pets and AC units that freeze up ,...while your GONE away from the camper...

[longracing25]

just wondering. We had a rv with two ac roof units. One year we went on a typical summer week,..in the A-class. We had a parrot on the trip with us. While at a campground( yes plugged in) we left both units running on low to keep the rv fairly cool , for the bird. After spending the day at six flaggs,...we returned to the camper to find both units froze up....and off of course. The RV was cooking,...thank GOD , yes,...parrots have no major issue unless it's WAAAAY hot. She was fine. My wife freaked.

We have a pull behind, gonna head to florida this usmmer with the bird,...and a couple of other pets. Needless to say,  our other pets dont fare well in a steamy camper with frozen AC units.

short version,...how can i not let this happen again,...or what do any of you do ,...to keep the AC units going.

Please, can i ask for no smart ass comments,...there is allot of that on here,..

 

[Wendy]

We leave the roof exhaust fan going and most of the windows open. I'd rather air condition the outdoors than have the a/c go out with the dog inside with no air. I also make sure that he has LOTS of water when we leave him alone. No problems so far.

Wendy

 

[odie1234]

There are remote temperature units you can buy that will call your cell phone if temperatures get out of whack. Cost some dollars but the price continues to fall. Google "remote temperature sensors" for some ideas.

 

[SeilerBird]

If the other pets are cats you have nothing to worry about. Domestic cats are decedents of Desert Cats from the Sahara Desert and prefer it really hot. I have a class A and only one roof A/C that is located in the living room. I have a curtain separating the living room from the bedroom. On hot days the living room is in the 70s with the A/C running all the time. The bedroom is in the 90s at least. So where do my cats spend the hot days? In the bedroom.

 

[Ned]

Many RV air conditioners have a defrost cycle that it enters when it freezes up.  Check the manual on yours, you may have that feature.

 

[Wendy]

Has anyone tried any of the remote temperature gizmos that call your cell phone? Or looked at or played with one? How does it call your cell phone? Sounds like a great thing to have with pets left alone in the coach.

Wendy

 

[tstumpf]

Our dog died from an illness 2 months after we began fulltiming. Before he died, we noticed our ac would freeze up at times, so we brought him with us just about everywhere we went. Although I really miss having a dog, the AC problem is one of the reasons we won't get another one.

One of the park owners in our travels told us they've had 5 people lose their dogs due to this problem. I would very much like to know why this happens and if there's a way to fix it.

If we happen to have one of the units you mentioned, Ned, is there a way to bypass that or something?

-Roni

 

[Just Lou]

You probably won't have the defrost feature unless you have a heat pump based air conditioner.  It's really just the same reverse flow solenoid used to change it from cooling to heating.  When the sensor detects that the coils have frozen up (usually caused by a combination of very high humidity and high heat), the flow is reversed and the coils defrost. The condition is greatly exacerbated by low freon.

I use Wendy's technique.  Open some windows and run the exhaust fans (may leave the ac on anyway).  If I determine that it would still get too hot for the dog, I just don't go away and leave him.  We both find a shade tree or a pool to enjoy. 

 

[Wendy]

One thing we do occasionally with Gordon is take him swimming before we leave so he's in the motorhome wet, at least for awhile. Guess that wouldn't work with a parrot, tho

Wendy

 

[Ned]

If we happen to have one of the units you mentioned, Ned, is there a way to bypass that or something?

As Lou points out, it's a feature of the heat pumps, but many newer RVs have them.  No, you can't bypass it as far as I know, and I certainly wouldn't want to.

 

[SeilerBird]

One thing we do occasionally with Gordon is take him swimming before we leave so he's in the motorhome wet, at least for awhile. Guess that wouldn't work with a parrot, tho

I had an African Grey Parrot for 23 years. They are the Rolls-Royce of talking birds. She LOVED taking showers. I kept a spray bottle full of water near the cage and she got at least one bath per day. I would pull out the spray bottle and she would walk over and get as close to me with her head down. I could blast her as until my finger got tired. She loved it.

All birds must shower frequently, either a water bath or a dust bath. This removes dirt and small critters. If they don't bathe frequently then it will really impact their ability to fly. I have heard of bird owners (usually parrots) who actually take their bird into the shower with them.

