AC blew out the Freon

rodgebone · 06-25-2021, 04:02 PM

Well this could not have happened at a worse moment. This weekend my Portland, Oregon will be experiencing the highest temps ever on record (110+). This morning I heard what sounded like a tire exploding and losing air so ran outside to find everything just fine. But 30 minutes later the temps in the trailer went from 73 to 82. I knew at that point the AC carc'd it so went up top only to find my Coleman Mach decided to blow the pressure release crimp on the freon tubes blowing out all the refrigerant and oil - so no AC for me this weekend. after calling several mobile rv techs and shops it boils down to a 2+ months wait for a repair/replacement. As a full timer I cannot afford the time to take this wrig to the dealer for who knows how long. money is not the problem but time is with summer in full swing. but this looks like a simple R&R if I can get a new & very heavy AC unit up onto the roof myself so my plan is ordering a new unit and seeing how do-able this is. AC spec/model sticker is attached. Thoughts? Suggestions? Upgrade unit?

**flybouy** · 06-25-2021, 04:08 PM

That's a 2 man jub. If you get it on the roof solo I don't know how you can get it in the hole without doing damage.

rodgebone · 06-25-2021, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

That's a 2 man jub. If you get it on the roof solo I don't know how you can get it in the hole without doing damage.

exactly my concern

**chuckster57** · 06-25-2021, 05:42 PM

If it’s a 13.5K unit, get the 15K.

The only hard part is getting the old unit off the roof and the new one on the roof. I’m not advocating unsafe practices, but one shop I worked at that did mobile service, we would put it on the roof of the van. If you have a neighbor it will only take 5 minutes once you’ve undone the old unit.

jasin1 · 06-25-2021, 06:06 PM

I’d rent a duct lift

dadnjesse · 07-04-2021, 05:39 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2L2gXl6RnQ

Bill B · 05-25-2022, 03:51 AM

I had the same thing happen to our Coleman Mach a/c unit. A/c was not operating at the time and just blew out. Why did this happen? Is the unit rechargeable by an a/c tech? Dealer simply says “it’s old” and I must replace it. Mechanically minded, I want to know why and if it is preventable.

Ibdagriz · 05-25-2022, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill B

I had the same thing happen to our Coleman Mach a/c unit. A/c was not operating at the time and just blew out. Why did this happen? Is the unit rechargeable by an a/c tech? Dealer simply says “it’s old” and I must replace it. Mechanically minded, I want to know why and if it is preventable.

Most of the time they will tell you they are not serviceable due to not having ports for the low/high side of the system. Those can be installed by an AC tech as we did it on an older Foretravel MH of a friend when it did the same.

AC guy cut the line, installed the ports and away we went in about two or three hours. Worked fine for three more years until sold.

Griz

notanlines · 05-25-2022, 04:24 AM

What Chuckster said^^^^. Get the 15K.

**flybouy** · 05-25-2022, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill B

I had the same thing happen to our Coleman Mach a/c unit. A/c was not operating at the time and just blew out. Why did this happen? Is the unit rechargeable by an a/c tech? Dealer simply says “it’s old” and I must replace it. Mechanically minded, I want to know why and if it is preventable.

Here's some explination that hopefully helps. An RV air conditioner is basically a large "window" unit. Why it "blew out" could be any number of causes. The compressor may have failed mechanically or electrically, a valve may have stuck, a coil or pipe may have corroded and leaked, etc. Here's the thing, the refridgerant is gone and there's a REASON. If you don't fix the reason and just add refridgerant then you are wasting time and money.

I'm not aware of any RV a/c manufacturer that sells replacement coils or compressors for their units. The reason? I can only take an educated guess that it's not economically sound to do so. By the time you spend the money to have a licensed or certified HVAC tech POPERLY make a repair the parts and labor would exceed the value of the unit.

As an example, let's say the windings in the compressor burn up. To properly replace the compressor would require the removal of the compressor and the refridgerant dryer that should be replaced any time the system is opened up. Then the coils and system would need to acid flushed in order to remove all contaminants. After installing the compressor and receiver dryer it would have to evacuated with a vacuum pump then charged with the proper amount of refridgerant and oil. Then the time to leak check and test the unit. The labor and parts can easily approach or exceed the replacement costs.

