A/C Repair or Replacement October 06, 2019, 12:23:41 pm I believe we may need a new A/C system for our 10 year old Dometic. I've narrowed my search down to a Dometic Brisk Air II and Airxcel Mach 10 or Mach 15. The Dometic Brisk Air II has received a large number of low ratings on Amazon. In addition, it does not have a forward facing vent. Some have reported it's a quiet A/C.The Airxcel Mach units have received more favorable consumer ratings with fewer poor reviews than the Dometic. I "think" the Mach 10 unit needs 10 gauge wire if used with the 1800 watt heat strip otherwise it requires 12 gauge. My Rig has 12 gauge wire on a 20A fuse. I'm struggling to make a decision. I'd sure appreciate any guidance or recommendations.
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #1 – October 06, 2019, 01:48:09 pm Since the title is repair or replace, what is the problem with your LD's existing A/C unit that causes you to think it may need replacement? If the cooling power seems has declined, it may need a good cleaning, there are two sets of coils that need periodic care, one accessed from the roof and the other inside the ceiling cover.I there are issues with the compressor or fans, it may be better to replace it, especially being ten years old.YouTube has several videos showing how to service RV A/C units.One non-repairable problem is the slow deterioration of the exterior coils. The coils are covers with the, aluminum fins that slowly corrode away . Beach camping and salt air accelerates this process.Wish I had a suggestion for a new unit, it's something we may need to do in the next year or two, our LD's 15 year old rooftop A/C fins are slowly disappearing .Larry
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #2 – October 06, 2019, 02:04:39 pm After researching most of the units available, I changed out my 16 year old Dometic BriskAire with a Coleman Mach 15. It works very well, but still insufficient for a 31 ft in Arizona weather. Really need another unit in the bedroom.
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #3 – October 06, 2019, 02:33:30 pm Quote from: Larry W - October 06, 2019, 01:48:09 pmIf there are issues with the compressor or fans, it may be better to replace it, especially being ten years old.That my best uneducated guess. There was a strange smell and after a few minutes an abrupt shut down. The fan still works. I’m getting some qualified help on Wednesday. In the meantime I’m trying to get educated about our replacement options if that’s the solution.
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #4 – October 06, 2019, 03:39:59 pm Our goals when buying a new air conditioner was what would benefit the next owner (older LD so less problems and lower cost repairs and easier to repair themselves).We looked at high ratings for efficiency and effectiveness and reliability (comparing model against each other). We looked at how heavy they were since our LD has less CCC.Lower height units are nice cause they are lower but they are more difficult to work on (things crowded into a smaller space) so it takes longer to do a repair (larger repair bills). We went with a regular height unit.We looked at power usage (for equivalent cooling).Ease of repair (I liked the Atwood but it was difficult to find anyone local who even knew about them and we have a lot of RVers in our town) and Dometic who now makes / supports it would only talk to dealers.We looked at the Coleman but I can't say why it fell off our list (and it might not have if we planned to keep the current LD for 15 years.JaneSent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone 1 Likes
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #5 – October 06, 2019, 06:30:01 pm I've worked on most of them and from what I have seen, its six of one or half dozen of the other. My real gut feel is that the new ones with today's refrigerants will never last like the old R22 units. I'm guessing that most all of today's repairmen will say replace over repair just because of the lack of refrigerant. Your funny smell might be as simple as some burnt wires but it also could be a broken refrigerant line going into the condenser also repairable if you can get your guy to do it.I can tell you for sure that almost all are exactly the same with different thermostats. About the only way you can get a quiet one is if it is duct ed through the ceiling, Lazy Daze aren't. More BTU's and you are going to have to move more air, more noise.Sorry I couldn't be of more help,Jon 1 Likes
