  We investigate the dynamics of a continuous atom laser based on the merging
of independently formed atomic condensates. In a first attempt to understand
the dynamics of the system, we consider two independent elongated Bose-Einstein
condensates which approach each other and focus on intermediate inter-trap
distances so that a two-mode model is well justified. In the framework of a
mean-field theory, we discuss the quasi steady-state population of the traps as
well as the energy distribution of the outcoupled atoms.
