Water in AC Drip Pan? How much is normal?

[SkiPharmer]

I have a 1995 330 DA and I have been running the AC a lot lately, so i just took a peak at it the other day and I noticed there is about an inch of water in the drip pan…….I am NOT handy at all so I just shut it down and came on here How much is normal to have in the pan and where does it drain to/from? I dont want this to cause a problem. I read somewhere that it drains toward the bow, which if thats the case is a horrible design.

Thank as ALWAYS!

Chris

 

[Mike Blake]

Oh it will produce a ton of water. My pump for the sump comes on 1 time in a day's use. Mine goes to a sump towards the stern.

 

[Lazy Daze]

As with any A/C (at home, in your car, whatever), it dehumidifies the air as it cools. That's the puddle of water you see on the ground underneath your car. Ambient temperatures and humidity levels will dictate how much water is created. Now, with your boat, obviously you can't just let the water drop straight down as your cabin floor would be become wet. So it's collected in the pan and then drained overboard. If the pan/drain tube gets clogged up or if the boat is listing away from the drain, then the pan might start to fill up. I believe the overboard drain (the thru-hull on the outside of the boat) on your boat is not too much further forward or aft of the where the A/C unit is. Look on the outside of your boat for a 1"-ish thru-hull - it's usually just above the boot stripe. When your A/C is running, it will be the one dripping water. It will also likely be the one with an ugly stain dripping down.

If there's truly an inch of water in the pan (over the whole pan, not just in a corner), there's likely a clog. Sop up the water, pull the pan and inspect. If you can get some compressed air, try blowing out the hose, too... from teh inside to the outside!!! Don't blow it from the thru-hull back into the boat unless you like cleaning up messes. :smt001

 

[SkiPharmer]

How do I pull the pan? is it hard?

 

[Mike Blake]

Why do you want to pull it? It should have a drain fitting and a hose that goes to a sump.

 

[dpmulvey]

Is the water above the drain hole?

If so, your drain is plugged. If not, it's normal. The water level should be at the bottom of the hole. My pump is centerline in front of the shower/head. YMMV.

If the pan pan appears a bit plugged, put a couple of bromine tabs in the pan. That should slowly clear the clog.

FWIW, in this heat, my pump come roughly every 10-15 minutes.

 

[Alex F]

Dennis,

Thanks for the laughter with this comment “… pull the pan and inspect. …”.

Obviously, every model has different configuration. But, in cases of self-contained units (which OP has) it involves pulling the whole unit out, which is not a 10 min job.

Using air compressor is a good idea, it’s probably the easiest way to fix the drain clog.


If you don’t have the air compressor, then connecting the drain hose to shore water hose will do the trick. Just make sure you have good connections to avoid water spilling all over the cabin.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Dennis,

Thanks for the laughter with this comment “… pull the pan and inspect. …”.

Obviously, every model has different configuration. But, in cases of self-contained units (which OP has) it involves pulling the whole unit out, which is not a 10 min job.

Ha! I just re-read what I wrote and you're right - I didn't really word that correctly, did I? Yes, would need to pull the whole unit. Although how hard it is depends on it's location. In some boats, it's not that bad, at all. I'm not sure on his boat.

Chris - can you get to the drain tube that leads the tray? Can you get to the other end of the drain tube? Can you get a finger on the tray's drain (the inside of the tray)? Depending on what you can get to (and what you're comfortable with), we can come up with some other ideas.

 

[SkiPharmer]

I putzed around a bit and i think the drain tube is an inch or so off the bottom of the pan? does that sound right? dumb design.....so i will just have to vaccum it out every now and then.

 

[dpmulvey]

I putzed around a bit and i think the drain tube is an inch or so off the bottom of the pan? does that sound right? dumb design.....so i will just have to vaccum it out every now and then.

Agree. You could opt for a Venturi to take the water overboard.