Basement Heat Pump/AC Advice Needed

[Flying Crab]

New to dealing with basement AC. Any and all advice, tips, source of maint, manuals etc. greatly appreciated

[BobC]

That's a far-ranging question. We could write a book and still not cover everything . Let us know what year/model MH you have. Are there particular questions or problems that you have? One critical piece of information is whether you have 30A or 50A shore power. The basement air has two compressors (1 & 2). 30A is barely enough to start and run both and there's little "headroom" for you to operate anything else. This is a common issue with owners who find that, either compressor 2 won't start or kicks off after starting.

Note that, even if your MH is wired for 50A service, if you're plugged into 30A service with an adapter, you're operating at 30A, not 50A.

To get you started, here's a link to service manual which has a lot of information, including operation and troubleshooting:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...GI4N2U4N2MzODE

This is probably more than you need right now but there's a lot of DIY repair info here:

https://sites.google.com/site/billmarie2008/

[Ray,IN]

The first step is your you to identify your model Coleman-Mach basement air conditioner. After that we may proceed. The model# should be on a label on the front of the unit.
There is a wealth of information on the internet, but we should get specific instead of just flooding you with information.
irv2.com has many threads discussing all the problems encountered with a Coleman-Mach basement air conditioner, including how to remove, repair//rebuild,obtain replacement parts, and replace a unit.

[BobC]

For the most part, the various models of the basement air are pretty much the same, except for the duct configuration. Some have the ducting connect at the top, while others connect at the back. I believe the most common model is model 6535, which has the duct connection at the back. Model 6537 has its duct connection on the top. I believe the 6535 is most common on Winnebago gassers while the 6537 is most common on Diesels.

The current replacement unit (46515-811) is back-ducted like the 6535, but conversion parts are available or they can be fabricated.

[Ray,IN]

Bob mentioned the 6535 model, this is the service manual for said unit: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/81...35-Series.html
Perhaps the single-most important thing to remember is replace the air filter frequently. It uses a household type air filter to filter the air and gets dirty after a few weeks of daily use.

[BobC]

I would add that understanding your thermostat and how it controls your A/C is important. Things don't always happen instantaneously, there are built in delays for various reasons. When in heat mode, if the inside air is more than five degrees cooler than the setting of the thermostat, the system will turn on your propane heater.

This is detailed in sections 8 and 9 of the service manual.

Additionally, as with home air conditioners, a common, and fortunately inexpensive and easy to fix, source of failure is bad run and/or start capacitors (one set for each compressor).

[HappiHenri]

What year, make and model do you have?

Without knowing that CRITICAL information I can only say:

* Use it or loose it. Equipment like this works much better when regularly exercised. Use it for both A/C cooling and for heat (which it works very well for if temps >40F)
* Make sure the drain pan is not clogged. There is a small hole in the bottom middle of the pan covering the bottom of the unit. Necessary to allow the condensate water to drain, but it is such a small hole that a little dirt can quickly clog it. When that happens the entire pan can rust out - so keep that drain hole open!