Date:         Wed, 4 Jun 2008 13:21:55 -0400
Reply-To:     Jonathan Poole <jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jonathan Poole <jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Dometic condensation drain
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

There has been good discussion on the fridge "drain" and blowing out but it
seemed to me that a little clarification would be helpful.

Over the years I have regularly used the "drain" on my fridge.  What comes
out is never water or moisture but instead ash chunks.  I guess that
critters or trash go into the intake from time to time and then get burned.
Every few months I remove the cap and lightly tap on the tube which allows
the crud to fall out.  Every now and then when I am vacuuming I will remove
the cap and put the vacuum hose up to it to suck crud out.  Also I have
attached a shop vac to the exhaust on the side of the van which moves a lot
of air through the combustion chamber when doing this I usually walk around
and open the little drain cap to suck the crud out of the tube.  Anyway I
since my experiences have been different and over a long period of time I
thought they were worth mentioning.

Also over the years when I have seen fridges blow out I have always (my
experience here) been able to fix the problem by removing the flue pieces
and seal from the side of the van and then cleaning and sealing them lightly
with silicone.  I seal the rubber to the body (probably most helpful for
keeping water out of the inside of the van) then the flue to the rubber and
even put a bit of silicone on the intake/exhaust divider plate.  After doing
this the fridge has always stayed lit for me.  I believe though that if this
doesn't fix the problem you should try resealing the combustion chamber next
and inspecting for damaged or cracked pipes.

Jonathan Poole
'83 AC Westy