Dometic A/C is CRAP!!!

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

You could install a webcam, set up your own site, then supplement your retirement income through pay-per-view. [emoji1787]

Unfortunately, given my current physique, I'm afraid I would have to PAY OUT, not get paid!

[wnew813]

Yes, we replaced 4 under warranty, because the auto fan setting would not work, I did bring it to another dealer and they said the wiring was wrong from the thermostat to the control board, it still didn't work and I figured it can't be fixed. We keep the fan on low and it seems to keep the temp steady. I've read it cycles fast because the controls and air are not isolated from each other. There is a company that makes a mod for the air flow and they say it improves airflow and controls the cycling. Good luck.

[Budman2082]

Has anyone had success tapping into a Dometic 15K and adding coolant? My coils froze up and all I need is a top off but I can’t get anyone to do it. They all want to sell me a new AC for $1900.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Budman2082

Has anyone had success tapping into a Dometic 15K and adding coolant? My coils froze up and all I need is a top off but I can’t get anyone to do it. They all want to sell me a new AC for $1900.

I'm sure it could be done. Freon had to be added somehow originally. Which coil is freezing up, the condenser or the evaporator? What exact model do you have?

This fellow gives some troubleshooting tips and shows how to install a tap on an RV A/C:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNu5dnkbLYI

Ray

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Budman2082

Has anyone had success tapping into a Dometic 15K and adding coolant? My coils froze up and all I need is a top off but I can’t get anyone to do it. They all want to sell me a new AC for $1900.

Here is another thought for you. Your AC is a sealed unit. If it is low on Freon it has a leak.....It won't hold the new charge either unless you find and fix the leak. Filling it will only delay the inevitable...a new unit.


Another thought, Furrion Chill AC, supposed to be higher quality and can be adapted easily to fit the Dometic setup.

[Budman2082]

A I saw that video
I saw that video and it’s exactly what have. Can’t get any RV ac guy to do it. One said it’s illegal, one said the closed systems aren’t meant to be topped off. Just shell out $1900 for a new one. The tap looks like no problem, the gauges and the 410a coolant are the problem.supposedly you need license just to buy it.

[Budman2082]

We are at a campground in Fenwick island, De. Will be in storage here till spring. We only have 3-4 weeks of hot weather to worry about. Might have to hold off till next spring maybe then I can afford a new unit.

[Budman2082]

I was hoping to top off Freon to get thru the rest of the Summer.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Budman2082

We are at a campground in Fenwick island, De. Will be in storage here till spring. We only have 3-4 weeks of hot weather to worry about. Might have to hold off till next spring maybe then I can afford a new unit.

Stayed at an insanely large RV park near there last Oct, Treasure Beach? Was crazy and fun before Halloween. That park should have it's own zip code!

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Budman2082

A I saw that video
I saw that video and it’s exactly what have. Can’t get any RV ac guy to do it. One said it’s illegal, one said the closed systems aren’t meant to be topped off. Just shell out $1900 for a new one. The tap looks like no problem, the gauges and the 410a coolant are the problem.supposedly you need license just to buy it.

That's too bad, especially with heat wave coming this week. I would seek out a real AC mech. I had a very small leak on my home central air unit, mech said it is not cost effective to do a leak test, and simply topped off refrigerant. 3-4 years later, it is sill working fine.

[Budman2082]

That’s where we are at. We have a lot on the lake. It’s the quiet side but if you want to party this place has it all. We don’t travel with the RV anymore. We leave it here in summer and spend winters in the fla keys we have a family place down there.

[markrmasters]

We are having an issue with our Dometic 15k as well. I have about 6 months left on the warranty. Dometic help center has been helpful, but I am having trouble getting in to have it pronounced dead. The unit was built in 2017 although we took delivery in January of 2020. I am waiting for a 3rd party shop to check it out. Every rv we have had has had a Dometic unit and have never had any problems with any of them. BTW, the tag on mine was made in China.

[CA Fisherman]

Anyone going to the Hershey RV show this year in September can check out the new Truma Avemta roof top RV air conditioner. Believe it is available in 13.5 BTU and 15,000 BTU models. It can be controlled wirelessly with the Aventa remote control, the Truma CP+ control panel and can be integrated into multiplex systems. Do not believe it's yet offered on the aftermarket, only on select new RV's. Eventually this may be an alternative to Dometic and others.

