ATF: Big Country - Ducted AC has hole leaking cold air

[D_BTravelers]

I have a 2016 BC3650RL and the main AC has never cooled as well as the bedroom AC. I clean the return foam filters religiously but setting the thermostat on 72 results in the room being over 80 degrees. Yes, I live in Texas, but we had this same issue in NE, ND, SD, and MN while traveling last time. I was adjusting the thermostat one day and noticed that the wall behind the thermostat was very cool compared to the wall about 12" to the right. I have an infrared thermometer and the section at the thermostat was 74 degrees and over 12" the wall was 82 degrees (about the temperature of the room). I purchased an endoscope to look in the duct shaft and found the Styrofoam duct above that section of wall had the entire side of it knocked out with several wires running down the wall at that point. I feel that this is a installation flaw that is letting the cold air from the bedroom AC (closest) plus the main AC go down the wall to the basement! This keeps the wall chilled behind the thermostat and it keeps shutting off the compressor because it senses temp has been reached. Why would installers simply knock out a section of duct letting cold air escape down the wall and most likely into the roof void? We bought this beautiful RV in Jan. of 2017 and it has been one issue after another; leveler cylinder leaked and had to be replaced, return air duct was crushed and had to be fixed by RV service, the refrigerator has never held temperature even after having it in the shop 3 times and I have now added another 5" fan to the rear coils. It didn't hold temp in North Dakota! Love the looks of this RV, but build quality is far inferior to the Rockwood Windjammer we had previously.

 

[wdk450]

You need to contact Heartland Service ( 877-262-8032 ) about this. Have your VIN number, and hopefully photos from the endoscopic examination.

 

[D_BTravelers]

I was under the impression that Heartland reps checked this thread. I will go up to storage in the next couple of days and see if I can get clear video recording of the duct where it is broken out. I believe cold air is being allowed to escape into the roof void and also down that wall into the basement. Yes, I know the basement is heated/cooled, but it shouldn't be a massive duct with lots of air diverted. Thank you for the phone number.

 

[TravelTiger]

I don't think the basement is directly heated/cooled. There is a heat duct going to the underbelly to warm pipes and valves. In my rig, there is a vent under the stairs that allows some passive heat or cool to get to the area behind the basement wall, and also there is a passive vent in the basement wall, that could allow air in the basement. But there is no direct ductwork for either system to the basement itself.


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[D_BTravelers]

I don't think the basement is directly heated/cooled. There is a heat duct going to the underbelly to warm pipes and valves. In my rig, there is a vent under the stairs that allows some passive heat or cool to get to the area behind the basement wall, and also there is a passive vent in the basement wall, that could allow air in the basement. But there is no direct ductwork for either system to the basement itself.


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Hi sir,
Have you ever noticed the wall with the living room thermostat feeling a lot cooler than the rest of the living room interior walls? That is how I figured out AC was getting dumped down into the basement plumbing area. I knew about the vents under the stairs and couldn't imagine an actual duct or air path down there. Thanks for the input. I'll keep posted on what Heartland says. I have a call into Thetford about the Norcold 2118 refrigerator; the RV guy says it should work because they have checked everything...I agree...but it doesn't.

 

[TravelTiger]

It's Mam, but no I haven't noticed that. Heartland is looking at our rig currently and I have asked them to look into the AC system. It's not as effective as it should be, in my opinion. Will report what they say.


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[D_BTravelers]

Went up to storage and tried taking video down the AC duct. It isn't perfect, but I can see the size of hole someone chopped out for the vent pipe and bundle of wires. This area is directly above the wall where the Living Room AC thermostat is mounted, and just above the linen closet. My infrared thermometer will show that wall at 71 degrees when the wall 12" away (and the rest of the living room) is 82 degrees. Besides the large hole with the bundle of wires headed to the basement, you have the vent pipe for the shower plumbing; both will disrupt the air trying to pass and the disturbed air will then look for the nearest exit which is either down through the wall or up into the roof void space. Either way a lot of the LR AC is being lost, and it makes the wall so cold I have to put the thermostat on 68 degrees to keep the compressor running and bring the living room up to 75 degrees. I don't know how to download a video, but have attached a still shot of the duct interior hole and the general location in the RV. I went through the vent straight out in front of the linen cabinet; it is the vent not a light, I have a light inside the duct for the photos. I am not sure how someone would get to this to repair the duct, but hopefully Heartland will step up.

 

[RoadJunkie]

I deleted the continuous HVAC ducting by blocking flow between living and bedrooms, thus separating the coach into two zone areas. This also blocks flow into the area you are having the loss problem. Just place some soft foam blocks into the ducting just beyond the further most vent in each room. Nothing to lose...try it.

