We have Cool Air Now!!

The weather here in south Texas is very strange. Within a week we can go from the mid 80's to a very cool low 50's for daytime highs. The problem is that the a/c unit doesn't work if you remember me telling you this earlier. It can be very warm inside the trailer, as you can imagine.

I mentioned before that this Gate Guarding job pays quite well. So why not go ahead and replace the a/c unit, how hard can this be?? Well I started to do my research and found a unit that I thought was a fair price. I started to think about it and decided to replace everything that had to do with the a/c system, right down to the thermostat. When researching the system I noticed that there was an optional heat strip that I could install. Sherry and I discussed it and I got the OK to get the parts. So figure this, there is a 14 inch by 14 inch hole in the roof and I am going to fill that hole with all new and updated parts. Now that the parts are on there way I started to examine the installation process.

In case you want to know I have a Dometic Duo-Therm 15,000btu system with a 4-button thermostat. I looked up into the return air vent and noticed 4 long bolts tying the outside unit to the inside air return system. I got the outside unit to the trailer from FedEx and now wondered how I was going to get this thing up on the roof. I asked one of the guys that worked at the well and he brought a step ladder and two other guys with him and we man handled the unit up to the roof. Thanks Shawn!! Now it's up to me to get this thing hooked up. I have never done anything like this but somebody did it before so I think I can do this. I unbolted the 4 bolts and then went up to the roof and to my surprise the old unit lifted right off and then I slid the new one into place and went back into the house to finish up.

I connected the a/c to the control box and secured it down and went to the thermostat, turned it on to cool, the unit did not start and I was getting nervous. A few minutes went by and then the fan started blowing but no cooling. OK wait for it........wait for it........then I heard the compressor start and low and behold we have cool air coming out. YEAH. I was quite surprised how easy it was to change this thing out. I was done with the outside unit and now when the rest of the parts come in it is all installed from inside the trailer.

I had a mix up with one part but it didn't have an affect on the operation of the unit. I finally received the rest of the parts and finished wiring it up and now everything is new and updated just like if it came out of the factory.

Let me pass on to you some things to look out for if you ever want to try this on your own. There are ac wires just like you would find in the old stick and bricks, one white (ground), one black (hot) and one green (chassis or unit ground). There is also a 12 volt wire, the colors may be different from one trailer to another but mine were grey (12v hot) and green (ground). When you disconnect the 12 volt wires make sure they don't touch anything. If they do you are sure to pop a fuse like I did and it took me awhile to figure it out but did and replaced the fuse with no problem. If you can define colors and possibly work a volt meter you should have no problem doing this project on your own.

Now that the cool air is working and the furnace and the heat strip are working it is time to tackle the toilet now and see why it is leaking around the base. I am slowly but surely becoming an expert on this toilet. I have replaced every conceivable part on this thing and now we are wet at the base, oh well it's always something.

Until next time be safe.