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #6 – October 06, 2019, 08:39:25 pm In reference to 31 foot comment on lack of bedroom cooling I have to disagree. I modified front and rear vents to produce maximum cool air and resting, nap or nighttime sleep very comfortable.To each his own, just leveling the cooling fieldBob
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #7 – October 06, 2019, 08:59:22 pm I posted below a month ago. I have since installed a lined curtain on the side door, also added SmartSHIELD -5 Reflective Insulation on all the windows. Now the inside temp is 72 when it's 100 outside with the coach in 3/4 full sun.I live in the desert; my original 13500 model just couldn't keep the coach comfortable.I upgraded to a 1500 BTU Dometic Blizzard (not the Breeze).Dometic BLIZZARD NXT - 15,000 BTU Rooftop I was a little hesitant at first because Google doesn't show much information about them.Took a chance and so far, I'm very pleased. Haven't tried camping yet but the at home stats show:102 outside under a tree97 in the coach at start with cab open but bathroom area closed off.I do have cellular/blackout blinds which may help a little. I thought I would have to close off my floor length cab curtains but no need.In 45 minutes, it was 87, and dropped down to 78 in another 1.25 hrs.Temperature was set to coldest and blower set to high at first then to low.With the blower set on high you're in a wind tunnel breaking the sound barrier.Medium may still be loud for some, low is fine. Even on high I don't think it's so loud that other campers would be bothered.Can't tell until I try it, but I think it's powerful enough to keep the whole coach cool without closing anything off.Hope this helps.Langton
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #8 – October 06, 2019, 10:37:19 pm Quote from: Ed & Margee - October 06, 2019, 02:33:30 pmThat my best uneducated guess. There was a strange smell and after a few minutes an abrupt shut down. The fan still works. I’m getting some qualified help on Wednesday. Our LD's A/C was running at home a couple months ago during a particularly hot period, during which we experienced a brown out. Coming inside the rig, I noticed a burnt electrical smell and the air conditioner was blowing warm, instead of cold airPulling the interior cover off, I found a burned wire terminal on the control switch that powers the compressor . Repairing this, the compressor still wouldn't run. Pulling the rooftop A/C cover for inspection, the starting capacitor was bulging, a good indication of failure. Having an extra capacitor, it was installed and the A/C compressor ran once again . Might be something this simple.Supco SPP6, Relay Start Capacitor 120-288V: Electronic Component Timing...Larry 1 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #9 – October 06, 2019, 11:11:11 pm Here's a thread to check out: Roof Air Conditioner Replacement ChoicesChris
Re: A/C Repair or Replacement Reply #10 – October 07, 2019, 08:34:41 am There's not many sources for helping to make a decision on the quality of RV air conditioners that I've found. As everyone knows, Amazon has customer reviews which for the most part have been helpful to us.1. There were 510 customer reviews of the Dometic Brisk Air II5 star - 59%4 star - 14%3 star - 6%2 star - 4%1 star - 17%2. There were 124 customer reviews of the Coleman/Airxcel Mach 155 star - 78%4 star - 11%3 star - 5%2 star - 3%1 star - 3%While I recognize the "sample" size are very different, this information is certainly something for us to consider. Some of the poor reviews of the Dometic were strongly worded which caught my attention. Still, it's not easy trying to select a quality A/C manufacturer. Both companies offer a two (2) year warranty.The Coleman/Airxcel Mach 10 is the only unit to have an automatic shutoff once the thermostat is satisfied. And the Mach 10 is extremely quiet as reported in the following two (2) videos.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caBQ87EBPrYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vdXFiY4Ido (the review is about halfway through this video)Some years ago, the Atwood A/C now owned by Dometic was quite popular on the Foretravel Forum. This unit's fan runs all the time, which is not a feature we'd want. However, it is reported to be remarkably quiet. Secondly, there's not many on-line reviews of this A/C. Nevertheless, based on the Foretravel Forum's reviews, it's an A/C to consider.As I've already mentioned, it's not an easy decision and frankly, it's continues to be worrisome.
Topic: A/C Repair or Replacement (Read 229 times)
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