Time to replace the AC

[J&SMorris]

Like most full timers we (I) spend a lot of time researching what product to purchase for the RV by reading reviews. When it comes to the AC there's nothing different. As with most things in the RV life things only go out when needed most, even when you've done your best to keep them well maintained. Our ducted main AC is on its last leg after 4 years of full-time use. Texas coastal bend for the last 3 and southern New Mexico for the other year. We have a HC331RL. 50-amp service. Here on the MOC I have learned a lot over the years from you fellow owners. Any recommendations you have would be greatly appreciated.

[rohrmann]

What is wrong with the existing A/C unit?

[J&SMorris]

It doesn't cool very well anymore, temp difference is only 10 degrees, and this week it started not wanting to turn on in any mode. Set the T stat to off for 10 minutes and then it would start back up. I thought about having the system recharged to get another season out of it but found that most units are a sealed system.

[77cruiser]

Couple years ago mine leaked & died I replaced it with the same kind. I don't know if there's a better one. Only got 3 years out of mine.

[rohrmann]

The unit may just need to be cleaned. If the evaporator and condenser coils get clogged with dirt, you won’t get much cooling. This YouTube might help. https://youtu.be/5iQp_UOqjdE

[Bourbon County]

Your unit's reluctance to restart could be a few different things. If it's trying to restart against high head pressure, that could be a symptom. If you have a bad capacitor, that might also be a symptom.

Low refrigerant can cause high head pressure and coupled with the 10 degree delta you are getting, might well be your issue. As you mentioned, none of the RV units come with service valves, they can't be charged in the field. The refrigerant circuit is a sealed system and if you have low refrigerant, you have a leak. I know this is contrary to what a lot of auto repair shops tell customers that the refrigerant has to be "topped off" from time to time. They are actually very simple and compact systems, not much tubing involved for a leak to develop.

A quick and inexpensive thing would be buy a new capacitor, climb up on the roof and replace it and clean the coils. While you're on the roof, carefully inspect the fan. These units only use 1 motor with a shaft on both ends; one drives the condenser fan, the other drives the evaporator blower, or the squirrel cage type fan. If you have a fan slipping on the shaft or a lot of dirt built up it could also be your issue.

As far as replacement; the industry sweetheart seems to be Coleman now. I think the brand RV manufacturers use is likely more price driven than quality driven. I was recently in a campground parked next to a Keystone built travel trailer (don't recall the brand) and it had GE air conditioners. I did some research when I returned home and learned that GE, which their appliance division is now Chinese owned, is trying to make inroads in the RV industry in recent years. I did like what I read; they have a 3 speed fan rather than 2 speed in other brands. The advantage here is once your RV has cooled initially, a lower blower speed will do a much better job controlling humidity and a little quieter. They also noted adding some additional rubber bushings which should give it a smoother ride on the road as well as some additional noise reduction. I have no personal experience with these, but will give them a good look if I have to replace mine.

[Mikendebbie]

I watched a YouTube video by James the AZ RV Expert where he installed a new Furrion Chill unit on a Class C motorhome. I don’t remember his comments on it - good or bad, but I decided to check the reviews on those in case I need a new unit at some point in the future.

[Bourbon County]

Originally Posted by Mikendebbie

I watched a YouTube video by James the AZ RV Expert where he installed a new Furrion Chill unit on a Class C motorhome. I don’t remember his comments on it - good or bad, but I decided to check the reviews on those in case I need a new unit at some point in the future.

I've only done some quick reading about the Furrion and like what I'm seeing. They use dual motors for the fans rather than the double shaft single motor, they offer a slightly bigger model (15.5K BTU vs 15.0K), a 3 speed blower, can't find anything more but they mention additional vibration resistance, and offer a heat strip. Maybe some manufacturers are actually trying to improve these things.

[RMcNeal]

Another thing that could cause it not to start up is the freeze sensor not put in the fins correctly or the unit actually freezing up. Many have had this issue. It would be worth checking while cleaning the coils.

[jeffba]

May by worth it to pull the cover. Could be dirt or rust. TX coast is hard on campers.

[Greybeard]

If I were in that situation I'd be looking at installing a mini-split system. I've seen a few videos from some who have recently, and it seems to work pretty well.

[Foldbak]

It could also be freezing up. That would explain why it works after a 10 minuet break.

[samroll]

Check out the Advent AC’s. The 15k unit actually puts out about 16.5k. I have installed 8-10 of these in the last few months and my customers universally agree it cools better and moves more air than Dometic or Coleman. If you buy it at the right place it is substantially cheaper too. Hint….etrailer. I am not associated with Advent or etrailer and get nothing for recommending them. I am a mobile tech who has had very good experience with them and that is all.

[JAWs]

Originally Posted by Bourbon County

I've only done some quick reading about the Furrion and like what I'm seeing. They use dual motors for the fans rather than the double shaft single motor, they offer a slightly bigger model (15.5K BTU vs 15.0K), a 3 speed blower, can't find anything more but they mention additional vibration resistance, and offer a heat strip. Maybe some manufacturers are actually trying to improve these things.

I didn't know Furrion made anything worth buying!

[Bourbon County]

Originally Posted by JAWs

I didn't know Furrion made anything worth buying!

I hold the same opinion, but always try to be objective.

Since that post, I've done more reading and watched some videos. They use an LG compressor which is a very good thing. LG builds some excellent mini-split systems and refrigerators. The compressors are mounted on rubber bushings like a residential unit. The condenser coil seems to be a little bigger than most RV units. Their thermostat looks like it's proprietary, and likely prohibits using a 3rd party stat with their equipment, but theirs offers some features I haven't seen in an RV before. They have an auto changeover option if you should need heat at night and AC during the heat of the day, My home stats have this feature and I've never used it. They also offer a "dry" mode setting; it will run the compressor on for 10 minutes and off for 6 minute cycles with the blower running in medium speed to lower the humidity. This would be really good for camping in months like April when there is little or no AC load but need dehumidification. They also come with factory installed soft starts. There is a filter/screen on the condenser side that they recommend changing periodically.

There were a couple of claims that I find difficult to believe. One is with the advanced streamlined housing design, they would improve fuel mileage, the other is that they claim to be able to create a 30 degree temperature delta, that's about 50% more than anything else on the market. I emailed them on Monday requesting additional information including the expanded cooling data chart, still haven't heard back.

Another thing I found concerning is there were several videos on how to change the condenser fan motor; maybe there is a high failure rate on these?
In any case; I'm just happy to see someone trying to identify issues with RV air conditioners and improve on them. I don't think there has been any real improvement on these since I bought my first camper 20 years ago.

[DQDick]

If you haven't cleaned your confessor coils I would start there. We have one rig in Arizona and the other in Kansas and I try to clean them once a year, if I miss a year the result is a lot of fur and crap on them.

[Jay Merritt]

Make sure the RV park power pole is providing good voltage. Low voltage is common in big parks when 100 big rigs fire up all their air conditioners at once.

[prk7]

The ac's are sealed units, but they sell a tap line t, like if you were adding a line for ice maker. Did ours vac it put freon back in, cools better then when it was new. Three years later and still working. I'm diy, would think a ac tech could do it, but they told me can't be done, wanted to sell new one.