Refrigerator leaks inside unit when defrosting

[lindsay3990]

Hello all, I am a new owner of a 19 foot Scamp that I purchased in November 2016. I have been fighting cancer for 7 months and have come out on top. Now I am ready to take my Scamp out. However as I was checking all the systems I have found some water damage below the refrigerator, I believe it is coming from the condensation when it is turned off or defrosting. I looked around the bottom for a drain hose but did not see any, does this unit have a drain pan ? I have A Dometic refrigerator. Has any one experienced this before.
Unit works great on both gas and electric.

Thanks

[rbryan]

Wow, congrats on beating the cancer Lindsay! It claimed my Mom a couple of months ago.

We just lay a towel on the floor of the fridge when it's defrosting to soak up any water. Works for us.

[Joe Romas]

On the Dometic in my Casita there's a tray under the fins in the rear of the refrigerator that catches the defrost water and on the left side underneath the tray there's a small plastic fitting the tray drains into. That fitting goes through the rear of the refrigerator to a black tube on the outside that goes through a hole in the trailer bottom with a filter on the end end to keep the bugs out.

Does yours have anything like that?

Joe

[mary and bob]

Could water be entering through the outside vents. I know a Scamp 16 owner that had that problem.

[gordon2]

The replies so far have been good.. The vents sometimes do allow water in, but usually only when under some force such as wind driven, on the road, or from a garden hose (or gawd forbid, a pressure washer). The other common issue is a missing or over-full drip pan under the fins (inside the fridge).

It would be helpful if you could list the Dometic model number.

Don't overlook the possibility of a different leak (maybe a roof leak). They can be hard to find.

PS.. F*** cancer.

[lindsay3990]

Thanks All I will look to see if the tray is there, I did not see it 6 months ago but I was not all there at the time. The Scamp has not moved since I purchased it in Nov and has been covered so I do not think it is coming through the outside vents. However I will check all suggestions never want to cut myself short.

[cpaharley2008]

Lindsay,
you need to update your avatar....congrats on winning the battle.

[lindsay3990]

So I have a drip pan under the fins inside the refrigerator, What I did not see is a drip pan under the unit looking from the back of the outside opening .It does not look like one was ever there, diffidently no drain hose and nothing under the Scamp showing a drain hose protruding outside. Is there an access point in the front of the refrigerator inside the Scamp. The water is coming from the front of the unit rug gets wet and wood has water stains.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by lindsay3990

T... I did not see it 6 months ago but I was not all there at the time. The Scamp has not moved since I purchased it in Nov and has been covered so I do not think it is coming through the outside vents...

So many unknowns...

Where has this camper been stored since November? What cover does it have? Has the fridge been on the entire time? Part of the time? None of the time? How long has it been on and unattended? Was someone else using it or maintaining it? What is the model number? And I am sure there are more clues but I need more pieces of the puzzle to even know what they might be.

[lindsay3990]

Hello Gordon
I will get the model number and reply with it.
As for the your other questions,
I live in California the Scamp is stored at my house in the side driveway.
I cycle all of the systems once every two months, and let run for 24 hours
No one else uses or lives in the Scamp.
It has a 5th wheel rain and UV cover that covers all of the Scamp
I checked the outside roof vent for any signs of cracking around the base of the coils cover and did dot see anything that would suggest a leak from the roof.
As I look around the inside of the fridge I wonder if the water comes from the freezer section. Once the freezer gets cold and now has to defrost the water has to go somewhere, so it drips to the bottom and seeps through the bottom of the Door gaskets. I do not see any signs of water anywhere else except the very front lower section of the fridge. I was looking for the model number and did not find it yet. The unit was hardly used the person I purchased it from said it was too small and wanted a bigger unit. For a 2012 it is like brand new

[Borrego Dave]

Hi David and congrats on the medical news. Can't say I've had much of an ice buildup even running the refer for a month. Just an idea for you though. I don't have a drain so when I shut mine down I put towels in both the freezer and refer bottoms to catch any water and leave the doors open for air while stored.

[gordon2]

Well it looks like I might not be much help, as not much comes to mind.

I would expect the drip pan to catch any water coming off the fins, esp. if it is only a 24 hour run.

The only other thing that comes to my mind is maybe a bad door seal or other problem such as a bent door, so that the box is not sealed and exposed to outside air, but in that case I would expect to find the drip pan full and overflowing at some point, and perhaps a buildup of ice on the fins.

If the cover is not water proof then I would still suspect that a possibility is a rain leak, not related to the fridge at all.