While air conditioners attempt to remove moisture present in the air, this water gets collected in the drain tray at the bottom of the air conditioner. As this collected water evaporates, it initially drips down from the cold evaporator coils on the front of the air conditioner. This water collects at the base of the air conditioner in the ‘pan’.
During installation, the air conditioner is slightly tilted to the back. This causes the water to collect near the back of the unit. The fan blade that cools the rear condensing coils has a rim on the outside of the fan blade called a ‘slinger’. This slinger comes in contact with the inside of the drain pan when the fan is rotating.
On reaching the appropriate level, the slinger can then lift the water up, and the fan will splash it over the condensing coils. As the coils are warm, the moisture evaporates to the outside.
As this happens, it is common to hear water splashing around.