We bought our River Ranch RV in July 2021 and found that it was not cooling the cabin very well. I have been in the HVAC industry for 30 + years. So here is what I found.
1. After checking the standard items on the unit to make sure it was working correctly.
I found that the unit was picking up a large amount of heat on the condenser side. This led me to get in the basement and take down the access panel on the inside of the basement. This is where I found the problem. The return duct is not ducted all the way back to the inlet of the unit. So, the return plenum is open to the space that has the compressor and the condenser section. This was allowing the return air to pick up heat from the thin piece of sheet metal between the condenser fan wall and the compressor section. Thus, causing the unit to pick up additional heat. Now what I did to fix the issue is I had to insulate the sheet metal so that the heat will not transfer to the return air. After insulating the unit, it has been working better.
2. Check your ductwork that is running through the basement see if it is sweating. I found several spots that had not been completely insulated or no insulation at all.
3. In addition, I found that where the city water supply comes in, is not sealed appropriately. This allows unconditioned air in the basement which in return is adding to the heat load on your AC.
Conclusion, after I finished insulating those areas in addition to the other problem areas it did help tremendously.
If you need more detail information you can email me at:
r.wood759@gmail.com
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