Furion AC unit freezes up in less than an hour

[dave brown]

Starting to need to use the brand new AC unit attached the roof of my 265BH as it's in the mid 80's outside (95f inside!). my AC unit will run for almost an hour, then the air quits moving or slows way down through the unit and the RV starts heating up again real fast. UNREAL, NOTHING WORKS PROPERLY IN THIS RV, SO INSANELY DISSAPOINTING. If i wait 2 hours the unit works again but not for too long before it freezes up again.
As with all the other major problems in this rv i decided the dealer nor GD, nor Furion would help me out so i climbed up and took the AC apart... only to find the condensor completely frozen in a thick white frost. Then i took apart the isolated/insulated cooling part... the "radiator" was completely frozen in a thick solid white frost/snow allowing no air to pass through when the squirrel cage fan was running. So the unit condenses and freezes up in less than an hour making it unusable ! North of Reno the outside humidity is %14. inside we have had no showers or cooking or even dishes, just us breathing. Again, knowing i won't have any official help if any of you out there has a solution PLEASE let me know. Gonna be getting really hot around here soon. i may have to rig up a window unit to stay cool in here. unreal and continually disappointing. Am i the only 265BH owner that is having problems with every single system ?

[Country Campers]

With that amount of frozen condensation I would guess that the humidity might be a little higher than 14% , the moisture had to come from somewhere. With that aside try to run the AC on low fan instead of auto. This has helped us in the higher humidity areas , I realize you are in a low humidity area but this may help. Low fan speed will help the AC due its job , it will take a little longer to cool down but leaving the fan run on low will help in the long run. Let me know if this helps any.

Brian

[flyfshrockies]

dave brown 80's near Reno NV? I can believe the low humidity, just talked to the sister there and she said it was dry with light winds. It seems odd with low humidity that all that condensation would accumulate. Good luck!

[howson]

dave brown

Is the temp probe moved down out of the unit to accommodate running the furnace? I wonder if relocation of that sensor has the opposite affect of now messing with air conditioner cycling.

On a separate note, as previously mentioned this forum is not a place to document complaints, but I can't let the statement that GD will not provide any assistance go without following up. Your issues are extraordinary, taken at face value. Normally, if an owner is politely persistent and follows GD's process, they have responded in every instance I'm personally aware of where there's been an issue.

So--what I'm asking is for you to send me the case number (via a Private Message) from Grand Design Customer Service and the person you spoke with that is refusing to provide you with assistance on the refrigerator and also this air conditioner issue. I'll forward the information to the appropriate party.

What you're experiencing from the dealership is sadly quite common. I recently commented to a senior GD executive that the industry's dealership problem is, IMO, the #1 problem today and what's going to drive people away (because of experiences like the one you're going through). If their lack of response is driving you to try fixing things yourself...well, that's one of the reasons for this forum so we'll continue to help as much as we possibly can.

Hang in there--once these (large) bugs are worked out it will get better. (We can at least have hope!)

Just trying to help...

Howard

[Jlawles2]

dave brown Dave, unfortunately roof top AC units are built like refrigerators and non serviceable. As you seem to not be afraid to do some detective work yourself, can you tell if the unit is using Capillary tubes or a true expansion valve? Have you checked the ducting inside to see if there are any obstructions that may hinder airflow? Do not forget to check the inlet for obstructions. Any obstruction in airflow can cause issues. If you have a clamp on amp meter they have the amperages listed for full load on the compressor. It appear it should be pulling about 12.6 amps if the system is properly charged.

Also check the evaporator coil drain for obstructions. Do you ever see condensation running off the roof of the unit?

Not certain about the low speed fan vs high speed. You may need to experiment with both. Typically when the coil freezes like that the air crossing the coil is not moving fast enough to keep the coil temperature above freezing. Lastly (I hate to mention this with all of the issues you are having) if this is the first time the unit has been used, it could be undercharged or have a leak. Under charged unit will not have enough low pressure to prevent the freon from dropping below freezing thus dropping the temperature of the evaporator coil too far and fast causing the condensation that is being pulled from the air to freeze.