Foam and wood chips falling from ceiling vents

[theSane]

Any one else get constant debris from their air vents? Our is from the vents over the bed in particular. Happens the most while driving (not running the air), but also slowly happens while parked and using the air.

We have been driving across country and living in the Motorhome for two weeks now and I would like to fix this if possible.

[Goodspike]

Maybe something like this would let you clean out the vents a good distance back????

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You'd need a vacuum with a hose, but if you don't have one with you maybe one of those car wash place vacuums would have a long enough hose.

[Winterbagoal]

Some overhead (A/C) ductwork is just channels cut into the roofing and overhead foam insulation. Many builders just don't use tubular ductwork any more due to costs.
If you run your A/C regularly, it will eventually stop.
It's particularly common in newer units.

[Morich]

Leftover sawdust and debris is kind of the standard in RV it seems. When shopping new Rv, I've learned to take a few drawers out and look at the plumbing/wiring to see how well it is taken care of and I often find tons of sawdust which does eventually trickle out to be cleaned up.
But there are also things that we may need to check on to make sure we've not picked up any riders! Ants and mice are two that I've run across over the years and they can get into the foam and use it as a nest.
One thing that seems common on both is how dirty they are, so looking for signs of dirt or smell can give you a chance to deal with it---if it is a worst case thing.
The normal leftover dirt is just an irritating cleanup for a few years.

[Winterbagoal]

I should have added that if it doesn't eventually stop, the roof will become one giant duct, after the styrofoam is depleted. I've never actually seen this happen, but it is a possibility.

[theSane]

It seems pretty clean. I hope it is just construction dust. The coach is only two years old, but I am the second owner. Was hoping this kind of issue would have been resolved by the time I got it.

[Morich]

The white beadboard is much more prone to dropping bits for years as it seems to be much less well glued together than pink or blue foam --- but it is cheap and easy to form!
Maybe we should put one of those sticky bug strips in the vents, so we don't have to chase the bits all over the RV?

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by theSane

Any one else get constant debris from their air vents? Our is from the vents over the bed in particular. Happens the most while driving (not running the air), but also slowly happens while parked and using the air.

We have been driving across country and living in the Motorhome for two weeks now and I would like to fix this if possible.

Not the sawdust, but yes, initially some pieces of styrofoam came out of a couple of ducts. Our unit was new, so I chalked it up to the build. It stopped after running the air for a awhile.

[Redshift]

Any signs of poo in the debris?

[macnut]

I have a 2017 Adventurer and still get occasional debris just as you described. As far as I can tell it is from original manufacturing process (and I’m 100% sure it is not rodents). Some road bumps and ruts in CA can be pretty bad, so eventually it will clean itself out. It’s also possible the bumps are breaking a few bits of the styrofoam and other material off. It has not impacted the effectiveness of the AC, so all is good!

[habermanb]

Yes I have the same issue on my 2018 Intent 29L. Have experienced this problem for a year now. Comes from one AC vent over our bed. Happened this last weekend while traveling without the coach air on.

[sammax]

We had the same problem...I ran a vacuum hose down the vent as far as possible...seems the guys who did the vents thought it to be funny because there are so many...
2018...31p

[macnut]

It’s the same vent on our Adventurer. I wonder if the debris just makes its way to the last vent over time.

[NeilV]

You really do not want to stick a hose, brush or any other object down the duct channels in the foam since this is going to ultimately weaken the channels and widen them out. You do not want to accidentally break off a chunk of insulation and expose the backer board for the roof panel or ceiling material as this will lead to condensate issues and wood rotting.

[mikemakay]

When I first bought my coach i had pieces of aluminum foil coming out of my vents. I removed the vents and used my endoscope to view inside the ducts. There was tons of debris left over from construction in every duct. I rigged up a vacuum hose and sucked it all out and no more silver snowflakes. Just a note; never found the source of the foil.

[lenore]

Easy way to clean out is take vent cover off the furthest vent, close all other vents and turn blower on to blow the debris out. I found that the channels extended past the last vent. I took Styrofoam and silicone these channels closed at the last vent to stop wasted air down the channel.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by lenore

Easy way to clean out is take vent cover off the furthest vent, close all other vents and turn blower on to blow the debris out. I found that the channels extended past the last vent. I took Styrofoam and silicone these channels closed at the last vent to stop wasted air down the channel.

That is the safest way to ensure you do not damage the Styrofoam inside the ducts. You can also use a shop vac with a clean tool that is large enough to fit over the vent opening to help move things along.

When they use a duct board knife to fit the transition between the ducts and the air handler bits of aluminum and Styrofoam do come loose and it may not blow out until the unit has been driven around a bit. This is the nature of dealing with duct board and stress skin panels with ducts routed or formed into them.

[lenore]

Originally Posted by NeilV

You really do not want to stick a hose, brush or any other object down the duct channels in the foam since this is going to ultimately weaken the channels and widen them out. You do not want to accidentally break off a chunk of insulation and expose the backer board for the roof panel or ceiling material as this will lead to condensate issues and wood rotting.

On the WinnebagoVita the ceiling (wood paneling) is the lower side of the ducts. Man I hope I dont have moisture issues. Hopefully the wood is sealed with a sealant.

[Dentkimterry]

This happened in our brand new 2016 Vista 26he. Blew foam, sawdust and metal shavings out every a/c ceiling vent. The dealer wanted to show me how to clean this out. They said Winnebago wouldn't reimburse them to make it right. I called Winnebago and talked to a nice man who told me they certainly would pay the dealer to fix it and gave me a phone number to have them call. It took them almost 2 hours to clean up and has been fine ever since.

[orangeminnie]

We're still finding piles of sawdust in odd places, in a 5 year old Minnie TT. To me, not cleaning these up is a deliberate cost-cutting move on the part of the manufacturer. It literally would add just a minute of two of staff time per unit, to clean these up. Arghh.