Refrigerator drain

[Guy]

Took my new Cougar 5th wheel on a week trip last week. I noticed a white chalky looking substance on the outside of the refrigerator panel on the outside. It is coming from the drain hose. I have never seen anything like this on the RV's I have had in the past. Any idea what this is and if it will stop after it has been used more?

[chuckster57]

I wonder if something spilled in the condensation drain pan. You can clean it out and see if it returns.

[Guy]

Haven't looked inside the covers that much. Where is the condensation drain pan located? Do I just follow the drain tube?

[chuckster57]

Drain pan is in the fridge just bellow the cooling fins. The drain is attached to the pan so you could rinse the tube out with some water after taking the drain pan out.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Guy

Haven't looked inside the covers that much. Where is the condensation drain pan located? Do I just follow the drain tube?

The condensation drain pan is not "behind the covers" on the outside of the RV. The drain pan is INSIDE the refrigerator, at the upper part of the refrigerator section, just under the row of cooling fins. It collects the condensation from those fins and "drips the water" through the drain hose to the outside of the refrigertator. Anything that's spilled into that tray will end up "dried on the outside of the lower refrigerator vent grill"...

[Guy]

Thanks for all the information, I will check that out.
Thanks again!

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

The condensation drain pan is not "behind the covers" on the outside of the RV. The drain pan is INSIDE the refrigerator, at the upper part of the refrigerator section, just under the row of cooling fins. It collects the condensation from those fins and "drips the water" through the drain hose to the outside of the refrigertator. Anything that's spilled into that tray will end up "dried on the outside of the lower refrigerator vent grill"...

Norcold fridge has a 1/4" line into a small pan on the outside area from the tray inside. The Dometic has a 1/2" corrugated line sticking out the bottom vent from the tray inside that always seemed to drain white crusty condensation down the side of the RV.

[Guy]

I checked out the condensation tray and there was a white chalk like substance on it. My wife says she has not spilled anything there. It may have been something left from the factory. I cleaned it up and poured some clear water down it. Hopefully, that clears up the problem. Thanks for all the help!

[dutchmensport]

By chance, did you ever spill milk inside the refrigerator?

[Guy]

No, this is really the first time the refrigerator was used. There have been no spills of any kind. The substance in the tray looked liked powered chalk.

[JRTJH]

That "powdered chalk" may have been some residual corrosion on the cooling fins just above the drain pan. When the refrigerator is in operation, water will collect (condense) on the fins. If left wet, the aluminum in the fins can "corrode and cause a white chalky powder". Then, if you turn on the refrigerator, it starts condensing on the fins, dripping into the evaporator tray and some of that "white chalky powder" comes along with the drips... They migrate to the drain line, down the tube and out onto the horizontal ledge of the refrigerator vent...

I'd suspect what you're seeing is the result of the way you stored the refrigerator last time it was put away for a week or so.

[Guy]

This was the first time the refrigerator had been used other than to turn it on to make sure it worked! Maybe I should clean the fins to make sure that there is no manufacturing residue still on them. I have camped with absorption refrigerators for 40+ years and this is the first time I have seen anything like this!

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Guy

This was the first time the refrigerator had been used other than to turn it on to make sure it worked! Maybe I should clean the fins to make sure that there is no manufacturing residue still on them. I have camped with absorption refrigerators for 40+ years and this is the first time I have seen anything like this!

It's the first time "YOU" ran it, but it was operated during the PDI by the dealership. If the trailer has a history of being used at trailer shows or if it was a "demo model" for a weekend or was on the showroom floor, some dealerships do turn all the appliances on for those events. So, even though "YOU" only ran it one weekend, the refrigerator "could have a history of use" at the dealership in addition to how ever long their service department ran it for the PDI...

Then again, it may not have any use other than yours and the PDI and this may be manufacturing residue or something left in the refrigerator during some other time, from manufacture to sitting on the dealership lot to something tossed into it by a customer during their "walk the lot" viewings or even a "bad smell" that the dealer sprayed something into the refrigerator to mask the odor....