A/C replacement - Fiberglass RV
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Old 11-10-2019, 11:23 AM   #1
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Name: anne
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A/C replacement

I apologize if this question is in the wrong area - I wasn’t sure where to put it!
We have a 2000 19’ Scamp and are thinking about replacing the A/C. Have any of y’all done that and if so, what are your recommendations?
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Old 11-10-2019, 11:39 AM   #2
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Be careful when mounting the air distribution box (the inside on the ceiling part) lest you run screws all the way through the roof and cause a leak.

And of course dont get on the roof yourself.
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Old 11-10-2019, 11:41 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gordon2 View Post
Be careful when mounting the air distribution box (the inside on the ceiling part) lest you run screws all the way through the roof and cause a leak.

And of course dont get on the roof yourself.


Thank you! [emoji1303][emoji16]
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Old 11-10-2019, 02:21 PM   #4
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I'm not sure, but from the tiny picture it appears that you have a Coleman Mini-Mach?
Have it checked and FIX -it if at all possible and keep it.
It is repairable as most roof A/Cs were 20 years ago.
It can be cleaned and recharged.
If you must buy new... buy a new Coleman.
Many of the new SOB A/Cs can not even be recharged.


The good news is that Roof A/Cs are pretty much all designed to replace one another and fit through the same 14"X14" opening.
So it will be a straight forward swap.
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Old 11-10-2019, 04:47 PM   #5
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Click image for larger version

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So this is actually what’s in our 19’ - my profile pic is of our old 13’, which was brand-new in 2013.
Our 19’ is a 2000, so I’m guessing our A/C is 19 years old as well. I hope it’s as straightforward as you think it will be!
Thanks!
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Old 11-10-2019, 04:48 PM   #6
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A/C replacement

And I don’t know where that food pic came from....
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Old 11-11-2019, 08:54 AM   #7
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19 scamp mini mach

I have a 19 scamp with the mini mach ac unit, it was not cooling well. The mini mach is a 7200 btu. So took the top off and the condenser unit and the evaporator unit were both clean, but I blew the out any way. So on a hot day (95F and RH80+) (this was in the sun no shade)I took a havc thermometer and checked the inlet and outlet temp and found that the outlet temp was over 60 F and the inlet temp was over 70 F. could not get inside temp below 83 be I also noticed the compressor was cycling on and off. I sealed the inside unit with mortite so the outlet air did not leak into the intake air duct. This did not help much. I put some plastic tubing over the thermostat cap. tube, to make the thermostat less sensitive, very little help. So next, I looked at the thermostat maybe the problem. So I took down the inside unit. Since I was unsure the thermostat was the problem. I tried to adjust the lower limit on the thermostat, instead of replacing the part, I adjusted a small screw on the side of the thermostat, you turn the screw counterclockwise to lower the lower limit (2 to 3 turns) that makes the compressor turn off. By the time I was done the outlet air temp was down to 31 F and the inlet temp was down to 53F with the thermostat turned to the cold position Even at that low of air intake and outlet temp the compressor still cycles on and off ever five minute minutes or so. The inside temp was down to 72F . One thing that will help in cooling the camper is to have a small fan in the front and rear of the camper to move air to the center of the camper to aid in cooling. this gets the hot air to the ac unit. Now even on a 100 F day the 7200 btu ac unit will still cycle the compressor every six minutes or so. This tells me this unit still has some cooling capacity in reserve so any unit between 7200 and 9200 should have plenty cooling capacity for a 19 foot scamp in most climates From what I see a 13.5K btu unit will not cool the camper any faster because the evaporator temp or air outlet temp can not drop below 32F because that would cause the evaporator freeze up. Even on a 100 F day the outlet temp is still around 32 F now running an outlet temp this low a person may want to add some kind of anti freeze up thermostat to the evap. Note this unit has a softstart kit on it so there is a five minute delay start up every time the compressor starts. With out the softstart the cycle time of the compressor would be about 3 minutes.


see youtube video

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Old 11-12-2019, 08:10 AM   #8
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THANK YOU!!!
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Old 11-16-2019, 09:56 AM   #9
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Thanks for all your replies. I am the co-owner of the scamp azooey is talking about. I want to add some details. The a.c. we have now has a solenoid out in the blower and we have to hand start it every time. It also doesn't cool very well even when it is going. It appears that we need to have it serviced, blown out, solenoid replaced and may benefit from a replacement thermostat is it worth the expense of doing that vs getting a new unit to replace our 20 year old one?
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Old 11-16-2019, 01:24 PM   #10
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fan starting

I do not think there is a solenoid on the blower motor. If the fan needs help starting. I would look at the fan run capacitor is weak or the bushing in the blower motor maybe dry or the bushing are wore out. It is hard to find an electric motor shop that will replace bushings in small electric motors any more , but most of the time motor shops will sell you a motor that will fit at lot cheaper price than an oem part It is hard to know if this ac unit is a money pit or just has a few small easy to fix problems. With shop rates over $120.00 it does not take long to have the price of a new unit in repairs. Most of the time if the compressor cycles on and off when trying to cool the camper there is something going on with the thermostat. If the compressor runs all the time and does not cycle on and off. I would be looking at low freon or a bad compressor, or maybe the condenser is dirty . If the unit is freezing up I would look at the evaporator being dirty

