Well... I have to say, it's been a while since I've been on here.... but, it's Glamis time again!!!

... and being it's hot right now, I thought... need to check out the A/C units.

My RV isa 1999 36' Winnie, one A/C main cabin and one A/C in the back bedroom.
... The rear a/c works good. The front... not so good.

A buddy calls me and tells me a friend, knows this guy who is on his way over to re-charge his rooftop (sealed system) A/C units.
WHAAT??? Come on, I say... no way. You sure??

Sure as salt is in seawater! he did, and it works. Works GREAT in fact, so good... mine were done tonight.

Here's the deal;
Raul and Carlos called me, and scheduled tonight.
They arrived on time, and took off my A/C covers.
... next thing I know, I'm got my a/c on and it's going from 66° to 54° to 49° .. and stops just below that, I think at 48.something.

Amazing!! It's never been that cold.

Raul also took the hose and cleaned out my coil (fins) as they were really dirty. I'm sure that helped as well.
But the key, was he was able to boost... or re-charge my A/C unit. And it's a CLOSED system.

I won't tell you his trick, or... he'll lose business.
But the price was right (Waaay cheaper than buying new - which was where I was possibly headed), and he was speedy and on time.

Now... I'll be freezing in the desert during Halloween week!!



If you'd like to schedule a time... his number is; 619.889.8420

I tried to see if he'll go out Halloween, and go camp to camp. So much easier for you, and for him!!!

...it doesn't really matter for you, but tell him you heard of him via "JohnJensen", it might help me out in the future if I ever need to see him again.

sweet!

Wow, please let us know if he indeed plans to go out to Glamis, I am sure my poor 98 carson could use some A/C TLC

I dont want to rain on your parade but some research might be in order before too many people jump on board with this, I suggest anyone considering this due dillegence... info is available on the net.
Lots of things can be added to a system that will make them appear to perform better and not be in the best interest of the system long term. There are even some things can be dangerous... did you know that you could fill or add propane to a system and it would actually work great, no problems with that right?
Overcharging can make it seem to work better but nobody would be happy when the evap turns into a block of ice and it starts spitting condensate out the vents when it starts melting.
Of course could be that the condenser was dirty and the charge was just a little low from the factory. There are tapping valves that can be added to fill it but a cheap one will leak sooner than a good one.
Just FYI... dont roast the messenger!

No worries...

I should have started with "take this post with a grain of salt"

I will have to say, the "guy" isn't a goofball, make a buck, type of guy. He's smart, knows what he's doing... and takes care of you.
... he's not just in, and out... with his $$ in hand as he's laughing down the driveway.

He did use a quality clamp, and didn't "overcharge". Just brought the system from say 10lbs, to 60lbs or closer to where it should be at factory.
(don't quote me on those numbers... as I don't know what final results were, but those are what I saw when I was paying attention)

Also, if anyone wants to speed up the process....
Remove your A/C cover, and clean your unit... the fins at the fan blade should be clean to work well. (again, excuse if I don't use proper terminology)
Use a hose, or light cleaning solution if it's got funk on it. Be careful not to get water into your RV or coach area. It'll speed up the process for when he comes out to "re-charge".

Again...
Closed systems are meant to be closed. Sure, you take this with some risk... but, a new AC unit is bucks. If your AC isn't blowing cold... and you re-charge... then it leaks.... Whats the difference? You've got to buy a new one anyway. So why not try it?? (was my philosophy - as I was going to buy a new main unit, but this came along at perfect timing)

For the rest of you... Call him, and ask him if he'll come to Glamis. He's thinking pretty hard about the opportunity.
If not... he's out in the Cajon Zone somewhere. Not far from most Duners.

Cool deal...
Hope that he has his universal A/C liscence or you could be getting him the wrong kind of attention... just sayin...
If you had 10lbs on the low side then it was quite low, sixty would be too much. The by the book way go at it would be to see where it lost some of its charge because chances are that it did not come that way from the factory. Recover what is in there, fix the leak, evacuate down and measure the charge back in exactly what is called for.
Just putting some in and getting it right takes some experience, I doubt that he tapped the high side to read that pressure so it is a caluclated risk either way.
Would I do that myself... heck yeah... did you or he do anything improper... no. I'm just spreading some knowledge.
Hope it works out for you, it was just the way the first post read that made it seem kind of iffy.

All good... thanks for the additional info!!

... I can't wait to be cold in 90+° heat... it'll be a first!

If you wash the coils, make sure not to use so much pressure you damage the fins...

Yup....Ive seen the same thing happen. A guy I go to the river with had a buddy charge his AC system with the piercing type clamp on fittings. It worked great in Huntington Beach when they did it....the best he said it ever worked. Then he got to the river and it worked good for about 10 minutes....then popped the breakers. After several different hookup spots (he thought the parks voltage was dirty and causing the breaker to go) he spent the next 3 days in 105 degree heat with no AC. Guess what, when he got back to HB it worked bitchin' but of cours it was only about 75 degrees! So much for the "more is better" theory!!

Just a heads up, you do need a permit to do any kind of service work in the ISDRA.

If it's R22 ya want 60 psi on the suction side of the compressor.
any more and it will blow hotter, any less and it will freeze the evap coil.

RV A/C are sealed units.

Their are screw on schrader valves that will leakover time.
The solder on schrader valves are the way to go.

Clean your evap and condensing coils and it'll run much better.

When the fan motor or compressors burn out, it's better/cost effective in the long run to replace the entire unit.

You also need a permit to film out there...and to sponsor organized events...

Advice from The Pastor in another topic on GD. about the required permits.

Yeah, just to reiterate what Superstar said... It is illegal, (and you will be cited) to conduct business on ISDRA land (or anywhere, for that matter) without the proper permits and at Glamis that means a business license from Imperial County and a Permit from the BLM (or a pad with The Glamis Beach Store, talk to Glamispilot)
Back in the day you could get away with driving around selling Tshirts but not any more.

If you are planning on doing this I highly recommend you talk to someone who has done it so they can give you some pointers.

Link to the topic. http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index....howtopic=153796

Good info for sure....

And I meant to report on the use during Halloween Week out at Glamis.

REPORT:
It wasn't toooo hot, but hot enough that when coming back from a ride... I wanted a cool RV.
On occasion, I put the dogs in as well to cool them down... at 11, they aren't like the heat too much.

I'd fire up the 7Kwatt genny, and both the ACs (front and rear) in a 34' motie.
Sooner than later, the RV was cold... and I mean, WOW cold. My woman thought it was too cold.... which meant for me, it was perfect.

It did that for 5 days, and one night I ran it until 4am (not on purpose) with both ACs turned down a bit.
Darn motorhome was an ice box.... I loved it. First time for that!!!

I'd say outside temp ranged from 90° to 100° all week. And at any temp, it didn't hiccup once.