Air Conditioner

[Keith Moffett]

Now that is a good idea Fred.  Our basement air wasn't worth running in 112 deg in eastern Wa.  Your idea would have helped.
Kevin
Once done and working right.  How about you post an update.  What is your impression over all?  Was it worth the cost?  Etc. 
Also, I believe some coaches drain the condenser to the roof and some have a drain tube which needs to be cleaned and reconnected.  You might mention it to the tech.  Wouldn't due to have it drain inside the roof.

[Kevin Patchen]

 This dip switch on the main air conditioner which is considered to be the main air-conditioner the center front or rear?  Is it physical adjustment? 

[Fred Brooks]

Hi Kevin,
  I am pretty sure by 2006 Monaco was making the forward air conditioner the "primary"  and air #2 & 3 are daisy chained to the primary thru a 6 wire communication wire (looks like a phone line). On air # 2 you select zone 2 on its pc board dip switch location and air # 3 you select zone 3 if you have only ONE thermostat managing all 3 zones.
  Blessings & Joy,  Fred Brooks

[Kevin Patchen]

Currently my thermostat is set as zone 1 is the front ac unit, zone 2 is the center and, zone 3 is the back (bed room).  So the way I’m getting this is zone 1 is primary. What does that have todo with the dip switch?  Is this just a setting of 1,2,and 3 and making sure they all function in all three conditions (ac, heat pump, and aqua hot) in each location? 

[Fred Brooks]

Kevin,
 It sounds like your thermostat is configured correctly. What I am talking about is if you have an air conditioner replaced, the technician needs to move the dip switches to the correct location on the PC board inside the air conditioner to match the location of the air conditioner from which it was replaced.

[Kevin Patchen]

Got it make perfect sense.
Thanks again

[Bob Bulot]

One of the best indications (besides a sweaty brow) that these unrepairable units are going bad is the amperage they pull.  As the compressors start to fail, they require more and more power to operate.  When I replaced my 11 yr old penguin, it would start at around 18 amps, but would steadily increase to around 25-27 amps before tripping the breaker. 

The new unit starts at around 14 amps and can get to a max 16-18 amp draw after being on a while. 

If you have the old 5 button thermostats, you will need to also need to replace the thermostats.  Note also that there is a market for the 5 button thermostats on eBay to help ease the pain.

[Kevin Patchen]

Greetings from San Dimas CA
 We had our new air-conditioners installed Last Thursday. I must say they are much more  efficient than our older air-conditioners. (We are cool now)Some of the challenges during the installation are as follows.
Number 1 if you have drains on your current coach install, you will require  an additional seal.  The reason for the additional seal is to allow for a cut out  where the drains pass through the seal and to the interior side of the cut out for the air-conditioner. (Cut out is caulked we’re drain passes through)this is where the drain is located.
Number 2  each of the new air-conditioners required a new computer board,  this is so the five button thermostat existing on my coach would work with the new Air conditioner.   There are detailed instructions included with the computer board but I would suggest you have a good electrician on hand.  The dip switches must also be here adjusted for location upon installation.
Number 3  getting the new air-conditioners on and off of the roof is also a challenge if you don’t have more than a couple of people. We had three people one on the roof one on the ground and extra just for good measure pulling the new AC units on to the roof up a ladder .  The technicians through the old AC units off the roof.  I would suggest not doing this if at all possible. (Makes a mess)
Number 4  make sure you allow for plenty of time to do these installs. From what I understand most removal and replacement of AC units take less than an hour per unit. These because of the ducting and the additional seal and caulking and computer board replacement take a couple hours apiece.

[Bob Bulot]

Just to clarify, there’s two ways to upgrade older Dometics.  As reported, a special control board can be installed so tha the older 5 button thermostats will work.  At about the same cost, or a little less, upgrading the thermostats to the new models eliminates the need for the new control boards.  The added benefit to me was that the new thermostats are much easier to read and have an inside temp reading. Also, as I mentioned, there is still a good market for the 5 button models on eBay.