Volume of air coming from A/C ducts

Chateau Duke To Go · 06-20-2014, 01:36 PM

We have a 15 k AC in our fifth wheel. If you open the quick cool air dumps on the main unit it will freeze you out of the main room so it is cooling. My question is the ducting. There are 5 vents. The amount of air coming out of them is not balanced. Air comes out of the three in the main room at a moderate to low rate. These vents are all 3 to 6 feet from the A/C unit. The vent in the bathroom, which is the farthest away, blows really strong and cold. The vent right next to it in the bed room is poor.

I asked the dealer to check on it along with my other punch list items. They said it was ok and just "the way it is". They said it was not going to be balanced. I don't believed it.

Anyone have any ideas or advice? Thanks in advance.

fhenn · 06-20-2014, 02:23 PM

Take the outlets down, look inside, you find that the ducts are in two pieces. Take duct tape and cover the seams. the ac is going out through the seams

Tim D · 06-20-2014, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fhenn

Take the outlets down, look inside, you find that the ducts are in two pieces. Take duct tape and cover the seams. the ac is going out through the seams

That is just shear laziness on behalf of the dealer.

fhenn · 06-20-2014, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim D

That is just shear laziness on behalf of the dealer.

They just do not know any better

Chateau Duke To Go · 06-20-2014, 04:18 PM

Thanks for the advice. A storm came through the campground so this gave me something to do while stuck inside. Several of the vents had tape but it did not seal anything. On two of the five vents, they had pierced part of the inside insulation with their hole saw during installation. I sealed those holes too.

Now to finish the job, is it easy to get to where ever the A/C unit blows the cold air in?

**Lloyd** · 06-20-2014, 07:05 PM

Now take a flashlight and a telescoping adjustable mirror if needed, and look in the run/ducting, and see if they sealed the end of it or if it's dumping into your attic.

Chateau Duke To Go · 06-20-2014, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd

Now take a flashlight and a telescoping adjustable mirror if needed, and look in the run/ducting, and see if they sealed the end of it or if it's dumping into your attic.

That's just the thing. It is not a duct like I was expecting to see. It's like a void between the interior ceiling and the roof. When I stick my hand in a vent, I can move it around 360 degrees.

Dayle1 · 06-20-2014, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd

Now take a flashlight and a telescoping adjustable mirror if needed, and look in the run/ducting, and see if they sealed the end of it or if it's dumping into your attic.

Use this method to make sure the duct has not been crushed between the 'good' vent and the 'bad' vent.

Dayle1 · 06-21-2014, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chateau Duke To Go

That's just the thing. It is not a duct like I was expecting to see. It's like a void between the interior ceiling and the roof. When I stick my hand in a vent, I can move it around 360 degrees.

The ceiling duct is made of 1/2 inch foam board, it is maybe 6-8 inches wide and only about 1 inch tall inside. It has to fit in a gap of the aluminum roof truss, so there is a 1 inch square tube below the duct and another one above it. The vents are not cut until the roof is finished, they use a hole saw and cut thru the ceiling panel and then thru the 1/2 inch foam board. If they cut too deep they can punch thru the top of the duct. The plastic vent is attached to the ceiling panel and aluminum tape is used to seal the vent to the duct, but not always that good. If the duct has been pushed down or the ceiling pushed up, there will be very little space for air to flow into the plastic vent. Or the duct may be collapsed elsewhere due to carelessness or too much insulation being pushed down on top of the duct.

geomahon · 06-23-2014, 04:49 PM

Do the ceiling cover plates for the A/C just snap on. After reading the issues I want to check out my vents.

avvidclif · 06-23-2014, 05:08 PM

I bought one of the "look around a corner cameras" and plan on checking out as much as I can when I next go camping. (This weekend). Also got a roll of the tin foil duct tape..... Results posted....

Chateau Duke To Go · 06-23-2014, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geomahon

Do the ceiling cover plates for the A/C just snap on. After reading the issues I want to check out my vents.

Yes they do. On mine you can see three intentions that are tabs that snap into a channel. Once you get one, the others will be be easy. Be careful, they seem a bit fragile.

**Lloyd** · 06-23-2014, 06:58 PM

Yes.
The first time I took them off our rig, I thought I was going to break them for sure.

Dayle1 · 06-24-2014, 08:02 AM

Yes, there is a base that is screwed into the ceiling panel and the rotating grill snaps onto it. They can be tight to remove, better to pry them off rather than just pulling down and risk damage to the ceiling or foam duct board.

Chateau Duke To Go · 06-21-2016, 06:58 PM

Well I got hot and decided to install a second AC. I took the trim off of the skylight to make sure the wires were accessible. Well, the end of the duct was indeed open and dumping into a void in the ceiling. No wonder there wasn't air volume coming from some cents. Infuriating.

Also, the 5er is ducted, wired with 110 VAC and 12VDC. It is braced for a second AC. They ran the dual zone sensor from the wall of the bedroom to the thermostat. But, they DID NOT Run the control wire for the second AC to make the dual zone thermostat work. The lazy sorry workmanship from Crossroads never ceases to amaze. I will never buy a Crossroads product again.

**Lloyd** · 06-21-2016, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd

Now take a flashlight and a telescoping adjustable mirror if needed, and look in the run/ducting, and see if they sealed the end of it or if it's dumping into your attic.

Finally found it huh? Good deal.

Dayle1 · 06-21-2016, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chateau Duke To Go

Well I got hot and decided to install a second AC. I took the trim off of the skylight to make sure the wires were accessible. Well, the end of the duct was indeed open and dumping into a void in the ceiling. No wonder there wasn't air volume coming from some cents. Infuriating.

Also, the 5er is ducted, wired with 110 VAC and 12VDC. It is braced for a second AC. They ran the dual zone sensor from the wall of the bedroom to the thermostat. But, they DID NOT Run the control wire for the second AC to make the dual zone thermostat work. The lazy sorry workmanship from Crossroads never ceases to amaze. I will never buy a Crossroads product again.

Sorry to hear about the extra work you had to do. Mine was done right, the duct at the end was sealed and the control wire for the 2nd A/C was there.

Chateau Duke To Go · 06-22-2016, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dayle1

Sorry to hear about the extra work you had to do. Mine was done right, the duct at the end was sealed and the control wire for the 2nd A/C was there.

I know the unit was built in June 2013 with a 2014 model year assigned. I wonder if it was built on a Monday or Friday. It's amazing the things I've found.

Shower plumbing not properly installed

Main slide failed due to improper installation

Front cap fade due to defect in materials

Hot water heater wiring failed.

Supposidly wired and braced for second AC but they left out a critical wire.

Then there are dozens of things I've changed or fixed. It's a sad indictment on Crossroads when I look at something that was supposed to have been done by a professional craftsman and think I could do better job as a shade tree mechanic.

The good thing is that I think I've about fixed everything. But to all that ask, I will not recommend Crossroads.

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