I just got my daughter an emergency road bag for the front of her Fiero. It’s got basic tools, a small pump, a tire patch, gloves, etc.

But, it got me thinking. In the front compartment, doesn’t the accumulator sweat profusely when the A/C is on? Meaning… anything up there that’s touching it is going to get soaked, isn’t it?

[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 10-27-2025).]

The bag…

I'm probably over-thinking this a little bit, but like my daughter, I get obsessive about attention to detail sometimes.

Anyway, I found this... https://www.amazon.com/ACDe...lator/dp/B0016IU9OW/


Seems like it only goes over one half, but it's an insulator that covers the face of it, but still allows condensate to drip down and out, while not getting all over whatever you're storing in the frunk.

It does sweat.
On a trip back from Florida to Michigan the Formula was completely packed.
We used plastic bags around everything we stored in the front compartment and had no issues.

The pipe will get condensation and it drips into a drain. Avoid the pipe and don’t cover the drain and you will be fine.

Avoid heavy tools as they can shift and could do damage if not protected. SS
It is really not a storage area so use with some common sense.

quote Originally posted by hyperv6: The pipe will get condensation and it drips into a drain. Avoid the pipe and don’t cover the drain and you will be fine. Avoid heavy tools as they can shift and could do damage if not protected. SS It is really not a storage area so use with some common sense.

Man, I'd love to see a picture of it. I don't have the system fully charged yet... just vacuumed it out, and then put one can in. I want to get the engine all back together first (waiting on the intake manifold). Any chance you happen to have a picture of what the wet / sweating pipes look like? I'm just curious if it's the top pipe from the evaporator, or the tube coming out of the other side of the evaporator. I see lots of options for insulating the pipe to prevent sweating... and I might do that.

I agree, it's not really an ideal location for luggage, but since she's re-doing the whole front, it might help to add a few tid-bits in like this to improve the usability of the car. We can even advertise it as a front-mounted beer cooler!


Thanks!

Have regularly used the front compartment for storage on long trips and have never experienced a problem with anything getting wet. .

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quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Man, I'd love to see a picture of it. I don't have the system fully charged yet... just vacuumed it out, and then put one can in. I want to get the engine all back together first (waiting on the intake manifold). Any chance you happen to have a picture of what the wet / sweating pipes look like? I'm just curious if it's the top pipe from the evaporator, or the tube coming out of the other side of the evaporator. I see lots of options for insulating the pipe to prevent sweating... and I might do that. I agree, it's not really an ideal location for luggage, but since she's re-doing the whole front, it might help to add a few tid-bits in like this to improve the usability of the car. We can even advertise it as a front-mounted beer cooler! Thanks!

It. Is just the aluminum plumbing oIn the center. Look under it there is a tray to catch the water. It mostly just sweats in the summer and humid conditions. Nothings is going to get soaked but it can get wet.