Anyone pull their basement air for general cleaning?

RCtime · 06-12-2010, 11:09 AM

I went by lodgemobile a certiified rvp basement air repair facility to see about pulling my AC out for a general tuneup and cleaning.
I have had it 3 years now and I doubt it has ever been out of the coach.
It is cooling within specs however the amp. draw is down to around 20 amps with both compressors running.
Mark said it was sure time, he has seen them with the back coils completly covered with over a 1/2 inch of debri.
Low freon and the rear coils dirty will cause low amp. draw according to rvp tech data.
He will completly check it out,clean it and is able add freon if necessary.
Guess I will watch closely and see if an old man can do it next time.When I bought it the air filter was really dirty, since I change it often.
In the maintenance schedule I see the rear coils are supposed to be cleaned yearly, Mine is 8 yrs old, about time.

wagonmaster2 · 06-12-2010, 09:40 PM

Mine is 6 years old and the inside filter is changed several times a year but even though I keep the outside coils washed off from the outside, can the inside of these coils be cleaned without removing the unit? Don't think the average person can remove the whole unit by themselves.

Wagonmaster2
2004 Meridian 36G

RCtime · 06-13-2010, 08:24 AM

Wagonmaster you are right, they are big and heavy. RVP maintenance says to change filters and keep outside coils clean.
The WIT club maintenance guidlines says to clean the coils and evaporator on a yearly basis as well as change filters.
I assume the inside part is the evaporator??.
I guess Mark at Lodgemobile has seen some that have been dirty. This will be interesting.
I dont plan on getting by to have this done for at least a couple weeks, but when I do I will put a post up here on what I find and learn.
It might be beneficial for us all.

smlranger · 06-13-2010, 05:04 PM

Post some pics if you can. There is a great thread here from several years ago by Duner who wrote an excellent article on how to remove, clean and repair these basement units. I plan to try and pull mine this year to poke around inside and see what needs cleaning.

Duner · 06-14-2010, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smlranger

Post some pics if you can. There is a great thread here from several years ago by Duner who wrote an excellent article on how to remove, clean and repair these basement units. I plan to try and pull mine this year to poke around inside and see what needs cleaning.

Here's the link to the procedure I wrote almost 2 yrs ago. Many folks have used it and reported that it was pretty straightforward to pull out and get back in. Two of us 60 yr olds had no trouble handling the weight...... if you follow the procedure, you don't have to lift it up/down, just take some of the weight up and slide it in/out.
http://sites.google.com/site/billmar...edirects=0&d=1

On edit, I see the OP has diesel pusher..... these units have the basement unit lowered to get out and raised up to get back in. I believe that would require the use of a transmission jack to handle the weight.

Good luck,
Bill

MrTransistor · 06-14-2010, 04:12 AM

To increase filter change intervals and to keep the evaporator (for summer cooling)/condenser (for winter heat) from getting dirty and requiring unit removal for cleaning, try increasing the size and efficiency of the filter.

thepratts · 06-14-2010, 07:17 AM

Duner,

Thanks for the instructions. My basement AC makes a noise at startup, been doing that since new. I suspect the bearings. Your instructions will help me find the problem.

mikenmo · 06-14-2010, 08:07 AM

Great thread! Thanks Duner for the detailed work sheet.

I work maintenance for a large church and school (until Dec) and know how important HVAC maint. is, and on a regular schedule. We've had our 08' Tour for 2 years now and I was wondering how the heck I was going to clean the coils and lube the bearings. Ours is a DP so it will be different from Duners' but this gives me some good info.

Anybody dropped a DP basement unit? Chime in and share your experience, please!

Mike

ChiefJohn · 06-14-2010, 08:14 AM

"To increase filter change intervals and to keep the evaporator (for summer cooling)/condenser (for winter heat) from getting dirty and requiring unit removal for cleaning, try increasing the size and efficiency of the filter."

My initial thoughts also, but was advised by an HVAC RV technician that while these filters appeared to be an excellent filter choice for RV systems, they restrict the airflow and will cause reduced performance.

two2go · 06-14-2010, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefJohn

...was advised by an HVAC RV technician that while these filters appeared to be an excellent filter choice for RV systems, they restrict the airflow and will cause reduced performance.

