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Okiegent · 06-30-2010, 06:36 AM

My 83 excella has a Coleman ac in it. The air conditioner gets plenty cold. However it gets to cold. If you set it on a temperature sometime not all the time it will not cycle off when it reaches the given temperature. Its like it has one setting darn cold.When you turn the ac on initially the fan motor drags before starting up. Last night we noticed that there was moisture around the vents and apparently the ac did not cycle off. The drain tube seems to be working. The ac gets cold and once the blower motor starts it blows real well. Any thoughts on this problem would be appreciated.

richinny · 06-30-2010, 07:12 AM

i'd start with getting some voltage readings on the 120v feed.

Okiegent · 06-30-2010, 09:57 AM

Thanks Ricky. I know that I have it plugged into a 110 volt 20 amp outlet when at home.. Other things are on the same outlet so it could cause it to be slow to start. However this does the same thing when I am out traveling on a 50 amp breaker.Would low voltage cause it not to cycle off when it reaches temperature?

richinny · 06-30-2010, 07:46 PM

what you have at the outlet is rarely what you have in the trailer. high or low voltage can cause a lot of weird things. if you're using an extension cord you could easily have a low voltage situating. you need to check the voltage in the trailer when the ac kicks on. any adapter, bad/corroded cord ends etc. can all be issues to drop the voltage. you might also have icing in the coils. at this point i'll defer to others here with more knowledge. :-)

lewster · 06-30-2010, 08:44 PM

Okie,

Rich speaks the truth. You should get someone (or yourself) to do an AC amp draw test on the unit's compressor when it is operating to be sure that it is not in an over-amp situation due to lower available voltage. This will eventually burn out your compressor. A label should be present on the upper unit that gives you the amp draw specs for your unit.

Also, the hard starting might be a sign of a failing start or run capacitor. These can be checked by a competent technician.

If you have a manual analog control model (dials connected to the lower unit of the A/C), you might have a bad thermostat in the control unit that needs replacing.

One or several of these issues might be causing your problems.

Okiegent · 07-01-2010, 06:16 AM

Thanks fellows. I will have it checked. The icing sounds like a possible choice. Or even the run capacitor. My cousin is a electrician. He said it would need 20 amps to start and runs on something like 13 amps or less. So checking would be a must.It is plugged in now at the shore plug to a 20 amp circuit. Thanks for you post.

Okiegent · 07-05-2010, 02:16 PM

Hello fellows.I now have a new problem the fan motor want come up to speed. I believe the icing at times was dirty air filters. Not checking often enough. Thermostat seems to be working now.Any ideals on the fan motor.Mach three Coleman air.

Silverwanabe · 07-07-2010, 04:03 PM

Hi,

I just replaced the fan motor on my Coleman 6759 Mach III. (1990)
$140.00 off ebay.
A pain to work on, nuts rusted, little screws all over the place.

The AC does not cool with the sun beating down on the trailer, but at night the air temp is very cold..

I'm ready to replace that one with a heat pump.

Okiegent · 07-08-2010, 07:28 AM

Really nice job on the trailer. Perseverance pays off for sure. Yes the air is going to be replaced. I just need to decide where to buy it and what to buy that will fit and hook up to my electric and drain tube..

Okiegent · 07-09-2010, 10:17 AM

Hello Gregg. Would you happen to know what a/c fits into my excella with same electrical and drain hook up. Maybe where to buy for best price.

Okiegent · 07-14-2010, 04:35 PM

I have decided to go with the penguin 13,000 BTUs for my trailer. I wanted to know if any of you fellows would be interested in parts.

vswingfield · 07-14-2010, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okiegent

I have decided to go with the penguin 13,000 BTUs for my trailer. I wanted to know if any of you fellows would be interested in parts.

Hi Tom,

I think you might want to consider a 15,000 Btu unit. You do have a large Airstream and live in a warm area. I have one that size (15,000 Btu) and there are times I wish I had a second AC in mine.

Okiegent · 07-15-2010, 06:15 AM

Hi Vaughan. Thanks for the input. I really wanted to go with the 15,000 however you cannot get the drain pan with it. I also liked the lower profile one.My dealer here said I would need to go with the brisk air unit if I went with a 15,000. It is confusing sometime. It should not be .

lewster · 07-15-2010, 06:25 AM

Okie,

You don't need a drain pan with a Dometic unit. They make a 'drip kit' which is used on every other RV that has interior drain lines.

