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Old 07-22-2014, 11:09 AM   #1
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AC Chillgrille quit after 2 year 2 months

After 2 years and 2 months and about 500 hours at the most of use in our Jayco White Hawk (27' X 8' X 7'), our Coleman Airxcel Chillgrille (8330*63) quit. As it was out of warranty by two months and we were leaving with in four days I had an AC guy come over and check out the unit and found it was out of gas. He stated that the leak was not on the upper section and he could not see lower down in the evaporator area. Anyway he added gas and boom, AC was fine and worked for a 4-day camping trip. He advised that it could last a day or a year. Came back from trip, put up camper as it is Summer in Central Florida and 2 months later checked to see if gas leaked out and nothing but hot air. Question, should I fix it, replace it, if replaced, what brand and should I raise the tonnage if it is a 1300 to 1500?
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Old 07-22-2014, 11:33 AM   #2
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While the trailer has a 2 year warranty, appliances may have a longer warranty. Would it be advisable to make a call to the dealer to see if the the warranty on the AC is 5 years?

I do not know a great deal about AC's so I can't answer your question, but it might worth a call to the dealer. Just a thought!
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Old 07-22-2014, 05:27 PM   #3
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After 2 years and 2 months and about 500 hours at the most of use in our Jayco White Hawk (27' X 8' X 7'), our Coleman Airxcel Chillgrille (8330*63) quit. As it was out of warranty by two months and we were leaving with in four days I had an AC guy come over and check out the unit and found it was out of gas. He stated that the leak was not on the upper section and he could not see lower down in the evaporator area. Anyway he added gas and boom, AC was fine and worked for a 4-day camping trip. He advised that it could last a day or a year. Came back from trip, put up camper as it is Summer in Central Florida and 2 months later checked to see if gas leaked out and nothing but hot air. Question, should I fix it, replace it, if replaced, what brand and should I raise the tonnage if it is a 1300 to 1500?
I would go though Jayco directly on this and see what they might do. Or if you have a good relationship with your dealer then them first.
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Old 07-24-2014, 01:43 PM   #4
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AC update

My RV dealer is out of business. Called Airxcel who made the unit. Stated they might cover some of it, but in the end did not. So I am the new ower of a Coleman 48000 AC unit for my 2 year and 4 month White Hawk. I hope your Coleman AC units last longer than my first. Anyway we have AC. Still to darn hot in central Florida to enjoy camping.
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Old 09-02-2016, 08:09 PM   #5
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AirXcel 8330 ChillGille

What a piece of junk these are. Mine died just 3 months out of warranty on a 2014 Jayco RV.

AC guy says these are sealed units and cannot be recharged. The leak will probably still be there even if he modified it to accept a charge.

Anyone have a better idea of what to go with for a new AC unit?
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Old 09-03-2016, 02:42 PM   #6
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I wonder how the A/C guy managed to put in additional Freon? I've never seen a rechargeable RV air conditioner. I can' t imagine adding the necessary charge valves, pulling a vacuum and then adding freon would be very cost effective.


Coleman is pretty adamant that any breach of the refrigeration system will void any warranty coverage. Big letters on the warranty page on their web site. I suspect they would not provide any assistance if your A/C guy added fill valves or otherwise opened the sealed system.
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Old 09-03-2016, 02:57 PM   #7
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I wonder how the A/C guy managed to put in additional Freon? I've never seen a rechargeable RV air conditioner. I can' t imagine adding the necessary charge valves, pulling a vacuum and then adding freon would be very cost effective.


Coleman is pretty adamant that any breach of the refrigeration system will void any warranty coverage. Big letters on the warranty page on their web site. I suspect they would not provide any assistance if your A/C guy added fill valves or otherwise opened the sealed system.
It depends on what refrigerant is being used. R-22 is very expensive right now because it is being phased out. R-410a (PURON) is cheap. We are charging less than $3.00 a pound for it. R-22 is around $30.00 a pound. I am not sure if the newer units have switched to R-410a yet.

Labor may be another story. If it's gonna cost more than 1/2 of a new one to repair, I'm going with a new one.

Tapping into one of these Coleman units is no different than tapping into a home refrigerator.
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Old 09-03-2016, 05:27 PM   #8
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I think any specialty item like an RV A/C is going to be two things...not well made, and pretty expensive to boot. I've seen quite a few folks that have taken to installing mini-split A/C's in their trailers. That's after experiencing the same issues we've brought up here---expensive, and error prone. Mini-splits are very efficient, very quiet, and very capable. The only challenge is running the copper lines and power, and getting rid of the condensate. If you can nail those down, then you're home free. However, those are pretty big challenges.

To be honest, I think you'll find there are issues with all RV A/C units. Coleman seems to be one of the better brands to boot.
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