Purchased: August 2023 - still works GREAT!I ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxxsUnXhGsSJLim_XnMHyQK0u3XVaW-CGn live in a studio and during the summer it gets scorching hot - really old building with no ac units. I can’t express how EASY it was to install. This unit has been a life savior during the summer and some days during other seasons where it can still be a bit warm at night. In this small place is my friend, a husky, poodle mix and myself. We need AC - lolI don’t use the dehumidifier option - I’m not sure if it will leak in my house, since I did not install the small draining hose that came with it. May look into it late but I don’t worry about much humidity in the apartment. I don’t understand why the negative reviews since all things mentioned, I personally did not find issues with. Definitely worth it!
Great video. Suggestion, when you put the foil tape in, put the section of tape that is further into the plenum first. Then the second piece over laps. This will prevent the constant air from blowing against the seam and eventually leaking. Like a roof shingle or sidding, you start from low and go high.
We bought a new wildwood tt and had this same issue, there was a 1/4 inch piece of foam dividing the two half but it was crinkled and just flowing air between the two. Not only that but the passage to the ducts weren't taped or sealed so the air was blowing into the ceiling instead of the duct work. We were having issues with very low air flow so it wasn't cooling it down. Instead of taking it to the dealer, I pulled the ceiling cover off and discovered the problem. I put a thicker barrier between the two halves, and sealed all the gaps and holes and made the bends more aerodynamic and what a difference!! Went from very poor ac to ice cold. I went over the whole duct system and cleaned up the edges, and put caps after the end ducts so eliminate air leakage. Took a couple hours but it was a night and day difference. I used material I had on hand from other projects so the cost was 0. Thank you for this video!
Saw this a year or so ago and vowed to check mine as my brand new RV AC sucked. He was spot on and now it blows cold as ice. Gonna buy you a beer for that great advice.
Unbelievable what I found. Thank you so much. Our air vents blow way better. Divider piece installed backwards, huge holes blowing into basically the attic, and tape hanging down blocking half of our vent. Never would've checked this. Thank you.
Thanks for the wake up call. We had new A/C units installed last year, and haven't been overjoyed with the performance. I took a quick look just now, and sure enough! The divider was flopped over on one and misaligned on the other... Thanks!
Excellent! I've been in the HVAC trade for over 45 years and these are the BEST suggestions a RV owner could ever do to his air conditioner. Great job!
I really appreciate your comment from someone that has as much experience as you do! This air breach is an all too common issue I find. I almost hate charging for it because it is something all RVers need to be checking on their annual inspection. Hope we can get the word out to folks on some of these easy fixes. Thanks for watching and commenting, Cheers, Darren Koepp
I have a video that will help you more is in my Fabe book , this video is good if you go out side end cat the plastic end install a chicken fence you will not have restriction air out only one side
Just recently watched this video, after subscribing to your channel, and checked my A/C. Lo and behold, the divider was out of position by and inch and a half. Removed the plenum, repositioned the divider, added some foil tape, and now I can tell that the A/C is definitely more efficient. Thanks for the very informative video. Being a full time RVer, I can use all the help I can get!
Have you notice that the quality of the work done in manufacturing RV's has decreased? I have had so many friends who bought new RV's and there were Major manufacturing mistakes. This is good for the RV service industry but shows me so many manufactures do not care about the quality of their products, just quarterly profits. Love your videos. They help me keep my RV running 100%
I did the same exact thing to both of my air conditioners, I sealed up everything with the silver tape, most of my cold air was going back into the return, and inside the attic space, they both work so much better now.
Thanks for this valuable information. My Winnebago Vista 29 had a problem with air not going through the vents to the rear of the coach. I followed your video and it took 20 minutes to fix this problem.
I covered my divider with window reflectix on both sides and folded one piece at bottom as I had inch gap at bottom of divider, secured with ac duct tape. Works tons better! Reflecix did my side gaps too. Thanks for share!
Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear it is working better! You might be surprised at how many A/C’s are running out there with this huge breach in them. Everyone should check this at the beginning of each season.
@@MyRVWorks In inspecting our ceiling units, I found the gray foam stuff has mostly disconnected from the cover shell. Is that stuff sold in stores, or something as good or better? I would think that spray contact cement with new foam material is a better deal and might last longer. The OEM stuff used is now 12 years old on our 2007 Holiday Rambler RV and just dissolves when you try to grab it. All but useless.
@@joeowen1429 You can try that 'Great Stuff' foam product. Just make sure the area you are bonding it to is clean - it may not stick so well to 12 year old dirt! LOL Cheers, Darren
Thanks for making this video. I have the exact Coleman AC as in the video and it had exactly the same issue. I fixed it following your video and what a difference. I have cold air coming out of both RV side ducks now when it was only on one side before the fix. It is even quieter in the RV now because the blower outlet noise now not being directed through the air intake as before. We when camping last weekend in 99°F heat and the AC wasn't even close to keeping up. It will be fun to see the difference the next time it is that hot when we're camping. Overall, very happy! Thanks again.
Your video is spot on. I took apart our 26HE Coleman air conditioner, because it didn’t seem as cool as other motorhomes we’ve owned. After removing the inside decorative cover I quickly found out why the A/C unit did such a poor job of cooling. The divider that separates the warm-air intake side of the plenum from the cold-air output side was installed backwards and was laying at almost 45 degrees. In our case there was virtually no separation of airflow between the warm & cold sides. I removed and reinstalled the plenum divider correctly, then I put everything back together. The difference in cooling was unbelievable. Like night and day. I only wish I had seen your video sooner. We put up with the poor cooling last summer, but assumed it was because there was only one air conditioner and that’s all we could expect. We never suspected that it was a sloppy installation by Winnebago that caused the problem.
I've seen this on many air conditioners. From all manufacturers and price points. Even after a few years the adhesives start to fail so that should be something that is checked annually.
Thanks Darren, we were camping last week in Alamogordo, NM and a fellow Grand Design Imagine owner told me about this easy mod and said it was one of the best he'd ever done to improve efficiency. Glad to find this video and will be looking at my Coleman very soon! Nicely done.
Wow thank you so much! We had problems with our coil freezing up. I resealed the gaps we had on our AC unit with aluminum duct tape, and fixed our freezing up problem. Great work thanks again!!
All your videos are great and Really do help, keep posting please..I can only say that my fridge had a blockage the beginning of the year(Very Warm to Bottom falling out with cold!)and I not only diagnosed the whole fridge, but learned how it works and why (Ammonia vaporization)! Because of you!😊
Had to do the same. Same Coleman unit. Also pull each outlet from the roof and tape the gap between the roof and duct....those had poor tape job and the attic space was getting air.
Hi Michel, I just replied to another of your comments! Thanks for contributing this top! I should have mentioned it in my video but since I go unscripted I often forget to mention things. I appreciate you and your contribution to this channel. Cheers, Darren Koepp
I'm able to keep the temperature 30-32 degrees cooler inside my RV. I installed 2 misting nozzles at the condenser in order to cool the air entering the unit. This combined with some strategically placed mylar (windows and roof vents) works like a charm! 110 outside....78 inside..
@@badactor3440 You just said you installed misters at the condenser. Are they installed outside the unit or am i missing something? If inside, The AC is only capable of removing so much humidity at one time. So by you adding water at the condenser, you are adding humidity AKA water.
