Community Forums

loisjop · 04-11-2015, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Made it to the roof of my late 2014/early 2015 build Anthem and it has the black 3 bladed fan. Did not take the time to see if it is a C or a D, but noticed they were all three black 3 blades. People have asked for build dates and thought that this might help.

Gary

Late 14 early 15 they are certainly not D's. Might be C, but could also be B. I would replace them. Noel

brianw8602 · 04-17-2015, 12:31 PM

Changed all 3 of my AC fans today. As previously posted, I became curious when we started hearing what sounded like distant roosting birds or a faint alarm going off in the bedroom. When I checked the fans, I had an "A" model 6 bladed fan over the bedroom, a "B" and a "C" model on the other 2 AC units.

Total replacement time for all 3 was less than 30 minutes total. The only tools really needed are a phillips head screwdriver to remove the AC shroud, and a slotted tip one to remove the fans. It is that simple. The only reason it took me 30 minutes was I had to climb down once and get some Gorilla Glue. The metal "hat section" that comes with the replacement kit has adhesive strips on the bottom. The included instructions are to install the hat section on the wire box cover. Unfortunately, the adhesive was not strong enough to hold the hat section in place. Couple of drops of Gorilla Glue, problem solved

When I removed the forward and middle AC shrouds, I was surprised to see that they both had the new "hat section" already spot welded in place. Made the install that much faster.

Additionally, when I removed the middle fan, I noted that it had 2 metal washers under the fan, not 1. When I removed the screw holding the blade on, it was apparent the screw had been overtightened because the top washer was concave. Reinstalled with just the 1 metal washer. No need for additional washers.

Roosting birds/alarm sounding in bedroom . . . . gone

ddgilmore · 04-17-2015, 01:48 PM

Brian, thanks for the update& pictures..

Bobfished · 04-22-2015, 11:53 AM

I just checked the blade on my Mach 8 and as of now it looks ok. I have not used the AC very much as I live on the west coast if CA. I have the A version blade. I sent an email to RVP yesterday to request the new version blade because I don't want to wait until the blade comes apart and damages the AC when I am using the AC and need it.
After browsing the Internet the noise problem is inherent to the Mach 8 and the blade replacement is their only solution. You would think they would have a way to get the blades without each person having to call them and asked for one.
On the Casita trailer forum, there are some owners that are having the Mach 8 replaced with a different AC even tough it is new! Expensive but solves the problem.
Hopefully I will hear back in a few days and I will get a new "D" version blade.

loisjop · 04-22-2015, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobfished

I just checked the blade on my Mach 8 and as of now it looks ok. I have not used the AC very much as I live on the west coast if CA. I have the A version blade. I sent an email to RVP yesterday to request the new version blade because I don't want to wait until the blade comes apart and damages the AC when I am using the AC and need it.
After browsing the Internet the noise problem is inherent to the Mach 8 and the blade replacement is their only solution. You would think they would have a way to get the blades without each person having to call them and asked for one.
On the Casita trailer forum, there are some owners that are having the Mach 8 replaced with a different AC even tough it is new! Expensive but solves the problem.
Hopefully I will hear back in a few days and I will get a new "D" version blade.

According to RVP there is nothing wrong operationally with the original six bladed fans. They are just noisy, but RVP doesn't recognize that as a problem. They came out with the three bladed fans that can be interchanged between two different units, they just happen to be quieter. Some people decided to retrofit the new three blade fans, unfortunately the early model fans have a high failure rate. If you have a unit that came with the three blade fan and they fail RVP will replace the fan under warranty, but if you replace the original fan with the new ones, just for noise abatement, RVP will charge for them. They will however replace the earlier models with the new D fan if they fail after you have paid for the earlier models.

poppopc · 07-31-2015, 12:16 PM

A big thank you to RVP product customer service staff.
Just called them. My fan blades are cracked in the hub. They will ship three new blades out today. "NO CHARGE" The. factory replaced the blades last Sept.
Going from original 5 blade to 3 blade "B" version, to the new "D" version.
Should receive next week . See sig. 2013 Winnie 40U three airs.

voltdoc · 07-31-2015, 03:05 PM

Have posted the same info in other threads about the RVP/Airxcel Fans but just in case you missed it the new "D" version of the fans are holding up well.

My "D" fans were installed 1/1/15, have about 5 months of heavy AC use and show no signs of stress cracking. The B and C fans will start exhibiting very small stress cracks after a few weeks of run time (not elapsed time) and will eventually fail - usually in a very noisy and sometimes destructive manner.

