I have a Cruiseair AC unit under...

[cbruck]

I have a Cruiseair AC unit under my front bed on a 2010 390 Sundancer.  The unit is mounted to a metal pan with a drain on the pan but because the coils are mounted right to the back of the drain pan, I get a lot of condensation that simply drips off the metal and pan and right onto the carpet.  I guess the best solution would be to get another non-metal pan slightly larger and mount the whole unit inside of it.  Has anyone had this issue and have any good ideas on how to solve the problem?

[wingless]

Can the pan be detached, shifted and reattached to be in a better location?

[cbruck]

I had the same thought but I did determine that the pan must be rusted through. Only solution is to replace the pan. Cruiseair does have a SS replacement for $205. I did find a plastic condensation pan that would fit but since the existing pan is a structural element to the whole unit I have to replace the pan first.

[wingless]

Why not make one out of welded steel, welded aluminum or soldered copper?

[cbruck]

Good comments, I ended up with a dam of silicon around the unit on the floor to keep the water draining down into the bildge area for now. This fall, I'll tear down the AC unit and see if the pan is leaking and if so get one built out of aluminum and replace the steel pan and make it larger so the condensation drips into the pan vs all over the floor. Thanks again for the help.

[cbruck]

Just an update to whoever may have the same issue. I was able to place a plastic drain pan under the entire AC unit. I drilled holes in the existing metal drain pan to drain into the plastic pan. I was able to do all of this without removing any connections to the AC unit. Now all the condensation from the AC unit drains into the plastic pan and through the drain tube. Something this simple (and low cost, $40 for plastic drain pan) should have been done at the factory. Drop a line if anyone needs more details.

[wingless]

Great info!

Post a pic please.

How was the hose attached to the plastic pan?

[cbruck]

Here is a pic from the top installation.

[cbruck]

Here is a pic from the side of the drain.

[cbruck]

I bought the drain pan (roughly 18"x25"x3") online from WebstaurantStore.com for about $40. The drain itself came from Lowes as a drain plug and I had to drill out the center hole ($3-4). I even used a heat gun and carefully heated up the plastic and used the drain to pull down and form a slight depression for better drainage. Bought the 1/2 NPT to 5/8" barb at Ace for a few bucks.

I unbolted the AC unit but left everything hooked up. I slid it to the side so I could measure for the hole locations for the plastic pan. This must be relatively accurate or you won't get the bolts back in. I then drilled drainage holes in the bottom and sides of the existing metal pan so that the condensation would drain into the plastic drain pan. I picked up the unit and slid the plastic pan underneath. I used some rubber washers under the bolts to seal the bolt holes. As you can see in the pics, the metal pan will continue to rust out but instead of the evaporator sitting in 3 " of water and rusting, that water will drain out, hopefully extending the life of the entire unit some 3-5 years. Also, I don't have water draining into my carpet.

If I bought a new AC unit, I would rebuild it something like this before I installed it or find a unit that was properly designed to avoid all of this. Instead of metal, a slightly larger hard plastic pan with a bottom drain would be the correct way to build the AC unit. If someone is buying a newer boat, they may consider this modification early on before the existing metal pan rusts out like mine is rusting.