DOMETIC air conditioner

[hughd033]

First off I certainly hope Dometic doesn't ruin Atwood Ac since they bought them out, they were one of the more reputable vendors to get a good product from. Second as I have said since Dometic doesn't appear to be fixing the issue with poor material and workmanship on their AC units and just covering up with they will give a two year warranty it really is time someone filed a suit especially in recourse a lot of people have spent in time and money getting their units fixed and or buying another vendors unit to replace the garbage put out by Dometic. Plus as said earlier one would think that the RV industry would do something about this if they really cared about customer satisfaction. But that is the RV industry.

[js415]

I'm jumping back in this thread that i posted to last year. All sorts of Dometic 15K AC problems and I could not get any satisfaction, so I just ordered a new from PPL and called it a day.

It worked fine last summer for the few times we used it.

I just went outside tonight to turn it on and see what it would do. It was 74 inside my trailer.

The minute I turned it on I knew something was wrong. I could barely hear the compressor kick in, and after about 30 minutes I was blowing out air only 4 degrees colder than what was going in.

I put my amp meter on the unit and sure enough, it's pulling a whopping 7.2 amps at full run.

No cold air, no amps, and a 1 year old AC.

I'm going to try and track down somebody at Dometic tomorrow, since I'm sure PPL will not warranty it.

Does anybody have a good number or contact person at Dometic that can help resolve this issue?

Thanks,

Jerry

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by js415

I'm jumping back in this thread that i posted to last year. All sorts of Dometic 15K AC problems and I could not get any satisfaction, so I just ordered a new from PPL and called it a day.

It worked fine last summer for the few times we used it.

I just went outside tonight to turn it on and see what it would do. It was 74 inside my trailer.

The minute I turned it on I knew something was wrong. I could barely hear the compressor kick in, and after about 30 minutes I was blowing out air only 4 degrees colder than what was going in.

I put my amp meter on the unit and sure enough, it's pulling a whopping 7.2 amps at full run.

No cold air, no amps, and a 1 year old AC.

I'm going to try and track down somebody at Dometic tomorrow, since I'm sure PPL will not warranty it.

Does anybody have a good number or contact person at Dometic that can help resolve this issue?

Thanks,

Jerry

7.2 amps sounds like no load to me. I.e. No gas/low gas in system.

[hughd033]

Welcome to the club of ever growing members. As a matter of fact I did have a number given me by a kind rv shop employee and when I called it they asked how I got the number since it was for dealers only. So needless to say doesn't work now. Just to add to this whole in going saga a buddy of mine bought a new class A pusher less then 6 months ago and he is already getting them both replaced. Like I said it is past time to get a class action suit going and maybe then Dometic and the industry would stop allowing this kind of garbage. It's gotten to the point that it is a crap shoot when we go out thinking is the AC going to work and for how long. Florida is hot by anyone's standards and I paid good money to use my rv not to have a yard ornament.

[KatanaPilot]

I know Dometic owns Atwood now. As another poster said, hopefully the Atwood quality will not be lowered to that of the Dometics.

If you are going to spend your own money on a replacement, why not spend a few more dollars and buy the Atwood? They are much quieter, more efficient and seem (for the moment anyway) to be much better built.

The thermostat is a little different, but can use the same wiring. The indoor diffuser is a little bigger and might require minor mods, but the opening through the roof is industry standard.

I guess my question is why do folks keep buying Dometic replacements, hoping that the quality will magically improve over the two or three replacement units already tried?

And yes, one also has to wonder why the manufacturers keep buying the junk Dometic produces. I think I know the answer, but won't say to avoid being chastised by the moderators.

[js415]

Originally Posted by js415

I'm jumping back in this thread that i posted to last year. All sorts of Dometic 15K AC problems and I could not get any satisfaction, so I just ordered a new from PPL and called it a day.

It worked fine last summer for the few times we used it.

I just went outside tonight to turn it on and see what it would do. It was 74 inside my trailer.

The minute I turned it on I knew something was wrong. I could barely hear the compressor kick in, and after about 30 minutes I was blowing out air only 4 degrees colder than what was going in.

I put my amp meter on the unit and sure enough, it's pulling a whopping 7.2 amps at full run.

No cold air, no amps, and a 1 year old AC.

I'm going to try and track down somebody at Dometic tomorrow, since I'm sure PPL will not warranty it.

Does anybody have a good number or contact person at Dometic that can help resolve this issue?

Thanks,

Jerry

I figured I would give a quick update and let folks know what is going on.

I have a local repair tech that has a long relationship with Dometic. He came by the house, check the unit, verified the amperage draw, operation, and gave a diagnosis.

As I had already diagnosed, it is a dead unit with little to no refrigerant.

He made a few phone calls to Dometic with my serial number, model number and VIN of the trailer, and guess what??? They think it has gone bad and needs to be replaced, under warranty.

So, they are shipping a new unit to him Monday, hope to have it in a about 3-4 days, and maybe install by end of this coming week or first of next week.

I'll keep you guys in the loop, and hope for the best.

