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Old 07-07-2016, 11:16 AM   #1
TVS
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Coleman AC freezes

My Coleman AC could freeze over pretty regularly. The travel trailer was purchased in December brand new - it's a Keystone Outback 298RE. The AC is a Coleman Mach 15 (I can't find any other identification on this unit from inside).

I initially thought that when I had the cold air directed into the vent system, I caused back pressure which didn't allow enough air to cross the coil which contributed to its freezing. I then kept those vents partially open to reduce that.

It still freezes over with those vents open which boggles me a bit.

Getting it to unfreeze is a simple task, but I frequently travel for a day or two or a week, and leave the AC running (a bit higher temp than when I'm here) and I'm concerned that the unit is freezing over while I'm away causing stress on the unit.

I came back once while the unit was running, and it was 90+ degrees in the trailer with the frozen AC running.

Any tips? Things I can do? Or possibly a bad AC?

Filters are clean.
Humidity is low - mountains of Colorado.

Thanks!!!
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Old 07-07-2016, 11:26 AM   #2
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If is the condenser coil freezing ( outside). That indicates the unit is low on freon.


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Old 07-07-2016, 11:29 AM   #3
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You'll have to forgive my partial ignorance. It's the fins that can be seen from inside if the filters are removed. So the inside coils?
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Old 07-07-2016, 11:31 AM   #4
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Move the freeze sensor in the cooling fins. Try about 1inch lower. This can be done from inside the camper with small hands.
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Old 07-07-2016, 11:41 AM   #5
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After googling what a freeze sensor might look like, I did find it (tiny little thing shoved between a couple fins with wires coming out on the return side of the coil). It was about 1" from the bottom on the right side of the fins. When I notice it freezing, it seems to freeze from the middle out, so I moved it a touch higher and toward the middle. I've never noticed the ice on the fins to reach where the sensor was, or that far down. Thanks, I'll let it run today and report back!
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Old 07-07-2016, 11:49 AM   #6
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That part of the A/C coil that can be seen from the inside is the evaporator. There are only a few things that can cause the evaporator to freeze up. 1) The air is too cool (like in the low 60's). 2) The return air flow (that goes through the foam filter) is blocked or partially blocked. 3) The unit has lost part of its refrigerant charge. On something as new as yours, I would suspect a refrigerant leak has caused the problem. There is no service port access in your system to add refrigerant and since it is a new unit, I would ask the dealer to diagnose under warantee and would expect a full replacement rather than a repair.

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Old 07-07-2016, 11:58 AM   #7
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Good info Dan - I did check the baffle that separates the supply from the return, and it was installed incorrectly from the factory with a small gap that allowed the cold air to enter the return air. I fixed that about a month ago when I first noticed this problem. I'm pretty sure that the supply and return aren't mixing.

I'll see if moving that sensor changes anything. It blows cold air, I have the trailer at 74 degrees at the moment and it's 82 out side with the sun shining - so it appears to be doing it's job well, it just freezes over in the afternoon usually after running for a while.

I've ordered and received a Dometic Brisk II unit for the front of the trailer as this one doesn't cool the entire trailer very well (the front is pre-wired). I just have to wait for a friend to get back off vacation to help me install it. I'm hoping that it takes some of the stress off of the back unit so it doesn't run 100% of the time during the day to keep the trailer below 80.
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Old 07-07-2016, 11:59 AM   #8
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Low fan speed will also cause the unit to freeze. Make sure you are medium or high on the fan speed setting
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Old 07-07-2016, 12:00 PM   #9
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Your last post has convinced me that the system is low on refrigerant. The evaporator gets cold when the refrigerant flows through a small orifice (in your case called a capillary tube) and as it passes through the small to a larger tube, the refrigerant expands, drops pressure and gets cold. That event appears to be happening at mid-evaporator as evidenced by first frosting, then freezing at that point. That is the classic example of a unit that is low on refrigerant. While I'm thinking this through, that event would also happen if the capillary tube was kinked, and blocking its flow. That possibly could have happened during its manufacturing process or during installation into your unit.

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Old 07-07-2016, 12:06 PM   #10
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mmartin - I tend to keep it on high, it's only two speeds and to be honest, I don't notice much difference in noise between the two speeds - but thanks.

Dan - I guess it's possible, problem is I'm in the mountains of Colorado and am living in the unit for the summer (in an RV park), so taking it somewhere isn't the easiest thing. I could reach out to Coleman and see if they have ideas. I could remove it and replace it with the Dometic unit that is sitting in the box, and then take it off to be serviced or returned - but then I have a Dometic AC and a Coleman thermostat - is that a problem?
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Old 07-07-2016, 02:42 PM   #11
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That's a tough call. The dealer and/or manufacturer will want to wiggle out of any payment or replacement costs if the opportunity presents itself where they know that the customer has had their hand in the system, however so slightly. They wouldn't hesitate to push the blame of failure onto you rather than the unit. It would be best to have the dealer inspect, diagnose and replace as needed. This way everything will be on their dime and not yours.
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Old 07-07-2016, 06:00 PM   #12
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I vote low on refrigerant as the least possible on a new unit. I would think there is a poor installation and the unit is bypassing air from the outlet side to the inlet side.

Pull the inside grill down and start looking for open seams or places that the air can bypass. Get a roll of the aluminum tape and seal up the leaks. Look got leaks where the power wires come out of the ceiling.

Make sure that the freeze sensor id mounted in the coil ans has not slipped out.

A new unit might be low on refrigerant, but very unlikely. 9 time out of 10, the unit is having issues with low air flow due to bypassing air, clogged filter or evaporator or low fan speed.

Ken
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Old 07-07-2016, 08:36 PM   #13
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At the end of this video will tell you over service will cause it to freeze up. This guy is pretty good.
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Old 07-08-2016, 07:43 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TVS View Post
mmartin - I tend to keep it on high, it's only two speeds and to be honest, I don't notice much difference in noise between the two speeds - but thanks.

Dan - I guess it's possible, problem is I'm in the mountains of Colorado and am living in the unit for the summer (in an RV park), so taking it somewhere isn't the easiest thing. I could reach out to Coleman and see if they have ideas. I could remove it and replace it with the Dometic unit that is sitting in the box, and then take it off to be serviced or returned - but then I have a Dometic AC and a Coleman thermostat - is that a problem?
We had this come up while vacationing in the Colorado mountains several years ago. The evaporator coil froze almost completely while were were out sightseeing one day. Thought for sure the unit had developed problems but our friends, who went sightseeing with us and left their AC running too, had the same issue. Not sure if it was the altitude, lower humidity, and/or cooler outside air. After leaving that area, we never had the problem again.
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