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Old 07-27-2016, 09:47 PM   #1
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THOR #4032
Ace air conditioner - how does yours work?

Our Ace 29.3 has one roof air conditioner and while camping Tuesday it got pretty hot outside (maybe 88 to 90 degrees.) We started the generator and turned on the air conditioner before it got too hot inside but alas, we found the temperature go up to 83 degrees even though we were running the air at the maximum output. Finally we started the engine and ran the ford air at maximum and managed to drop the temperature to abound 77 or 78. All shades where the sun shined on them were pulled. All roof vents were closed. After getting the temperature down to 77 or 78 we turned off the engine but the temperature again went up to 83 so again I started the engine to cool it down.

So the question is this: Should we expect the air conditioner to keep the coach under 80 degrees or not? What is your experience with this on a 30 foot Thor Motorhome with one roof mount air conditioner? Maybe I need service to look at it?

Thanks for you input.

Bob

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Old 07-27-2016, 10:06 PM   #2
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-was the thermostat controller only on FAN setting, instead of a/c?
-if so, did you hear the compressor kick on several seconds after the fan started?
-were all your vents open?

-also, I assume by your statement that you are not plugged into any shore power?
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Old 07-27-2016, 10:44 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by TurnerFam View Post
-was the thermostat controller only on FAN setting, instead of a/c?
-if so, did you hear the compressor kick on several seconds after the fan started?
-were all your vents open?

-also, I assume by your statement that you are not plugged into any shore power?
Yes, I could hear the compressor kick on. No shore power. Only generator. The air conditioner was on for sure. All vents open.
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Old 07-27-2016, 10:53 PM   #4
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An single RV air conditioner could have trouble cooling a RV at 30 feet. You may have a 13500 BTU unit, which is the smaller of the to most common units.

Things to help. Try to park in the shade. Get the RV cold early as later in the day, it will get warm. Keep the shades down. Awning out if possible. Limit the number of trips in and out. No cooking on the stove in the heat the day.

If the air coming out of the air conditioner is 20 plus degrees cooler than the air in the RV, then it is doing all it can in most cases.
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Old 07-27-2016, 10:58 PM   #5
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THOR #4735
remove the unit cover and check for blockage - your a/c unit should cool your rv nicely, especially if the chassis air is able to.
the only other problem could be a loss of refrigerant...
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Old 07-27-2016, 11:14 PM   #6
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The sure was to tell if the air is doing all it can do is put a thermometer at the vent right on ac unit and it should be blowing air 20 degrees lower than outside temperature.
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Old 07-27-2016, 11:19 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugh.vines@att.net
it should be blowing air 20 degrees lower than outside temperature
I believe that should be: 20 degrees lower than the intake temperature (cold air return) and not the outside temp.

The A/C doesn't exactly cool the outside air, it cools the air it takes in from inside the RV.
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Old 07-27-2016, 11:42 PM   #8
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You are right my mistake
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Old 07-28-2016, 08:18 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinster30 View Post
An single RV air conditioner could have trouble cooling a RV at 30 feet. You may have a 13500 BTU unit, which is the smaller of the to most common units.

Things to help. Try to park in the shade. Get the RV cold early as later in the day, it will get warm. Keep the shades down. Awning out if possible. Limit the number of trips in and out. No cooking on the stove in the heat the day.

If the air coming out of the air conditioner is 20 plus degrees cooler than the air in the RV, then it is doing all it can in most cases.
Well, I just checked the window sticker and it says I purchased a 15000 BTU in place of the 13500 BTU unit. There are no instructions in owners bag about the unit, there is a way to have the cold air come directly out of the unit instead of through the various outlets in the ceiling throughout the coach. I don't which is more efficient. Let it go through the various registers in the coach or let it come directly out of the unit in the living room area. I just know that by its self it isn't cooling the coach to my satisfaction when it is 90 or better outside. I had to run the Ford air conditioner at the same time to get the temperature down to 77, if I turned off the Ford, it went up to 83 rather quickly.


Bob
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Old 07-28-2016, 09:05 PM   #10
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On ours there are three vents around the bottom of the unit. The very bottom of the unit is the cold air return.

The three vents each has a damper you can open/close. When all 3 are closed all the air goes through the ceiling vents; all 3 open all the air comes out the vents on the A/C.
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Old 07-29-2016, 12:40 AM   #11
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Check the air coming out of the vents at the AC to see if it is 20 degrees less than the RV interior air about six or seven feet away. That will tell you if the AC is doing all it can.