Jerry

[Crockett]

No one suggested the op may have too light an extension cord. The resulting voltage drop on a warmer than usual day could cause the compressor thermal overload to open.

[js415]

Just an update.....

Mobile technician came to my house today with a brand new Dometic 15K unit that was shipped to him from Dometic.

About 30 minutes later I had 43 degree air blowing out of my AC unit.

The clock starts again with another 2 year warranty.

I hope I do not have to address this issue again, but I'm not holding my breath.

Jerry

[crunchman12001]

Glad you are cool again. Thanks for the follow up.

[Thurman]

I'd certainly like to know how someone gets Dometic to warrant a replacement 15K unit. My TT was bought new in January 2015 then the original Dometic kicked the bucket four (4) months later. The selling dealer is 90+ miles away but I found a local Dometic authorized shop who changed out the unit. That replacement unit lasted from May 2015 until August 2016 then it went out. The same shop replaced it again under the original two (2) year warranty which expired January 2017. I pulled the TT out of the backyard into direct sunlight yesterday (Monday) to clean it up and to test the A/C. I set the thermostat to 70* and let it go while I washed the outside. The outside temp at this time was 89* then the high for Monday reached 91*. A couple of hours later I went in to check the temperature and it was 76* inside with the unit running wide open. I checked the air coming into the unit and the cold air coming out and there was a 12* difference. I had been told by the service guy that I should see between 17* and 20* difference in the air. NOT! I would still like to know how someone gets a two (2) year warranty on a replacement unit. As far as a class action lawsuit, count me in. I would love to be one of the class action people against Dometic concerning this problem with their 15K units.

[mark0224]

Ours went bad last summer when we had a week of it running almost constant because it was so hot out. On mine it was the control board that went bad the compressor tried to run constant. Went to our local Trailer sales told them what I believed was wrong they agreed sold me a new control board. Took about an hour to fix. Yours sounds like the compressor isn't kicking on just guessing but sounds like the start up capacitor isn't working. Since it's under warranty your smart to leave it and take it in to be looked at.

[Davidg]

Originally Posted by Thurman

I'd certainly like to know how someone gets Dometic to warrant a replacement 15K unit. My TT was bought new in January 2015 then the original Dometic kicked the bucket four (4) months later. The selling dealer is 90+ miles away but I found a local Dometic authorized shop who changed out the unit. That replacement unit lasted from May 2015 until August 2016 then it went out. The same shop replaced it again under the original two (2) year warranty which expired January 2017. I pulled the TT out of the backyard into direct sunlight yesterday (Monday) to clean it up and to test the A/C. I set the thermostat to 70* and let it go while I washed the outside. The outside temp at this time was 89* then the high for Monday reached 91*. A couple of hours later I went in to check the temperature and it was 76* inside with the unit running wide open. I checked the air coming into the unit and the cold air coming out and there was a 12* difference. I had been told by the service guy that I should see between 17* and 20* difference in the air. NOT! I would still like to know how someone gets a two (2) year warranty on a replacement unit. As far as a class action lawsuit, count me in. I would love to be one of the class action people against Dometic concerning this problem with their 15K units.

I think Dometic plays the odds with warranties. They replace the ones they have to, but play the odds on all the rest. Then try and just wear down the consumer. Its well known that Since Dometic started having these units built in china, they have had huge problems with freon leaks. I've had one fail myself, but mine was a pretty black and white case and they replaced it quickly. Even so, it is always a hassle. New campers can be such a pain in the heinee to get the bugs worked out.

[stevegotl]

I have a question about the AC unit on my Freedom Express. We just bought the TT, it is a 2017 with the 13.5k BTU AC unit. We have used it a couple times and find that once we turn the AC on the fan runs continually even if the compressor is off. It seems to cool the TT down fine, but even when it gets to temperature, the compressor goes off but the fan still runs. And it is a very noisy fan. Is that the way they are supposed to work? Thanks.

[CedarCreekWoody]

On the thermostat set the fan speed to auto. It will cycle off and on. If set to low or high it will run continously.

[Thurman]

IF you have a Dometic brand A/C and IF you have the Dometic single zone thermostat (you probably do with one 13K unit) you should be able to set the t'stat to "AU" or automatic. I think that's the button on the left.

[stevegotl]

The only options we have are.... fan, cool, heat

[m35a2]

Does your thermostat have a display?

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by stevegotl

The only options we have are.... fan, cool, heat

If you have a Dometic digital thermostat then you can change the fan speed. With the thermostat set on fan, toggle the “+” or “-“ symbol and your choices will be “Lo” (Low), “Hi” (High) and “Au” (Auto). You want to set it on “Au”. Once you do that set the thermostat back to cool.

In the user manuals that came with your RV there should have been a small user manual for the thermostat. If you don’t have it you can download one at the Dometic website.

[stevegotl]

Arrghhhhh... I just did a you tube check and found a video on my thermostat. The dealer never showed me how the thermostat worked so I had no idea about the fan settings. I think all is good. We will check on our next trip. Thanks everyone!