Coleman Mach 15...not working slightly older than 2 years

[Wbago97]

I have a slightly more than 2 years old (installation date) AC that is not blowing cold. It's easy to compare to the 20+ old Coleman 13.5 btu that runs great (replaced fan about 5 years ago and only recent trouble was a dead squirrel in the fan in the past year...). This new one is in the front; the old one is in the back ('97 Winnebago Adventurer).


I've gone through the steps of making sure the filter was clean. I was running it over the summer from time to time. Labor Day weekend I went camping and that's when it was really noticeable. It was icing up. Going through the steps I see that it could be due to low refrigerant and this thing is supposed to be sealed. The air filter was changed in the middle of all of that, but I didn't clean the fins. I would hope no issue on a unit that has been in place for only 2 years. I did not install it myself, but the mobile guy that did seems to be out of business. I'd say it worked for over a year, and the thermostat was replaced at the time of installation.

This weekend, I checked it out again (it got to the mid-80s here in FW, TX yesterday) and it did not seem to be blowing cool air, nor did it ice up.


That all said, could it be leaking refrigerant? Is it worth a shot to put in a bullet piercing valve and try to recharge vs. going all the way to another replacement? I'd try that myself vs spending multiple $$$ instead of just replacing.


Thanks for any advice.

[RVThere]

I'm going on my FOURTH Mach 10 on my 2017 View. 2nd time compressor locked up and one time lost Freon (you'll know that if you see frost on the pipes). You'll know its the compressor if you see it draw 40+ amps when it tries to start.

You can try to add Freon with a piercing valve but it will probably leak out again.

Worth a try since new unit are backordered for months!