A/C Ducting - I'm going in...

[10forty2]

So, I posted about this a while back, and the suggestions were that my A/C unit(s) may have loose seals. After checking all that, I haven't found anything that appeared to be loose. I also checked the partition that is supposed to be in place when installed for ducted vs. direct A/C. All look good and properly installed. And yet, I'm still having very little air flow through the ceiling ducts. And, in fact, just last week, I turned on both units only to get some styrofoam bits blow out of the ducts. When we first bought the rig, the A/Cs would get it cold enough to hang meat with temps outside being in the 90s. Air flow was very good then, which makes me suspect something is partially blocking the styrofoam plenum duct in the ceiling.

Soooo, I've purchased a 30' long borescope that wirelessly connects to an iPad or smartphone and I'm going in this weekend to see what's inside. Hopefully it's not a critter.......

to be continued...... (Oh, and I'll post pics if I get anything good!)

[10forty2]

dougrainer wrote:
A simple way to check your ductwork. Remove all the ceiling vents. Lets say there are 8 ceiling vents. You install a small light in the 2nd ceiling duct facing the 1st duct. You then use a small mirror and stick it up the 1st duct facing the 2nd duct. You will have a clear view of the ductwork between 1 and 2. You then repeat the process for the other ducts. Takes about 10 minutes and you do NOT have to buy any scoping equipment. Doug

Yeah, yeah... but where's the fun in that? :B

[dougrainer]

A simple way to check your ductwork. Remove all the ceiling vents. Lets say there are 8 ceiling vents. You install a small light in the 2nd ceiling duct facing the 1st duct. You then use a small mirror and stick it up the 1st duct facing the 2nd duct. You will have a clear view of the ductwork between 1 and 2. You then repeat the process for the other ducts. Takes about 10 minutes and you do NOT have to buy any scoping equipment. Doug

[10forty2]

Dale.Traveling wrote:
Just so everyone knows about the low cost borescopes they are very flexible so you can't push them into a tight area you're trying to view. A bit like pushing rope uphill. You'll need a wire snake or something to that effect that you can attach the lens end to that will make it a bit more functional. I have one. Don't use it all that much but when it was needed it made a project a lot easier.

The one I bought has a semi-rigid design, so it was no problem pushing it through the duct work. It connects via a small Wi-Fi signal to Android, iPhone, or iPad. It also has a dimmable LED light around the camera that does a really good job. Focal length is somewhat problematic, but not a deal breaker at all...you just ahve to know to pull back a little to get something in focus. Here's a link to the Depstech model I got:

Depstech Borescope

[Dale_Traveling]

Just so everyone knows about the low cost borescopes they are very flexible so you can't push them into a tight area you're trying to view. A bit like pushing rope uphill. You'll need a wire snake or something to that effect that you can attach the lens end to that will make it a bit more functional. I have one. Don't use it all that much but when it was needed it made a project a lot easier.

[MrWizard]

Endoscope aka bore scope

[stugpanzer]

Good find and great idea on the Borescope!

[2_many_2]

Thanks for the update, glad it is an easy fix. Got a link to that bore scope?

[10forty2]

Soooo, good news is, the borescope shows that the ducts are clean/clear of any blockages.....the bad news is, the borescope helped me see that the front 15K A/C unit has in fact partially lost its seals and a lot of the forced air is simply recirculating back through the intake instead of being forced into the ducts. The coil also froze up very nicely, I suspect either from a bad freeze sensor, or from the fact that the cold air was directly circulating back through the coils. Headed to Lowe's in a few minutes to get some aluminized duct tape and reseal everything.....then keep a check on it.......

Sorry no pictures...nothing to show.... BUT....... More to come once I seal it back up.....

[F4Jock]

I was amazed at how cheaply you can get a decent borescope on Amazon. Definitely my next purchase!

[down_home]

Where our discharge vents were just hastily installed pieces of insulated board were there. Large gaps around them and some were never even put in place. Coleman was at the ACA rally last year when our main unit made a noise and seized up.
Three of them pulled the unit loose and replaced the large flat fan and with another set screw so it would never come loose again.
Then they unscrewed all four vents in the coach ceiling. Everyone of them was leaking most off the cold air into the roof area. They used alumanized tape and sealed up all the gaps.
Much of the cooled air was going back into the intakes as they weren't sealed at all either. Some pieces of foil covered fiberglass ducting was just stuck in place. They left big gaps between pieces and duct work.
After the finished the Mh seemed like a meat locker. No more icing up from recirculating cooled air through the intake.
As far as the gaskets between roof and heat pumps or A/C units they screws need to be checked every once in a while. They can loosen and the gasket will shrink too. I think we have had new unit to roof gaskets replaced twice in 12 years.
Last time in a sever rain storm going down the road we could not figure where all the water was coming from. It was the gasket. We tightened the screws and3 it stopped. In Shawnee the Coleman Folks replaced it.

[DrewE]

time2roll wrote:
Dang now there is another tool I must have....
My ducting is also very suspect.

Not that there's anything wrong at all with buying a new tool, but in many cases a lowly mirror would suffice for inspecting the ductwork.

[time2roll]

Dang now there is another tool I must have....
My ducting is also very suspect.

[shastagary]

check to see if you need to seal the ductwork right after the last vent in each duct run my duct extended at least 3' beyond the vent and was blowing into the ceiling wasting a lot of cold air it made a huge difference.

[azrving]

My hoses were disconnected at the vent. Remove the outlet grills and see if the tape is damaged.