Coleman Roof Air/Heat pump repairs

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Argus21

Argus21

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Jan 21, 2019
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I have a 2011 WB Adventurer with two Coleman units on top.  Every fall, I take off the plastic covers on them and vacuum out all the leaves, bugs etc.  This year, the cover on the rear one caught on the refrigerant line from the compressor and pulled it loose from the evaporator.  It lost all the Freon quickly.  The copper line came out of the aluminum evaporator line where the two are held together by what appears to be solder.  A couple of RV repair places have assured me these units are not serviceable and will have to be replaced.  Seems like soldering the copper line back into the aluminum line should not be that hard and the copper line should be easy enough to cut and put in T-fittings and refrigerant shrader valves. to recharge it.  Anyone ever done this?
 
Long time ago I did this frequently. Basically what you are being told is that it is too expensive to repair. That theory is correct. The cost of repair will total more than buying a new one or be extremely close. The other issue is that shops generally do not want the hassle of units coming back that have a problem after the repair and you will not get much of a warranty.

If you have the equipment, technical knowledge and can do it yourself then the task is worth the effort assuming you have the time.
 
Right now ... Coleman AC units are in high demand and frequently on back order.  I just went through this.  The 13,500 BTU unit was on back order with no estimate on when it would be available.  The RV repair company found a 15,000 BTU unit ... we installed it and it has worked well.  This alternative was more expensive but I?ve been in AZ for the past couple months and it has been well worth it.
 
What Henry said. You can add a service fitting, evacuate the air and charge. The solder used is silver solder which melts at a higher temperature than plumbing solder. Most HVAC techs use an acetylene torch, propane won't get hot enough.

- add the service fittings
- pump it down for 15 minutes or so
- turn the bottle of R410a upside down on the weight scale, zero the meter and let the vacuum pull in the appropriate weight of liquid

(never add liquid refrigerant to a running system, only vapor)


-- moved from the Winnebago board --
 
Thanks to all that replied.  Looks like a winter project may be in the making.......anyone know of a source for rebuilt Coleman units?
 
I would try home or auto A/C repairmen first. Naturally RV repair places want any excuse to sell you a new unit.

Before I would throw away a working A/C see if you can Google a diagram of that model A/C. If the copper and aluminum lines are the high pressure side lines they would have to be professionally soldered. Do not attempt any repairs yourself unless you know what you are doing.

If they are definitely the low pressure lines there will be less than 60 lbs of R134a pressure. I will get flamed for saying this but I have used copper water line compression fittings that held pressure for many years. They come in many sizes from 1/8" up.
 
What they said - the unit is repairable but probably not at a cost much less than a replacement.  A mobile a/c tech would probably be cheaper than an RV shop, but still a long way from "cheap". And most home/commercial a/c techs won't touch an RV unit anyway, for the same reasons Henry cited.

RV salvage yards sell used a/c units - may even have your same make/model, which makes it easier (compatibility of wiring, control boards and ducting are a major concerns). Try Colaw or Visione. There is a list of used parts sources in the RESOURCE section of this website.
 
I read some months ago that RV Products had laid off most of their employees. Hence, nothing in the warehouses.
 
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