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AC drain catch pan

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by AmericanIdiot, Apr 25, 2024.

  1. AmericanIdiot

    AmericanIdiot Junior Member

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    So I garage park my Prius and don't really like having the AC condensate get dumped on my garage floor.

    Has anyone mount a catch pan to the underside of the car to collect the water that is dumped? Then the collected water could just evaporate on it's own. It's pretty similar to the refrigerator defrost catch pan.

    Any reason not to do this?
     
    #1 AmericanIdiot, Apr 25, 2024
  2. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Why not just put the catch pan on the floor of the garage?
     
    #2 dolj, Apr 25, 2024
  3. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    A refrigerator doesn't drive around and then stop with resulting sloshes to the contents of the pan.

    Not saying this couldn't be done, but your car catch pan will need more engineering than your refrigerator catch pan.

    Good luck!
     
    #3 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Apr 25, 2024
  4. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

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    I kept old cookie sheets on the floor of my garage to catch dripping fluids for many years. The water would just evaporate away...
     
    #4 ColoradoCrow, Apr 25, 2024
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    They make large shallow pans for different appliances which would be easy to fasten above or below the aero panels.
    You just need the desire to follow through
     
    #5 bisco, Apr 25, 2024
  6. AmericanIdiot

    AmericanIdiot Junior Member

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    I'm trying to keep my garage floor free of things because I would also like to use the space as a workshop. I know I can move the pan but I'm trying to be efficiently lazy :)

    My fridge doesn't drive, but sometimes it runs </dadjoke>

    I don't mind it sloshing or spilling around when I'm driving, it's just when I'm parked then it just needs to catch it.

    Yeah, that's the plan. Instead of being on the floor and evaporating it away, it would be attached to the underside of the car and evaporate away.
     
    #6 AmericanIdiot, Apr 25, 2024
  7. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    What's the best thing about Switzerland?

    --> I couldn't say, but the flag is a big plus. <--​

    (Us dads gotta keep these handy, right?)

    That's just it. I'm imagining you driving forward into your garage with the air con having been running some time while driving, so plenty of condensation draining out. But the last step of "parking in a garage" is typically stopping, which would be a good slosh towards the front.

    Some refrigerators aid the evaporation process by locating the drip pan near a warm or hot part. Maybe you could get yours close enough to the exhaust to evaporate it more quickly?

    Either way I'll be curious to see what you come up with.
     
    #7 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Apr 25, 2024
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Route the drip hose to some sort of bottle with a spigot on the cap?
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Apr 25, 2024
  9. AmericanIdiot

    AmericanIdiot Junior Member

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    That is true. My car just hit 200k so I decided to start doing some maintenance myself.

    I was just under there for oil change, engine coolant change, inverter coolant change, and tranxasxle fluid change.

    Crawling back under there to mount a $1 catch pan.... I'll post pictures when it gets done.. just don't hold your breath!
     
    #9 AmericanIdiot, Apr 25, 2024
    bisco likes this.
  10. AmericanIdiot

    AmericanIdiot Junior Member

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    This seems like the most likely solution. Do you know the inner or outer diameter of the hose?

    I was thinking getting some sort of low plastic tray that I can attach to the existing panels and then extend the hose to the tray. It should evaporate passively. Having a bottle and spigot sounds like manually dumping water... and I'm too lazy for that.
     
    #10 AmericanIdiot, Apr 25, 2024
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
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