The units are not serviceable and adding service valves doesn't fix the leak but does add more opportunity for a leak. Don't confuse these units with the unit in your car or truck. A residential (like an RV unit) a/c unit and residential fridges are hermetically sealed units. The compressor and all plumbing is charged at the factory via a pipe that is then crushed, sealed and cut off. In a car the compressor is driven by the engine via belts and pulls so there's a seal on that shaft. There are also flexible hoses connecting the compressor to the system. These can leak over time and recharging makes sense if the leak is so minor it's undetectable. If the leak can be found then replacing the failed component is warranted.

Apologize for the lengthy post but hopefully this will help in understanding some of the "whys".

hawghauler · 06-01-2022, 10:09 AM

I've attempted to seal and repair these in the past a piercing tap and a can of R134 got me through a hot weekend ALMOST

I am in pa and will do install if you provide new unit and make my wallet a little heavier I've done several for myself half a dozen for others tbh the old one is easy gravity does the work ( it's already junk so try not to hit anything expensive ) I use an extension ladder as a ramp and push the new one ( in box ) up the ramp

wiredgeorge · 06-01-2022, 02:14 PM

Just want to point out that the OP has an Ultralite model with no ladder hung on it. When I changed my Dometic Brisk 13.5K btu for a Brisk II 15K BTU, the Dometic weighed just over 70 lbs as I recall. I set my ladder well out from the trailer and pushed the A/C up the ladder underneath me. Kept it in the box which I had opened to see if everything looked ok then put a bit of tape on to reseal. Used furniture moving blankets/pads to keep from skinning the roof which was rubber at the time. Brought the old one down the same way. Put the seal on underneath and set the new one on top the seal. Not that big a deal.

OK, I have a walkable roof. 70 lbs. I would be concerned about weight on the OP"s roof... plus, the Coleman units are about 110 lbs so I might suggest finding someone to help and wrap some straps around it in some fashion where the box won't slip out and hoist it on top your truck's roof. (hopefully the roof won't get squished). A friend would sure help. Then put a ladder in the truck bed, slide it off the roof with somebody up top and drag it up the ladder. The ladder should be braced against the opposite side of the bed. With two folks it will go up. Put the box on furniture moving blankets and pull the blanket over to where the A/C will go. Get the old one off and take it off and let it down the same way. Hooking it up on my Dometic was just plug and play and the hardest thing was getting the four long bolts through and lined up. PPLmotorhomes.com has Coleman Mach 15s in stock for $925.99 with shipping $14.99.

I bought Brisk II from them and it arrived the next day from Houston (not far). They do ship fast. Take care when buying any RV part, especially those that seem to have GREAT prices. Carefully check out the seller as there are places that are notably poor in customer service and actually getting you what you ordered in a timely manner.

Last, A/C prices are about double what they were a couple years ago when I bought mine. Not sure why.

hawghauler · 06-02-2022, 02:23 AM

Everything is about double what it was a year or so ago look at fuel prices 2020 gas was around 2 bucks a gallon in PA diesel was 230ish it's pushing 7 bucks a gallon today

I use an extension ladder as a ramp myself

Bill B · 06-02-2022, 05:39 AM

Thank you for all your help. I have come to the conclusion the best option is to replace the a/c. I’m still wondering if there was anything I could have done to prevent it. A/c unit coils are cleaned regularly, filters every time we use it. We were using it a couple hours earlier on a Honda 3000i inverter generator until a front moved through. Nothing we haven’t done before. Maybe I should believe the dealer, “it’s old.” Yet that’s relative, it’s on a 2015 travel trailer. I will say though, it gets run every time we’re out during the summer.

**flybouy** · 06-02-2022, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill B

Thank you for all your help. I have come to the conclusion the best option is to replace the a/c. I’m still wondering if there was anything I could have done to prevent it. A/c unit coils are cleaned regularly, filters every time we use it. We were using it a couple hours earlier on a Honda 3000i inverter generator until a front moved through. Nothing we haven’t done before. Maybe I should believe the dealer, “it’s old.” Yet that’s relative, it’s on a 2015 travel trailer. I will say though, it gets run every time we’re out during the summer.

. The unit is 7 + years old. I wouldn't consider that a "short service life". The best thing you can do is to always use an EMS to prevent damage from electrical issues.

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