The vents on the bottom can be opened, however, it will only cool a smaller area. Closed, the cooling should spread. Check each vent to see if your getting cool air coming out of each. You would be checking for blockage or a duct that has come loose.
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Old 07-29-2016, 02:13 AM   #12
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My two cents...
Had my nephews stay in the Axis this weekend in the back yard... No more beds in the house. Checked on them in the morning and it was 59 DEGREES!! The thermostat was set at 70!
We're down here in Texas, so plenty warm outside.
I was impressed...
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Old 07-29-2016, 05:18 AM   #13
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Bob,
My a/c has to work hard to get cool also. Its in the high 90* here and since I just bought the mh I've been inside working on it for the past week.


Look here to see a couple of things I did to help cool the inside.


http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f27...mods-4609.html


The insulation, curtains and Costco fan have made a big difference.


The cold is air coming out but it does not circulate very well The fan moves lots of air and is quite. That would be the first thing I would suggest you do. Insulation and curtains if need after that.


Good luck.


Jerry
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Old 08-05-2016, 12:54 PM   #14
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Just in the fla keys for a week in our 2015 ACE, parked next to the water, no shade. During middle of the day the a/c was doing all it could but was still warm inside the unit. I have the 15 k unit also. After 3 pm or the hottest part of the day it would cool down, just working all it could in the 95 degree heat with no shade. At night would sleep under covers. My .02
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Old 08-05-2016, 01:43 PM   #15
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THOR #3510
our a/c in the Axis will run you out !!!
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Old 08-05-2016, 02:33 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinster30 View Post
Check the air coming out of the vents at the AC to see if it is 20 degrees less than the RV interior air about six or seven feet away. That will tell you if the AC is doing all it can.

The vents on the bottom can be opened, however, it will only cool a smaller area. Closed, the cooling should spread. Check each vent to see if your getting cool air coming out of each. You would be checking for blockage or a duct that has come loose.
Thanks for the tip! I didn't know how the vents on the bottom of the unit worked. Now I do!

We found that the AC had a hard time keeping up with temps over 100*. We also found that we didn't like camping in temps over 100*. We'd rather be home and not confined to the motorhome when it's that hot! I'm a real weather wimp, and anything over 85* just isn't fun for me.
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Old 08-05-2016, 02:38 PM   #17
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Are there actual tubes going from the air conditioner to the vents or just a cut out channel to the vents???
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Old 08-05-2016, 04:46 PM   #18
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Are there actual tubes going from the air conditioner to the vents or just a cut out channel to the vents???
From what I can tell there is a plastic duct that has a top and side but no bottom. Looks like the bottom is covered by the ceiling panel. I did see cracks that could let air get around the duct but not sure if it matters as it would just go into the ceiling area. That part has to stay cool too.
My biggest concern was where the wiring comes into the unit for power and controls. Totally open holes. I sealed mine up with spray foam.
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Old 08-05-2016, 04:55 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
On ours there are three vents around the bottom of the unit. The very bottom of the unit is the cold air return.

The three vents each has a damper you can open/close. When all 3 are closed all the air goes through the ceiling vents; all 3 open all the air comes out the vents on the A/C.
I had a cooling issue a couple months ago. Took it to the dealer. The unit checked out fine. I told him I had opened the vents on the unit to get the cooling directly in the middle of the coach. I told him I had noticed a little water dripping from the unit and it wasn't cooling very good. He said not to leave the vents open on the unit all the time. The unit will freeze up as the cooling air gets sucked up back into the unit. Has been working fine since.
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Old 08-05-2016, 05:51 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hittntheroad
I had a cooling issue a couple months ago. Took it to the dealer. The unit checked out fine. I told him I had opened the vents on the unit to get the cooling directly in the middle of the coach. I told him I had noticed a little water dripping from the unit and it wasn't cooling very good. He said not to leave the vents open on the unit all the time. The unit will freeze up as the cooling air gets sucked up back into the unit. Has been working fine since.
Our old 5th wheel was the opposite: Running the A/C with the vents closed (so the air goes through the camper's ductwork) reduced the airflow such that the evaporator would freeze into a big block of ice. I had to keep the vents partially open to prevent this.
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