Does your Air Conditioner take too long to cool RV

[New5thwheelers]

The outside high temp was approx 95 degrees and we have 2 air conditioners that could not keep up. It took approx 4 hours (daytime) to cool interior. We had both set on 69 degrees and it would not get below 73 degrees inside. Does this mean something is wrong with our A/C? Also, our bedroom A/C will cut off for a couple of seconds and then cuts back on. It continues to do this all day and night long. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Specularius]

I would suggest you take the inside cover off and ensure that the divider is sealed up so that the cold air is not going straight to the air return side. Also make sure that the cut outs to the ducts are fully open and sealed to prevent the air from leaking into the roof.

 

[RGMutchler]

The other thing, besides the divider between the cool air and the return air is a clean filter. It doesn't take much on that filter to impact the ability of the AC to cool.

 

[Cate&Rob]

Amazing how we keep "discovering" the same things .
Check out this thread from several months ago . . .
http://www.granddesignowners.com/fo...ve-your-AC-performance/page2?highlight=filter

Rob

 

[LCBoyer]

We open the dump in the lounge and use a tower fan to help cool, heat index 117 and comfortable indoors.

 

[ADIRKS30]

The outside high temp was approx 95 degrees and we have 2 air conditioners that could not keep up. It took approx 4 hours (daytime) to cool interior. We had both set on 69 degrees and it would not get below 73 degrees inside. Does this mean something is wrong with our A/C? Also, our bedroom A/C will cut off for a couple of seconds and then cuts back on. It continues to do this all day and night long. Anyone else have this problem?

If you are sitting in full sun, I can believe this. If you are in the shade, it should be cooler. Remember these rigs do not have very thick walls and even less at slide rooms and such, it takes alot of AC to keep it cool in 90 plus heat for sure if you are in full sun.

 

[Cate&Rob]

If you are sitting in full sun, I can believe this. If you are in the shade, it should be cooler. Remember these rigs do not have very thick walls and even less at slide rooms and such, it takes alot of AC to keep it cool in 90 plus heat for sure if you are in full sun.

Absolutely right on all points ! We learned that we had to get the AC going well before it began to feel warm in the trailer. So, mid-morning while the trailer was still comfortable, we would start up the AC so that late afternoon would still be comfortable.

Rob

 

[Papa Smurf]

You don't say which model Solitude model you have, but I can tell you a 369RL on 100 degree day, in direct sunlight (could not buy an ounce of shade), will only cool to about 75 degrees inside. I have a brother in the A/C business, and he says anything greater than 20 cooler than the outside temp is icing on the cake. So I take my 25 degree drop and keep quite.

Here is a little trick I have learned on the last couple of 100 degree outings... Put a good fan in the bedroom doorway, blowing towards the living area downstairs. We use a big squirrel cage (blower) fan we purchased at Sam's several years ago. It moves huge volumes of air and it is really quite.

Our bedroom air does not cycle as you have explained, but I did quickly notice that with both set at the same temperature, the bedroom A/C does most of the non-hottest part of the day cooling in our unit. If I want the living room unit to carry more of the load, I have to set it 3 degrees cooler than the bedroom air.

I think it is the shear volume of the rear room that makes it so hard to cool. I have a friend with the exact same floor plan in a Winnebago brand RV and they have the exact same cooling issues. So I am sure it is volume, not your A/C unit.

I know I will be looking for better shaded sites in the future.

 

[PolarBear]

Sorry I have to JUMP in here,,I am in the HVACR trade 30 years now,,,,,,,,I hear this darn thing about 20 less then outside,,,,,,NO WAY,,, it is the same in the S&B A/C units with fan on HIGH will and should give off 57-59 AIR it is the same in a S&B ,,,,I hear this only 20 deg cooler then outside,,,so if in a S&B the outside temp is 100 then all you can get inside is 80 that is so wrong,,This is our 379FL 2 A/Cs going in full sun ,,,,,, sorry it is sideways

 

[premove]

I'm with Polarbear. I'm not in the A/C trade, but have a friend who is and for many years has told me if your A/C is dropping the temperature at the return duct across the coil to the output ducts by 18 to 22 degrees the A/C is working. So put a thermometer at the return and measure the temp then stick it in an output duct and see what the drop is. If the drop across the A/C is right. than your got hot air getting in somewhere whether it be lack of insulation, single pane windows etc. If the drop is not right, you have an A/C problem or hot air is leaking into the duct work. Let's be real, an RV is a box sitting in the sun. When you get off the road and the unit is 90 degrees on the inside and 97 degrees outside, it will take a while to cool down. We have found the first day after getting off the road it takes some time to cool down, but the next day the unit is able to maintain the temperatures.

