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Old 01-19-2017, 07:14 PM   #1
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Dometic or coleman ac???

We are looking at having our THIRD Dometic 15,000 AC replaced - so now the new one will be #4. Compressor keeps dying. We spend our winters in South Florida and we usually keep it at 78 degrees. It's the one in the living room/kitchen, so I would not say that we are "beating it up"!! Our mobile repair guy says that he replaces these Dometic all the time, we should consider a Coleman.

So I'm asking for opinions on DOMETIC or COLEMAN??
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Old 01-19-2017, 09:16 PM   #2
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Suggest check wiring control leads Dometic vs Coleman. If you have enough for Coleman go with them. Ceiling opening is the same. Rumor has it their Far Eastern sub had trouble with evap coils easily develop refrig leaks. That is a fatal flaw as it costs more to change the coil than change the unit in the field. Meanwhile the vendor has been replaced but who knows how many bad units remain in circulation?


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Old 01-19-2017, 09:25 PM   #3
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I think anything manufactured after June of 2016 should be "fixed". I read that somewhere.


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Old 01-19-2017, 10:44 PM   #4
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Atwood?

We replaced our extremely noisy and power hungry Dometic with an Atwood. Yes I know, Atwood is now owned by Dometic. Our Atwood came from Australia, is very quiet, has much lower current draw and has higher BTU output.

If that's a choice (I know you said Dometic or Coleman), maybe you should consider a third possibility.
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Old 01-20-2017, 01:27 PM   #5
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Same story here. We are in south Louisiana and need a/c pretty much year round.
Had 3 Dometic units go out in first 2 years.
Although still under warranty my wife told me to find some other brand. I bought a Coleman. Blows colder air than the Dometic ever did, runs quieter, and the air flow is better. Maybe by now the bad Dometic units are gone, but after having several camping trips ruined we we not taking the chance.
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Old 01-20-2017, 01:41 PM   #6
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I am on the 3rd Dometic on my 2016 coachmen chapparal. Go to another brand.

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Old 01-20-2017, 02:05 PM   #7
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We have a Dometic and it has been running almost non-stop since Nov 7/16. No complaints so far but having said that, we had a Class A before which had Carrier ACs. What I liked about them was that they also acted as dehumidifiers. We ran the dehumidifiers and it cooled down the motorhome in no time at all and at less cost. We could run both dehumidifiers on 15 amps whereas we needed 50 amps to run both on AC mode. We have heard that Dometic might offer the same option on their ACs. When ours dies, we are going with the AC that also has a dehumidifier.
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Old 01-20-2017, 02:06 PM   #8
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I had a compressor go out on our Coleman 13.5k at the 26th month. I called Coleman tech support just to confirm my troubleshooting and they told me to take it to a dealer and they would fully support the 2 year warranty. Got a new unit installed no fuss, no muss. So at least they seem to stand behind the product.
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Old 01-20-2017, 02:06 PM   #9
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Dometic told me I had to replace mine after they told me I needed to replace the control board and thermostat $120. Told me it is a non serviceable unit. I hooked up with my HVAC guy. He fixed it for $11.00. just needed charged with freon. BUY A COLEMAN ! Can't be any worst!!
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Old 01-20-2017, 02:23 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Poe View Post
Dometic told me I had to replace mine after they told me I needed to replace the control board and thermostat $120. Told me it is a non serviceable unit. I hooked up with my HVAC guy. He fixed it for $11.00. just needed charged with freon. BUY A COLEMAN ! Can't be any worst!!
Just curious as to how he added freon, I thought these were sealed units.
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Old 01-20-2017, 02:31 PM   #11
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What ever you keep your thermostat at, when it hot, with high humidity, keep your A/C fan control on high, not on auto. The fan will run all the time, the compressor comes on as needed. Your RV will be cooler and your A/C will be more efficient, and with less icing up. At night, turn your A/C control back to auto, so the fan will come on as needed.
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Old 01-20-2017, 02:46 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brewhedd View Post
Just curious as to how he added freon, I thought these were sealed units.
They are sealed units.
A/C techs can install a service tap on a line to allow charging.
Most of those taps clamp or split bolt to the line and often leak over time.
Between what was probably an original leak and the quick tap, chances are the freon will leak out again. Just a band-aid.
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Old 01-20-2017, 03:00 PM   #13
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Dometic IS Noisy

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Originally Posted by KatanaPilot View Post
We replaced our extremely noisy and power hungry Dometic with an Atwood. Yes I know, Atwood is now owned by Dometic. Our Atwood came from Australia, is very quiet, has much lower current draw and has higher BTU output.

If that's a choice (I know you said Dometic or Coleman), maybe you should consider a third possibility.
I had to replace only one Dometic AC with three RVs in 15 years but I have always been unhappy with their loud noise levels. Is the Atwood really that much quieter? If so, I would be interested in replacing my Georgetown's front AC in the living area even though it's cooling fine.
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Old 01-20-2017, 09:45 PM   #14
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They are sealed. That's how they get you to buy a new one. HVAC guy put valves in. Then charged it! Sneaky huh?
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Old 01-20-2017, 10:03 PM   #15
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In my opinion, yes!

Quote:
Originally Posted by hikerjohn7 View Post
I had to replace only one Dometic AC with three RVs in 15 years but I have always been unhappy with their loud noise levels. Is the Atwood really that much quieter? If so, I would be interested in replacing my Georgetown's front AC in the living area even though it's cooling fine.
We used to have to turn off the Dometic when having a meal at the dinette which was directly under the A/C unit - even on low. Although it worked fine, we replaced the Dometic 13.5k BTU cool only unit with an Atwood 15k BTU heat pump. We can leave it on, even in high and still have a conversation at the dinette. Low is very quiet and there is a discernible difference in fan speeds (low,, medium, high) vs. the two speed Dometic - no real difference between low and high. Also the Atwood 15k draws less current than the 13.5k Dometic and is also a heat pump.

Best $700 we ever spent on the Forester MBS (I installed the Atwood myself). As a point of reference, FR uses this (or used to) on the Isata 3 MBS based motor home.
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Old 01-20-2017, 10:15 PM   #16
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Atwood

Quote:
Originally Posted by KatanaPilot View Post
We used to have to turn off the Dometic when having a meal at the dinette which was directly under the A/C unit - even on low. Although it worked fine, we replaced the Dometic 13.5k BTU cool only unit with an Atwood 15k BTU heat pump. We can leave it on, even in high and still have a conversation at the dinette. Low is very quiet and there is a discernible difference in fan speeds (low,, medium, high) vs. the two speed Dometic - no real difference between low and high. Also the Atwood 15k draws less current than the 13.5k Dometic and is also a heat pump.

Best $700 we ever spent on the Forester MBS (I installed the Atwood myself). As a point of reference, FR uses this (or used to) on the Isata 3 MBS based motor home.
I am definitely going to look into it.

Another thought I had was building a box with sound insulation and a filter in it to mount over the current ceiling AC inlet. That could dampen a lot of sound. I am also thinking that there might already be a product out there that works like that.
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