Who Can Service the Basement AC?

Sky_Boss · 07-15-2012, 07:34 PM

Here is what I found in the last 2 hot weeks:

1. Out in the blazing sun by the hottest part of the day, the coach temp would get up to about 85*. I've heard form some that should be expected and other that my AC should perform better.

2. I do not detect leakage in the duct work and have excellent air flow out of my roof vents. The only thing I haven't done is put a thermometer in a vent to check output temps.

3. From me EMS I can see that both compressors are coming in on schedule and I do not see any coils freezing.

So...

One thing I am looking into is to see if I need to take it to my Coach Care service center or can any AC technical check the unit for proper refrigerant level. Of course, I am assuming that the AC is more like a home unit and has the ability to have refrigerant added when/if needed.

I would then assume that if refrigerant levels are up to snuff, I have some other things to check on to improve my AC performance but I will tackle those once the "easy" stuff is checked out.

skigramp · 07-15-2012, 09:56 PM

When my coach was new I thought the AC was not working properly so I took it in to be checked.

They put a thermometer in the input opening ... and another in the closest ceiling duct and turned the AC on with the thermastat set to "meat locker cold" so the compressors would not shut off ...

They let it run for about an hour ... the temperature differential between input and output was 19 degrees ... this was up to specs ...

So you could do the same thing buy boing to the hardware store and buying two thermometers and checking steady state temperatur differential ...

Davel · 07-15-2012, 11:33 PM

One thing to remember is that the filter you use is critical to the proper function of thse units. It's been discussed here a lot that the cheapest "angle hair" style filter is the best for air flow and therefore cooling. Several people have tried the better filters and had trouble when it was hot out. I change them often and our A/C does a great job.

Stay cool,
Dave

MntDriver · 07-16-2012, 12:15 AM

Well that's about as good as the basement air gets, and that was unacceptable to us, so we installed a roof air to supplement the inadequate basement air.

Wizard · 07-16-2012, 06:53 AM

Most local AC service guys can work on it if you have it out but few will pull it. It's pretty standard once you have it out for them.

Good writeup somewhere on here for removal by Duner. I pulled mine and had my AC guy for home check it.

Triker56 · 07-16-2012, 07:05 AM

If there is a 15-20º difference between intake air & output. It is running as designed.

RCtime · 07-16-2012, 07:31 AM

Airxcel | RV Products Service

Here is where you find service centers for your AC

Sky_Boss · 07-16-2012, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MntDriver

Well that's about as good as the basement air gets, and that was unacceptable to us, so we installed a roof air to supplement the inadequate basement air.

I've seen your postings on this issue. How much did that addition add to your rig's weight?

Also, how do you manage the power or prioritize the use of your set up? My 2 units run about 24 amps and adding a 3rd would take that to about what? I do have a minor problem that my home CG only has 30 amp service but I'm in the shade so I don't heat as much.

Sky_Boss · 07-16-2012, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davel

One thing to remember is that the filter you use is critical to the proper function of thse units. It's been discussed here a lot that the cheapest "angle hair" style filter is the best for air flow and therefore cooling. Several people have tried the better filters and had trouble when it was hot out. I change them often and our A/C does a great job.

I'll keep that in mind. It makes sense but would seem to require proper diligence in more dusty environments.

slapfoot · 07-16-2012, 08:53 AM

Maybe I have been lucky, but I have been in Florida for three weeks and am now in 90+ degree heat in Iowa. I have experimented with the fiberglass filter and the pleated filter. AC has been keeping me cool with either. It even shuts off once in a while. We set our thermostat at 77 degrees while friends like to keep theirs much colder. I wonder if that could explain why some have no problems and others do not??

Sky_Boss · 07-16-2012, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapfoot

...We set our thermostat at 77 degrees while friends like to keep theirs much colder. I wonder if that could explain why some have no problems and others do??

What we did was set our AC to 70* at night to cool things down as much as possible and did not change the setting through out the day. By about 4 pm our temps in the coach were up to 86-88* with outside temps 100-103*. We do have a dark paint scheme for the coach which probably doesn't help. It probably didn't help that I was pointed to the west so my camper's rear with the duct was getting a broadside of heating by the sun early on.

I need to get a thermometer for the vent to see the output temps. According to my service center the standard is 19-22* drop at the vent.

RCtime · 07-16-2012, 10:04 AM

Do you have a way of checking your amp. draw? If on 50 amp. circuit it will not show on your monitor.
You should be drawing about 23-24 amp. on the AC alone plus whatever else. The refer will draw up to 6 amp alone
If you are low on amp. draw you may be low on freon.
This was my case and experienced poor cooling and found my #1 compressor low on freon and had a leak.
It was repaired and now draws 23-24 as it should and cools quite nicely.
On recent trip with outside temps in high 90s , touching 100 it cycled at thermostat settiing on 77 except for 2 hours of afternoon when it ran continuous.
Your dark paint may be a factor as mine is white.
Unplug from 50 amp shorepower and run on your genny and see if you are pulling the amps you should, if not have it checked out. Turn everything else off while checking.

Sky_Boss · 07-16-2012, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCtime

Do you have a way of checking your amp. draw? If on 50 amp. circuit it will not show on your monitor.
You should be drawing about 23-24 amp. on the AC alone plus whatever else.
Unplug from 50 amp shorepower and run on your genny and see if you are pulling the amps you should, if not have it checked out. Turn everything else off while checking.

