The Dometic heat pump on this trailer has operated flawlessly for over four seasons. Last night, after starting it up and running for a half hour I noticed it was not producing any heat. Lots of air coming out of the ducts, but no heat. Today, it is also not cooling. The compressor sounds different but runs continuously. After removing the cover, I noticed the compressor is covered in oil. Looks like this unit is toast. The 130.00 that I paid four years ago for the additional three years of warranty now looks like a good investment. Hopefully, it won't be a painful process to have it repaired at the local "authorized service center". Just wondering if anyone else has had this happen. A search produced nothing. Casey
They will likely just replace the whole thing. Dometic has a "kit" for Brisk Air A/C's consisting of the sealed system, but I don't think they have one for heat pumps.
All the oil probably came form a leak and if the compressor wasn't run to long without any gas it should be fine if you can find someone that can fix the leak. I don't think that most dealers have anyone that can handle the task.
Denny
2000 F350 SC DRW V10 4.30 gears, Banks Cat Back, BrakeSmart, Air Lifts
2003 HitchHiker Premier 35FKTG
Chris Bryant wrote: They will likely just replace the whole thing. Dometic has a "kit" for Brisk Air A/C's consisting of the sealed system, but I don't think they have one for heat pumps.
The kit is for warranty service, and it's basically the compressor, evaporator, condenser and tubing all coiled up in a box- precharged. Dometic developed it because of high shipping costs- the kit can ship via UPS, but an entire unit has to go truck freight, at a minimum of $60-70 each way.
While recharging isn't hard for A/C people, it's still pretty labor intensive- install port, charge, find leak, fix leak, evacuate and recharge with a measured amount.
I'm going to look into that just out of curiosity. If warranty work is performed by an authorized service center, it's hard to imagine that it would be cheaper for a technician to replace every component in the systen rather that repair a pinhole leak, or even replace a component such as an evaporator. Besides, I can't remember ever finding a leak in one of those major components on a rooftop system. All of mine have been where copper lines were touching something else metal and had abraded through the tubing wall. Norcols dual voltage refrigerators are the only product I've ever seen where the entire cooling system was replace as a repair. Interesting.. Actually, Doug would be the one to confirm this..
With labor rates running around $100 an hour it doesn't take long before replacing becomes cheaper than repairing. As for doing the service an "authorized repair center" for Dometics is a far wiser choice than most any RV dealer.
Just read the fine print on your warranty. Some require authorizing repairs before the shop does the repairs; and others won't pay for diagnostic services to determine what needs repair.
Denny & Jami wrote: All the oil probably came form a leak and if the compressor wasn't run to long without any gas it should be fine if you can find someone that can fix the leak. I don't think that most dealers have anyone that can handle the task.
Denny
It ran for several hours before I figured out something was wrong because I left to take the dogs for a walk shortly after turning it on. Spoke to the Service Center this morning and they are contacting Dometic but indicated that the entire cooling unit would probably be replaced. If not a kit, then the entire unit. Will keep this thread updated with progress.
Bob Landry wrote: I'm going to look into that just out of curiosity. If warranty work is performed by an authorized service center, it's hard to imagine that it would be cheaper for a technician to replace every component in the systen rather that repair a pinhole leak, or even replace a component such as an evaporator. Besides, I can't remember ever finding a leak in one of those major components on a rooftop system. All of mine have been where copper lines were touching something else metal and had abraded through the tubing wall. Norcols dual voltage refrigerators are the only product I've ever seen where the entire cooling system was replace as a repair. Interesting.. Actually, Doug would be the one to confirm this..
The Kit Chris mentions is only for one specific Brisk air model. I have NEVER used one for warranty as Dometic just replaces the COMPLETE upper unit under warranty and I have never had that specific model in for warranty repair. Guidelines for complete upper unit replacement-- Component failure (Comp/Evap/Cond). LEAK in the system regardless of where the leak is. At over $100 per hour labor, it is CHEAPER for the OEM to replace the complete upper unit under warranty than find and repair a leak. The average time to R&R an upper unit and what Dometic pays is 1 hour labor. 1.5 if it is a Newmar unit or bolted from the top. Dometic and RVP started this about 10 years ago. Until then I replaced defective components and recharged warranty units all the time. I believe in the Dometic extended warranty as this poster just found out. Dometic will pay for a complete NEW upper unit part and labor. Doug
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