little strut that wedged that fitting in place. I wedged it between the fitting, and the wire shelf in the fridge.

I also made a small P-trap by allowing a dip in the drain line, and I hooked it up the same way as the original was, to an insect cap on the frame. I also poured a little bit of water into the drip fitting, so the P-trap would be closed off from ambient air.

I just got back from a trip a few days ago, and since I put the little P-trap in, my fridge was almost getting too cold. It was running about 31 to 32 degrees, whereas on my last trip it was running about 39 to 44 degrees. Of course on the last trip, the original drain line had been broken, so there was a half-inch hole where warm air could invade the refrigerator.

MikeandRuth · 10-16-2021, 12:39 PM

Hey Cam:
If you are going to pull the fridge, and haven't done it previously, I have a couple of suggestions. I bought a hardwood Harbor Freight furniture dolly and fabricated a 2x4 frame on it the same height as the bottom of the fridge. It made it really easy to slide the fridge out and then be able to move it around to work on it without a bunch of lifting! I don't think I spent $25.00 and I still have the dolly for other uses.. It sure saved my back from a bunch of lifting!
There are screws in the back flange of the fridge box, quantity and location determined by the guy with the screw gun doing the install. One screw in mine was a bitch to find!
While you have the fridge out, you might consider upgrading the insulation to 1" foam paneling. It is easy to do and I think worth the effort.
You might also consider a drain through the bottom of the coach....

I have no idea why the pictures are sideways! They didn't start out that way when I attached them!! Oh well...