New 21c minor issues so far

[caheaton]

Well, our 21c arrived yesterday! A couple minor issues so far. Lock is broken on rear dinette cargo hatch (simple repair).

More concerning is our dometic thermostat (dometic ac). It seems to be reading about 20 degrees too low. When it was 92 outside thermostat displayed 69. Also, after running for an hour the fan seems to have developed a fairly loud squeak (but ac is cooling). Squeak seems to be from fan as the squeak slows as fans slows when AC is turned off. According to dometic these fans are sealed no maintenance fans. Any suggestions for addressing these ac issues? I suspect (hope) they minor fixes.

 

[Ron in BC]

More concerning is our dometic thermostat (dometic ac). It seems to be reading about 20 degrees too low. When it was 92 outside thermostat displayed 69.

There's often a lag between inside and outside temperatures. It's best to confirm the accuracy with a simple independent thermometer.

Ron

 

[brroberts]

A few people on the forum have pulled the temp sensor outside the AC housing so it reads closer to indoor temp. I’ve never done this and just realize my Coleman is about 8F off.

 

[HarleyD]

A few people on the forum have pulled the temp sensor outside the AC housing so it reads closer to indoor temp. I’ve never done this and just realize my Coleman is about 8F off.

Randal,
What made you select the Coleman over the popular Houghton Rec Pro?
We are looking for a much quieter replacement for our Dometic in a 5.0.
THX!

 

[caheaton]

Any ideas or suggestions on the squeaky fan?

 

[Chamberman]

Any ideas or suggestions on the squeaky fan?

If the noise slows with the fan speed then this points to either something touching the blower wheel or a bearing failure. Because the trailer is under warranty I'd speak with Escape about the issue. They'll likely have you take the trailer to a Dometic authorized service center.

For a trailer that is out of warranty, I'd pop the interior cover and see if anything came loose or if a piece of installation debris is touching the wheel. Its also possible the blower wheel itself came loose on the shaft and shifted off to the side. This is what happened on my fathers motorhome and for about a week it made a rubbing noise and then it eventually got so bad that the blower stopped. I got up on the roof and took off the cover and the wheel set screw had worked loose and this allowed the blower wheel to shift off to the side causing it to hang up on the housing.

 

[brroberts]

Randal,
What made you select the Coleman over the popular Houghton Rec Pro?
We are looking for a much quieter replacement for our Dometic in a 5.0.
THX!

At the time, ETI offered the Dometic or Coleman. I would have to self install the Houghton, but didn’t want to take the time. The Coleman on low, and the Houghton 9500 on high have pretty similar noise and output. I could install the Houghton, but I didn’t have to with the Coleman.

 

[HarleyD]

At the time, ETI offered the Dometic or Coleman. I would have to self install the Houghton, but didn’t want to take the time. The Coleman on low, and the Houghton 9500 on high have pretty similar noise and output. I could install the Houghton, but I didn’t have to with the Coleman.

Thanks Randy.
Anyone else have an opinion on the quietest unit for a 5.0. And if a 9500 or 13,000 is the better choice?
TIA.

 

[brroberts]

The Houghton can now be had with a heat pump. The Coleman only has a heat strip option, but it does work.

 

[Rockhead]

Here a chart for figuring BTUs for cooling the 9500 is more then adequate for cooling a 5.0. I have a 9500 on our 21 n it keeps it at 73/74 here in Texas. A 21 is only 150 sq ft If the heat pump had been available,fwe would have spent the extra for a 9500 with the heat pump.

 

[HarleyD]

Here a chart for figuring BTUs for cooling the 9500 is more then adequate for cooling a 5.0. I have a 9500 on our 21 n it keeps it at 73/74 here in Texas. A 21 is only 150 sq ft If the heat pump had been available, we would have spent the extra for a 9500 with the heat pump.

Thanks Rock,
I was thinking you may have more Sq feet but we may have more Cu feet, but the chart assumed 8' ceilings and ours is not that high.
Looks like the right one for us, once again appreciate all the help!

Got it ordered, 9% off today.

 

[99maddiaz]

The Coleman has a soft start and I run it using a standard household outlet due to it's gradual power draw.

 

[99maddiaz]

My 21C was delivered with the broken dinette hatch lock as well.

 

[caheaton]

I managed to fix mine by spraying a bit of WD40 into the lock and letting it sit overnight.

Interestingly, the squeak on the AC went away, so I'll just keep an eye on it. Rest seems good so far. Haven't tested the furnace or the fridge yet. Too warm and need some place level.

Also, temp on thermostat is ok, it was a case of user error... didn't realize system had to be off for it to display ambient temperature.
Amazing what you can learn if you read the manual LOL.

 

[Ooshkaboo]

A few people on the forum have pulled the temp sensor outside the AC housing so it reads closer to indoor temp. I’ve never done this and just realize my Coleman is about 8F off.

It definitely improves your living space.

 

[JohnK-ESC]

Haven't tested the furnace or the fridge yet. Too warm and need some place level.

Yes you will definitely want to level the trailer to run your fridge if it is a 3 way absorption fridge. Also we have found that in addition to more than normal amounts of water, good lateral leveling improves black tank "performance" in the 21C.

John

 

[Jane and John]

Greetings,
We too have a 2024 21c we had delivered in April, it’s an inventory trailer and we have also had a list of fixes, Escape has been really helpful so far we had a banged up propane tank and they reimbursed us for that ,the door lock was also banged up and they sent a new one, some of the molding has sprung out of place and currently the fan over the stove is basically so bad we can’t use it, the blades are hitting something. Our only other complaint is the fridge a Norcold N7FX 2 way fridge keeps the temp great buy on propane it cycles on and off at different intervals anywhere from 4 minutes to 30 minutes and we can always hear the flame while it’s running, it’s very noisy and we don’t know if this is normal? In our past 5 trailers the fridge were always silent on propane so having seen your post I am wondering if you have had this issues too? We have been dealing with Nicolas at Escape who has been great! Best of luck to you

NHBoomers
Charlestown NH

 

[WillyB]

Greetings,
We too have a 2024 21c we had delivered in April, it’s an inventory trailer and we have also had a list of fixes, Escape has been really helpful so far we had a banged up propane tank and they reimbursed us for that ,the door lock was also banged up and they sent a new one, some of the molding has sprung out of place and currently the fan over the stove is basically so bad we can’t use it, the blades are hitting something. Our only other complaint is the fridge a Norcold N7FX 2 way fridge keeps the temp great buy on propane it cycles on and off at different intervals anywhere from 4 minutes to 30 minutes and we can always hear the flame while it’s running, it’s very noisy and we don’t know if this is normal? In our past 5 trailers the fridge were always silent on propane so having seen your post I am wondering if you have had this issues too? We have been dealing with Nicolas at Escape who has been great! Best of luck to you

NHBoomers
Charlestown NH

We have the Norcold and can hear the flame ignite but I haven't kept track of the cycling times. I usually sit on that side.

I'll track the cycle count next time we're out on propane. But ours has worked great so far.

 

[Jane and John]

Good Morning,
Yes that sound of the flame when it lights is all the time in our trailer you can even hear it from outside 6-8' away. We bought a Marshall pressure regulator and that will arrive today we are hoping that will help but if not a compressor fridge may be in our future. Thanks for responding!!


NHBoomers

 

[Jane and John]

Hello again,
The new regulator didnt make any difference but we did notice on the burner itself if you cover one of the holes it gets real quiet and seems to stop the flickering and popping and we saw a video where someone put a clamp in the burner to cut down on the noise and airflow but the holes are there for a reason so I guess we will just have to get used to it lol


NHBoomers