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Roof air repair replace
looks like I get to deal with 20 year old roof airs.
the rear unit looks good, blowing 60 deg F air.
The front unit not so healthy blowing maybe 68 deg F. Good air flow coil not frozen.
The mid unit seems dead. Blower runs, blows room temp air. The compressor is not running based on the amp draw of only around 8.
What would be your recommendation? Bit the bullet and replace or try and find someone who will tap the closed loop system and add freon. For those that have taken that path how long has the fix held up.
These are Dometic (penguins , I think).
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19 Replies
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I would replace with dometic penguin and up grade the touch pads , you have to do that any ways to bad you did not ask a month ago I had three new ones I could have shipped them to you, sorry!!!!!!
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We have a couple Dometic roof ACs in stock. If you decide you want to replace it give us a shout & we can either get you on our schedule or ship the AC to you if you want to do the work yourself!
-Kyle
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thanks peter.
kyle, I’ll call to discuss price and shipping.
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We replaced the 20 year old front Penguin 2 years ago with a new Penguin. The hardest part is getting the units on and off the roof as they are heavy! I know need to replace the bedroom unit because the fan will run but if I try to switch it to cool the Low Power light comes on and it shuts down. I think in the long run it will be cheaper to replace than try to have it repaired.
One thing to remember in replacing the older units and upgrading the thermostat is if you are unable to run a new cable and have to use the old style cable an adapter has to be used to allow the new thermostat to work.
I need to call Tradewinds for a price myself!!!
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I had the gang at tradewinds do my a/c units this past spring. No problems ,no hassles and the price seemed ok to me.
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Thanks for the input as always. Glad to know how the new thermostats work.
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I cannot remember if it was on this board or another discussing how noisy the new Penguins are. The one I replaced is much louder than the 20 year old one. Any one else have this issue? If so is there a low profile alternative that is no so noisy? I don’t think I want that much noise in the bedroom unit.
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Tom, my wife is a Dometic sales rep, and she says that yes the new Penquins are louder, but all you need is an anti vibration kit to lessen the noise. That kit is available thru the dealer you get the ac units from. If you have any questions concerning them send me a text and I’ll get it to my wife. Good luck
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Tom,
The kit number if you are interested is (331447116) it is listed as a Service Grommet.
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I have nothing but the word of the guy who fixed my rear Airxcel unit (Coleman, RVProducts), but he said that the new Dometic units are not very good…he said my older units were much better built and as long as parts are available, he would not swap them for the new Dometics. He claimed he has changed out many 1 year old Dometics that were junk.
Mine just needed a new starting capacitor kit and all is well again…..I bought spare kits for the other three so I can do them if they fail. Parts for all 4 units were less than $2000 for all of the capacitors (3 per unit).
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There’s a llot more to noise control than sticking a rubber grommet under a unit. I understand isolating vibrations from the roof of the coach, and how given the right frequencies the resulting noise can drive you crazy. But when I am in a coach with roof airs I hear both the compressor and fan noise, sometimes they are at the point of actually drowning out conversation with the biggest noise source being the fan.
I will admit as my hearing deteriorates some noises are more apparent, and others I can hardly hear.
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JON – CAN YOU HEAR THIS?
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I don’t think the Penquin is anymore problematic than any other ac unit. This is not the husband of the rep speaking, but a person that talks to scores of people that have penguins on their units. Prior to owning my coach I owned Airstreams and they are only outfitted with Penquins with only the typical complaints ( those that are never satisfied) . Prior to purchasing my coach I talked with several of the Entertainer coach lessors in Nashville and they buy Penquins exclusively. They have 50 -150 coaches, so if Penquins were sooo bad don’t you think they would find an alternative. Don’ t think I’m trying to push Dometic products because I’m not, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The Dometic product may have some problems but they are not the dog some would have you believe. Remember the squeaky wheel gets the grease and most times the only time you hear something about a product is when it fails not when it is doing what is was designed to do.
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just the back and forth between Jon and Tom is worth every penny of my dues that was funny Tom! Geez its like Laurel and Hardy. Funny stuff.
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Fred – Where are your due’s, I can’t find that check anywhere.
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