Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

• Some A/C units use up most, or all, of the condensation water produced by the cooling process, to cool the hot condenser for better performance. I use several different window A/C units at home, and some drip water in abundance, others do not. My two Frigidaire 15100 btu units practically gush water from the rear, my Frigidaire 10000 btu unit produces little excess (you can hear the water slinging inside the unit), and the LG 8000 btu unit uses up all the water, while self-cooling. My TTT uses a LG 5000 btu unit (LW5012J), that also uses all the condensate, and never has produced excess. I built a drain/drip pan in my galley,just in case it would have excess drainage, but hasn't needed it yet (I hadn't tested before I constructed the drain pan and hose, but it is also used in my exhaust duct system, anyway). I chose the trailers' A/C because I knew the LG wouldn't create a messy excess (my large Frigidaires do), so I chose it. Mine had a sealed pan under it, while its' sister model utilized a drain.

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  Drip pan and stand.png (612.54 KiB) Viewed 4012 times

  red=drain/drip pan; blue=drain hose to ground

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  drain pan variations.png (185.07 KiB) Viewed 4012 times

  practically identical, but one has no need for a drain hole
• There are many other models out there, some with drains and others without, but if your A/C is internally-mounted, like my trailer's unit, then a drainage system might be needed, in case of excessive water, beyond what the unit needs for self-cooling.

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  reason for no drain hole.PNG (66.14 KiB) Viewed 4012 times

  copied off the internet

NO David! wrote:I drilled my drain pan since my entire unit sits inside the trailer. Hard to see in the picture but I mounted a cpvc 1/2" 90 degree flange fitting, capped one end, and put a 45 on the other so I could put the drain line out to exit the trailer through the partially opened door. Mine too was designed to evaporate the condensation, but I didn't want the excess water to slosh out when traveling, and I also didn't want the pinging noise going on all the time. Seems to cool just fine. I also have a short pipe/cap setup to plug it when I remove the drain pipe. One time I forgot to remove the plug, wondered what that pinging noise was, swapped plug for drain pipe, ran a river of water out then.





I drilled through the inside of the 90, exiting the flat between the ears, automotive gasket sealer, self tapping screws, mounted to the low point on the A/C drain pan in line with the hole I had already drilled, presto.

Redneck Packrat wrote:We cool the house with window units, and two of them are on the north wall of the house. (No sun to speak of.) About 3 years ago I replaced all the ancient units with new Frigidaires, 8k in the front room where we have the computers and desks, 11k in the oversize bedroom...both of these in the north-facing wall.... and a huge one in the living room that cools the rest of the house.

First off, this cut about 30% off our electric bill the first full summer month with 'em. They're all slingers, though. I don't like the sound, sounds kinda like something fell into the fan. What I like even less is that, in our humidity, they start slinging water almost immediately after being turned on and splatter it everywhere like a shaggy dog coming out of a pool. This water gets all over the side of the house and started turning the area around the a/c green...

So I found a low spot and drilled 'em all with about a 1/4" hole. Be sure and use a cordless drill you don't like all that much because it's gonna get wet. Did not hurt the efficiency much, if at all. Over the last couple years, our electric usage has averaged that same 30% reduction, even after the drilling....

• As I've stated in various threads, I love my window units. When my house's central air/heat failed, years ago, I talked my wife into not replacing it, and we started using A/C window units, arranged in "zoned" areas, and electric space heaters, arranged the same way. We experimented for awhile, and found the right settings for our A/C units (8k, 10k, and two 15.1k BTU units) that cooled the house better than before, and for 1/3 the bill (our ducting leaked out both heated and cooled air, that's why we got such dramatic improvements in efficiency; I sealed off the old ducts).
• I admit, I am biased toward A/C window units, as I have always liked them for many (nostalgic) reasons. But, I did gain real efficiency in my home's HVAC situation, when I "zoned out", using separate units, all around the house. And, I agree that the Frigidaires do produce a lot of excess condensation, and overflow the drip pan underneath; our two 15.1 k btu units (in the central living areas) have put out so much water that they've stained/damaged the deck under them, but they've never had any moisture project into the house, nor do they make any pinging or water sounds. The 10k btu Frigidaire (in the master bedroom) does make a gurgling sound when shutting off, but not for long, and no moisture comes out into the room. On a side note: all the Frigidaires are set to run on a remote temperature sensor, and periodically blow cooled air into the rooms, in between compressor cycles; perhaps this excess water needs to be retained in the pan for this reason- cool water to produce the cooled air- (there are no drain holes/plugs on any of mine).
• If others don't wish for excess water drainage, nor for a pinging or gurgling water sound inside their A/C window units, then I would recommend a LG unit. Both the 8k unit in my wife's home office, and the 5k unit in my trailer, have no excess water (they seem to use it all up), and cool very well. IMHO