Here are a few shots of Winston, the first three were right after a shower. She really loved walking up and down on my keyboard making terrible music. The last shot is not Winston, it is Chester, a Grey my ex owned. The dog is Teiler Seiler  (his registered name), my Old English Sheepdog. Teiler, Winston and I used to play volleyball with balloons.

All the photos except the one of Chester and Teiler were taken in 1997 with my first digital camera, a Kodak DC20. A whopping .2 megapixel. No memory card slot, but it came with an internal memory of 1 megabyte that stored 16, count 'em,16 hi res photos (493x373).

 

[wannabfree]

We use a unit called THUM . It is simply a temperature and humidity monitor. The last one we bought on eBay for $125.00. It connects via USB to a laptop or PC and once you set the alarm points, it will email you (I have a Smartphone).  I am supplying this link, but that was the 1st seller that popped up when I searched Yahoo. It was effortless to hook up. Installed software from a disk and plugged it into my USB. There may be others, but we have not had any problems. If you are worried about missing the email, it will send it to multiple addresses.
http://www.smarthome.com/15250/THUM-USB-Temperature-Humidity-Sensor/p.aspx
Dave

 

[Icemaker]

Has anybody suggested not setting the temp control so low...set it to keep the room just comfortable and make sure filters are clean..fan on high and the unit(s) should cycle just fine...unless they freeze-up while your there.. it is operator error.

 

[Mavarick]

I'm going to look into the genset auto start and remote temp sensor for the same reasons. I would do the THUM but don't always have internet avail. I can do text or cell phone so leaning in that direction.

 

[donandmax]

Icemaker is correct. Dont put your ac on 60 deg. Been there done that and yes it will freeze up. We set ours on 72 and it never freezes up.

 

[dave61]

It seems to me leaving windows and vents open would increase the chance of AC freeze up. Similar as setting it too cold.

 

[Just Lou]

It seems to me leaving windows and vents open would increase the chance of AC freeze up. Similar as setting it too cold.

Then just leave it off.  The windows and vents are still there for insurance.  Things might get hot, but they shouldn't bake.

If I'm ever in an area where it would could even get that hot, I wouldn't leave my dog alone, period.

 

[Icemaker]

It seems to me leaving windows and vents open would increase the chance of AC freeze up. Similar as setting it too cold.

If the temp outside is lower than the room the A/C should not even run..
There are only a few things that can [freeze-up] an A/C. primary reason is the t-stat is set too low  for the space air temperature..or restricted air flow across the coil..and than there's loss of freon..If you keep the stat at 72 degrees that should solve first issue..if the filters are clean and the coil is clean that should solve the next...and last if your freon has leaked out there may be a freeze-up but more likely it will just not have the capacity to cool.
The majority of freeze-ups on window units, and RV roof units are nothing more than redesigned window units, and are not designed to cool much below 70 degrees.. freeze-ups are always caused by coil temps below 32 degrees and the unit is never designed for that operating condition..
to get 55 degree air discharge the coil would have to be about 30-32 degrees at least and moisture in the air will start to freeze on the coil at 32 and below..that causes ice which blocks air flow which causes more ice etc.
As for windows open...I would think there is more than enough natural infiltration of air and if the vent was on exhaust the out-side leakage into the coach/trailer is more than enough. The more unconditioned air that is introduced into the space means the more work for the A/C unit..that won't cause freeze-ups...At the worst the unit won't be able to maintain set point.
Last note...think of a thermostat as a light switch.....on or off ....not as a throttle ...your unit runs just as hard when the room is 80 degrees and the setting is 75 degrees than if the setting was 65 degrees.. turning it [down] only causes more run time...not faster or stronger cooling.

George

 

[Just Lou]

[quote author=Icemaker]
If the temp outside is lower than the room the A/C should not even run..[/quote]

George, I agree with most every point you made, except I can't quite get my mind around this opening statement.

 

[Icemaker]

George, I agree with most every point you made, except I can't quite get my mind around this opening statement.

Lou,
It was in response to the statement that an open window would increase freeze-ups...in retrospect I probably mis read the statement and shouldn't have made that response...

George