Can that be right? A 2" filter has twice the material surface area as a 1" filter, so the flow should be improved and offer twice the dirt collection capacity. My home furnace requires a 4" filter element and has a sensitive vacuum sensor to signal end of life. It has lasted over a year as compared to the 3 month typical life of 1" filters and is still serviceable at that.
That said, I have seen some "special" filters do have different or additional material that may reduce air flow compared to a good paper membrane.

ernieh · 06-14-2010, 12:06 PM

I picked up a 800# transmission jack at Harbor Freight for $129 before my 20% off coupon. It's great for lowering a generator and should work equally well on the DP A/C.

MD556 · 06-15-2010, 12:08 AM

Anybody dropped a DP basement unit? Chime in and share your experience, please!

Mike[/QUOTE]

We have an '04 Vectra AD and I dropped the AC this winter. Found and followed Duner's excellent work sheet (thanks!!) and all went very smoothly. I worked by myself and replaced the 2 fan bushings with sealed ball bearing units and generally cleaned up the unit. I used 2 floor jacks (a transmission jack would have been much better), some blocks of wood, and the "bucket-bench" arrangement Duner describes. I didn't have any problem until I went to re-install. I made new gaskets for all the joints, and I had a hard time compressing the return air gasket enough to allow the AC unit to settle into position in the frame (the foam may have been more dense than the original gasket was). I wound up using a pry bar and the screws that extend on the underside of the unit to force the gasket to compress and seat the AC unit. Overall, not a real tough job. I think it took me about 6 - 7 hours to complete, and the next time it will take about half that.

MikeD

MrTransistor · 06-16-2010, 04:42 AM

Hi Chief,

If memory serves, the original filter was a cheep 1” X 16” X 24” fiberglass mat filter. Not very effective! I had to saw the positioning frame and relocate the forward edge forward by 8”. These 4” X 24” X 24” filters do have many times the surface area and have a much better filtering material than fiberglass mat. As a result, the pressure drop (restriction) is considerably reduced with the side benefit of much less dust in the coach.

Perhaps the technician was thinking of HEPA filters and for those, I would concur. As good as HEPA’s are, it would take one of the $500.00 11.5” X 24” X 24” Astrocel I’s to bring the restriction under control. I have around 40 of these, new, with no plans to retrofit them into our coach. These things are amazing though, they will even filter out smoke but I don’t want to carry the weight or loose the lowest dresser drawer.

As full timers, we run the heat pump and air conditioner quite a bit and the new filter gets changed once a year whether it needs it or not. This compared to 4 or 5 of the old filters per year. I’m thinking $8.00 a piece for the new ones. I haven’t bought one of the old ones in so long I can’t remember the price, but I’d bet at least $1.50. So, I’m happy.

SSgt Mark USAF Vet

KIX · 06-18-2010, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikenmo

Anybody dropped a DP basement unit? Chime in and share your experience, please!

Mike

I pulled the basement A/C unit out twice. On our coach the body compartment door hinges upward and the A/C unit slides out the side of the coach. Two things are needed to be done to remove the unit:
1. disconnect the supply duct from the rear of the A/C
2. lower (about 1/2") the frame the A/C rests on. Do this by unscrewing two large bolts on the outer side of the A/C frame.

Duner's write up describes the insides very well. RVP has a newer outdoor blower "wheel" that is plastic vs. the original metal one. The plastic one is much quieter outside the coach.
Replacing the bearings with "lifetime" lubed ones is also very easy.

Harry B · 06-22-2010, 08:11 PM

[QUOTE=MrTransistor;654720]To increase filter change intervals and to keep the evaporator (for summer cooling)/condenser (for winter heat) from getting dirty and requiring unit removal for cleaning, try increasing the size and efficiency of the filter./QUOTE]

Mark,

Do you know the MERV rating on that 4" filter you are using? I assume that with this 4" filter that you are using the performance of the AC has not dropped off.

I didn't realize there were 4" thick filters available. Good suggestion Mark