Mobile Home Air Conditioner Start Up and Maintenance

Mobile Home Air Conditioner Start Up and Maintenance

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eight things you can do to get your air conditioning ready for the summer season ahead.

#1 Go outside to your air conditioning unit and clear any clutter, around it. The most important thing is for the air to be able to flow. Uncover the unit if you covered it for the winter, if you have bushes growing, trim them back at least 18-24 inches and remove any items that may have been stored against it over the winter.

#2, rinse the coils with water. The coils are a lot like a filter, they get clogged up with grass, cottonwoods and dirt. Take your garden hose with regular pressure and spray from the inside out. When you see the water coming out is clear, you know you're good.

#3, check for exposed electrical wires and insulation. You'll see a plastic tube with the electrical connection. Sometimes the elements can cause it to decay. If you see that happening don't mess with it yourself, call someone for that. You'll also see the refrigerant line, usually with black foam insulation around it. If that's missing a technician should put more insulation on that.

#4, head inside to check the furnace's air filters. Take the filter out, hold it into the light. If you can't see light through it, it's time to change it. Check the A Coil and lightly vacuum and brush the dirt and lint off the A-Coil

#5, if you have a whole home humidifier, shut it off. In the winter the air is dry so you introduce humidity. But, in the summer the coil on top of your air conditioner creates condensation, and you don't want more moisture than that.

#6, check for clogs. By your furnace there's going to be a white PVC tube coming off it that is a drain line for condensation. Make sure that's not clogged because that can leak in the furnace or cause a flood on your floor. We recommend taking a jug of water and pouring it down the tube. If it's not clear, take a shop vac and clear it.

#7, check the thermostat and if you have batteries, replace them. At this time of year, you could be using both heat and air, so I recommend putting the thermostat in auto mode, so it will automatically transfer back and forth based on temperature.

#8 Test run, turn your thermostat to cooling mode and turn down the temperature, the blower on the furnace should start to run go outside and check the outdoor condenser unit to make sure the compressor and fan are running on the unit, feel the air as it is blowing out the top of the condenser, it should be blowing slightly warmer than the outside air, this means your compressor is working properly.

Technicians Note:  Condenser units are extremely reliable and with proper care and maintenance they will last many years, keep the coils clean and make sure they have proper air flow!

The top replacement parts that is ordered by technicians to service air conditioners are:

1. Contactor-, the high voltage contactor is the switch that turns on the compressor and the condenser fan motor, It takes low voltage (24V AC) from the thermostat and furnace and connects a set of high voltage contacts (220V AC), Very simple to change and a homeowner can change this part in about 15 minutes
2. Capacitor-, the capacitor is a round or oval part that gives the high voltage boost of electricity to the compressor and fan motor, this is also on the outdoor condenser and should be located near the contactor inside the electrical box cover of the AC unit outside. Always turn off power before working on the outdoor unit.
3. Relay-, the air conditioner relay may be inside the furnace unit or outside on the Air Conditioner, it changes for Furnace to AC, if you have a heat pump the relay and defrost board will be outside on the condenser unit.
4. Transformer- The transformer is located in the furnace and supplies the power to the air Conditioner contactor to pull in the high voltage to start the compressor and outdoor fan, if the transformer gets weak, they do not supply the power needed to close the contactor. Easy to change 15-minute job by the homeowner.
5. Condenser Fan Motor- If the condenser fan motor quits working there will be no air flow through the AC condenser and the compressor will shut down on high head pressure, the fan must move the hot air away from the condenser to make it operate. The fan motor is normally bolted to the frame of the condenser and it has fan blades mounted to it, before replacing the condenser fan motor test the windings of the motor to make sure it is a bad motor sometime just the capacitor is burned out and a replacement capacitor cost way less than a new motor, this is about a 1 hour job to change the fan motor but can be done by the homeowner, we recommend replacing the capacitor at the same time so it is getting proper power.

All 6 parts above are easy to change and the homeowner can save lots of repair bills by doing it themselves instead of hiring a AC repair company, some things you can not do on your own is opening up the AC unit or lines carrying freon from the condenser to the A-Coil in the home, homeowners need to call a repair company that is certified in refrigerants so they can properly handle and change any coils, compressors or lines.

REMEMBER to ALWAYS us the exact parts on your replacement or if parts are discontinued then let an engineer recommend a proper replacement part that is equal to the part you have that has failed, All parts are not equal they have different pressures, amperage ratings and can further damage your Air Conditioner being used, Write down your Make Model and serial number for your furnace and outdoor condenser you will need these numbers when replacing the parts on your Air Conditioner.

If you need help with your Air Conditioner, please email us so we can get you cooled off again! colemanhvacparts@gmail.com

Author  Darin DeVries - 2022

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