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Old 06-05-2017, 03:34 PM   #1
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Air Conditioner" short cycling"

I was camping this weekend in very humid, high 80s temperature. AC set on 75 and worked well during the daytime. Last night it was raining most of the night, again the digital thermostat was set on 75. The air conditioner kept "short cycling". We had a small fan on low blowing forward toward the bed from the lounge area but not directly on the thermostat. What could cause the AC to come on, run briefly, then cut off? Is there some setting to correct this.?On the thermostat the fan was set to "auto" and 75 temp. was selected. Any help appreciated.
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Old 06-05-2017, 04:02 PM   #2
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The AC unit is oversized (has too much capacity) for the application. It is designed to remove more heat than what is being generated under the conditions you identified. About the only options you have are to lower the temperature setting at the thermostat or to turn off the AC unit. The only other option is to replace it with a smaller capacity unit.
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Old 06-05-2017, 04:16 PM   #3
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There may be another fix, or at least something that reduces the short cycling - a thermostat with a larger differential range. A larger differential range will mean less cycling, and less wear and tear on the system, with the trade off being that you'll have more temperature fluctuation. I'm not at all sure that the digital thermostat installed by Escape has advanced enough settings that you can change the differential. Probably not.

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Old 06-05-2017, 04:23 PM   #4
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Would blocking some of the vents inside the trailer help?
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Old 06-05-2017, 04:43 PM   #5
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Don't know if it's the same thing but mine short cycles at times, sort of.

Intermittently, when I first turn it on it'll run for less then a minute, then shut off only to start right back up. When it comes on the 2nd time it stays on, until I manually shut it off. Manually turning it off and back on seems to clear whatever the problem is. It works fine after this.

I talked to a repair tech I know about it, he suggested pulling the inside cover exposing the control bd. Reseat all the connections, tightening any that need it. Being intermittent, this is what he'd do on a customers first visit. Replacing the control board would be next.

I've considered replacing the digital thermostat before the control bd but it's been okay since checking the connections, which doesn't mean much yet. I also adjusted the vents at the time, leaving the one that points towards the thermostat wide open, and closing down the rest most of the way. In the 5.0TA the thermostat is around the side of the bathroom, away from the AC.
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Old 06-05-2017, 04:54 PM   #6
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I would think you would not want it directed toward the thermostat, I always thought thermostats should not be impacted by the air flow but more by the temperature change.
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Old 06-05-2017, 05:15 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by titanizer View Post
I was camping this weekend in very humid, high 80s temperature. AC set on 75 and worked well during the daytime. Last night it was raining most of the night, again the digital thermostat was set on 75. The air conditioner kept "short cycling". We had a small fan on low blowing forward toward the bed from the lounge area but not directly on the thermostat. What could cause the AC to come on, run briefly, then cut off? Is there some setting to correct this.?On the thermostat the fan was set to "auto" and 75 temp. was selected. Any help appreciated.
Mine did the same when I was in Arizona last month. I had to (mostly) close the AC vent that pointed toward the back of the camper (where the thermostat resides). It had been wide open. The short cycling stopped after adjustment.
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Old 06-05-2017, 05:22 PM   #8
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I don't have the vent open for a wind effect.

When the trailer is hot, and you turn on the AC, the rear end of the trailer gets down right frigid by the time the thermostat cools enough to shutdown the AC. I checked it at one point and it was down in the 50's right under the AC, which is pretty much where the dinette is, while the thermostat up by and face the loft, was set in the low 70's. Eventually everything will even out, but when you first turn it on it's anything but. Playing with the vents helps.

Wish the fridge worked as well as the AC.
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Old 06-05-2017, 05:40 PM   #9
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It does work well Bob.

On our 19 it gets frigid over the bed if we leave the rear vent open, and the thermostat happens to be there too. Doesn't seem to make much difference if the thermostat is mounted where it gets colder quicker. We just keep the rear vent and the one facing the fridge area shut, and the other two open. Almost never open the slots facing down.

