Protect the stock
Move boxes and produce out from under the unit, and keep the floor dry so nobody slips.
Repair guideARC AU 30896
Water leaking from your cool room evaporator?
Water dripping from the fan unit inside your cool room, onto boxes, shelves or the floor, is a common call. It’s often a blocked drain, and it’s usually a straightforward fix.
Why it happens
Where the water comes from
The evaporator, the fan unit inside the room, pulls moisture out of the air as it cools. That water collects in a tray underneath and runs away through a drain pipe.
When the pipe or the tray blocks, the water has nowhere to go and spills over, often straight onto stock. In freezer rooms, a failed drain heater lets the water freeze in the line and back up during defrost.
While you wait
Three things to do now
Catch the drips
Put a container or tray under the leak until it’s fixed.
Don’t poke the drain
Don’t push wire up the drain or take panels off. The fans and wiring are right there.
Common causes
What I usually find
From real jobs and what I see most often.
Blocked drain pipe
In a Doncaster cool room, water was dripping onto packaging. The drain pipe was blocked solid with jelly-like mould. I disconnected it, cleaned it out with the evaporator coil, and it drained normally again.
Read the Doncaster repairBlocked or damaged drain tray
In a Templestowe Lower vegetable cool room, water was leaking from the drain tray and damaging produce packaging. I found the fault, repaired it and serviced the unit.
See recent job photosFrozen drain line
Freezer room drains need a heater. When it fails, ice blocks the line and defrost water backs up and overflows.
Freezer room repairsToo much ice melting at once
If the coil ices up badly, defrost can release more water than the tray can handle, or the ice melts outside the tray.
Why coils ice up01Is a leaking evaporator a refrigerant leak?+
Usually not. The water is condensation pulled out of the air. Refrigerant escapes as a gas, so it doesn’t leave a puddle.
02How often should cool room drains be cleaned?+
It depends on the room and what’s stored. Produce rooms and busy kitchens build up faster. Checking and clearing the drains is part of a regular service.
Call James
Something stopped cooling?
Day or night, 7 days a week, anywhere in Victoria.
Call now0413 750 483 Available 24 hours · 7 days a weekWritten by James, refrigeration technician · Updated 2026-11-01