 

[RamGunner]

I believe that is the correct answer and the reason for the confusion. 20 degree difference between air intake temperature (not outside temperature) and air outlet temperature at a duct vent.

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[Barbara & Dave]

I was having trouble cooling our 337RLS, until I cleaned the air filter. BIG improvement. Manual says to clean every two weeks; I had gone two months!

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[mageorge]

We will have to check the filter as well, we have ours set at 68, it's 85 outside and 78 inside after five hours of sitting in the shade! By the way, we are at our dealers campground waiting to get the electric portion of our refrigerator fixed.


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[Namlehse]

So to revive a dead thread.. lol

How much air should be coming out of the rear vents? When running just my front unit, air pours out of the front vents. The rest of the vents (Even with both AC's), I have to be almost touching the vent before I feel any air coming out. I've read similar posts before about things being blocked, however I'm not really sure how to check. This was our first time running the AC's, so it's all new to me.

It was 82 yesterday, in half sun it seemed to struggle to keep it at 72 inside running both AC's. The front AC seemed to never kick off. It was also frigid in the bedroom and bathroom, however the further back you went, the hotter it felt. It was 84 in the den, while 68 in the bedroom. Opening the dump on the primary AC seemed to cool everything down extremely quickly.

The filters are brand new, never been used. I'm stumped, I'm also worried about how things will turn out come summer when it hits 110+.

I also wanted to add, I started my AC's up in the morning, when it was still 76 or so inside (According to the tstat).

 

[LCBoyer]

72? I'd freeze if it was that cold

 

[TucsonJim]

So to revive a dead thread.. lol

How much air should be coming out of the rear vents? When running just my front unit, air pours out of the front vents. The rest of the vents (Even with both AC's), I have to be almost touching the vent before I feel any air coming out. I've read similar posts before about things being blocked, however I'm not really sure how to check. This was our first time running the AC's, so it's all new to me.

It was 82 yesterday, in half sun it seemed to struggle to keep it at 72 inside running both AC's. The front AC seemed to never kick off. It was also frigid in the bedroom and bathroom, however the further back you went, the hotter it felt. It was 84 in the den, while 68 in the bedroom. Opening the dump on the primary AC seemed to cool everything down extremely quickly.

The filters are brand new, never been used. I'm stumped, I'm also worried about how things will turn out come summer when it hits 110+.

I also wanted to add, I started my AC's up in the morning, when it was still 76 or so inside (According to the tstat).

If you're not getting good airflow from the rear vents, I'd check to see if there was any obstruction in the duct work. Especially if it cooled off that quickly when you opened the air dump on the AC.

 

[Namlehse]

What's the best way to do that? Just pop a vent off? None of the vents other than the bedroom and bathroom seemed to be getting any air.

 

[TucsonJim]

I know on mine, I've had a vent pop out kind of easily when I was trying to rotate it. I just popped it back in. Maybe you could pop one or more of them out and take a look with a mirror and flashlight.

Jim

 

[Namlehse]

So I called GD, they're reply was more or less "Yeah, that sounds normal..".

It just seems like I should be getting more air out of the other vents. Even running both AC's with all the bathroom and bedroom vents closed, it felt like nothing was coming out. Add to that even with them closed the bedroom felt like it was going to blow the vents off the ceiling when closed. Air still poured out of them.

So as an update, called the dealer. Dealer suggested a few things to check, explained how to pull the AC covers off and a few things they've found. Also got an appointment on the books in case I do find something. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Namlehse]

So I was able to find my blockage.. I guess when they put everything together they taped off the duct to keep dust out possibly? It looks like they forgot to remove the masking tape after the AC was installed. Once I got the cover off it was pretty obvious..