Rust Stains from Common Drain on 260DA

[At Ease]

I have a rust stain down on the boot stripe that is coming from the common drain on the Starboard side of the boat. This is the thru hull drain that is just forward of the A/C thru hull drain. I have had stains from the A/C drain before but never this one. I have never actually seen water coming from this thru hull drain. I cleaned the rust stains off and reapplied polish about 2 weeks ago and now it is back. What is connected to this common drain?

 

[ChuckW]

This is coming from your sump box under the rubbish bucket under your cabin step. The shower and A/C condensate drain into that sump. It can get real slimy in there. There are 4 screws on the top of the lid to the sump. Remove them and clean it out thoroughly.

 

[Jim M]

On my boat the shower sump, when it pumps out, leaves about 3" of water sitting in it. The condensate from the A/C drains into this sump also. Algee grows in the sump water and when it does pump out it leaves a stain on the side of your hull. By putting a plastic hose, from the hardware store, in the drain hole from the outside it will not allow any staining water to hit your hull.

 

[At Ease]

Thanks Chuck. It must be from the A/C condensate as we don't use the shower. I will give it a look when I am back at the marina.

 

[jason78]

A stainless steel condensate tray has also been known to solve this but the cleaning and hose in the thru-hull are the easiest fix. Problem is even after you clean the sump you will still get rusty water from the steel condensate tray. That is where the hose comes in.

 

[At Ease]

Can you replace the tray with a stainless one and if so, do you have a source?

 

[jason78]

Can you replace the tray with a stainless one and if so, do you have a source?

You can but sorry, I do not have a source. You could call the manufacturer. There are many posts here about this and my suggestions are based on my reading those threads. It will likely be costly to replace unless you can remove and re-install the unit yourself.

Honestly, a good sump cleaning and using the "extension" hose in the thru-hull as others suggested will probably solve your issues at a cost of about $1 and 30 minutes of cleaning. That is only 10 cents in "boat dollars"

 

[Dave S]

I had the same problem. The quick fix is to take your bathroom faucet/shower head and flush a lot of water down the head drain. That will in effect rinse the sump down. I looked at my sump box before I did this and it was pretty brownish looking. After flushing the water down the shower drain. the sump box was notably brighter although still stained with rust.

Replacing the pan drain under the AC will permanently solve the problem. Cruise-Air makes a plastic pan you can buy. Several of our members were able to get a new one from the manufacturer (Dometic) at no-charge because of the problem.

Dave

 

[At Ease]

Thanks Dave.

Scott, did you replace yourself? If so, was it a difficult task?

 

[firecadet613]

Scott...try Mid Adlantic Marine Air in MD. I used him for my new AC unit I put it....and his service was great, pricing can't be beat!

 

[At Ease]

If I recall, the pan under the A/C unit is nothing special. Maybe I will get one made locally out of stainless and replace in the fall.

 

[Dave S]

I was thinking about fiberglassing the inside of the current one. I am going to be looking at mine once we are past the need to run the A/C.

Dave

 

[Brutus C Paw]

Our local mechanic says a couple of tablepoons of bleach in the box cleans the rust and will not harm the pump or switch since they have no rubber parts. Comments, I haven't tried it.