Coleman Basement A/C

[jllarson3]

I appreciate the great info in this thread. Could have used much of it a year or two ago.

We have a 2004 Chieftain, and had poor cooling with Basement AC. I installed a roof-mount in the galley area, and it works great.

I am installing a new basement air unit, and took more or less good photos of the interior wiring to the circuit board and power input.

BUT, I apparently failed to note which of the power cables was designated as Circuit 1 or Circuit 2.

Since Circuit 1 runs on 30-amp, and circuit 2 on 50-amp and Gen set, I should probably try to get this part right.

The power cables are identical except that one of them has a Red stripe or patch of paint on it.

Which circuit does the Red-marked cable connect to? Then I'm Golden...

Thanks,
John Larson

PS - After removing the old unit, I discovered the input air (cold air return) Evaporator coils were pretty badly clogged with dust and dirt. This was probably my problem to begin with. However, the lesson is that the 99-cent air filters aren't very good to use. Use the better grade, and try to clean off the coils now and then. I haven't tried it, but I think I can reach them through the air channel under the bed with my shop vac. - JL

[Forkyfork]

Originally Posted by jllarson3

I appreciate the great info in this thread. Could have used much of it a year or two ago.

We have a 2004 Chieftain, and had poor cooling with Basement AC. I installed a roof-mount in the galley area, and it works great.

I am installing a new basement air unit, and took more or less good photos of the interior wiring to the circuit board and power input.

BUT, I apparently failed to note which of the power cables was designated as Circuit 1 or Circuit 2.

Since Circuit 1 runs on 30-amp, and circuit 2 on 50-amp and Gen set, I should probably try to get this part right.

The power cables are identical except that one of them has a Red stripe or patch of paint on it.

Which circuit does the Red-marked cable connect to? Then I'm Golden...

Thanks,
John Larson

PS - After removing the old unit, I discovered the input air (cold air return) Evaporator coils were pretty badly clogged with dust and dirt. This was probably my problem to begin with. However, the lesson is that the 99-cent air filters aren't very good to use. Use the better grade, and try to clean off the coils now and then. I haven't tried it, but I think I can reach them through the air channel under the bed with my shop vac. - JL

You might be able to find your info here, it covers all years https://winnebagoind.com/diagram/Wiring.htm

[JaminSamin]

Here is a picture of how they wired my 50amp Horizon. It looks like the red banded wires are connected to circuit 1.

[jllarson3]

Originally Posted by Forkyfork

You might be able to find your info here, it covers all years https://winnebagoind.com/diagram/Wiring.htm

Thanks,

I read the diagrams, earlier, and only found one tiny clue about which is which. But, it is obscure, and not definitive. I was hoping I could get an answer without having to disconnect wires and run a tester.

Thanks again,
John Larson

[jllarson3]

Originally Posted by JaminSamin

Here is a picture of how they wired my 50amp Horizon. It looks like the red banded wires are connected to circuit 1.

That's very helpful. That's how I've been leaning.

Thanks, Jammin
John Larson

[Hgrace56]

It's 50 50 try one them the other.

[MutinyGuy]

Are the ckt breakers in you main panel labeled? Should be labeled AC 1 and AC 2....just put a VOM on one of the AC ckts down below and see which AC cable matches up with your ckt panel...

[jllarson3]

Hahaha...

[jllarson3]

Originally Posted by MutinyGuy

Are the ckt breakers in you main panel labeled? Should be labeled AC 1 and AC 2....just put a VOM on one of the AC ckts down below and see which AC cable matches up with your ckt panel...

Duh...!

The diagrams forkyfork mentions show that circuit 1 is the 1st AC circuit breaker. I'll check it in the morning.

Thanks!

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by jllarson3

I appreciate the great info in this thread. Could have used much of it a year or two ago.

We have a 2004 Chieftain, and had poor cooling with Basement AC. I installed a roof-mount in the galley area, and it works great.

I am installing a new basement air unit, and took more or less good photos of the interior wiring to the circuit board and power input.

BUT, I apparently failed to note which of the power cables was designated as Circuit 1 or Circuit 2.

Since Circuit 1 runs on 30-amp, and circuit 2 on 50-amp and Gen set, I should probably try to get this part right.
My compressors both run on a 30A circuit. Compressor #2 will not run unless Compressor #1 is running. You may test that by turning off the breaker for #1 and attempting to start the air conditioner.

The power cables are identical except that one of them has a Red stripe or patch of paint on it.

Which circuit does the Red-marked cable connect to? Then I'm Golden...

Thanks,
John Larson

PS - After removing the old unit, I discovered the input air (cold air return) Evaporator coils were pretty badly clogged with dust and dirt. This was probably my problem to begin with. However, the lesson is that the 99-cent air filters aren't very good to use. Use the better grade, and try to clean off the coils now and then. I haven't tried it, but I think I can reach them through the air channel under the bed with my shop vac. - JL

Reply is in blue.

