Dash air condensor

[Richard Faure]

I got the fan working on the condensor for the dash air. The condensor is right behind the bumper, not very good air flow over it.  My air conditioning guy said to put a vent in front of the condensor.  Checking to see if anyone has cut a grill into the front to get air to the condensor?



2005 Beaver Patriot thunder

[Bill Lampkin]

Our PT has the same setup as yours, I'm sure; and when the cab A/C works, it works quite well. Ours is in need of another recharge, as it was blowing warm air the other day in Eugene. I think its been about 3 years now since the last charge of R134a, does anyone know if 3 years on a refrigerant charge is normal?

[Eric Maclean Co-Admin]

Richard
With the condenser fan mounted out of the air flow ( behind the bumper) the electric condenser fan should run any time the A/C is turned on to keep the high side pressure from getting out of control how ever most of these systems are set up to run the condenser fan based on high side pressure through a trinary switch the efficiency can be increased by having the fan run anytime the A/C is turned on.

The condenser should have at least 4 inches or the thickness of the electric fan Assembly on either side of the condenser to allow for enough air flow to cool the condenser. If your in doubt of the condenser fan air flow or performance a simple system check with gages should verify low air flow equals higher high side pressures and lowered system performance as the system struggles to shed heat the delta T at the evaporator goes down.

 By the way most diesel pushers mount there condenser at the rear on the side where there is no vehicular air flow either

Hope this helps
Eric

[Eric Maclean Co-Admin]

Bill
No the system should hold a charge for a life time but in the real world there Are many spots the system can leak from and few are sealed that well. Three years is a slow leak and hard to find.
A good A/ C shop with a refrigerant sniffer may or may not be able to track down the leaks.
First place to check on these coaches are at the hose fittings and crimped connections and clamps.

Hope this helps
Eric

[Bill Lampkin]

The high side hose fitting at the compressor is always dirty and oily, I suspect that is the leak, however, our mechanic has tried to fix this twice, of course, it doesn't leak when it leaves his shop, as all is nice and clean, but within a few hundred miles, the tell-tale dirt and oil reappear. Is there a better high side hose fitting to use?

[Eric Maclean Co-Admin]

Bill
You might be able to get a good A/C shop to replace the fitting and recrimp the line however a lot of shops aren't willing to work with old hose opting to replace the whole hose instead .

Eric

[John Fitzgerald]

Unfortunately it can be hard to find a good shop to properly check A/C on a motor coach.  I am an HVAC / refrigeration tech and see that it can take the better part of a day to REALLY check out something this large.  You may be fortunate and find the leak quickly, especially if you know these systems and the most common leak areas.  As they get old, replacement of most or all of the parts may be needed for reliable future operation.  I personally would prefer a leak check with nitrogen, it is the best way to find a leak that is a location not easy to get at.  If you look under your coach and realize what lives there 24/7, and the abuse received from the road, it is no wonder about the failures and level of maintenance needed.  The system is only as strong as the weakest point.

John

[Lee Welbanks]

The condenser on my 06 PT is mounted behind the front axle up on the wall in front of the 1st basement compartment, it has a big fan in front of it for air movement. The fan runs anytime the A/C is on, I think you would need a bigger or better fan in front of your condenser. I've only had one leak in the system in 10 years and that was on the high pressure side where the T port service fitting was, I replaced that and has been good ever since.
If you have a spot on the hoses where there is oil you can be sure that there is a leak there, get that repaired and your good to go.
I would not go and cut a vent hole in the front of your coach.