Air Cond,, Clean ,,Check?

Our Bighorn is 2010 and we live in it fulltime. When we owned a home we had our air conditioner checked every year. We have not had our AC checked in our 5th wheel. It is running fine but should it be checked and cleaned? Life is good in our Bighorn!!! bettybobbelle
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I'd suggest:

Inside: Clean or replace the filters on a monthly basis or sooner as needed.
Roof: Annually - Remove the A/C cover. Inspect and carefully clean the fins. They're easy to bend so be careful.
 
Thanks, Dan and Ann! We do clean our inside filter by washing it. We have never taken the outside cover off but will to check the fins. It smells musty at times when we turn it on. Could it be dirty fins?
 

DougS

Doug S
If you have access to YouTube, search for RV air conditioner for several ideas. A gentalman under the name of rvtravel has a good video.
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
When you remove the outside cover on your A/C to wash the fins off you will need to remove a metal cover from the fins. When you do look inside and you will most likely see the inside of the trailer. Put a piece of cardboard or something to stop water from coming inside your trailer.

BC
 

gillm

Member
i really could us help i just bought a 2013 landmark rushmore i can not figure how to set the ac controls to roll to automatic for setting temps in the bed room and in the living room i an confused with the zone settings it shows 1234 and it makes little since to me it keeps showing E1 cool but i would really like to set these 2 systems to alternated day and evening i did not receive any instructions for my ac and for my convection/micro wave i do believe the dealer should have had a more experienced employee giving the orientation but oh well but folks i could use some help normal 2 ac and 1 heat pump
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
My two cents -

TURN OFF THE CIRCUT BREAKER TO THE AC UNIT BEFORE REMOVING THE COVER. There are wires with 110 VAC under there and there are moving parts if the unit comes on while the cover is off that may hurt you.

Just inspect and GENTLY clean the condenser coil and the "in the weather" part of the unit (red on the diagram below). You can take off the plastic outer cover to get more access. Use ONLY a GENTLE stream of water. You may find fins bent to where the air spaces between them are blocked. If only a small % is blocked leave them alone. If more use a fin straighner tool or hire professional to address it, if you don't use a fin straightener right you will make it worse. Don't even think of trying to use anything BUT a fin straighner on the coils! DO NOT use any sort of high pressure spray nozzile directed at the fins, they are VERY easy to flatten and block the air flow, in which case you will be far worse then you are now with slightly dirty fins.

The most beneficial thing you can do is remove any wasp's nests and other insect or birds nests you may find that restrict air flow or have potential to get into the blower. Use a gentle stream of water to rince out any dirt you find. Use Dawn or mild detergent if you see any greasy build up. If you do make sure you get it flushed out of the condensor coil very well.

Just like we never take apart the plenum above our furnaces or the innards of our cars and truck and try to clean the evaporator part of the AC and we don't pay professionals to do this for us either, don't try to take off the sealed evaporator compartment cover and clean the evaporator part of your RV AC. You likely will lose the airtight seal and watertight seal in the process and create new problems. That area generally never needs to be cleaned for the life of the unit unless it develops a coolant leak there and has to be repaired or the blower bearings fail, both very rare.. The exception may be if some one removed the inside air filters and never put them back.

Good luck,

car_air_conditioning_system.jpg
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
One more suggestion - take a can of wasp spray up the ladder to the roof with you and be ready in case you disturb some wasps when working with the AC units. I found the largest wasp's nest I have ever seen in my roof top AC unit - however luckily for me there were no live wasps in it when I pulled the cover to clean it.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
i really could us help i just bought a 2013 landmark rushmore i can not figure how to set the ac controls to roll to automatic for setting temps in the bed room and in the living room i an confused with the zone settings it shows 1234 and it makes little since to me it keeps showing E1 cool but i would really like to set these 2 systems to alternated day and evening i did not receive any instructions for my ac and for my convection/micro wave i do believe the dealer should have had a more experienced employee giving the orientation but oh well but folks i could use some help normal 2 ac and 1 heat pump

Hi Gillm,

Here's a link to a Dometic Multizone Thermostat Manual. It may not be exactly your thermostat, but pages 5 and 6 explain that you can make independent settings for each zone. You probably have a zone for each A/C unit. You might think of it as though there were 2 thermostats. You set it to zone 1 and you're setting the first thermostat. Set it to zone 2 and you're setting the second thermostat. My thermostats aren't set up this way, but I think this is how it works.

If you look in your documentation package, you may find the manual for your thermostat. Or you can root around the Dometic website to find yours.
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
Interesting topid gang.
I also have a 2010 and live in it fulltime. I have noticed this year mine also smell musty and also drops a little condensation on the island in the rig. It must be time for a outside cleaning also ??
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
Interesting topid gang.
I also have a 2010 and live in it fulltime. I have noticed this year mine also smell musty and also drops a little condensation on the island in the rig. It must be time for a outside cleaning also ??

If you are cleaning and replacing your return air filters once per month and are still getting the musty odor and drips then you may have built up residue in the evaporator drip pan or a partially blocked drip pan drain - this is where the water extracted from the evaporator goes and then runs out on to the roof of the RV for roof top units. It may have been partially blocked by insects. This is an example of where more dis-assembly past taking off the main cover may be needed to address the issue. Consult the AC manual provided with your RV it will tell you where the filters are and how to pull them to rinse them and replace them.
 
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