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Old 06-05-2017, 05:55 PM   #10
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The dogs love the slots facing down, that is where they are located, on the floor.
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Old 06-05-2017, 06:10 PM   #11
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Thanks for all the comments. I'll try closing the most forward vent and the one next to the frig. as they are the closest to the thermostat to see how this affects the performance.
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Old 06-05-2017, 08:55 PM   #12
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Thermostat

According to the small manual that came with our Dometic digital thermostat, there is a procedure to change the temperature swing. I haven't tried it. I think the default is two degrees, but we all know that's not what's actually happening.

Ours also has some short cycling. I ignore that, and for the most part it operates as expected, even though most cycles seem unusually long.

It is possible to set the fan on its low setting, and then it runs indefinitely with the compressor cycling off and on, but the fan always on. I prefer Auto, which turns it all off temporarily when the temp is reached.

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Old 06-05-2017, 08:58 PM   #13
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There may be another fix, or at least something that reduces the short cycling - a thermostat with a larger differential range. A larger differential range will mean less cycling, and less wear and tear on the system, with the trade off being that you'll have more temperature fluctuation. I'm not at all sure that the digital thermostat installed by Escape has advanced enough settings that you can change the differential. Probably not.
From the manual that I found that I believe is correct for the newer Dometic thermostat that controls both furnace and A/C I do not see any available adjustment on temperature differential.
http://www.primetimerv.com/download/...structions.pdf

Page 9 also highlights a strange function of the Dometic thermostat that allows the A/C fan to run on low or high during furnace operation for "air circulation". Auto setting turns the fan off during operation of the furnace. Now I know why some have reported "furnace and A/C running at the same time". Maybe some validity in a larger trailer, but seems a rather useless and confusing feature in my opinion for a small, insulated trailer.
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Old 06-05-2017, 08:58 PM   #14
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Well if the one installed by Escape can be programmed to change the differential, that sounds like an easy fix to reduce the cycling.

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Old 06-06-2017, 06:20 AM   #15
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To set the temperature differential....

Page 9 of the manual has the paragraph that starts:

To set the temperature differential....

I knew I had read it somewhere.
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Old 06-06-2017, 06:35 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill and Earline View Post
Page 9 of the manual has the paragraph that starts:

To set the temperature differential....

I knew I had read it somewhere.
Thanks for the info Bill, I knew it was available, It's in there, reminds me of an old commercial
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Old 06-06-2017, 06:46 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill and Earline View Post
Page 9 of the manual has the paragraph that starts:

To set the temperature differential....

I knew I had read it somewhere.
I saw that but it appears to only be for furnace operation. See bottle of page 3.
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Old 06-06-2017, 07:16 AM   #18
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Seem to me if it impacts heat temperature swing it should also impact cooling differential. Try it...
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Old 06-06-2017, 10:22 AM   #19
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Seem to me if it impacts heat temperature swing it should also impact cooling differential. Try it...
Maybe, maybe not. The way I read it, it is furnace only. For example, Honeywell digital thermostats typically have an adjustable differential for the furnace but not the A/C. The A/C has a fixed 1 degF differential. I don't have the thermostat in question, but was curious as to its operation. I have put in several Lux digital stats that have adjustable differential that impacts both heating and cooling. Would be interesting if someone with the Dometic thermostat is able to change the differential and see that it actually changes the operation of the A/C. If it does and these units are coming out of the factory with the differential set as 1 degF the change to 2 degF may help others that have short-cycling.
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Old 06-19-2017, 03:18 PM   #20
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AC "short cycling"

Went camping in KY this weekend. Same hot, humid weather as before. I closed the AC vent on the same side as the frig. and the one toward the bed in my 21'. Thermostat was set on 74 and no "short cycling" the entire trip. This apparently was the correct fix. I did not attempt to change the digital thermostat setting. Closing those two vents worked well. Thanks to all for suggestions.
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