 

[D_BTravelers]

Road Junkie, I may give that a try pending what Heartland says. Great idea, I had not thought of that; it would isolate the problem for now. Thanks!

 

[wdk450]

Just a note on the current affordability of endoscopes (fiber optic tv cameras and lighting on a semi-rigid cable).

This AC duct topic got me interested in maybe renting an endoscope from Home Depot, and so I went searching on the internet. All of the Home Depots in my area did not have them, and the rental was like $200 a day from construction rental places. But then I got some ads along with my searches for endoscopes that connect to a smartphone by either it's own WiFi or a USB connection. There seems to be LOTS of these out there online, with some as low as $12, many in the $40-$50 range. Do searches on Amazon, E-Bay or Walmart.com for "Smartphone Endoscopes".

I retired from being a Hospital Biomedical Electronics technician. The steerable fiberoptic endoscopes used for colonoscopy and other exams typically cost $10,000 to $20,000 each and were very frequently broken and needed repairs at 1/4 to 1/2 the purchase price.

 

[TravelTiger]

After you posted, I dug back on my phone and found a similar pic in my 2016 4010rd.

I don't recall the "cold wall" issue. We did try separating the duct systems by blocking off past the last vent. It helps some but the living room AC still struggles in the Texas heat.

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[D_BTravelers]

Yes I paid Bout $20 for my scope and it is good enough for what I needed. They used to be out of sight priced.

 

[RoadJunkie]

After you posted, I dug back on my phone and found a similar pic in my 2016 4010rd.

I don't recall the "cold wall" issue. We did try separating the duct systems by blocking off past the last vent. It helps some but the living room AC still struggles in the Texas heat.

when necessary to run both air conditioners, I use a fan to blow cold air from the bedroom into the living area. The key is to keep air moving.

 

[TravelTiger]

when necessary to run both air conditioners, I use a fan to blow cold air from the bedroom into the living area. The key is to keep air moving.

Trust me. I've tried everything. I start it off early, keeping it set about 75 .... have two tower fans and a powerful tabletop fan blowing air around, all shades drawn, all lights off, and it's still struggling to keep it at 80 inside when the temp gets 95 or higher, even when the humidity is fairly low in the low 20s).

It's currently at the factory for other reasons, we are having them look at this as well.


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[D_BTravelers]

Okay, so I am glad it isn't just my Big Country, but I am sorry it is also you guys! Dang it, they (Heartland) are supposed to have those engineer types with the pocket protectors that figure out how to specify and design the AC systems. I think they need to come to TX, NM, or NV and do some testing! They would make some changes quickly if they had to live in them for a couple of weeks.

 

[Shortest Straw]

Trust me. I've tried everything. I start it off early, keeping it set about 75 .... have two tower fans and a powerful tabletop fan blowing air around, all shades drawn, all lights off, and it's still struggling to keep it at 80 inside when the temp gets 95 or higher, even when the humidity is fairly low in the low 20s).

It's currently at the factory for other reasons, we are having them look at this as well.


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Did you get a resolution to this issue?

 

[TravelTiger]

Mike, no not a satisfactory one.

The Service Center said the AC is operating properly (measured air temp 73 outside, 44 inside) and they removed the condenser cover and said it all looks good. They added a diverter to get more air in the kitchen.

I personally cannot tell any difference. Once back in Texas, it was 97 outside and ambient temp at the dinette inside is 82...


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[farside291]

I believe some other manufacturers have figured out how to keep these RVs cool in the hot summer sun. Thicker walls and heat reflective glass in the windows. When I touch the inside wall of the trailer and it feels hot, how can we expect to keep the inside cool. Also, I measured the temperature at the glass on the side of the RV facing the sun and it measured 126 degrees and this was a around 5:00 pm. When I added the metalized window film to ours It helped tremendously. We are in East Texas now with rain but earlier in the month we were experiencing temps in the high 90's. Running both ACs on high and the temperature set at 72 they never shut off and inside temps were in the 80s. Once the sun set the temps inside dropped to the mid 70's.

 

[D_BTravelers]

Re: ATF: Big Country - Ducted AC has hole leaking cold air - Updateu

I blocked off the open hole in the duct with some foam rubber on each side. We haven’t been in much over 85 degree heat but so far it is working WAY better than before. The “cold” wall is now the same temp as the rest of the walls so the thermostat works MRE accurately. I did set up a fan at the bottom of the steps to pull some of the cold air in.

 

[TravelTiger]

Here is a picture of the "diverter" Heartland installed in one vent to help. Needless to say, it did not.

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