Ready to replace basement ac/heat pump

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afchap

afchap

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Joined
Dec 19, 2008
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Location
...East TX, or on the road...
Has anyone totally replaced their basement Coleman Mach ac/heat pump unit with a new one?

I think I am at that point. In the life of the coach (101k miles), I have spent apx $4,500 on repairs, apx $3k of that in the past four years. According to my records the inside blower motor has been replaced once, and the outside blower motor three times (including once in 2014 and once in 2015). The computer board has been replaced, and the #1 compressor was replaced in 2012. Now the #2 compressor is locked up (my diagnosis ...pretty obvious based on my experience with previous failures).  The #1 compressor replacement and related repairs cost me $1,800 (and was not done well). I priced a new replacement unit today at $3k. I can't see paying almost $2k on another compressor when I will still have a 13 yr old unit, and $3k would buy a totally new one. I would install the new one myself ...I have little doubt I can do as good a job, and probably better, than any repair place I have ever taken it to with the exception of one in Andover KS. 

Anybody else been here?
 
If you do a search for "basement AC" you will find lots of hits. A few of them detail the replacement of the squirrel cage in the compressor and that required the removal of the AC unit from the basement. That would give you a road map to getting yours out.  From there the install should be pretty straight forward. 
 
I've had it out before... not a big deal ... and have taught some "techs" a few things about it along the way.  Just wondered how many others have done a full replacement rather than repair.
 
My basement air was intermittent from the time it was new - sometimes it would blow ambient air after a day on the road.  After replacing the thermostat and control board, RVP finally agreed to replace the entire unit.  Interesting process, I got to watch the entire job and I think I would have no problem doing the same.

Paul - you would probably benefit from a new unit, I know from 2005 to 2007 there were some design improvements and we have 100k miles on our Horizon.
 
The circuit board burned-up on mine. There was a possibility there were other things wrong. It looked like that the job was a little over my head for one person. I can't seem to get any help, everyone I know is not available. With help, I would have tackled it myself. I had a new one installed for about $3700. It has been working fine for a couple of years.
 
Paul-

Funny this topic should come up.  Mine has been more or less useless the last few years.  It seems the #2 compressor is not starting, but just on #1, doesn't really seem to be cooling.  I've had it at a "factory authorized" repair shop for the last three weeks, but they haven't actually started looking at it yet and they are very poor on the communication front.  As I wait to find out what the diagnosis is, several worst case scenarios pop through my head. 

My question is a bit different than yours:  has anyone completely replaced their basement air with two rooftop units?  How feasible would it be to tap into the existing ductwork?  I've studied John C's writeup for adding a non-ducted rooftop unit, but was thinking it might make more sense to completely eliminate the basement unit.  Replacing an entire rooftop unit is so much less expensive. 
 
jagnweiner said:
...My question is a bit different than yours:  has anyone completely replaced their basement air with two rooftop units?  How feasible would it be to tap into the existing ductwork?  I've studied John C's writeup for adding a non-ducted rooftop unit, but was thinking it might make more sense to completely eliminate the basement unit.  Replacing an entire rooftop unit is so much less expensive.
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Several years ago at factory service in Forest City I noticed a Vectra with three rooftop airs  :eek:, I thought this was a prototype or something like that.  When I asked the owner, he simply replied that he "likes it cold."  Okay then.

One rooftop air will not provide enough BTUs for cooling, two might, three for sure but that's a lot of weight up there if you have other stuff installed on the roof.  Also, the roof airs would need to be heat pumps or have heat strips (not very efficient.)

For the DIY guy, I would much prefer to pull a basement air unit than horse a rooftop air off and on the roof.
 
John Canfield said:
One rooftop air will not provide enough BTUs for cooling, two might, three for sure but that's a lot of weight up there if you have other stuff installed on the roof.  Also, the roof airs would need to be heat pumps or have heat strips (not very efficient.)
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, why would they need to be heat pumps?  I would still have my propane furnace and my current basement air is not a heat pump.  If I were going to do it, I would install them in the current locations of the kitchen and bedroom fans.  The biggest problem, I would think, would be finding a way to bore into the existing ductwork.

