Drilling holes in pan of window unit?

[Burnt_Blade]

My window unit, even though its tilted, is not draining properly and I'm having water coming in along the window sill. It's a 5,000 btu unit that does not have the drain opening in it that some of the larger units have.

I have read online, never to drill into the air conditioner pan. I was wondering what the harm this would be, as long as you are careful not to damage anything inside the unit (coils etc), would it not allow the water to drain out better?

[HayZee518]

the condensate pan is built just under the condenser fan. the fan has a slinger that picks up water and flings it towards the condenser coil. I would not drill a hole in the pan. I did this once on a similar unit and went through the condenser coil.

[Burnt_Blade]

So, you figure they are designed to have that water cool off the outside condenser? I just figured since the bigger unit I had, had the opening with the little rubber hose coming out of it...that the smaller ones could do with it as well, the companies just cheaped out and didn't bother with the smaller units.

[HayZee518]

ok, the big units, say for instance a 22,000 Btu Sears or Carrier, the condensate drains off to a hole in the a/c base. Central a/c units, the heat is blown out vertically in the outside unit. My little 5,ooo Btu a/c has a four fin fan with a circle of metal around the outside of the fins that has a small scoop that picks up water and flings it at the condenser coils. it your call if you want to drill a weep hole. I cannot stop you there but just be careful you don't put holes in your freon lines. a copper condenser can be fixed. an aluminum condenser can be epoxied but there'l always be a potential leak there.