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BarneyS's avatar
BarneyS
Nomad
Apr 19, 2015

Replacing Air Conditioner - which one?

I have an 11 year old Dometic Brisk Air 15,000btu air conditioner in my trailer. For the past several years I have had to climb up on the roof, after the trailer has been sitting unused for 30 days or longer, take the shroud off the unit, and physically turn the fan blades and lubricate them before the air conditioner will operate normally. After doing that, it will continue to operate and put out fairly cool air as long as it does not sit unused for a long period of time.

I am getting up in the years and no longer feel too comfortable climbing up on the roof of my RV. I do not want to just repair the existing unit but instead want to replace it with a new one. My question is:

Should I purchase a direct replacement (Dometic 15000 BTU Duo Therm Brisk 2 Air RV Air Conditioner Complete)
or

Dometic Commercial Grade 15000btu
or

Dometci Penguin II High Capacity
or perhaps a

Coleman unit.

All would have to be ducted models but no heat pump.
I would appreciate any recommendations you might have or even any additional units I have not seen yet but high quality.

I will be doing the installation myself(with the help of my two sons and a grandson or two).

Thank you! :)
Barney

23 Replies

  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    Getting your old Tstat to work with a newer unit may be a problem so check compatibility first.

    I had much the same problem last year with one of my 12 year old Dometic heat pumps. By putting 1/4" spacers under the front fan motor mount it no longer rubbed the fan housing which was making it hard to turn. Tried oiling for several years and this would help but not for long. This solution has solved the problem for a couple of cents.

    Try spinning the shaft before and after raising it up. I think you will be able to tell how much longer it keeps spinning. I could not hear it dragging or hitting and the rubber motor mounts were good. The pan/base in that area looks to be slightly bent/sagging.
  • I replaced the fans in my ten year old units. But I see your point about replacing with new. I'd go with direct replacement.
  • Have you tried "flipping" the fan by hand from inside the RV?

    If I were to replace the air conditioner I would upgrade to a heat pump model.

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