-
Cruisair compressors
Had two (Starboard & bedroom) of four Cruisair compressors fail while out in Desert Shores, Indio, CA. Also, an R134-A Freon leak on the high side of our OTR (fortunately, it accepted and held 12.5 PSI which allowed us to travel cross-country comfortably). We are going to have Prevost Winter Garden, FL make repairs and recharge when we begin heading back West ~ probably in early-July.
Today, our third (Port) Cruisair compressor failed – while at Pelican Lake, Naples, FL. Daniel (mobile tech with Land and Sea) said the unit was pulling 56 Amp, when it should require less than @25 Amp to start…it was tripping the Hughes Autoformer Surge Protector at the power post. We had hoped that perhaps the starter was bad but, unfortunately it was another compressor.
The good news is that Daniel has been able to receive two Tecumseh compressors and will be removing the two mid-Coach Cruisair units (Starboard and bedroom) on Thursday to rebuild and clean – hoping to have them available for re-installation by this Saturday. Not sure yet, if/when a third unit will be available? Should know more later this week.
Meanwhile, I’ve been able to use the LG tower AC unit up front (running ducting and drain hose out the small drivers side power window…it’s working very well and the tower sits out of the way on the Corian counter behind the driver’s seat). Going to pick up some insulation tomorrow to wrap around the ducting hose and to better seal up the small window.
Honestly, if I could figure out how to make the ducting work with the slant out windows in the bedroom – I’d probably purchase a 2nd tower unit and just forego these darn Cruisairs altogether!
My questions are:
1. Has anyone else had three compressor units fail within a few weeks of each other (temperature were in the 120+’s in Indio this Summer when the Starboard compressor failed – can’t fault it for bailing!; in the upper 80’s when the bedroom’s unit quit; and only the upper 70’s this morning when the Port failed)?
FYI – generally run these Cruisairs at 78 or 79 degrees and the fans on Low or 2nd speed…at most. Don’t believe we’ve overtaxed the units or ever frozen the coils. So, not really sure why they all failed? The bedroom Cruisair was a “new” unit that Olympia took out of the box (had never previously been installed in a Motorcoach). It evidently had an oil leak – which lead to shortening out the compressor.
2. Is it worth keeping the old compressors and having 1-2 rebuild (where?)? Or, better to just order a 4th unit from Tecumseh – to have available as a spare?
-
37 Replies
-
Good Morning Greg and VERY sorry to learn of your CA failures.
Do not know HOW significant it is or if it is possible it could have caused a failure, yet do ask Daniel about putting the evaporator fans on low as limiting air flow across the evaporator coils does change “pressure” within the unit. Yet, sure seems if pressure had been too high or too low, they would have shut down prior to failure. Perhaps a call to AAP in Virginia to seek Fred’s insight will provide the answers.
Best wishes and PLEASE let us know.
ALSO, can you ask Daniel, then provide us the compressor part number? And, whether or not the new compressors are R-22 compatible? THANK YOU
-
Was always told on the 3 we had was run them on high fan mode. Adjust the thermostat for temp. They didn’t like to be restricted across the evaporator coils. Didn’t know if that was right but ours ran for 11 years with just a freon tune up on a couple every once in a while.
-
Jeff,
I ordered the parts below and had Daniel do the bedroom unit refurb while at Pelican last November.
Compressor is NOT 13,000BTU only 12,000BTU, does the job.
I ordered the accessories as listed, had them all replaced also.
AK111AT-004-J7 compressor R22 115V 1 HP air cond
SKU: AKA5512EXA
Brand: Tecumseh Product Co.SKU: 286771
Brand: Tecumseh Product Co.SKU: K7121
Brand: Tecumseh Product Co.Tecumseh overload replaces 8300CRAB45
SKU: K9039
Brand: Tecumseh Product Co.SKU: K14602
Brand: Tecumseh Product Co.SKU: K15007
Brand: Tecumseh Product Co.Hope this helps!
-
The airflow across the evaporator is the throttle. More air more cooling but raises compressor discharge temperature thus pressure. All ac system systems have a high pressure cut off for safety. At 120 outside air, to reject heat from the r22, requires much higher temps/press probably resulting in compressor cycling. Low fan on cool days can result in low pressure but again there should be a working low pressure cutout as well. There is a guy creating a version of the cruseair using large condenser and way more air flow which is the correct way to boost performance in high outside temps.
-
Thank you DT!
-
Turns out that the Port Cruisair unit’s supply charge fitting also had not been properly tightened, resulting in the R22 leaking out and causing the compressor to overheat/seize when the internal oil leaked! Haven’t heard back from Olympia – so doubtful they’ll Warranty this compressor (nor, the compressor they installed on the new Bedroom unit…with the exact same issue!). The same tech worked on both of these units and apparently did not realize the Freon was leaking out even as he was filling each – as the fittings had not been properly tightened.
The good news is that Daniel (mobile tech with Land and Sea) was true to his word. He returned last Thursday to remove and clean all three Cruisairs for rebuilding each with a new Tecumseh compressor. Daniel installed and charged all three Cruisairs earlier today and they have been operating/cooling perfectly. And, he Warranties these compressors/his work for one year!
An expensive lesson…that didn’t have to happen had the tech checked his work. It pays to have an AC tech who is very familiar with Cruisairs from working not only on Prevost busses but, also servicing boats in the marine industry…to ensure the job gets done right.
-
Those compressors you purchased and installed are not the correct ones and will not handle the needs. Saying that, they will probably not last 6 mos. Another bad thing is AAP has gone under, so we are looking for a different source for the correct size compressor.
-
My understanding is same as Dana, the compressor will fail early and this was from AAP as well from ETLC and Jeff deals with this issue every day.
-
This is a hell of a thing. I just bought 2 of the 12k compressors. One for my front unit and one for a spare. I have read numerous post saying that although the performance may decrease slightly the 12k replacement would be fine. Are there any replacements that are acceptable?
-
DID I READ THIS CORRECT> AAP SHUT DOWN ?. WHERE NOW ?.
1984 96" with 8V92TA
(remodeled Liberty Coach)
Greenwood, MO -
OMG! If it’s true that AAP is gone, our community is in for a World of $hit!
I always hated cruisair’s but AAP made getting things working again at least doable. Without this resource where are those of us without roof airs supposed to turn?
-
Let the Minisplit Era begin
-
If someone were to repackage a mini split outdoor unit so it was only as tall as a Cruisair, they’d dominate the coach market. I finally committed to removing my Cruisairs this year, but haven’t settled on which mini split setup I’m using. It’s a challenge.
-
Cant say much now, but i know there may be someone looking to help out with the cruiseair situation. More to come!!
-
Thats good news! Keep us posted.
Log in to reply.