Love your videos! I got rid of my original traditional RV air conditioners and installed Midea house window ac which I installed in the living room, entertainment cabinet and will run on 500 watts and I can use my solar panels on the roof to run both AC 's without using a soft start. I also installed compartment doors that swing open and I use drawer slides for the air conditioners to sit on a sliding platform and I can slide the unit in and out easily and of course open and close the compartment door. I could not be happier and the Midea AC unit is less than 400 on Amazon. I installed a Frigidaire 400 watt AC in the bedroom clothes cabinet. Love it. I also have more room on the roof for solar panels and walking space. I got rid of all the 14x14 roof vents when I put a new roof on and then put square Led ceiling lights to cover the inside vent holes. I use the AC's on fan mode or open windows instead of using the traditional roof vents. I also use Alexa to turn off and on the lights and the AC units and all my stuff. So I now have a smart RV. By the way if you purchase a Echo Dot 5 you don't have to use the wake word of Alexa, you can use The Wake Word ECHO... Echo turn on the tv.
Ahh brings back memories of my last RV. Coleman 274BH had a 13,500 AC. Back half cooled well, front, not so well, so was going to replace it with a 15K unit. In my perusal of the unit to determine everything I would need to swap it out, discovered that the opening to the front duct was partially blocked by what ever was used to "seal" the duct to the plenum. I cut it away, turned on the AC and debris blew out the front vent! Needless to say, did not need to replace the AC, it kept the temp great from that moment on. Now I have a new trailer, a long 5th wheel with two 15K AC's and they struggle to cool it down and keep it cool even with partial shade, so guess what is next on my list. ^^^^^ Exactly what is in this video. It is great information and it does work when the ducts are properly sealed(or open as in my last one).
I just the other day improved air flow through my Dometic refrigerator with your air duct hack, now talk about deja vu all over again, another air flow hack only this time A/C! Pleasure-Way clearly did a better install job than a lot of RVs, but I still got 7 degrees improvement just from adding a little duct and tape. Now I have to go check my A/C! Thanks!
Thank goodness I found this video! I bought an older tt and the divider and roof plenum (?) are missing. I haven't been able to get anyone to show me what it's supposed to look like and how it's set up so I could fix it. The unit works amazingly, in spite of missing these parts. Now I know exactly what I have to do to make it work perfectly - it'll probably freeze me out, haha. Many, many thanks for making this video!!
I just installed a new A/c unit. I think I have it done pretty well, but just to be sure I'll be taking it apart tomorrow with foil tape in hand just to be sure! Thanks for the video, very informative and well done!
The system itself is most likely adequately designed. The problem lies in the quality of the workmanship (or lack thereof) in the installation! - out of sight, out of mind! Thanks for bringing this to attention. It doesn't take much effort to increase the efficiency of your a/c unit!
Great review. I checked mine last year and didn't have the large issue you showed. Did find small leaks where they didn't quite get the tape coverage. We all should inspect.
New to us RV trailer. Had a look at mine (Same model as the one in the video). Both Ducts to the ceiling vents were completely taped off from factory. Only AC air, when on, was coming through the shroud vents. I sometime wonder what goes on at these factories and why they allow daytime drinking ;-)
We have been in our rv for 4 months now after 1 yr of renovation and are not happy with how cheap everything and I mean everything is in these rvs. What you pay for from dealers they should be doing these things. But they are not in business to help but to make money. Thankfully their are people like you for help.
yeah at about 5:35 you’re doing what’s called “flow.” when you make custom headers (or buy factory) it’s best to inspect them inside. there will sometimes be welding rod or wire remnant or even pipes misaligned with protruding edges that cause the turbulence. flowing them (sand blasting in this case) insures faster smoother passage of air. same procedure with cylinder heads; 3 angle, port, polish and flow. many guys don’t know about or ignore the flow. that unit was a raging design flaw from the factory. nice fix!
Hi Dave, thanks for the comment. I gotta work with the mess they give me - I try to make it as slippery as possible but sometimes it gets ugly! Cheers, Darren
Good information. Most people (almost everyone) wouldn't know how the A/C works or why it's not working well. It would be easy for an RV owner to conclude, "Oh, it's just not a very good AC. I'm going to replace it with a better $$$$ A/C." Knowledge is important.
Hi nemo227, On some of these service calls, where I find it really bad, I place an anemometer that records temp and air flow. I let the A/C run for 20 minutes before I make the repair and then, with out moving the anemometer, I make the repair and let the A/C run again for 20 minutes. The results are astonishing! This quick fix really does make a difference. I am waiting for an A/C to come to me that needs this service so I can capture it on my channel. Thanks for watching and contributing to the channel. Cheers, Darren Koepp
@@MyRVWorks If you find yourself in the Monterey Bay area of California let me know. My Rexhall Aerbus is 20 years old. At that age it must need SOMETHING.
Also some people who are living in these could put a Mister where it will blow a slight spray into that condensing coil make sure you use a calcium filter ,because the compressor works better when they’re not overworked when it’s 110 out
Thanks for the information I have 3 / 15000 BTU AC units in my toy hauler and the one in the main living area is up in a loft area it doesn't seem very efficient I will have to check it out.
Thanks for your comment. I was surprised to find that there's not many other videos like this out there also. I will be continuing with my brand of troubleshooting for those who are willing to watch. Happy camping. LOL.
Great video! I'm bout to tackle mine today,. And also get on top and clean the coils and junk , So thanks and I am DEFINATLY going to tape up in and around where any air leaks could be ,,, Keep us informed and keep making those videos!
Just an FYI that is not expandable foam, it is red urethane. It is used in our lamination process. It is water activated urethane. Very strong stuff. This video is very valuable to customers, condensation and leaks are very common because of bad installs.
We have the same unit and I think this is why ours literally sucks in rainwater when it rains. Coleman told us the only way water could get where it's getting is if there was a mixing of the warm and cold air pathways. I'll find out this weekend when I get it out of storage.
I just bought a new class C, the single AC on a 29' isnt cold enough on 90° days. Looks like I'm going to do some disassembling this weekend. Thanks for the info.
Just to give you a heads up when you use foil tape you have to use a squeegee for a Tite seal. When you push up against the tape with the squeegee it activates the glue. Try not to use your hands because the foil tape will cut you like a razor blade. If you have issue with the tape sticking to the metal it might be a good idea to use spray glue
Awesome video! I am a new RV owner, however I am on the opposite far corner of the country from you (East Central Florida)! So glad to have found your channel, and I have instantly subscribed! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!
Great info thanks very much for this I am having an issue with mine now not flowing very well to the front but still is good to the rear about to dig in and find out what is going on. But now I have a great starting point.
Good luck on the hunt! Sometimes I am able to stick a flashlight in the far end and use a mirror at the A/C end and 'see' the light and identify any obstructions. You may have already thought of this tip though. I will cross my fingers for you! Cheers, Darren
Thanks for keeping the fingers crossed found that the divider had fallen and was allowing he cold air to be sucked right back into itself. Put it back up and used the foil tape and fixed it as well as fixed an open spot that was not taped up very well and was allowing the air to escape right into it void in the ceiling. Works great now. I did use a battery powered ryobi
This is one of the best videos I have seen. Having encountered this issue with a Thor Ace several years ago, I also encountered a issue with the return path from the filters. Sometimes the spacing between the filters and the ceiling is not enough to permit correct airflow from the cabin to the intake plenum. I have seen this where effective input is virtually cut in half. It's amazing when you clean the filters to find each side half full of dust and the remainder is still clean. You have to make sure the intake has sufficient clearance to use the entire filter on both sides.
I get 25* to 28* difference between outside air temp and the return air coming out of the ceiling fixture. (I don't have ducts). It was 110* here in AZ. yesterday, will be 112* today, and 114* for the weekend. I live in the motorhome full time, and stay pretty comfortable. And I'm nowhere near a shady tree. It takes a little work, but not a ton of money. I've used the foil tape to make sure the warm side and cool side do not mix, or have any way to go where it shouldn't. My cold air comes straight down through the roof, hits the flat bottom of the AC's ceiling fixture, and has to get itself out by going toward the front or rear and exiting through the vent openings/louvers. I put a layer of Reflectix insulation in the ceiling fixture, and directly under the cold air return side I made a small "splitter" out of a manila folder, and taped it to the ceiling fixture . It basically forms a smooth, rounded, upside down "V" right in the middle of the air flow. The point of the "V" is at the height of the of the actual ceiling. This forces half the air to flow smoothly down one side of the "V" towards the front louvers, & the other half towards the rear rear louvers, instead of slamming into the fixture like a dead end. There's a lot better flow out of the louvers, and the reduced turbulence is a lot quieter. I clean the rooftop coils once a year at least. Twice if it's good year for monsoon dust storms. I keep the air filters clean, and added a layer of the thin, black, spongey-looking filter material to the outside of the the ceiling fixture air intake vents to act as a pre-filter. I attached them with some small, round neodymium magnets. I can just rinse them out real quick, and I can go about three times longer before I have to drop the ceiling fixture to clean the regular filters in there. I also use a small fan to blow air around inside. Other things I've done is put that Reflectix wherever I can. Inside the closets and cabinets. The roof vents and bathroom skylight/hatch. The back side of the furnace return air cover. Under the bed where the fresh water tank is. All of the widows are tinted, and have a snap on shade cover with a piece of Reflectix behind it, and thick window and windshield curtains on the inside. I keep the awning down on the one side. On the other, I put a row of screw in snaps along the roof line (like the snaps for boat covers and Bimini tops) to hold a wide piece of 85% shade cloth along that side. For the roof, I bought a few pieces of the 4'x8'x1" foam insulating board from Lowes/Home Depot and cut it into pieces to fit the flat parts of the roof (Between the roof vents/AC/antenna/plumbing and refrigerator vents, etc. Nothing real meticulous. Just cover the big spots.) I stuck it on "shiny side up" using a few dots of silicon adhesive on each piece. The shiny side isn't very shiny after a summer, but it still keeps a lot of heat off. Do NOT try to stick it with silicon caulk. You'll be picking that stuff up everywhere after the first good wind. Even more if there's a little rain with it. If/when the board gets wet, it seems to dry out pretty quick though. Also, the best way to cut that stuff is with an electric knife. Works as good as it does on a ham or turkey! Otherwise, you end up with zillions of tiny styrofoam balls blowing around. Unless you have a hot-wire cutter I guess. One other thing I did to help the refrigerator out is I mounted a couple of 6" or 8" 12v computer fans just under the fridge vent cap on the roof. I pulled the 12v from the back of the fridge for the fans, and go through a little push button On-Off switch that I mounted through the wall on the inside right beside the fridge doors. Also a little red blinky LED so I remember it's on. I can't hear the fans at all. If the AC gets a little behind on a really hot day, I close the hallway curtain. The bedroom/bath in the back get a little warm, but not real bad at all. It definitely helps keep the front half cooler. I've never had to do it after evening though. And as a last resort, I made a small AC assist device if it's smoking hot out using a 12" piece of 3/4" PVC. On one end I attached a garden hose fitting, and glued a cap on the other end. I drilled and tapped two small holes that will fit the brass spray nozzles that are used on an outdoor residential Mister system. Each nozzle uses only about 1 to 1 1/2 gallons per hour. The Coleman Mach AC pulls air "in" over the condenser coil (for some reason they pull the hot air in towards the evaporator side/compressor/capacitors/pcb....who knows why?) so I aim it near there. I try to keep it back far enough that it mostly evaporates into cool air before it gets to the coil so it doesn't get lime/calcium built up on the coil. I don't want it "wet". It works pretty good in the Sonora Desert. Maybe not so much in New Orleans. Right now it's 8:45am. The outside temp is 95*. I have 2 digital thermometers inside here and they both read 69*. (It's actually a little too cool. lol). I get this from a Coleman Mach III air conditioner (13k BTU) that's now 35 years old. It's the original on my 27' 1987 Fleetwood Pace Arrow motorhome, as is the fridge, furnace, water heater, power converter, etc. At 59,000 miles, I think the 454 is just getting broken in! The only thing it really has wrong at the moment is a sun-faded exterior! (I wonder what a "wrap" would cost for this thing?). I've owned it for 16 years or so, and used it mostly for some camping, a good bit of tailgating, and a ton of NASCAR & NHRA races. 3 years ago I ended up selling my house and moving due to some family issues to take care of, and have been full time in it since. Well, me, and a Whippet, and a big, goofy old Chow/Lab mix. When I eventually move on, I think I'm gonna stay mobile though. But it'll be in a 95 footer with 17 slide-outs, 2 engines, and 4 or 5 AC's. Maybe a pool. Something around there anyway! lol Anyway, hope these ideas can help some hot RV'ers out, too. Hot weather is doable.
My trailer has a Domestic Brisk II AC with poor air flow and sure enough that divider fell over and putting it back upright had it really pushing air again thank you!!!!!
Just had our first hot weekend in a recently purchased trailer. You have long been the "go to channel" for solid repair advice. I wasn't happy with this rv's a/c! A coleman as well. I know what the next order of business will be I wondered about the roof unit having a black cover. Does a white cover prove any benefit on heat exchange?
Very good video. My rv air conditioning system had that divided but I discovered that it was moving with the pressure of the cold exhaust cold air. I made repairs with ac tape and solved the problem
Thank you so much. I've been struggling with the AC in the main living room of my 5th wheel. Takes forever to cool down and the air is weak flowing at the duct vents. Can't wait to pull it apart and check it out. This makes complete sense and has to be the main issue with that unit.
Hi Stephen, Hope that fixes the issue. Also check where the ceiling ducts are. Often you will find you are cooling the attic! Happy Camping, Cheers, Darren Koepp
I am having the EXACT problem in my 5th wheel. Air comes out strong of the main vent, but as soon as I close that the other vents barely blow more air.
@@thedude1215 I did all exactly what he did in this video and fixed the issue. He's also right that you should check around the vents. The one in my bunkhouse was partially separated and cooling the attic. Just came back from my annual river trip. 95-100 outside and it was cold in that trailer. Had a friend stay in the bunkhouse and she said she was super happy to have a down comforter.
I saw this video and realized my fiberglass divider was installed upside down, foam seal against foam seal, and no seal at the top. Yeah, the foil goes on the cold side, as silver doesn't radiate heat. Thanks! Seems these were all installed by guys late for lunch or something. That interface between the metal plenum flange and the plastic bottom plate would benefit from some 1/4" foam tape as well to seal that whole cold plenum chamber.
I found large pieces of ceiling material in my duct work. They cut the holes for the vents, and didn't retrieve the pieces. The ducts were blocked. Very shoddy installation.
Thank you for sharing this info and making this video, keep up the good work...maybe I'll search you out next time I visit my family in Oak Harbor and do lunch...
Our 30 year old HR had similar problems which were obvious as soon as I removed it's cover. It's difficult to understand why manufacturers allow such bad installations to pass inspection. What's surprising is how well it works in spite of it's bad installation.
Great video! This is the 2nd time I watched this. I'm on my 2nd 5th wheel in 2 years and both RVs seemed to be put together by Darrell and his other brother Darrell. This increases cooling ability by 50%... Thanks again. There seems to be 197 shareholders in the RV Manufacturers Board.
It's good to see someone use the proper tape for ducts. One of the first signs of a poor job is someone using duct tape for ducts. Foil tape is the proper tape for ducts in homes and RV's.
Just did this in my 2019 Sandpiper and I Notice a difference right off the bat. Definitely worth the 10-15 minutes. Even if it’s minimal effect. I have two dometic air conditioners. Both ducted.
Hi Gary, That is great to hear! Keep spreading the news so others will benefit from this quick fix too! Happy Camping and stay cool this summer! Cheers, Darren
Terrific! Thank you for the explanation on how it’s supposed to work and how to restore it. It’s ashamed the RV industry has no concerns for shoddy work. They only care what the customers see on the outside! This makes me so mad!
Thanks for info on rv air units & wall thermostat. Question: In and older camper without a wall thermostat. Can a wall thermostat be wired into an air unit where the compressor cycles on/off but the fan runs continuously. The thought is for the fan & compressor will cycle on /off at night. Now you have to get up & turn the fan off. Thanks, have a great day. Gary
Nice simple modification to a/c which was well explained, thank you. One minor point that struck me, and other people proposing this have also missed this. The divider should be sealed in place, but not replaced, Colman or the RV builder chose it because it is an acoustic absorber (foil one side and open faced on other) ideally your bottom sheet and any blank internal surfaces of plenum chamber should be lined with it, as long as it does not overly restrict airflow it will help to absorb fan and airflow noise. Acoustic suspended ceiling tiles (the ones they fit in the grids in big offices) are a good option, by all means use shiny tape on opposite side to airflow to seal everything up, but smooth hard surfaces propagate sound (noise is after all unwanted sound!). This is just an observation and not a criticism, I liked the simplicity of the concept.
Adding a hard start capacitor and a fan delay would help when you have a low voltage condition which is very common in the RV parks ! This might take some knowledge to but not very difficult .Maybe easy for a 20+ year HVAC tech ? Start with simple tape idea first .
Hi Joe, I could not agree with you more! Both of the suggestions will go a long way in helping folks keep their A/C's running in less than optimal electrical conditions. I just recorded an RV Rooftop air conditioner video where I walk through testing the compressor, capacitor and talk a bit on how capacitors work. It would be good to hear your comments on that video when it gets uploaded. On the unit I was working on it turned out to be a loss of refrigerant so I talked a bit about the clean air act and how folks need to go to an HVAC shop to get them resealed and recharged. We used to be able to recharge them in the field but the fines have gotten so stiff if you are found doing it without all the correct licenses and tools so I just replace the A/C these days - which is what we will end up doing with this customer. Thanks for the comment! Cheers, Darren
Can you make a video on how to do this with Coaches? I have a Winnebago Adventurer Class A and the AC in my rig is terrible!! I have a residential unit(unit sits on the outside and below the master bedroom). It is a Coleman Mach Central System. Please help:-). Btw, this video is really good and through!!
I wish this guy could look at mine! I have a brand new 33 ft travel trailer from bumper to coupler. On 90* days my camper will not cool down below 84* until the sun goes down. Just does not feel that cold. At night it works great. Of course camping world says there is nothing wrong with it. I dont think mine is right.
Very good video 👍👍👍. I realize my air conditioner was not working good. I did the same thing you are doing. Years ago. That divider is junk and something else should be use by the manufacturer.
Purchased: August 2023 - still works GREAT!I ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxxsUnXhGsSJLim_XnMHyQK0u3XVaW-CGn live in a studio and during the summer it gets scorching hot - really old building with no ac units. I can’t express how EASY it was to install. This unit has been a life savior during the summer and some days during other seasons where it can still be a bit warm at night. In this small place is my friend, a husky, poodle mix and myself. We need AC - lolI don’t use the dehumidifier option - I’m not sure if it will leak in my house, since I did not install the small draining hose that came with it. May look into it late but I don’t worry about much humidity in the apartment. I don’t understand why the negative reviews since all things mentioned, I personally did not find issues with. Definitely worth it!
Great video. Suggestion, when you put the foil tape in, put the section of tape that is further into the plenum first. Then the second piece over laps. This will prevent the constant air from blowing against the seam and eventually leaking. Like a roof shingle or sidding, you start from low and go high.
We bought a new wildwood tt and had this same issue, there was a 1/4 inch piece of foam dividing the two half but it was crinkled and just flowing air between the two. Not only that but the passage to the ducts weren't taped or sealed so the air was blowing into the ceiling instead of the duct work. We were having issues with very low air flow so it wasn't cooling it down. Instead of taking it to the dealer, I pulled the ceiling cover off and discovered the problem. I put a thicker barrier between the two halves, and sealed all the gaps and holes and made the bends more aerodynamic and what a difference!! Went from very poor ac to ice cold. I went over the whole duct system and cleaned up the edges, and put caps after the end ducts so eliminate air leakage. Took a couple hours but it was a night and day difference. I used material I had on hand from other projects so the cost was 0. Thank you for this video!
Saw this a year or so ago and vowed to check mine as my brand new RV AC sucked. He was spot on and now it blows cold as ice. Gonna buy you a beer for that great advice.
Unbelievable what I found. Thank you so much. Our air vents blow way better. Divider piece installed backwards, huge holes blowing into basically the attic, and tape hanging down blocking half of our vent. Never would've checked this. Thank you.
Thanks for the wake up call. We had new A/C units installed last year, and haven't been overjoyed with the performance. I took a quick look just now, and sure enough! The divider was flopped over on one and misaligned on the other... Thanks!
Excellent! I've been in the HVAC trade for over 45 years and these are the BEST suggestions a RV owner could ever do to his air conditioner. Great job!
I really appreciate your comment from someone that has as much experience as you do!
This air breach is an all too common issue I find. I almost hate charging for it because it is something all RVers need to be checking on their annual inspection.
Hope we can get the word out to folks on some of these easy fixes.
Thanks for watching and commenting,
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
I have a video that will help you more is in my Fabe book , this video is good if you go out side end cat the plastic end install a chicken fence you will not have restriction air out only one side
Just recently watched this video, after subscribing to your channel, and checked my A/C. Lo and behold, the divider was out of position by and inch and a half. Removed the plenum, repositioned the divider, added some foil tape, and now I can tell that the A/C is definitely more efficient. Thanks for the very informative video. Being a full time RVer, I can use all the help I can get!
So happy to hear it helped! Thanks for watching!
Have you notice that the quality of the work done in manufacturing RV's has decreased? I have had so many friends who bought new RV's and there were Major manufacturing mistakes. This is good for the RV service industry but shows me so many manufactures do not care about the quality of their products, just quarterly profits. Love your videos. They help me keep my RV running 100%
Why? Because during Covid, they switched from paying employees an hourly rate to paying them by the piece! We were told this by a maintenance tech.
I did the same exact thing to both of my air conditioners, I sealed up everything with the silver tape, most of my cold air was going back into the return, and inside the attic space, they both work so much better now.
Thanks for this valuable information. My Winnebago Vista 29 had a problem with air not going through the vents to the rear of the coach. I followed your video and it took 20 minutes to fix this problem.
I did this to our RV AC’s a couple of years ago. Worth the time and cost for sure. Also plugged up the dead end gaps at the ends of each duct line
I like to recommend checking this at least once a year since the adhesive has a tenancy to degrade over time.
Cheers,
Darren
Great air con tip. We are brand new to Rving. Green as green can be, but very handy.
Thank you
Tim and Mary
I covered my divider with window reflectix on both sides and folded one piece at bottom as I had inch gap at bottom of divider, secured with ac duct tape. Works tons better! Reflecix did my side gaps too. Thanks for share!
Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear it is working better! You might be surprised at how many A/C’s are running out there with this huge breach in them. Everyone should check this at the beginning of each season.
@@MyRVWorks In inspecting our ceiling units, I found the gray foam stuff has mostly disconnected from the cover shell. Is that stuff sold in stores, or something as good or better? I would think that spray contact cement with new foam material is a better deal and might last longer. The OEM stuff used is now 12 years old on our 2007 Holiday Rambler RV and just dissolves when you try to grab it. All but useless.
@@joeowen1429 You can try that 'Great Stuff' foam product. Just make sure the area you are bonding it to is clean - it may not stick so well to 12 year old dirt! LOL
Cheers,
Darren
Thanks for making this video. I have the exact Coleman AC as in the video and it had exactly the same issue. I fixed it following your video and what a difference. I have cold air coming out of both RV side ducks now when it was only on one side before the fix. It is even quieter in the RV now because the blower outlet noise now not being directed through the air intake as before. We when camping last weekend in 99°F heat and the AC wasn't even close to keeping up. It will be fun to see the difference the next time it is that hot when we're camping. Overall, very happy! Thanks again.
Word of the day "Airodynamic ".
Great video, like usual.
Do it to your ac, makes huge improvement.
Thanks
*Great product **Fastly.Cool** so far*
Your video is spot on. I took apart our 26HE Coleman air conditioner, because it didn’t seem as cool as other motorhomes we’ve owned. After removing the inside decorative cover I quickly found out why the A/C unit did such a poor job of cooling. The divider that separates the warm-air intake side of the plenum from the cold-air output side was installed backwards and was laying at almost 45 degrees. In our case there was virtually no separation of airflow between the warm & cold sides. I removed and reinstalled the plenum divider correctly, then I put everything back together. The difference in cooling was unbelievable. Like night and day. I only wish I had seen your video sooner. We put up with the poor cooling last summer, but assumed it was because there was only one air conditioner and that’s all we could expect. We never suspected that it was a sloppy installation by Winnebago that caused the problem.
I've seen this on many air conditioners. From all manufacturers and price points. Even after a few years the adhesives start to fail so that should be something that is checked annually.
Thanks Darren, we were camping last week in Alamogordo, NM and a fellow Grand Design Imagine owner told me about this easy mod and said it was one of the best he'd ever done to improve efficiency. Glad to find this video and will be looking at my Coleman very soon! Nicely done.
Wow thank you so much! We had problems with our coil freezing up. I resealed the gaps we had on our AC unit with aluminum duct tape, and fixed our freezing up problem. Great work thanks again!!
All your videos are great and Really do help, keep posting please..I can only say that my fridge had a blockage the beginning of the year(Very Warm to Bottom falling out with cold!)and I not only diagnosed the whole fridge, but learned how it works and why (Ammonia vaporization)! Because of you!😊
Had to do the same. Same Coleman unit. Also pull each outlet from the roof and tape the gap between the roof and duct....those had poor tape job and the attic space was getting air.
Hi Michel,
I just replied to another of your comments! Thanks for contributing this top! I should have mentioned it in my video but since I go unscripted I often forget to mention things.
I appreciate you and your contribution to this channel.
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
I'm able to keep the temperature 30-32 degrees cooler inside my RV.
I installed 2 misting nozzles at the condenser in order to cool the air entering the unit.
This combined with some strategically placed mylar (windows and roof vents) works like a charm!
110 outside....78 inside..
I assume a dry climate? What are the misting nozzles attached from?
@@RogerPack yes, Southern California. I attached a splitter to my water intake.
Obviously, this will not work when boondocking, only when hooked up.
Have you ever had a problem with mold growing in your duct work? Never heard of adding water.
@@francismarion6400 RV ac units recirculate the air. No outside air is introduced so no water from the mist gets inside.
@@badactor3440 You just said you installed misters at the condenser. Are they installed outside the unit or am i missing something? If inside, The AC is only capable of removing so much humidity at one time. So by you adding water at the condenser, you are adding humidity AKA water.
Love your videos! I got rid of my original traditional RV air conditioners and installed Midea house window ac which I installed in the living room, entertainment cabinet and will run on 500 watts and I can use my solar panels on the roof to run both AC 's without using a soft start. I also installed compartment doors that swing open and I use drawer slides for the air conditioners to sit on a sliding platform and I can slide the unit in and out easily and of course open and close the compartment door. I could not be happier and the Midea AC unit is less than 400 on Amazon. I installed a Frigidaire 400 watt AC in the bedroom clothes cabinet. Love it. I also have more room on the roof for solar panels and walking space. I got rid of all the 14x14 roof vents when I put a new roof on and then put square Led ceiling lights to cover the inside vent holes. I use the AC's on fan mode or open windows instead of using the traditional roof vents. I also use Alexa to turn off and on the lights and the AC units and all my stuff. So I now have a smart RV. By the way if you purchase a Echo Dot 5 you don't have to use the wake word of Alexa, you can use The Wake Word ECHO... Echo turn on the tv.
Ahh brings back memories of my last RV. Coleman 274BH had a 13,500 AC. Back half cooled well, front, not so well, so was going to replace it with a 15K unit. In my perusal of the unit to determine everything I would need to swap it out, discovered that the opening to the front duct was partially blocked by what ever was used to "seal" the duct to the plenum. I cut it away, turned on the AC and debris blew out the front vent! Needless to say, did not need to replace the AC, it kept the temp great from that moment on.
Now I have a new trailer, a long 5th wheel with two 15K AC's and they struggle to cool it down and keep it cool even with partial shade, so guess what is next on my list. ^^^^^ Exactly what is in this video. It is great information and it does work when the ducts are properly sealed(or open as in my last one).
I just the other day improved air flow through my Dometic refrigerator with your air duct hack, now talk about deja vu all over again, another air flow hack only this time A/C! Pleasure-Way clearly did a better install job than a lot of RVs, but I still got 7 degrees improvement just from adding a little duct and tape. Now I have to go check my A/C! Thanks!
Thank goodness I found this video! I bought an older tt and the divider and roof plenum (?) are missing. I haven't been able to get anyone to show me what it's supposed to look like and how it's set up so I could fix it. The unit works amazingly, in spite of missing these parts. Now I know exactly what I have to do to make it work perfectly - it'll probably freeze me out, haha. Many, many thanks for making this video!!
I just installed a new A/c unit. I think I have it done pretty well, but just to be sure I'll be taking it apart tomorrow with foil tape in hand just to be sure!
Thanks for the video, very informative and well done!
The system itself is most likely adequately designed. The problem lies in the quality of the workmanship (or lack thereof) in the installation! - out of sight, out of mind! Thanks for bringing this to attention. It doesn't take much effort to increase the efficiency of your a/c unit!
Great review. I checked mine last year and didn't have the large issue you showed. Did find small leaks where they didn't quite get the tape coverage. We all should inspect.
Yes, everyone should inspect these at the start of every camping season!
I think ours is like that (same style) have to remember to go check it tomorrow.
Today though we did the DM 2652 fridge 120v heating element…. ✅
New to us RV trailer. Had a look at mine (Same model as the one in the video). Both Ducts to the ceiling vents were completely taped off from factory. Only AC air, when on, was coming through the shroud vents. I sometime wonder what goes on at these factories and why they allow daytime drinking ;-)
We have been in our rv for 4 months now after 1 yr of renovation and are not happy with how cheap everything and I mean everything is in these rvs. What you pay for from dealers they should be doing these things. But they are not in business to help but to make money. Thankfully their are people like you for help.
Hello from Canada 🇨🇦. Once again Darren great informative video YOUR THE BEST
yeah at about 5:35 you’re doing what’s called “flow.” when you make custom headers (or buy factory) it’s best to inspect them inside. there will sometimes be welding rod or wire remnant or even pipes misaligned with protruding edges that cause the turbulence. flowing them (sand blasting in this case) insures faster smoother passage of air. same procedure with cylinder heads; 3 angle, port, polish and flow. many guys don’t know about or ignore the flow.
that unit was a raging design flaw from the factory. nice fix!
Hi Dave, thanks for the comment. I gotta work with the mess they give me - I try to make it as slippery as possible but sometimes it gets ugly!
Cheers,
Darren
My RV Works, Inc. hahah! been there, done that...
Good information. Most people (almost everyone) wouldn't know how the A/C works or why it's not working well. It would be easy for an RV owner to conclude, "Oh, it's just not a very good AC. I'm going to replace it with a better $$$$ A/C." Knowledge is important.
Hi nemo227,
On some of these service calls, where I find it really bad, I place an anemometer that records temp and air flow. I let the A/C run for 20 minutes before I make the repair and then, with out moving the anemometer, I make the repair and let the A/C run again for 20 minutes. The results are astonishing! This quick fix really does make a difference. I am waiting for an A/C to come to me that needs this service so I can capture it on my channel.
Thanks for watching and contributing to the channel.
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
@@MyRVWorks If you find yourself in the Monterey Bay area of California let me know. My Rexhall Aerbus is 20 years old. At that age it must need SOMETHING.
@@nemo227 I will keep you in mind. We are still Full-Timer RVers and enjoy different adventures. Heading to Alaska soon.
Happy Camping!
Darren
Also some people who are living in these could put a Mister where it will blow a slight spray into that condensing coil make sure you use a calcium filter ,because the compressor works better when they’re not overworked when it’s 110 out
Thanks for the information I have 3 / 15000 BTU AC units in my toy hauler and the one in the main living area is up in a loft area it doesn't seem very efficient I will have to check it out.
Don't forget to check the vents for being sealed as well if large openings around the vents you are air conditioning your roof
Awesome info!!!!! Surprised there isn’t more channels out there for detailed RV repair. Great job
Thanks for your comment. I was surprised to find that there's not many other videos like this out there also. I will be continuing with my brand of troubleshooting for those who are willing to watch. Happy camping. LOL.
Your advice worked so well. Plus my AC runs much quieter.
Great video! I'm bout to tackle mine today,. And also get on top and clean the coils and junk ,
So thanks and I am DEFINATLY going to tape up in and around where any air leaks could be ,,,
Keep us informed and keep making those videos!
Thanks for the video. This is number one on my to to list to make my RV work.
Just an FYI that is not expandable foam, it is red urethane. It is used in our lamination process. It is water activated urethane. Very strong stuff. This video is very valuable to customers, condensation and leaks are very common because of bad installs.
We have the same unit and I think this is why ours literally sucks in rainwater when it rains. Coleman told us the only way water could get where it's getting is if there was a mixing of the warm and cold air pathways. I'll find out this weekend when I get it out of storage.
RV Airflow, the best solution for that problem hands down.
I just bought a new class C, the single AC on a 29' isnt cold enough on 90° days. Looks like I'm going to do some disassembling this weekend. Thanks for the info.
Just to give you a heads up when you use foil tape you have to use a squeegee for a Tite seal. When you push up against the tape with the squeegee it activates the glue. Try not to use your hands because the foil tape will cut you like a razor blade. If you have issue with the tape sticking to the metal it might be a good idea to use spray glue
Awesome video! I am a new RV owner, however I am on the opposite far corner of the country from you (East Central Florida)! So glad to have found your channel, and I have instantly subscribed! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!
You are very welcome. As I read this and reply Dorian is at your front door please be safe.
Thank you for this great video. I’m going right now to my RV to see if mine is okay
My finest student! Well done on your homework assignment!!! LOL.
Happy Camping and Stay Cool!
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
Great video. I have two ducted units, have you done a video on how to check the ducting system on those type of units? Thank you. Edward
Great info thanks very much for this I am having an issue with mine now not flowing very well to the front but still is good to the rear about to dig in and find out what is going on. But now I have a great starting point.
Good luck on the hunt! Sometimes I am able to stick a flashlight in the far end and use a mirror at the A/C end and 'see' the light and identify any obstructions. You may have already thought of this tip though.
I will cross my fingers for you!
Cheers,
Darren
Thanks for keeping the fingers crossed found that the divider had fallen and was allowing he cold air to be sucked right back into itself. Put it back up and used the foil tape and fixed it as well as fixed an open spot that was not taped up very well and was allowing the air to escape right into it void in the ceiling. Works great now. I did use a battery powered ryobi
Ryobi leaf blower to make sure the air flow was good.
That is a great report!!! Help share the info so others can stay cool too!
Cheers,
Darren
This is one of the best videos I have seen. Having encountered this issue with a Thor Ace several years ago, I also encountered a issue with the return path from the filters. Sometimes the spacing between the filters and the ceiling is not enough to permit correct airflow from the cabin to the intake plenum. I have seen this where effective input is virtually cut in half. It's amazing when you clean the filters to find each side half full of dust and the remainder is still clean. You have to make sure the intake has sufficient clearance to use the entire filter on both sides.
Hi Bill,
Great comment, I appreciate your remarks. Keeping these filters clean is key!
Your video is very good. I'll be checking my RV A/C units and hoping to improve their performance. Great job!!!
I get 25* to 28* difference between outside air temp and the return air coming out of the ceiling fixture. (I don't have ducts). It was 110* here in AZ. yesterday, will be 112* today, and 114* for the weekend. I live in the motorhome full time, and stay pretty comfortable. And I'm nowhere near a shady tree. It takes a little work, but not a ton of money. I've used the foil tape to make sure the warm side and cool side do not mix, or have any way to go where it shouldn't. My cold air comes straight down through the roof, hits the flat bottom of the AC's ceiling fixture, and has to get itself out by going toward the front or rear and exiting through the vent openings/louvers. I put a layer of Reflectix insulation in the ceiling fixture, and directly under the cold air return side I made a small "splitter" out of a manila folder, and taped it to the ceiling fixture . It basically forms a smooth, rounded, upside down "V" right in the middle of the air flow. The point of the "V" is at the height of the of the actual ceiling. This forces half the air to flow smoothly down one side of the "V" towards the front louvers, & the other half towards the rear rear louvers, instead of slamming into the fixture like a dead end. There's a lot better flow out of the louvers, and the reduced turbulence is a lot quieter. I clean the rooftop coils once a year at least. Twice if it's good year for monsoon dust storms. I keep the air filters clean, and added a layer of the thin, black, spongey-looking filter material to the outside of the the ceiling fixture air intake vents to act as a pre-filter. I attached them with some small, round neodymium magnets. I can just rinse them out real quick, and I can go about three times longer before I have to drop the ceiling fixture to clean the regular filters in there. I also use a small fan to blow air around inside.
Other things I've done is put that Reflectix wherever I can. Inside the closets and cabinets. The roof vents and bathroom skylight/hatch. The back side of the furnace return air cover. Under the bed where the fresh water tank is. All of the widows are tinted, and have a snap on shade cover with a piece of Reflectix behind it, and thick window and windshield curtains on the inside. I keep the awning down on the one side. On the other, I put a row of screw in snaps along the roof line (like the snaps for boat covers and Bimini tops) to hold a wide piece of 85% shade cloth along that side. For the roof, I bought a few pieces of the 4'x8'x1" foam insulating board from Lowes/Home Depot and cut it into pieces to fit the flat parts of the roof (Between the roof vents/AC/antenna/plumbing and refrigerator vents, etc. Nothing real meticulous. Just cover the big spots.) I stuck it on "shiny side up" using a few dots of silicon adhesive on each piece. The shiny side isn't very shiny after a summer, but it still keeps a lot of heat off. Do NOT try to stick it with silicon caulk. You'll be picking that stuff up everywhere after the first good wind. Even more if there's a little rain with it. If/when the board gets wet, it seems to dry out pretty quick though. Also, the best way to cut that stuff is with an electric knife. Works as good as it does on a ham or turkey! Otherwise, you end up with zillions of tiny styrofoam balls blowing around. Unless you have a hot-wire cutter I guess. One other thing I did to help the refrigerator out is I mounted a couple of 6" or 8" 12v computer fans just under the fridge vent cap on the roof. I pulled the 12v from the back of the fridge for the fans, and go through a little push button On-Off switch that I mounted through the wall on the inside right beside the fridge doors. Also a little red blinky LED so I remember it's on. I can't hear the fans at all. If the AC gets a little behind on a really hot day, I close the hallway curtain. The bedroom/bath in the back get a little warm, but not real bad at all. It definitely helps keep the front half cooler. I've never had to do it after evening though. And as a last resort, I made a small AC assist device if it's smoking hot out using a 12" piece of 3/4" PVC. On one end I attached a garden hose fitting, and glued a cap on the other end. I drilled and tapped two small holes that will fit the brass spray nozzles that are used on an outdoor residential Mister system. Each nozzle uses only about 1 to 1 1/2 gallons per hour. The Coleman Mach AC pulls air "in" over the condenser coil (for some reason they pull the hot air in towards the evaporator side/compressor/capacitors/pcb....who knows why?) so I aim it near there. I try to keep it back far enough that it mostly evaporates into cool air before it gets to the coil so it doesn't get lime/calcium built up on the coil. I don't want it "wet". It works pretty good in the Sonora Desert. Maybe not so much in New Orleans.
Right now it's 8:45am. The outside temp is 95*. I have 2 digital thermometers inside here and they both read 69*. (It's actually a little too cool. lol). I get this from a Coleman Mach III air conditioner (13k BTU) that's now 35 years old. It's the original on my 27' 1987 Fleetwood Pace Arrow motorhome, as is the fridge, furnace, water heater, power converter, etc. At 59,000 miles, I think the 454 is just getting broken in! The only thing it really has wrong at the moment is a sun-faded exterior! (I wonder what a "wrap" would cost for this thing?). I've owned it for 16 years or so, and used it mostly for some camping, a good bit of tailgating, and a ton of NASCAR & NHRA races. 3 years ago I ended up selling my house and moving due to some family issues to take care of, and have been full time in it since. Well, me, and a Whippet, and a big, goofy old Chow/Lab mix. When I eventually move on, I think I'm gonna stay mobile though. But it'll be in a 95 footer with 17 slide-outs, 2 engines, and 4 or 5 AC's. Maybe a pool. Something around there anyway! lol Anyway, hope these ideas can help some hot RV'ers out, too. Hot weather is doable.
My trailer has a Domestic Brisk II AC with poor air flow and sure enough that divider fell over and putting it back upright had it really pushing air again thank you!!!!!
Wow. Great video.
Another example of how modern RVS are built only slightly better than a Barbie Dream Camper toy.
Just had our first hot weekend in a recently purchased trailer.
You have long been the "go to channel" for solid repair advice.
I wasn't happy with this rv's a/c! A coleman as well. I know what the next order of business will be
I wondered about the roof unit having a black cover. Does a white cover prove any benefit on heat exchange?
Very good video. My rv air conditioning system had that divided but I discovered that it was moving with the pressure of the cold exhaust cold air. I made repairs with ac tape and solved the problem
So glad to hear it helped.
Hi Arone love the channel. When can we see a/c maintenance service video..
Thank you so much. I've been struggling with the AC in the main living room of my 5th wheel. Takes forever to cool down and the air is weak flowing at the duct vents. Can't wait to pull it apart and check it out. This makes complete sense and has to be the main issue with that unit.
Hi Stephen,
Hope that fixes the issue. Also check where the ceiling ducts are. Often you will find you are cooling the attic!
Happy Camping,
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
Thank you very much!
I am having the EXACT problem in my 5th wheel. Air comes out strong of the main vent, but as soon as I close that the other vents barely blow more air.
@@thedude1215 I did all exactly what he did in this video and fixed the issue. He's also right that you should check around the vents. The one in my bunkhouse was partially separated and cooling the attic. Just came back from my annual river trip. 95-100 outside and it was cold in that trailer. Had a friend stay in the bunkhouse and she said she was super happy to have a down comforter.
Thanks@@tractor1969 !
Thank you from Graham wa. I will have to check mine. I let mine run all night and it never got down to 70. Cheers
It is good information I’ve been an AC business for over 20 years and he is correct about what he saying
Hi George, I appreciate your comment! Thanks for watching.
