Replacing AC unit? - Montana Owners Club

blamb · 03-20-2009, 12:07 PM

Hi all, been a while.

Life's been kicking my booty.

I have a Dometic ducted AC. Just the one, there is a separate one in the bedroom that functions as a window unit and space heater. The one in the bedroom does a great job at getting the bedroom cool on a hot day.

However, the main ducted AC, absolutely does not. Where I live the majority of the summer is upper 90's, with lots of humidity, and we always have several weeks of above 100.

Well, this past week, we had a few days in a row of mid to upper 80's. The main AC cools so poorly, I found it more comfortable to just open all the windows. All it seems to be good for is cutting down on the humidity some, which I need to do to protect my medical equipment. But it's still not doing enough. This goes beyond just a little discomfort... my neighbor's RV is much cooler, also. Additionally it's a medical necessity to be able to stay cool, and while upper 80's is tolerable, I am scared of what's going to happen when our real summer hits and it starts reaching 90's and 100's.

I don't know if this is normal for Dometic AC's or not? I do know I had another SOB temporarily and it only had one AC, but it made that RV like a refrigerator inside with no problem even in upper 90's. I wish I knew what brand that one was. I know that complete climate comfort is not always going to be possible in an RV and I can hang with that, but I also know it can be better than THIS.

So, can anyone tell me if I can easily replace the main AC with a better brand that will cool better? If so, what brands are good? Where would I find one to buy? And who would I get to install it? Will it void my warranty for the entire RV if I do this? I still have until November for my bumper-to-bumper warranty.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 03-20-2009, 12:34 PM

There have been instances where the ducting had "holes" in it, I am sure some of the guys can explain that.

We did 102 in our Tana last winter in Mission Texas in March, we did pull all the blinds to night shade, stuck some pillows and stuff up in the vent areas, and even managed to get a bed pillow up in the shower area/sky light. This all helped considerably. We shut the door to the bedroom area during the worse of the heat of the day. It was ok, not 70 degrees in there, but, ohhhhh, 85 or so. Ran the ceiling fan, etc. Don't open the exterior door unless ya gotta, same as in extreme cold. (we only have the one a/c unit)

If I were going to be somewhere with as much heat as you are talking, I would purchase the vent covers and stuff you can get at a dealer and I would think very hard about getting some of that aluminum/shiny stuff that they put in the windows between the window and the night shades to reflect the heat back out. I have no idea where to get that.

I would be checking to see if the ducts are not leaking, try using the "dump" on the air conditioner. There is a slide thing on the unit, have to get up there and slide it one way or tother. The air will come straight down and out of the unit.

Some things to contemplate while the experts on this come along and give you the particulars.

ols1932 · 03-20-2009, 12:53 PM

We handled 118° last summer in our 36 ft. rig with no problems. We only have one AC, a Dometic.

Orv

lfw · 03-20-2009, 12:56 PM

Has anyone ever blocked the AC from going down in the basement???
I think it would be a good idea during the hot summer months. Who needs to cool the basement off?? That is what I plan to do this summer.. I even seal the floor regester's off during the summer to keep cold air from entering them..Every little bit helps..
lfw

hookman · 03-20-2009, 02:33 PM

Did you open the Quick Cool on the rear A/C if you look up at the A/C see two tabs sticking down on the vent on that A/C slide the to open the vent. This directs the cooling air straight down into the rear area.

ols1932 · 03-21-2009, 03:31 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by hookman

Did you open the Quick Cool on the rear A/C if you look up at the A/C see two tabs sticking down on the vent on that A/C slide the to open the vent. This directs the cooling air straight down into the rear area.

Yes, and does that work well. If you open the quick cool feature and set a small fan on the floor under it, that cool air will rapidly penetrate every nook and cranny. Worked for us when the weather was so hot last summer here in Desert Hot Springs, CA.

Orv

FireTruckerWife · 03-21-2009, 06:24 AM

You 're still under warranty, I think, you might check if the coolant level is ok in the AC unit itself. Ours came with no coolant in it at all and had to be replaced. Quick check, make sure there is cold air coming out of the ac unit

HamRad · 03-21-2009, 10:58 AM

Blamb,

I think you've gotten a lot of good advise. You should know that some folks have found that the ducts were not connected properly. Some found stuff blocking the ducts. Some found that the AC unit itself was not working. As Bob pointed out no coolant in AC.

Since you are still under warranty you definitely should have the dealer check it out and get it to working properly. From your desctiption it obviously is not working as it should.

Good luck.

HamRad

ols1932 · 03-22-2009, 04:14 AM

Blamb,
Why would you feel guilty asking the dealer to do things for you? You paid the money. That's their job to make sure everything is okay. One time when I was unable to take our rig to the dealer, the dealer came to me. Another time, he loaned me his tow truck. I'm a firm believe that a good dealer will create a good customer. And will in the long run, create more customers.

Don't get discouraged. Hang in there and believe that you will succeed.

Orv

blamb · 03-24-2009, 08:44 AM

I've decided to wait until it is hotter, and more consistently hot, before I say something to the dealer, if I do. I'm still thinking about hiring a fix-it guy instead. If I'm going to be paying money despite warranty, might as well pay someone that can fix it right away and doesn't have a problem coming to the RV to do it. I don't know. Either way, if it's hotter, and more consistent it will be easier to for them to see what I'm talking about, rather than not seeing the problem because they happened to come on a cool day.

SlickWillie · 03-24-2009, 01:20 PM

Back to the service contract (extended warranty). If you can't use that, I would check into canceling the policy. If you haven't expired the factory warranty, it is probably not in effect anyway. The AC is warrantied by Dometic, so you might be able to get an independent service center that does Dometic work. Then, perhaps you would just have to pay the service call charge, not all the labor. Same with other items that are covered by their respective warranties. Just something to ponder.

HamRad · 03-24-2009, 02:37 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by blamb

I've decided to wait until it is hotter, and more consistently hot, before I say something to the dealer, if I do. I'm still thinking about hiring a fix-it guy instead. If I'm going to be paying money despite warranty, might as well pay someone that can fix it right away and doesn't have a problem coming to the RV to do it. I don't know. Either way, if it's hotter, and more consistent it will be easier to for them to see what I'm talking about, rather than not seeing the problem because they happened to come on a cool day.

Blamb,

I would not wait until it is hot! That is a busy time for the AC guys. Do it now. The guys will know how to check it whether it is winter or summer! And I agree with Slickwillie. It certainly should still be under warranty. Get it fixed! And do it now! That is what warranties are for. If if is not working correctly get it working correctly.

And many people do not have trucks for towing. They are delivered by the dealer or contractors. You might have to pay a service charge to pay for their drive out to your place but otherwise should be covered.

HamRad

Ozz · 03-25-2009, 01:48 AM

So sorry you are having problems...with everything. On the A/C unit, take the temperature of the room air, then take the temperature of the air coming out of the vents, then open the 'quick cool' take that temperature. Compare the two sets, that is, there should only be a few degrees difference between the two readings.
Your temperature difference between room air and A/C supply air should be 25-30 degrees. If it is, you will not gain from a new A/C unit, you have 'heat gain' problems, single pane windows, rig in the Sun with no shade, no window film, not starting cooling the rig before it gets hot, (generally from 2 to 6 in the evening.)
On you washing machine, (or anything that has a circuit board) always power down that appliance, that is, disconnect it completely from the power source, this will 're-boot' the electronics, I suspect that is what happened with your washing machine, when they plugged it in, it worked because it had 're-booted'.
I wish I were 200 miles closer, I would come by and help.
PM me if you have ANY questions I might help with.
Ozz

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