Upgrading My A/C.....which unit is best.

[klattu]

Your going to need a vacuum pump, I let mine run all night.
Just 'adding a can' does not do the job correctly.
And the gauges you have, may or may not fit the new fittings.
R-22 is what I used to recharge mine.

[szimmerer]

Originally Posted by terryg

I have a 25' classic with the Duo-Therm 15K BTU heatpump. I bought the trailer last fall so there wasn't much opportunity to use the A/C, but the heat pump function seemed to work okay. In April I finally had the opportunity and the need for an air conditioner. The first time I tried the A/C function the compressor locked up. A replacement unit has been on order for 6 weeks now. Just once, I'd like to take my Airstream on a trip and have everything work. I'm approaching a year of ownership and it hasn't happened yet.

Terry, when I was having problems with my Dometic A/C I received two bad heat pump units from Dometic over a four month period. One of the bad units had the same problem as yours. It worked in the heat mode but would not cool. After waiting four weeks for the third unit I called Dometic myself to see what was up. They were very unsympathetic and simply replied....."you just have to wait". I then cancelled my Dometic order and ordered a 15K BTU Carrier. The Carrier is now installed and working great. (see some of my earlier posts)

A Dometic Rep called me several days after I cancelled the order and asked that if they shipped me a unit that day, would I reinstate the order? I replied no and let him know how I felt about his poor product quality and lack of customer support. It may be worth a try to call Dometic and vent on them.

On a side note. I know a parts manager at a local RV shop who has been in the business many years. He told me that Dometic products and customer support has gone down the tubes. He has one customer who ordered an awning from Dometic several months ago (during the winter). The awning arrived after several weeks but Dometic has yet to send the attaching hardware. So the RV owner is furious and has no awning for the summer months. Repeated calls and complaints to Dometic have produced nothing. Based on my experiences, Dometic is certainly sending up red flags regarding their quality and support. Good luck.

[Jaxon]

Well, a couple of weeks later with our new Carrier 15k unit. Works like a champ! The other day at around 3:30PM (must of been around 104 or so), the temp inside was 76 and that was on low cool, medium setting. We're under 2 large shade trees which helps a lot. Day before yesteday in the AM (around 10), the inside temp was 69-70! We had inadvertently left it on hi-cool and coolest setting all night long (we're not staying in it yet).

The only downside is we have to use the controls on the AC itself. The wall thermostat does not control the AC any longer but will control the furnace. Given how hot it has been here (& the number of records broken!), that's a small price to pay to stay cool ...