For those new to the saga, below is a photo of a stress crack just beginning on a B or C fan, note it is on the bottom edge of the hub right where it meets the blade. On fans with low hours you might not even see the cracks, but you might be able to feel them. At that point you may have a few weeks of run time left on that fan, but IMO there is enough evidence of failure to call Airxcel and get new ones under warranty. If you let it go it may take out your condenser coil like some have experienced recently and you will have a much more time consuming problem.

brobox · 08-01-2015, 11:00 AM

Rob,
Do you know anything about new fan motor mount kits? When I had the cover off my A/C I found the fan motor was not holding on one side. The RVP service center told me there number one reason for failure was the fan motor coming loose and the fan going through the coils.

I had a call from another forum member the other day and he has 2 fans that have come loose at the mounts and hitting the coils. RVP is sending him "new kits", it's the first I have heard of it.

voltdoc · 08-01-2015, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

Rob,
Do you know anything about new fan motor mount kits? When I had the cover off my A/C I found the fan motor was not holding on one side. The RVP service center told me there number one reason for failure was the fan motor coming loose and the fan going through the coils.

I had a call from another forum member the other day and he has 2 fans that have come loose at the mounts and hitting the coils. RVP is sending him "new kits", it's the first I have heard of it.

Hey Chuck, no I have not heard of any "new" mount kits. But many of us previously have had the problem with the 3 rubber foot mounts (Airxcel calls them isolators) on the fan motor being loose (photo below shows the motor and two of the isolators visible), so Airxcel has sent me a few of those mounts.

According to Phil Robinson, an engineer at Airxcel (who has now retired), the production line was not properly tightening those isolators. They changed the production process and supposedly fixed the issue. This is what Phil said in an email in Dec 2014.

Rob,
The fan isolator installation was moved to position #2 on the assembly line several months ago, this allows the installer of the isolator a visual clue as to whether the serrated screw has backed out to any degree after installing the isolator. The incidence of Loose isolators has decreased markedly since then.

So based on that comment I would guess up until mid 2014 Airxcel production the loose isolators are likely and installation of the "fixed" units on coaches must be several weeks beyond that.

I had mounts loose on two of my AC's and they ran OK that way for a while until I noticed them after my first fan failure. Of course when the fan blade lets go even if they are tight the imbalance often rips them in half anyway.

The mounts screw in from the bottom of the case and the top has a stud that the motor bolts to. The screw in the bottom thru the case are the ones that typically were loose. It is possible (tho not always) to tighten them without removing the AC unit. I have replaced a few of those isolators. Hope that helps...

loisjop · 08-01-2015, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

Rob,
Do you know anything about new fan motor mount kits? When I had the cover off my A/C I found the fan motor was not holding on one side. The RVP service center told me there number one reason for failure was the fan motor coming loose and the fan going through the coils.

I had a call from another forum member the other day and he has 2 fans that have come loose at the mounts and hitting the coils. RVP is sending him "new kits", it's the first I have heard of it.

Chuck, this kind of like the chicken or the egg. However, it is my opinion from experience and Robs research it is the fans, typically the three blade B&C version, that is causing the problems including the mounts.
To answer your question the motor mounts are held on with three screws/studs that screw up through the shroud. The vibration mount then screw onto the studs. The mounts have the female inserts on one end and the male stud epoxied to the other end which go through the motor mounts. They are not the most robust motor mounts you will find, but I think they do the job unless you lose a blade on the fan.
You can replace the mounts without removing the a/c unit as long as the screws/studs haven't backed out of the shroud. If you have occasion to replace the mount I would make sure the screws/studs are all the way up, you can do this from the top, and then apply blue loctite to the mount before screwing it on to the screw/stud. Noel

brobox · 08-01-2015, 04:01 PM

Thanks Rob, and Noel. I will pull the covers off my A/C's when I get home and check the fan mounts out. I have two A/C with the original 6 blades and now the new one that is suppose to be a D blade. The A/C that went out only had two mounts holding the motor down and that concerned me.

poppopc · 08-05-2015, 02:29 PM

Replace all three fans today, with the "D" model fans. Easy. But 2 of the 3 solenoids that have the plastic "L" brackets are broke . Are laying on the bottom floor if the AC. Wonder any easy fix other than calling RVP for replacements. Not sure what the part is for or called. Is in the picture above in VOLTDOC's post!

poppopc · 08-05-2015, 02:31 PM

Oh used old hats saw no reason to replace. Fans did not hit any thing.

C310 · 08-05-2015, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poppopc

Replace all three fans today, with the "D" model fans. Easy. But 2 of the 3 solenoids that have the plastic "L" brackets are broke . Are laying on the bottom floor if the AC. Wonder any easy fix other than calling RVP for replacements. Not sure what the part is for or called. Is in the picture above in VOLTDOC's post!

All three of my motor start capacitors also broke off as seen below. When I received new motors with the capacitors installed I relocated them to the pan so it won't happen again. To my knowledge they are still mounting them to the motors so beware.