Those are pretty much on spot with mine. According to my coach's EMS I'm 23-24 amps with refer on LP and lights off. I have a Progressive Industries read out over my EMS that pretty much agrees with those numbers too.

Thanks for the suggestion.

edgray · 07-16-2012, 09:10 PM

I'm sooo frustrated with my already-been-repaired (under warranty)-once basement A/C that mine is in an RV service shop right now. 86-88*F inside while it is 98*F outside is simply NOT acceptable, not to mention the excessive wear on the unit from running CONTINOUSLY from ~ 10:30 AM till 8:30 PM every day that the sun is shining. They have to pull the unit so that an A/C tech can put the necessary gages on to verify if my "freon" levels are correct. They already concluded and "proved" that the #2 comp. isn't drawing the full amount of amps it should be pulling. They used a high quality digital amp-meter directly on the wiring, and even RVP admitted that the amp reading was too low. I was told that trying to read each compressor's amp draw at the "one place" panel inside the coach is not as accurate a method as reading directly from inside the unit's access panel. Too many "other" systems that "can" affect the total amps shown on the "meter" in the one place panal.

Calling WBGO service for helpful info proved to be pretty much a waste of time, because all I could get from them was "based on your temperature differentials and amp readings, it sounds like the unit is performing as designed". they had no response to my reply that "as designed" is simply not acceptable.

Regardless of how this latest repair attempt works out, I plan to post a complete report, once this latest "fix" is complete. I'm convinced these repair folks know what they are doing, but time & my money (this time) will tell if this is the best I can hope for from WBGO's basement A/C .

MntDriver · 07-16-2012, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by athuddriver

I've seen your postings on this issue. How much did that addition add to your rig's weight?

Also, how do you manage the power or prioritize the use of your set up? My 2 units run about 24 amps and adding a 3rd would take that to about what? I do have a minor problem that my home CG only has 30 amp service but I'm in the shade so I don't heat as much.

The weight of the roof air is right at 100 lbs. Thats very acceptable and it's a trade off since I have removed the 77 lb front CRT tv and replaced it with a 32" flat screen. Winnebago says the roof can and does have the capacity for this weight.

My amps total with running all 3 compressors are about 34. My roof air is a high efficient 13.5 k Brisk Air and will cool the motorhome better BY ITSELF than just running both compressors on the basement air. With the roof air on high and running one basement air compressor, you can hang meat in the motorhome. One basement compressor and the roof air are about 22 amps total.

We also use our generator and the roof air while driving and we finally have a nice cool cockpit as the basement air couldn't keep this area cool, much less cold while driving.

There are several of us that have added the additional roof air and we are in agreement that this is the best thing we have done to our motorhomes. Just wish I had done it sooner!

MntDriver · 07-16-2012, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgray

I'm sooo frustrated with my already-been-repaired (under warranty)-once basement A/C that mine is in an RV service shop right now. 86-88*F inside while it is 98*F outside is simply NOT acceptable, not to mention the excessive wear on the unit from running CONTINOUSLY from ~ 10:30 AM till 8:30 PM every day that the sun is shining.

That was the same type of comfort level we were getting from our basement air running all day too and while that might have seemed "cool" to others, it was UNACEPTABLE to us. Two years of unsatisfactory trips for diagnosis and "repairs", moving thermisters to different locations (indoor coil STILL freezes up in low humidity locations), I remedied the situation with a $800 roof air addition. The basement air is great on outside ambient temps of >85......that's about it.

PS. Many places have told me the same thing about the RVP unit in the Winnebagos....."The airflow is inadequate in this design". And I believe it, just couldn't fight them anymore or redesign this for them.

edgray · 07-17-2012, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MntDriver

That was the same type of comfort level we were getting from our basement air running all day too and while that might have seemed "cool" to others, it was UNACEPTABLE to us. Two years of unsatisfactory trips for diagnosis and "repairs", moving thermisters to different locations (indoor coil STILL freezes up in low humidity locations), I remedied the situation with a $800 roof air addition. The basement air is great on outside ambient temps of >85......that's about it....

And I believe it, just couldn't fight them anymore....

I remember a post or thread about owners who have done that. I hope I don't have to go that route, because I'm concerned about how to get sufficient power up to the kitchen fan location. My breaker panel is under the bed, and the verticle run up the "one place" panel and into the ceiling is 4-5 feet away. Suggestions???

Sky_Boss · 07-17-2012, 08:02 AM

MntDriver

If I were to add the rooftop AC, would that be done at the fan location? Can I also assume that the rooftop AC would have a fan only mode? Did your $800 include installation?

Sky_Boss · 07-17-2012, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgray

...
Regardless of how this latest repair attempt works out, I plan to post a complete report, once this latest "fix" is complete. I'm convinced these repair folks know what they are doing, but time & my money (this time) will tell if this is the best I can hope for from WBGO's basement A/C .

I will be waiting for that report. I have my rig scheduled for the shop on the 24th.

Doug Sage · 07-17-2012, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by athuddriver

I will be waiting for that report. I have my rig scheduled for the shop on the 24th.

Me too. My rig is scheduled to go in for service on Thursday. I can't seem to get more than a 10 degree drop in temperature from outside to inside and my unit will freeze up at 90 degree outside temperature with 11% humidity.