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Topic: It's snowing inside my coach! (Read 934 times) previous topic - next topic

It's snowing inside my coach!

Tiny 1/8" "snow flakes" everywhere in the front half of my coach.  About 5 flakes per sq. inch.  Evenly distributed over everything.  Mystery.  Adjusted the louvers on the front air conditioner and got some blown in my face.  Ah! Ha! So that's where they are coming from.

Now a little history.  Brand new Dometic Penguin from the factory installed by dealer last year after long battle with Dometic.  Problem started a few weeks ago after unit left on at campground.  Stuff is not coming from outside.  Filters clean.

Question:  Any Dometic A/C experts have ideas for a fix before I have to deal with Dometic again?

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #1 –
Are you really getting snow? After all, snow is just frozen water vapor, so maybe your new a/c is really working well. If it isn't real snow, can you describe it a bit better? Is it more like dust? Finely shredded cardboard? Interesting problem.

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #2 –
Keith, If it is real snow you probably are on the verge of a AC failure.  If it is cold enough to freeze  water or water vapor at the evaporator coil it indicates that the compressor is not shutting down on low temp and/or refrigerant charge is low and freezing temps are occurring on the coil. Pull the shroud and cover off and watch as it cycles to see what is going on.
Does the snow immediately melt in your hand from body heat ?  If not it may be something else.
Gary B

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #3 –
It's not real "snow" just flakes of some white stuff.  Turned the unit on last night and it blew some more out in a little puff.

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Keith and Joyce –
It's not real "snow" just flakes of some white stuff. 

Is yours ducted at all?  Is there any sound of a blower fan (squirrel cage) hitting something?

In our ducted system there is an adhesive-backed thin white flexible foam sheet material used to seal the unit to the duct opening.  If your installation has a similar foam and if it loosened and is in contact with a fan, maybe bits could be scraped off and blown by the fan?
Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It's cheaper!  - John C. Bogle

2000 U320 36' non-slide / WildEBeest Rescue
2003 U320

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #5 –
Michelle,

It's a brand new unit and not ducted.  I will take the interior cover off tonight and poke around.  There is no unusual sounds just the usual loudness of these new "improved" units.

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #6 –
This is just a guess ..... but it sounds like some styrofoam packing wasn't removed before installation?

Dave VanAmburg
David VanAmburg
'99 U320 42ft

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #7 –
I have installed two new Dometic unducted A/C units the last two years. I have to agree with Dave, it must have been packing that worked its way into the fan. There really isn't anything else in the system that I can imagine would produce your "Snow".
The selected media item is not currently available.Kent Speers
Locust Grove, OK
1993 U300 SSE 40' (Restored at FOT 2009) Build 4323
720 watts Solar
6V92TA DDEC Silver Engine
2014 Subaru Outback

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #8 –
After taking the inside cover off and finding the stuff in the cover I looked everywhere in the unit from below and there is no evidence of anything white.  So it's a call to Dometic on Monday!

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #9 –
Try running it with the cover off, Then you can see where the snow is coming from,
Then again, It might be all gone by now, what ever was in the unit case,
Cheers,
Brian,

Toys, 1989 Grand Villa, 36 foot, ORED with 300 Hp Cat. 2002 Gemini 34 foot Sailing Catamaran, 2006 Honda Super Blackbird 1100XX, 2002 ZR7 750 Kawasaki,
25 HP Chinese tractor and Backhoe,

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #10 –
Brian,

Yup, tried that yesterday and everything looks OK inside from below.

Talked with Dometic and after talking with a gal who knew far less than me I told her to look in the records at my past contacts.  She did and asked me to hold.  Came back all sweetness and light and told me to take it to a local dealer under warranty.  Obviously their computer told them what a determined pain in the posterior I was last time when they tried to fob me off ::)

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159
 

Re: It's snowing inside my coach!

Reply #11 –
OK so this is what the Dometic authorized dealer has found.  There are roof drains installed on the coach.  It appears that a white powdery substance is in the tubing.  This is being drawn back inside the unit somehow (negative pressure in the plenum?) and being discharged into the coach.  This is the only connection between the interior and exterior.  There is also some of this powder in the rear A/C but it has not got into the coach.  Must be some kind of algae or mildew as the water will not have calcium or salt in it as the coach is not near salt water.

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159