Air Conditioner Noise

[flint]

Hello:

We I think this may have covered many times but I am new to RVs and Airstreams. I just bought a 2007 27 Ft Safari SE but I never listened to the A/C run. I turned the A/C on today and the noise and rattle even on low speed is terrible. Is this normal ? if so with all the technology and cost of Airstreams I would be a bit surprised. What could my wife and I do to fix the problem ? bigger unit ? any help is greatly appreciated and we love the Airstream but certainly there must be a fix.


Thanks
Tom

[lynn]

It depends what the noise sounds like. There could be the possibility that the "squirel cage fan" set screw has come loose and the fan is rubbing on fan shroud. Or if it is more of a deeper rumbling sound it could be the compressor. Have you contacted your Dealer? You should have AC checked by Dometic Authorized Dealer.

[overlander63]

Then again, the noise could be (gasp!) normal. Have you owned an RV before? Airstream does use regular air conditioner units on their trailers, there is nothing special about them.
I have heard a/c units from relatively quiet, to ones that sound like an idling truck. All from the same brand of trailer and a/c.

[buzzkat]

It could be mud dauber nests on the exterior fan blades. The nests weigh enough to knock the fan out of balance. Just break up the dirt nests and scrape off any excess material on the blades.

[Mackhopp]

Our A/C noise is enough to wake the dead, and we've got a newer model. We've become accustomed to it - and try not to use it unless necessary.

[lewster]

Flint,

Your Dometic unit should NOT be making unusual noises. As stated above, you might have squirrel cage fans out of balance, hitting the shrouds or have mud dauber nests unbalancing it. You also might have a bad fan motor.

Since you are still covered by your Dometic warranty, you should take the trailer to a certified Dometic service center (probably your A/S dealer) and have it looked at.

[flint]

Thanks for all the reply's and the sound this unit makes is enough to wake the dead !! We have never owned an RV before so I am surprised at the level of noise this thing makes. It even shakes the RV. Has anyone upgraded to a larger unit ? and if so did this solve some of the problem ?


Regards

Tom w/noise

[overlander63]

15K btu is the biggest there currently is. Do you know how many btu yours is?
Also, the amount of noise is not normally related to the btu of the unit.

[herrgirdner]

When we first used the A/C on our Interstate, I couldn't believe the air handler noise. If you go outside the camper, it is very quiet, can hardly tell it is on. But inside... wow.
I took it to the dealer, and it was checked over carefully. Nothing found.
I think the designers were concentrating on reducing the external ambient noise. If you want to be cool, well, that's part of the price, like the electricity..
Just my opinion.

[flint]

The unit we have is either 13k or 13/5k so maybe an upgrade would reduce some of the noise.


Regards
Tom

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by flint

The unit we have is either 13k or 13/5k so maybe an upgrade would reduce some of the noise.


Regards
Tom

If you plan to camp where it's pretty hot, it would be a good upgrade, but don't change it out just on the chance it will be quieter, it's an expensive experiment.

[flint]

Thanks for all the feed back and we may opt for a small portable A/C unit to help out the 13/5k we currently have.


Regards
Tom

[Whizzo]

We have a nice 13.5K BTU Carrier V unit, but sometimes it shakes the unit pretty good, and rattles the tambour cabinet contents. I know the compressor cycling is a significant bump, but it sure seems more obvious than the SOB's DuoTherm behavior.

The dealer's A/C tech said "they all do that."

Any suggestions apart from tightening the mountings? Has anyone used rubber washers on those four big hold down bolts, to help dampen the shake?

[tpi]

I'd have the unit checked for a warranty repair. Normally the blower makes some fan noise, but they shouldn't rattle.

A larger unit generally uses the same blower and most components are nearly identical. Look for the larger unit to give a little better cooling, but not be any quieter.

[HowieE]

Have this unit looked at. There is no reason for the noise level to be more than that of the air movement. Yours clearly has something hitting something else. The old reciprocating compressors made noise but the new rotary compressors are quite quite. If you said the unit made noise after several hours of operation I would assume it was low on gas and freezing up and the ice hitting the fan.
Noise from the offset the fan assembly is the most likely one to create noise.


Before you change out the unit for a larger on consider what you want the unit to do. Most people thing bigger is better. Not the case with AC. An AC unit has to functions cooling and dehumidification. Dehumidification takes much longer and thus requires a longer duty cycle. If you oversize an AC unit you will have short cycling with rapid cooling but very little if any dehumidification. Trust me you will be much more comfortable with the unit running longer, and dehumidifying, even if at a slightly high ambient temperature.

[rdcook]

Has any one used a sound deading material -- Velcro/or Glue (can be removed without leaving sign of glue /adhesive etc) on the alum ceiling next to the vc - and a 1-2 foot deep hanging material (1'-2') hanging in front and in back of the AC defuser in the Airstream ??: