A/C died in NY at 95 degrees......what brand to buy?

[VA-Apraisr]

28' E450 Ford with standard Coleman ceiling-mount/ductless unit with manual controls (no thermostat on wall) and was 10 years old. Would not defrost itself and froze solid within a few hours. Tried running fan only to defrost, which it did, but never stopped freezing back up.......so........what brand have you folks replaced with? Saw a window unit for $199 in New Jersey and almost purchased it to survive the week (but went to a hotel and spent even more $$).

[VA-Apraisr]

Amen! And, I always like to see the "results" of advise given on this wonderful website so others can see, learn or diagnose their own problems that may be similar. Hence, why I posted my results. Lesson learned for me.

[Cobra21]

Happiness is always a cheap easy fix that works! We don't get many of them.
Enjoy, Brian

[VA-Apraisr]

UPDATE: A/C ran for 2 hours with no freeze up and temp inside was 14 degrees cooler than outside temp of 94 degrees.....so, hoping the 10 year old unit will keep doing the job!

[VA-Apraisr]

PROBLEM SOLVED! ..... apparently, foam pad on bottom of filter tray came loose and was sucked up into front of coil fins in front of unit (how this got there I don't know). Removed and checked everything else; aside from rust on condensing unit it all looked normal. Running now and inside temp was 95 and within 8 minutes dropped down to 90....been running for about 45 minutes and now down to 85 degrees and outside temps are still 94. Waiting to see if it ices up but so far blowing very strong, cold air. Thanks for the advise to pull apart and give it a once over.

[navegator]

Coleman A/C units do not work when temperatures reach more than 90*F, we had a Dometic for more than 15 years and worked great in the California desert with temperatures well over 90*F to 120*+F, it eventually was beyond repair so the RV tech sold us a Coleman, that lasted a little over 3 months and never worked well over 90*F, got a new Dometic and is working great in high heat and humidity in Texas.

Get a Dometic, they are easy to clean and maintain.

navegator

[VA-Apraisr]

I cleaned everything last fall and have limited uses since that time. Filters were also cleaned. I was running ac on High Cool but turned the cooling dial all the way back to lowest setting in hopes it would not freeze up....didn't work. Move this setting to middle and highest cooling and still froze up. Would love to save the $$$ but don't know other options.

[Chris_Bryant]

Definitely check and clean the coils. Your model has no freeze sensor.
Also make sure the fabric duct between the upper unit and the air box is intact, so air cannot recirculate.

I still like Coleman best.

[opnspaces]

If you are able to climb on the roof then go up and remove the top of the air conditioner. Then take a garden hose and clean off everything (the coils, the fan blades, drain pan, drain holes) Then close it back up.

Next go into the RV with a step stool and open the interior of the AC unit. It might just swing open, or you might have to pull off the knobs and remove the screws from the corners to open it. Clean any filters you find. If the filter is foam you can use a bucket of soapy water to clean it out. Use a flashlight and look up into the AC unit and clean off any fan blades using a vacuum cleaner with brush attachment. Let the filter dry out and then reinstall it and put the AC back together.

Last thing. If you are having freezing problems do not run the unit on low speed. Instead only run the fan on high to help keep the coils from freezing over.

[DrewE]

Sounds to me like it could be a pretty simple and inexpensive repair--maybe as simple as putting the freeze sensor thermistor back where it belongs if it fell off, or cleaning the air filter and evaporator to restore proper airflow. Your basic cooling unit is obviously working.

In short, I wouldn't recommend any new unit without first taking a stab at getting the current one working, at least based on the limited information I have.

[wildtoad]

When was the last time you cleaned the coils, or return filters. I may be wrong but freeze ups are often caused by poor air flow.