It involves adding a catch cup under each drain hole and connecting the provided tubing to the molded-in hose barbs. The tubing has a 'T' for connecting to your interior drain hose.

The Dometic part # is 3107688.016. The kit includes everything you need to do the conversion, including an extra 14 X 14 gasket seal to compensate for the height of the drain cups. The tubing runs thru a channel that you cut in the original gasket. You seal the area around the tubing and then add the second layer. It's a snap!

Let me know if you have any other questions.

vswingfield · 07-15-2010, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okiegent

Hi Vaughan. Thanks for the input. I really wanted to go with the 15,000 however you cannot get the drain pan with it. I also liked the lower profile one.My dealer here said I would need to go with the brisk air unit if I went with a 15,000. It is confusing sometime. It should not be .

I agree, it shouldn't be so difficult. I went with a Carrier a couple of years ago, before Carrier dropped out of the RV business, see http://www.airforums.com/forums/f427...ead-40795.html.

Physically, I don't think that there should not be much difference between a 13,000 and a 15,000 AC. More component sizing. PM Lew for more advice. He's one of the best resources we have on the forums. Don't be afraid to purchase off the internet unless you just have to use a local dealer so they will install it. I have been pleased with my Carrier and the deal I got from Family RV in Florida. All the current ACs are designed to fit in much the same way. Airstream drip pans are the exception, but Lew already posted how to deal with the drip issue.

Keep in touch,

Okiegent · 07-15-2010, 03:44 PM

Hello Vaughan. I am rethinking. I called my dealer and put it on hold until Monday so I can procrastinate some more hahahaha! I don't have any help in putting the unit in and its hotter than you no what here right now. So I opted for my local airstream repair man. His dad sold this trailer I have a present off a lot they use to have in okc back in 1983. He seems like a nice fellow and fairly busy.I now am leaning in the direction of the penguin 15,000 with heat strip and wall mounted thermostat. My reasoning is that it is a top of the line unit,well spoken of. Has the drip pan. Will cool my coach down quicker when I need to. Now I don't know if I can get the misses to agree. The Brisk air,15,000 installed without drip pan and including a heat strip is 1,133.00. The Penguin with pan and heat strip 13,500 is 1,367.00. The penguin 15,000 with pan and heat strip wall thermostat and wide range butt wiper

is ready drum roll.1,790.00 complete whewwwwwwww!! Now you know why I am procrastinating.I certainly am considering some one else is doing all the work.

Silverwanabe · 07-15-2010, 04:45 PM

$1,790 for an ac, hope you are joking....doubt it......

On my 67, I installed a Carrier 15k heat pump myself.
No drip pan required.
Purchased it on eBay from a store in Fla. I think it was $729 plus shipping.
Fan is a little loud, but I like it anyway.

lewster · 07-15-2010, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silverwanabe

$1,790 for an ac, hope you are joking....doubt it......

On my 67, I installed a Carrier 15k heat pump myself.
No drip pan required.
Purchased it on eBay from a store in Fla. I think it was $729 plus shipping.
Fan is a little loud, but I like it anyway.

Great price...........but who is going to warranty that unit now that Carrier is out of the RV air conditioner business??

I agree that almost $1800 seems like a lot of $$$$

I just installed 2 Duotherm low profile 13.5K heat pumps with the Comfort Control Center thermostat. The units were $1086 each plus shipping. It seems like a lot of $$$ for labor when they usually take an hour to install, and figuring it's an Airstream and it needs the auxiliary drip kit, maybe an extra hour.

What are they thinking?

vswingfield · 07-15-2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewster

Great price...........but who is going to warranty that unit now that Carrier is out of the RV air conditioner business??

Agreed. Sounds like the same deal I got a couple of years ago. I've been pretty pleased with it, but now they have flown the coop, so to speak.

Should have known. As a company, Carrier has a bad history here in central Arkansas, but that's a whole 'nuther story.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewster

I agree that almost $1800 seems like a lot of $$$$

I just installed 2 Duotherm low profile 13.5K heat pumps with the Comfort Control Center thermostat. The units were $1086 each plus shipping. It seems like a lot of $$$ for labor when they usually take an hour to install, and figuring it's an Airstream and it needs the auxiliary drip kit, maybe an extra hour.

What are they thinking?

Thanks for chiming in, Lew. That sounded high to me.