Like Paul, I'm just frustrated with not being able to find anyone competent and/or willing to work on the basement unit in my local area.  Right now, my coach is sitting at a place an hour and a half from home and I have no idea when they are actually going to work on it.
 
John Canfield said:
Your basement air isn't a heat pump?  Wow.  Heating with the propane furnace is very inefficient and expensive.
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Sad, but true.  Fortunately, I can buy a lot of propane for the price of a newer coach with heat pump.  It's not that big a deal, though, because our 1-2 week trips are generally in the summer.  If we are camping during cooler weather, it is usually just a weekend trip.  We have at times taken a long an electric radiating oil heater, which heats the coach pretty well.

These are the sacrifices one makes with a 16 year old coach.  An upgrade would be nice but with three kids in college next year, it won't be happening any time soon.

Sorry, Paul, didn't mean to hijack your thread.  (As a former Air Force JAG I have nothing but respect for Air Force chaplains.  :) )
 
Scott,  I see you are in Northern IL.  Would a drive to Elkhart IN be too far out of your area?

The reason I ask... Leon, the owner of "National RV Refrigeration" did a terrific job for me when he worked over my Norcold.  During that time he also mentioned he was certified to work my basement air units (I have the Coleman Mach heat pump.)

If not too far for you, you might consider giving him a call and see if he can help you out.  A small Amish company, I highly recommend his work, as do others on the service review boards.

http://www.fixyourfridge.com/index.php

Just a thought...
 
Thanks, Ed.  Elkhart is about a 4 hr drive, as I am on I-80 near the Iowa border.  Might be worth it.  If I don't get some action from the place where it's at this week, I think I'm going to be picking it up and going elsewhere.
 
Update on mine:  The shop has finally started working on it.  After talking to the tech rather than the receptionist I have at least a moderate comfort level.  He was calling to inform me that he believes the problem to either be a leak in the system or a problem with the #1 compressor, but he will have to drop the unit to find out.  He also wanted to prepare me for a repair cost of over $1K, which I was sort of anticipating if it was anything other than an electrical problem. 

I also asked him if they have ever done a conversion from basement to rooftop air and he indicated they had.  He looked up the invoice of the last time they did it and said it was over $5K, including 24 hrs of labor.
 
Scott - glad you are getting some progress.

Not too surprised at the rooftop air costs.  I've read that there's potentially a lot of work running the 120V power to the units, as most use the 12V exhaust fan holes as a starting point but they aren't AC-ready.
 
Penultimate update (and then I'll turn the thread back to Paul):  Got the diagnosis already; the refrigerant line was actually severed at the #1 compressor and the compressor is shot.  New compressor is on order.  Total estimate is around $1500.  I'll report back once it is finally done.

Note of interest to John C.:  When I was discussing the notion of converting to rooftop units, he said "of course you'll have to get heat pump units because your current unit is a heat pump."  I let that slide at the time, but when I was talking to him later I said, "are you sure I have a heat pump?"  He said, "I just assumed so, because every one I've ever worked on was a heat pump."  He went back and confirmed that no, mine is the rare exception.  No heat pump.

Thanks for listening to me today.  It's been therapeutic and I'm not nearly as hacked off as I was this morning.  We'll see how things go when I tell the DW what the bill is going to be.
 
Just give her a glass of wine first, and maybe a dinner out to soften the blow.  Then just remind her that hey, "you can't take it with you"!
 
SargeW said:
Just give her a glass of wine first, and maybe a dinner out to soften the blow.  Then just remind her that hey, "you can't take it with you"!
Click to expand...

;D. Thanks, Sarge. It went just fine after a brief moment of initial shock. It's been a big year for RV repairs already, with rebuilding of four jacks and some work on the slide at HWH this winter. The Lord provides, though, as I had just gotten an unexpected bonus at work last week in just about the same amount. And that's also why we contribute to a maintenance fund each month.

Looking forward to meeting you next month.
 
SargeW said:
Just give her a glass of wine first, and maybe a dinner out to soften the blow.  Then just remind her that hey, "you can't take it with you"!
Click to expand...
They're making sure of that !
 
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