[Papadave]

I use a $127 window unit in my wolf pup. Quiet and effective and runs off my 2000 w. Generator when needed. I’ll mount it on the roof when my Dometic quits. Just need to split the cool air away from the return by rigging up a divider.

[Texan99]

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

Makes me wonder if power is the issue. If the A/C power gets too low lots of bad things happen. Do you use a power protector (Hughes, Progressive?) We have been to a few campgrounds and RV parks and found the 110v to get as low as 101 due to all the campers using A/C.

Low voltage does not damage electrical equipment unless the device is affected by low voltage and not protected. For most appliances, if the volts go down, the amps go down, the watts go down and the temperature goes down- no problem. For motors, the amps do go up with decreasing volts, but the motor in the AC unit is protected with an embedded thermal switch which disconnects the motor before the temperature gets to high.

The converter in your RV probably has low voltage protection. Mine does, but it's an upgraded one, not what came from the factory. It shuts off at 103 volts.

One more thing and I hope this comes across as informative and not lecturing, but there is no such thing as 110 or 220 volts in this counry-120 and 240 are the standard system voltages. Saying 110 could be just people's common vernacular, but I'm not really sure sometimes.

Motors are rated at 115 or 230 volts to allow for voltage drop.

[NXR]

One more thing and I hope this comes across as informative and not lecturing, but there is no such thing as 110 or 220 volts in this counry-120 and 240 are the standard system voltages. Saying 110 could be just people's common vernacular, but I'm not really sure sometimes.

You must be one of them there youngsters while some of us still live in the past.

I was almost 30 when the NEC changed their load calculation formulas to use 120 VAC instead of 110 VAC. There actually was an intermediate jump from 110 to 117 VAC but it didn't last too long.

Good-quality motors have self-resetting thermal protection built in but they are not designed to prevent motor damage, just electrical fires. They are not over-current protection devices.

Ray

[Dodger454]

Originally Posted by poppytoymaker

I lost the Dometic A/C about a year into my last class C but it was my fault running off of house current. Never had a problem after that, and the one on my 2021 is pretty good except that they're noisy.

How does running off of “house” current damage a unit??

[Texan99]

Originally Posted by NXR

You must be one of them there youngsters while some of us still live in the past.

I was almost 30 when the NEC changed their load calculation formulas to use 120 VAC instead of 110 VAC. There actually was an intermediate jump from 110 to 117 VAC but it didn't last too long.

Good-quality motors have self-resetting thermal protection built in but they are not designed to prevent motor damage, just electrical fires. They are not over-current protection devices.

Ray

It's been 120 as long as I've been working and I'm 74. According to Wikipedia, 120 volts became standard in 1967.

According to Sensata Technologies, who makes Klixon type motor protectors:

Klixon 3HM motor protectors are line break automatic reset controls
which are wired in series with the motor windings. These protectors
are designed to track winding temperatures and respond to changes in
line current, which provides protection against the overload conditions
listed below:
• Running Overload • High/Low Voltage Locked Rotor
• High Voltage Light Load • High Discharge Temperature

Make of it what you will.

[Joe_GA]

I have a 2012 Cedar Creek that has a Dometic 13.5K in the bedroom and a 15K in the living area. The 15K died last year and I replaced it with another Dometic 15K. So far, so good. I don't think 8 years on a unit that gets bounced all over the country is too bad. I wonder where my replacement was made. I'll have to crawl on the roof to find out.

[270S]

Originally Posted by Joe_GA

I have a 2012 Cedar Creek that has a Dometic 13.5K in the bedroom and a 15K in the living area. The 15K died last year and I replaced it with another Dometic 15K. So far, so good. I don't think 8 years on a unit that gets bounced all over the country is too bad. I wonder where my replacement was made. I'll have to crawl on the roof to find out.

I'd be very pleased with 8 years, not DOA, 6mnths, 18 months, ....

No need to crawl on roof - Just open A/C intake from inside ceiling. The sticker is there.