[jllarson3]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Reply is in blue.

Thanks for the tip.

I have Scott Christian of "RV Roof Solutions" out here re-doing our roof. He leaves today, so I can get back to testing this afternoon.

Thanks,
John L

[NeilV]

These are pretty simple units with 2 air conditioners built into one casing. My home AC tech loves them since they can be dropped and worked on from the ground with a simple lift table and he doesn't need a high lift or gantry to take them from a roof. He says anyone worth their pay can repair most issues (capacitors, hard starts, compressors, dryers, bearings) using standard parts from just about any residential AC parts house.

They can run on an Onan 5500 watt generator which is split with two breakers on the generator. 30 amps going to the main house breaker and One Place and the 20 Amp going directly to the second compressor making it so the second compressors amp draw never shows on the One Place when running the generator.

On the original posters issue. If the replacement never worked then that is a warranty issue with the man who took your $4,000. If he did not wire it correctly and its causing low current issues then he should take care of it. You have to verify the electrical supply when you put in a new unit and correct those issues first. That is an aside from him not inspecting the duct work for leaks which could have been made worse from his faulty installation attempt. That said when I bought my 2001 Adventurer over a decade ago I had issues with the blowers and hard starts failing the first year I had the coach and that was all related to low voltage issues at the campgrounds. Not low enough to trip a Surge Guard type device but low enough to damage the start capacitors and blowers. I installed a Hughes AutoFormer that first year to correct low voltage issues and have had no further problems in over 10 years now with the the Basement Air electrical components failing. Still have the original near to 17 year old Basement Air unit which has about 1,500 hours on it just on the generator not to count the many more in 100 degree heat and humidity here in South Florida.

One thing that gets overlooked is the contactors in the transfer switch that transfer the load to the second compressor. In a low voltage situation those can take a beating when on park power and once they are compromised will not transfer the load correctly even when on the generator.

[BobC]

This is a great thread with a lot of info and valuable links. It should qualify for a "sticky". I'm the new owner of a 2002 Itasca 35U with basement air. It works but I'm not sure how well given recent weather but I'm bookmarking this just in case.

[Stu and Sue]

Lots of good info from this post.

What a great band of buds you are!

[drf004]

I have a 2007 Suncruiser with basement air. Last weekend I have the MH plugged into my home 30 amp connection, the outside air temperature was about 90, inside 85. When I set the thermostat to 80 I heard the first compressor start and soon after the second one started. Approximately 2 minutes later both circuit breakers opened.

Yesterday with the outside temp at 70 and inside at 68, I set the thermostat at 64 and both compressors engaged as expected and the unit run great! I suspect it is capacitor/motor start capacitor issue.

Many of the posts about basement air units mention replacing all of the capacitors and/or adding a “hard start” capacitor. Do the “hard start” units replace the “motor start” on on the left side? How do I know or decide which “hard start” capacitor to buy? As for the other capacitors do I just match up the ratings from the old ones? Amazon has a wide selection, they would be my supplier of choice.

Thanks for any additional information or help!
Drf004

[Stu and Sue]

I'm not positive but I think your problem is the with the 30 amp hook up.

It takes 50 amps to run both of your air conditioners.

You might try running the system in the Lo position, that might run only one of the two systems.

Good luck

[BobC]

This won't help those with malfunctioning units but on a recent weekend trip, I "discovered" that the basement air seems to have a tough time overcoming a high initial room temp but does fine if you don't let it get too hot inside before turning it on, even if it gets pretty hot outside. So, don't wait until it's uncomfortable inside before turning it on. Turn it on well before you feel truly need it.

[Ray,IN]

There are some misconceptions in post#56. Yes, the Coleman-Mach 24,000BTU unit will operate normally on a 30A circuit, both compressors + fan motor draw about 23A. Compressor #1 is the primary, compressor #2 will not run unless #1 is already running.
Post #57 is correct; the unit only operates compressor #1 when maintaining set temperature, then switches on #2 when the set temperature is more than 4° lower than room temperature. The main reason to run the air conditioner all the time is interior humidity. Say you open the windows in the morning because you don't think the AC is required. This allows everything inside to absorb humidity/moisture. Now you decide to start the AC; now the AC has to pull that humidity out of everything that absorbed it, which causes the unit to work as hard as it can until setpoint is reached.
BTW, the air conditioner was not actually invented, it was a byproduct of inventing the dehumidifier.The inventor realized the usefulness of chilled air and pursued that part of inventing the dehumidifier further. This is the reason air conditioning installers must properly size the unit to the sq.ft. of the house/RV. A unit too large will chill the air to set-point so fast humidity cannot be removed to a proper level.
So don't complain about the length of time the air conditioner runs, it's working properly.