Coleman now has a mach 8 that is 9000-9200 btus. The problem is the price of a 13500 btu unit maybe cheaper than a 9000 btu unit 13.500 unit maybe over kill. Scamp is installing 13.500 btus at the factory. I believe they go with the cheapest unit rather than sizing the ac unit to the camper

The tech at a rv dealer ship once told me there are shops selling new ac units when all that is needed is a new thermostat

I like my mini mach, 7200 btu because I can run it with a Honda eu2200i with the soft start kit installed on my ac unit and have no starting issues and have power to spare. the mini mach only draws about 8 amps running
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Old 11-16-2019, 05:00 PM   #11
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What size trailer do you run your mini Mach in? Thanks for all that!!!
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Old 11-16-2019, 06:48 PM   #12
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19 foot deluxe scamp, cool it very well
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Old 11-16-2019, 06:59 PM   #13
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How do you get the heat / AC to the loft? We notice a big temperature difference - the only thing that helps is to rig a small fan on the inner door frame to push air up there from the main part of the trailer and to crack the roof vent above the bed, but we are curious what others have done....
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Old 11-16-2019, 11:21 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azooey73 View Post
How do you get the heat / AC to the loft? We notice a big temperature difference - the only thing that helps is to rig a small fan on the inner door frame to push air up there from the main part of the trailer and to crack the roof vent above the bed, but we are curious what others have done....
I know of one case with a front bath.in which a round tube Either duct or PVC was placed at ceiling level through the front bath and fitted with a fan.
This could easily be done with a bathroom exhaust fan mounted at ceiling height and ducted to the loft.


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Old 11-17-2019, 07:03 AM   #15
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loft

to get air to the loft I got a 4 inch inline duct fan and ran a flexible duct in the loft storage area above the bath room and have an intake vent in the wall above the bath room door and a vent beside left side of the storage area door at the rear of the loft. I think my wife posted pics on one of the fiberglass sites I will see if I can find it and send a link. I got the fan on amazon. the fan is over 200 cfm . This fan moves a lot of air This set up makes a noticeable difference in the loft area


note this fan is very quiet. the only noise you hear is the air flow

================================================

I played with the bath room fan idea last spring at first I thought it was a good idea. But after trying to apply the idea I could not make the installation look pretty. Also most bath room fans are only about 100 cfm of air flow. I do not feel the air flow would be enough to cool the loft. and most bath room fans air too loud. remember most of the time you will need to cool the loft is when you are sleeping




note the replacement for the mini mach is the coleman mach 8 plus club part number 47201B876 all the info on line is adds and I do not what to link an add so you can google the part number your self
Attached Thumbnails
scamp vent 1.jpg   scamp vent 3.jpg  

scamp vent 2.jpg   scamp vent 4.jpg  

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Old 11-17-2019, 10:28 AM   #16
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loft fan

THANK YOU!!!! My husband has been talking about doing that fan setup ourselves - it's really cool to see that somebody else has already done it! If you don't mind, or can remember, what is the make and model of the fan you installed? Thanks so much!!!
I think we're going to have the A/C run on it's own electric box (we've had 2 instances where the A/C messed up the converter box and rendered everything on that side of the trailer weak or useless, including the fridge!) and go from there.
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Old 11-17-2019, 11:12 AM   #17
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ac

sent you a pm on parts . I sent links to the venders.

All your trailer electrical should run fine off the scamp cord and the power panel in the trailer. Sounds like you have a problem with the cord or the power box in the trailer I would look for some loose or hot wires in the electrical panel or corrosion in the wiring going to that panel. Or maybe your panel is bad. There could be some kind of fire hazard there too. Are you using a long extension cord to power the camper if so is the cord heavy enough for the load and distance .that would cause all kind of problems Also is the outlet you are plugged into have good power to it.


Some of your ac problems could be low voltage if there is a problem with the power coming it the trailer or power coming out of you main panel
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Old 11-19-2019, 06:09 PM   #18
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pic

pics
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scamp vent 1.jpg   scamp vent 3.jpg  

scamp vent 4.jpg   scamp vent 2.jpg  

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Old 11-28-2019, 06:56 AM   #19
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How to evaluate ac peformance

Found this document. thought maybe it will help. It is written for coleman mach, It is very generic, and in theory should apply to most any roof top ac units
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File Type: pdf evaluating_ac_performance.pdf (316.7 KB, 5 views)
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Old 11-28-2019, 07:47 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TXScamper View Post
Thanks for all your replies. I am the co-owner of the scamp azooey is talking about. I want to add some details. The a.c. we have now has a solenoid out in the blower and we have to hand start it every time. It also doesn't cool very well even when it is going. It appears that we need to have it serviced, blown out, solenoid replaced and may benefit from a replacement thermostat is it worth the expense of doing that vs getting a new unit to replace our 20 year old one?
from reading the other info posted by your camper co owner I think you have a problem in your wiring causing a voltage drop. I would check your main power panel. as for your fan not starting see the youtube video


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