Basement heat and air

Omurray · 12-03-2005, 06:47 PM

The basement air is not cool enough, is it possible to service this unit, (adding freon, ect)?

The coil may be stopped up as the filter was not changed by the original owner during the entire summer, how do I clean these coils?

any help appreciated...

Omurray · 12-03-2005, 06:47 PM

The basement air is not cool enough, is it possible to service this unit, (adding freon, ect)?

The coil may be stopped up as the filter was not changed by the original owner during the entire summer, how do I clean these coils?

any help appreciated...

tomsm · 12-04-2005, 01:47 AM

Omurray,
If the filter was left in place, the internal coils should be clean enough. The dirty filter would just restrict airflow. If you're referring to cleaning the outside coils, here's a link to an excellent article by DriVer on that subject.

Another thing that has been experienced by several members is a separation of the vertical duct that carries conditioned air from the basement to the ceiling ducts. It's inside the rear cap on the passenger side. With the A/C running, stick your hand into that area and see if you feel cool air blowing around. You can reach it to the right of the liftup grill in back. Since the unit is new to you, you may not know what normal airflow inside feels like, but it should be quite strong. If not, that's another indication that the duct is separated (assuming you've changed the dirty filter). Good luck!

Here's a link to some discussion of the duct problem.

DancinCampers · 12-04-2005, 05:53 AM

I'm not sure where the indoor coil is located on your unit, but it should be fairly close to the filter. I cleaned our coil with a vacume cleaner with brush attachment. It was accessed by extending our bedroom slide, raising the bed, removeing the filter & then I could see the coil below & to the right. It had a lot of debris (foam, plastic sheeting & carpet fibers) left over from construction.

I would not think a 3 yr old unit would have a bad indoor blower motor, but it is possible. I think this could be checked with an amp meter without dropping the basement unit.

Jim · 12-05-2005, 02:19 AM

another possibility is the second compressor is not running..i believe it comes on only under certain circumstances..your owner instructions should give you the info about what triggers it..i believe mine comes on when the temp setting is 5 degrees above the room setting..the first compressor will run longer and cool slower ...jim

DancinCampers · 12-05-2005, 05:51 AM

I would also, check the #2 compressor circuit breaker on the AC panel, it may be tripped.

The maintenance manual for my unit states that in the cooling mode, the second compressor will come on if the thermostat senses that the room air temp is 2 degrees higher than the temperature set on the thermostat.

In the heat mode both compressors come on regardless of temp difference, as long as you have power to both.

If you run the generator, or connect to 30 amp circuit, you should be able to tell if the second compressor comes online by the amp meter on the EMS. There is a time delay between compressors, so the amps will increase & then settle down when #1 engages, & the go up again & settle as #2 engages.

Tenn.Vol. · 12-05-2005, 08:48 AM

I had the same problem for several years, the second compressor was very intermitting!
As I could watch the amp draw on the t-stat, and finally realized that 15 or 20sec.
after the first compressor clicked on, the second stage (compresor) should come on and
show the extra amp draw on the t-stat. The problem was corrected with the replacement
of the t-stat from RVProducts, I think the cost was like $115.00. TENN.VOL.