Strange drain pipe

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Wagonmaster2

Well-known member
Joined
May 2, 2009
Posts
498
Location
Northcentral Oklahoma
Today while getting ready for some slight short term freezing temperatures I had unhooked the water line from the ice cube switch and the line from it up to the ice cube maker just to prevent any possiblilty of it bursting.  Don't want to winterize the coach yet since we should have another month of decent camping weather other than this early freeze.

Later I noticed a few drips of water below the front end of the propane tank compartment, which upon opening it I discovered a small tube coming down through the flooring above the tank.    This tube is at the front end of the LPG compartment hanging down about 4-6 inches right where the LPG pipes go across and up into the flooring.  Owning the coach for 8 years I've never seen this drain tube before.

Anyone familiar with a 2004 Meridian 36G have any idea what this tube could be for and where the drips of water might have been coming from?  The drips wet the ground about the size of a coffee cup so there wasn't much liquid there.

Sorry I can't post any pictures, I don't have a digital camera and would have no idea how to do it.    Severely technology handicaped.
 
As I understand, the frig drain is that little 1/4" white tube that comes down behind the outside frig access door into a little black box where it dehydrates.  This other tube coming out in the LPG compartment could be 1/2 to 5/8 inch tube.  May have something to do with the frig since I was working with the ice maker water supply but am wondering what the purpose of it is.  Like I had stated, I've never seen water dripping down in that location anytime in the 8 years I've owned the coach.
 
BTW, the ice maker water control solenoid/valve is vulnerable to freeze damage too.  There is a tiny amount of water trapped in it, and a freeze will lift or damage the valve seat. Try to drain it or blow it out, which means getting the valve to open. 

I had one freeze up and afterwards it dribbled water into the ice maker after the valve closed, causing an overflow and a big icicle inside the freezer. The valve was repairable - I had to open it up and re-seat the valve seat inside. Norcold even has a TSB on this problem.
 
My Norcold instructions say to run two cycles of ice cubes after disconnecting and draining the water line.

It's 26 degrees out right now and I am running a remote test on the temp of that outside refer compartment using Gary RV's tip (from another post) of putting a 15 W light bulb in the compartment. I'm running a 25 W bulb in the compartment, icemaker is on, furnace is at 50 degrees and the compartment temp is 38 degrees. An hour ago the outside temp was 28 and compartment temp was 44. I don't imagine the refer is running very often with the coach temp at 50 degrees.
 
The water heater is in the next rear compartment back of the rear axle from the LPG compartment, which puts this drain hose a complete compartment and dual wheels away.  The gray tank was emptied 2 days ago so there's nothing in it.  The fresh water tank has an overflow drain that comes out beside the tank on the opposite side of the coach from this drain hose that's seeable in the front end of the LPG compartment.  I've unhooked the water lines into and out of the ice maker control valve so it wouldn't freeze just like I've done every year for 8 years after running the ice maker to empty it (the water line to the ice maker valve was also shut off under the kitchen sink).  Just can't imagine where any water was coming from and why this hose is there to drain anything.

If I called Forest City do you suppose anyone there would have any idea what this drain hose is for?
 
Allen,

If you look at the back of the frig compartment (through the vent opening), you'll see that the floor that the frig is sitting on does not go all the way to the outside wall. Between where the frig floor ends and the outside wall there is a drain pan that runs the full length of the frig compartment (front to back). That pan slopes to an outlet that your mystery tube is connected to. I think it's there to drain any overflow from the little drain cup or possibly water that gets blown/thrown in through the vent. You probably just got a little water in that pan when you drained the ice maker water line...
 
Tom,  I bet anything you've hit the head on the nail.  I imagine there could have been probably a tablespoon or so of water ran out of the white plastic tube when I unhooked the water line from the ice maker valve.  I tried to swing the line out over the side of the coach but probably couldn't have managed all of it while unscrewing the line.  This has probably happened in the past and I just never noticed the small amount of water dripping down the drain.
Thanks for the information, makes me feel better knowing where the water came from.  Always worries me about unknown water existance.
 
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