Cleaning the A/C condenser and evaporator

After 4 years in use, I realized I've never cleaned the components up on the roof.  I have cleaned the air filters - if you haven't look for one on each side of the A/C, on the inside, towards the front.  Pull them out, rinse them in water with a gentle brush, allow to dry and reinsert.  Easy enough to do several times each season.

Cleaning the evaporator and condenser coils isn't as easy.  You need a safe way to get up there, and don't wear anything with metal buttons or buckles so you don't scratch things up.  

1. First start on the inside.  You need to remove 8 screws to remove the venting.  Some are well hidden like inside each side vent, but you can only open them up half-way to get to them.  Also look for 4 disguised in the round decorative holes and one each in the end vents.

2. Lay down a large old towel on the floor, under the front two air intake holes.  Water will drip from here later on.

3. Gather a large Phillips head screwdriver, and a narrow long-shafted flathead screwdriver.  You also need a small soft-bristled brush, a bucket of water, and an all-purpose cleaner in a spray bottle.  Formula 409 is recommended by some A/C manufacturers.  I also recommend wearing a swim suit and old shoes.

4. Make sure the pod is completely unplugged from AC power.

5. Take everything up with you to the roof.  In the past I've been wary of putting my full weight on the roof when I cleaned it, and I still wouldn't stand on it, but I found I had no choice but to sit up there to do this.  If you only have a 6 foot ladder you must have someone help hold it while you scramble up.  I can get up fairly easy using the railing on my back porch so you may want to think outside the box to see if you have other safer options.

6. Look for 4 Phillip's screws on the plastic shroud, then it will lift right off.  Warning - I found several old wasp nests under there...

7. The condenser coils are to the rear, the evaporator coils are underneath a cover up front.  Use the flathead screwdriver on two small screws buried near the middle of the cover, then use it to pop the half-dozen tabs around the outer edge.  I also found an odd tab on the left side where black plastic held down the gray plastic top.  There were several places where I had to tear the black foam.  This picture shows it after the cover has been removed.  The other picture shows the condenser coil to the rear.

8. I found out mine came from the factory with the "heater strip" installed which is visible in the first pic as the rusty U in front of the evaporator coil.  It was in the way for the cleaning, and I don't have the ability to turn it on (different thermostat?), plus we prefer the quieter heat of a small cube heater anyway.  So I removed it via several small bolts up top and three screws I could only get to from inside the camper.  I also had to get inside a small metal box on the side of the A/C up top to disconnect the wires.  This whole process took me some time but wasn't hard.

9. Now spray the cleaner on the front of the evaporator coil and let it soak.  Mine was covered in dirt even though I've kept the air filters down below clean.  My condenser coils weren't dirty so I didn't bother cleaning them this time.

10.  After letting it soak, use the brush and water to carefully scrape off the dirt.  Only go up and down, following the direction of the aluminum fins.  I also carefully poured some water on it.  Just note that the air intake holes (directly below where the heat strip was installed on mine) are now an open hole to the interior of your pod so be careful not to pour water there!  Also note that there are two drains where the condensation drains from the evaporator, one on each side, and the water you use to clean will drain onto the roof.  This is why I recommended the bathing suit.  Look for a drain at the bottom of the channel that's dead-center in this picture.  If yours are clogged, clean them out.

11. When you are done, use your fingernail to carefully straighten out any bent fins.  I found several areas that were crushed when the unit was installed at the factory.

12. I added some caulk where the the copper line enters the compartment, and on the other side where the wiring enters.  Keeping this area fairly air-tight is critical.

13. Reinstall the cover over the evaporator.  Don't press it down until you are sure you cleared the fan shaft and all of the tabs on the outer edge are lined up.  Then gently tap it making sure each tab locks.  Reinstall the two screws in the middle.  Make sure it appears tight all the way around the outer edge.

14. I noticed the fan motor wasn't secured right.  It is only held in place with two bolts, I had to tighten each one quite a bit.

15. I wanted to be sure neither fan would contact its shroud and turned easily so I climbed down at this point, plugged the pod in and turned the A/C on.  Then I turned it off again.

16. Put the shroud back on and tightly replace the 4 Phillips screws.

17. I had a mess on the roof so I cleaned it off while I had access.

18. Inside, replace the 8 screws which hold the vent assembly to the roof.

I wouldn't do this every year, but maybe every 2-3 years.

RacerX, no problem.

kymooses, worst case if you need to install a new one, it shouldn't be too difficult, probably 2 people 2 hours.  I've never done it just going on what I saw doing this cleaning job.