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Old 08-07-2015, 10:39 AM   #1
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Heat Pump Problem

The last time we were out the front heat pump would not heat or cool. When we got home I made arrangement to take it to a RV shop. They spent an hour diagnosing the problem and said most likely lost it's Freon charge. Stated it was a closed system like a home refer and would have to be replaced to the tune of $1600.00. I said I needed to digest that and went and picked up our MH.

Later that day I recalled a friend that has a beer keg cooler that would not cool any more and another friend/customer had gone to his house and fixed it.

So I called my friend/customer, Lance, and he came over got the unit uncovered and installed a tap into the system and began to recharge when he found the leak. It was on one of the capillary tubes which are very small.

Now to cut to the chase...He was able to silver braze the leak without plugging the tube and we were back in business all for a fraction of cost of replacing.

He also looked at the rear heat pump and found the same thing starting to happen. Bent the tube back a little and now that one should live a little longer.
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Old 08-07-2015, 01:01 PM   #2
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Good that you did not accept their word and got it repaired for much lesser cost than replacement. Your friend is an actual mechanic, not a parts changer. Rare and valuable resource.
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Old 08-07-2015, 03:39 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CoyoteFlatz View Post
The last time we were out the front heat pump would not heat or cool. When we got home I made arrangement to take it to a RV shop. They spent an hour diagnosing the problem and said most likely lost it's Freon charge. Stated it was a closed system like a home refer and would have to be replaced to the tune of $1600.00. I said I needed to digest that and went and picked up our MH.

Later that day I recalled a friend that has a beer keg cooler that would not cool any more and another friend/customer had gone to his house and fixed it.

So I called my friend/customer, Lance, and he came over got the unit uncovered and installed a tap into the system and began to recharge when he found the leak. It was on one of the capillary tubes which are very small.

Now to cut to the chase...He was able to silver braze the leak without plugging the tube and we were back in business all for a fraction of cost of replacing.

He also looked at the rear heat pump and found the same thing starting to happen. Bent the tube back a little and now that one should live a little longer.
You are very fortunate to have friend's in all the right places. These units are not designed to be recharged. Only a true refrigeration man would install a tap to recharge. Most RV repair shops wouldn't have the knowledge or equipment to make that repair. 99% of us would have to suck it up and pay the $1600.00 for a new unit.
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Old 08-08-2015, 10:51 AM   #4
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You are very fortunate to have friend's in all the right places. These units are not designed to be recharged. Only a true refrigeration man would install a tap to recharge. Most RV repair shops wouldn't have the knowledge or equipment to make that repair. 99% of us would have to suck it up and pay the $1600.00 for a new unit.
Yes it is great to have friends in the know...I have to say that comes from living in a small community with the closest big box stores 30 miles away. I find when you live in a remote town there is a need to have the skills to be self reliant. In a community way.

Cheers,
Don
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Old 08-08-2015, 12:32 PM   #5
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Back in my former life many years ago in the North African Desert, I worked on a Seismic Crew. We had LOTS of little window AC units that are also not designed to be repaired but since time was not an issue, I used to repair at least one of these every week. It's not hard to with a little knowledge and right equipment.
However, in today's world of the Bick Lighter Era, labor costs are such that doing repairs like this most of the time are not feasible. What happens if the tech goes to all the trouble of finding and fixing the leak and then finds out the compressor is pooched. Now he has a couple hundred invested and no way to recover his costs since the new compressor is likely over half the cost of a new assembly. Would you be willing to pay for a repaired AC with a new compressor for close to the cost of a new one? I doubt it.
Repairing Lawnmowers falls into the same category.
Too bad, but that's the world we live in I guess.
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