Background
This time last year I was washing the 287BHSW and noticed some staples printing through the roof material. It was still under warranty so I brought it into the dealer in the fall to see how they would fix it. Long and the short of it is I got a whole new roof - problem solved. The warranty on the repair was 90 days.
Issue
The issue started a few weeks back when we camped for the first time this season and the A/C could not even cool the camper down to outside temp. I carry an A/C probe thermometer with me but I could tell the air was barely chilled. The condensate running off the roof was very low. I wasn't sure if this problem was new since the new roof or if it never really cooled well. We have a single, ducted 13.5BTU unit and we camp in the Northeast.
At first, I considered upgrading it to a 15k unit to help out. What I did next saved me the trouble and expense.
Remedies
First things first, when we were out I took the cover off and found that the foam separator between the two compartments (return and output) was half off and there was bleeding between the two sides. This made output low and was not efficient cooling. I taped the foam piece in place as shown and the volume of air probably doubled.
Second, when I took off the plate on the duct side I noticed that the ducts coming into the plenum were not sealed at all which meant I was sending conditioned air into the attic. I taped those up so there were no gaps into the structure.
Next, I took a dusting vacuum attachment and vacuumed the fins of the evaporator from the inside.
Finally, last week in
this thread Inglysh commented on the placement of the copper wire from the thermostat. As you can see in my pictures, the copper wire was bent over to the output side making the unit non-functional. As soon as it would kick on and start sending cold air, it would shut down because it thought it was satisfied. Winner winner chicken dinner.
Results
I am more than pleased after last weekend. The volume of cold air is substantially improved and it's much cooler in the camper. There is still more work to do, insulating the outside plenum, etc, but we are happy with the results.
My advice? If you're having issues start with tuning up the unit like I did. I'm handy but I had never even given a second thought to how RV air conditioners work or what might make them better. These fixes were easy and relatively free.
Linear Mode