Cheers,
Darren
Those gaps between the divider were huge! Thanks for the simple fix to repair it! #MRVWI
I will always be on the look out for things I can share with y'all on this channel!
Thanks for the comment!
Great video. A very easy fix to get a little more out of your RV A/C. I love it!
Hi Shawn,
Thanks for the comment! I will keep sharing this info as I come across stuff like this in the repair arena.
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
Can you make a video on the whisper quiet ducted a/c unit as it is all ducted.
I would love to see this request also
Ditto
I saw this video and realized my fiberglass divider was installed upside down, foam seal against foam seal, and no seal at the top. Yeah, the foil goes on the cold side, as silver doesn't radiate heat. Thanks! Seems these were all installed by guys late for lunch or something. That interface between the metal plenum flange and the plastic bottom plate would benefit from some 1/4" foam tape as well to seal that whole cold plenum chamber.
I found large pieces of ceiling material in my duct work. They cut the holes for the vents, and didn't retrieve the pieces. The ducts were blocked. Very shoddy installation.
Forest River?
@@Dman-jr8ey Yep. Exactly.
@@timgreen4137 Just bought a Forest River Salem in the spring. Absolutely built like garbage. Horrible workmanship.
Great information. I can't wait to see what the duct work looks like inside my RV air conditioners.
Spread the news, that should be something that we all inspect at least once a year. As the adhesive on the tapes begin to fail.
Thx for ALWAYS keeping the videos easy to understand TC from Avery in MN
Love all your video's I've watched so far thank you so much owner of a 44 ft fifth toy hauler thanks again keep up the good work
Thanks for watching. Happy camping
Thank you for sharing this info and making this video, keep up the good work...maybe I'll search you out next time I visit my family in Oak Harbor and do lunch...
Our 30 year old HR had similar problems which were obvious as soon as I removed it's cover. It's difficult to understand why manufacturers allow such bad installations to pass inspection. What's surprising is how well it works in spite of it's bad installation.
A great help for a newbie to camping in a trailer.
Fantastic Information!! I'll be checking on correct system configuration ASAP.
Thank you!
Wow, thank you. I’m going into my RV to check my A/C right now. What a great video!!
Great training video. Thank you!
Great video! This is the 2nd time I watched this. I'm on my 2nd 5th wheel in 2 years and both RVs seemed to be put together by Darrell and his other brother Darrell. This increases cooling ability by 50%... Thanks again.
There seems to be 197 shareholders in the RV Manufacturers Board.
Did that to my Montana last summer and it made a huge difference.
Hi Alain,
Thanks for the comment. Glad you shared that with us.
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
"Absorber"= Evaporator. Good video, eye opener!!
It's good to see someone use the proper tape for ducts. One of the first signs of a poor job is someone using duct tape for ducts. Foil tape is the proper tape for ducts in homes and RV's.
Surprisingly enough, "Duct Tape" isn't supposed to be used on ducts.🤔🤷♂️
Great information. Can’t wait to check my AC looks.
Just did this in my 2019 Sandpiper and I Notice a difference right off the bat. Definitely worth the 10-15 minutes. Even if it’s minimal effect. I have two dometic air conditioners. Both ducted.
Hi Gary,
That is great to hear! Keep spreading the news so others will benefit from this quick fix too!
Happy Camping and stay cool this summer!
Cheers,
Darren
That's awesome I was wondering how to fix that .now I'm going to check it out thanks you
Terrific! Thank you for the explanation on how it’s supposed to work and how to restore it. It’s ashamed the RV industry has no concerns for shoddy work. They only care what the customers see on the outside! This makes me so mad!
Thanks for info on rv air units & wall thermostat. Question: In and older camper without a wall thermostat. Can a wall thermostat be wired into an air unit where the compressor cycles on/off but the fan runs continuously. The thought is for the fan & compressor will cycle on /off at night. Now you have to get up & turn the fan off. Thanks, have a great day. Gary
Project # one for tomorrow morning. Mine is a Dometic but I assume it will be similar.
Thank You!
Excellent information
I bought foil tape for my art projects now I have a true purpose for it.
thanks for sharing
Hi Mary,
Well RVing is a true art form LOL!
Glad we could help you find uses for things.
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
we just bought a used starcraft trailer...AC seems to work pretty good but I might check anyways...thx for a great video !!
It does more than a 20 degree difference. It was 94 out during the summer, my ac was on full tilt, it was 59 degrees in the camper.
Can't wait to get in my rv and check this out! My A/C seems just "ok". Just found your channel and really enjoy it so far.
Thanks for watching. Hope these tips and tricks helps you be a Happy Camper!
Cheers,
Darren Koepp
Wow, I 'm going to take a look at my a/c up in Michigan. Thank you so much!
Nice simple modification to a/c which was well explained, thank you. One minor point that struck me, and other people proposing this have also missed this. The divider should be sealed in place, but not replaced, Colman or the RV builder chose it because it is an acoustic absorber (foil one side and open faced on other) ideally your bottom sheet and any blank internal surfaces of plenum chamber should be lined with it, as long as it does not overly restrict airflow it will help to absorb fan and airflow noise. Acoustic suspended ceiling tiles (the ones they fit in the grids in big offices) are a good option, by all means use shiny tape on opposite side to airflow to seal everything up, but smooth hard surfaces propagate sound (noise is after all unwanted sound!). This is just an observation and not a criticism, I liked the simplicity of the concept.
DAMN I CANT WAIT TO CHECK MINE OUT NOW & get into it!
Great vid! Although, we haven't experienced any AC issues, I'm def going to check out our unit before we take it out again in another week.
Adding a hard start capacitor and a fan delay would help when you have a low voltage condition which is very common in the RV parks !
This might take some knowledge to but not very difficult .Maybe easy for a 20+ year HVAC tech ?
Start with simple tape idea first .
Hi Joe, I could not agree with you more! Both of the suggestions will go a long way in helping folks keep their A/C's running in less than optimal electrical conditions.
I just recorded an RV Rooftop air conditioner video where I walk through testing the compressor, capacitor and talk a bit on how capacitors work. It would be good to hear your comments on that video when it gets uploaded.
On the unit I was working on it turned out to be a loss of refrigerant so I talked a bit about the clean air act and how folks need to go to an HVAC shop to get them resealed and recharged. We used to be able to recharge them in the field but the fines have gotten so stiff if you are found doing it without all the correct licenses and tools so I just replace the A/C these days - which is what we will end up doing with this customer.
Thanks for the comment!
Cheers,
Darren
Can you make a video on how to do this with Coaches? I have a Winnebago Adventurer Class A and the AC in my rig is terrible!! I have a residential unit(unit sits on the outside and below the master bedroom). It is a Coleman Mach Central System. Please help:-). Btw, this video is really good and through!!
I wish this guy could look at mine! I have a brand new 33 ft travel trailer from bumper to coupler. On 90* days my camper will not cool down below 84* until the sun goes down. Just does not feel that cold. At night it works great. Of course camping world says there is nothing wrong with it. I dont think mine is right.
Very good video 👍👍👍. I realize my air conditioner was not working good. I did the same thing you are doing. Years ago. That divider is junk and something else should be use by the manufacturer.
Great advice, thank you! I'm gonna check mine today