Refer drain hose replacement options

[aatauses]

Hi everyone,
We have a 2010 HL Bighorn. The "plastic" drain tube for the refer has become brittle and kinda falling apart. I checked with a few local RV dealers and they did not have the part, but suggested using vinyl tubing? Since we are currently in a remote location cannot get to a larger Rv store to see what they may have. Any concerns with using vinyl??
thanks
al

 

[JohnDar]

I'm in the same boat, but have some braided water hose that looks like it's the right diameter. The little "plug" fits just right. I'll be replacing it in a couple of weeks after we end our season. PITA since the refer is in the slide, though.

If you use a thick wall vinyl and route it so it's not lying on the hot tubing, it should be OK. The junk that's OEM, sure can't handle anything.


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[cookie]

I replaced my hose with Tygon vinyl hose. The little bug filter on the end of the OEM hose fit just right.

Peace
Dave

 

[Bogie]

I cut the existing hose above the brittle part and put vinyl on the end. The vinyl is fine, but the screen plug came off. Probably pulled of by the wind.

Thanks for reminding me I need to find a replacement.

 

[Arvis]

We have 2011 SD 3100SE, the tube on the back of frig is coming all apart.Its a Dometic brand. Got it to use plastic tubing, but do you have to remove the frig to replace the tube??? need directions please. Don't think I can get to it from the back of frig. Any help would be great. Thanks.

 

[JohnDar]

I'm in the same boat. Some time ago, another member posted about replacing it by removing it by pulling the drain trap from the inside of the fridge and attaching a replacement hose (not the crappy plastic). If I recall it, he did have to bore the hole in the back a little larger to fit it back in and use a foam seal to close it off. I have a length of reinforced drinking water hose that the small end filter will fit into and plan to use that.


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[olcoon]

I replaced the one on our rig this past spring. I'd heard that the fridge needs to be removed to replace it. After looking at the fridge I decided I didn't want to do that. Went outside took the panel off on the back of the fridge & shined a flashlight up there to see where it hooked up. I bought some clear plastic/vinyl tubing & luckily my arm was long enough to reach up there to remove the old & hook up the new. The old was just fastened up there with friction & a zip tie that wasn't tight. The plug at the bottom was long since gone, got a new one & now all is fine. BTW I saw/heard somewhere that if you put a bend in the tube it will act like a "P" trap, and help to keep the bugs out even more, and supposedly will also keep outside warm air from entering the fridge & making the fridge work harder.

 

[Arvis]

Thanks for the info, at daylight I will see if I can get to it form the vents on the outside. will post more later.. Thanks to all

 

[JohnDar]

I haven't looked at it with any great detail, but I wonder if it's more accessible from the top vent panel, rather than the lower. The coils and expansion tank are in the way from the bottom, and my arm isn't long enough to reach it, even if the stuff wasn't in the way.

As a temporary fix, to keep the drainage off the electronics and wood below, I made a trough from aluminum foil and hooked it over a coil to direct it out the lower vent panel. The end of the broken hose was just out of reach but the trough caught it.

Pulling the fridge out is not an option unless it quits completely. Whoever came up with that plastic tubing for the drain needs a course in material properties.

 

[danemayer]

On our Dometic RM1350 I think there are maybe just a couple of screws on the front and on the back holding the fridge in place. With those out and propane disconnected (with care), the refrigerator can be moved a few inches to give you more space to work.

 

[JohnDar]

Do a search for "refrigerator drain" and you can find a number of posts on fixing the problem. Seems that if the refer is in a slide, getting at the drain from the top vent is the way to go in most cases. I might tackle this before winter, after I get the rig back from the dealer. If not, next spring.