Air Conditioning - AC (current/plug) Problem

ericnliz

PXL, Maybe / plug in wrong position/place? Would that work?

ScottG

AldebaranJill said:

...
It's about two feet short, is there a reason I can't just add two feet of Romex (wire nuts or soldering)?

Photomom said:

Does she need to connect the new Romex to the converter or could connect a new piece to the end of the existing piece? Perhaps inside a junction box to replace that existing outlet? I'm not an electrician but I know the outlets in my house don't all run directly to the breaker panel.

If you want to do this according to code, all Romex connections must be made with proper sized wire nuts inside an accessible approved junction box. Given the short length, I'd be inclined to run the new cable right back to the breaker panel.

TabberJohn

 Okay, so it's a AC A/C problem. I get it now.

ericnliz

ScottG, Good advice, was my thoughts as well.

AldebaranJill

I have purchased 15ft of the same kind of Romex that's in there now, will wire it up tomorrow and report status. I can't even express how much I appreciate this assistance and encouragement. 

Michigan_Mike

AldebaranJill said:

I think your recommendation is the best long term solution - how hard will it be to remove the back panel of the WFCO 8735 and disconnect the old Romex and reconnect the new longer Romex?

I wouldn't mess with opening up the WEFCO converter, but would drop a new/longer piece of romex down into the bench area (enough to run to a new receptacle on the side of the A/C storage area) via the shower sidewall, install a small splice box (could also use it for future power runs, etc.) in the bench, screw it to a stud and install it permanently, cut off the former dedicated feed up to the A/C unit, stick it in the splice box in the bench area and splice the new romex to it.  Then install a small RV receptacle up top as shown in the photo below, re-install the air conditioning unit and be done with it.  

Oh, and don't forget to clean out your A/C filter and some of that grit shown in the photos above!  

AldebaranJill

@Michigan_Mike I promise to clean the grit, dust, and the drip pan too :-)

I've successfully rewired the new longer Romex into the WFCO and to a new regular household AC plug. Tested and it runs! Going to do a few more AC related mods as suggested.
Thanks to everyone, now my AC plug and outlet look like everyone else's :-)
Jill

Nomad

Cool, good job.

Michigan_Mike

Sweet deal!  Glad things worked out Jill, congratulations!  

Ratkity

Well done!! 

ericnliz

Looks nice! Really glad you got it sorted out! Mod on!

AldebaranJill

The positive reinforcement is wonderful - makes mods more fun when you have folks that give you praise

ericnliz

As it should be!

AldebaranJill

Just in case anyone else has the same AC electrical issues (early 2013 model) I had to make a few more changes to make it like the majority after I resolved the electrical wiring.

The AC had very restrictive baffles on it, and when I measured the AC vs the box, the AC was 13", which was longer than the box! This means I didn't even need baffles. I took them off and simply pushed the AC all the way flush to the rear wall.

However this now meant that the two screws that came up through the bottom no longer had their holes in the AC in alignment. Since the AC now flush to the rear was a good thing (no baffles needed and also put the AC cord fully inside the box versus taking a sharp bend), I added a piece of wood in front of the AC, and screwed into that. This AC position is way better than before, when it hung out past the wood frame at least two inches.

And taking advice, I added a bit of insulation for the large gaps.

Sharon_is_SAM

Jill - you are incredibly handy!  Look at you - you are a one woman RV shop!

irvingj

Very nicely done, Jill! I think the original installer (?) was dealing with more than just "beer goggles"!!

(Reminds me of some of the "flying disconnects" I used to run into when I was in HVAC:  no disconnect switch near the A/C; you had to loosen a wire nut on the 230V line, then take a flying swipe at it to separate the wires and kill the power. Yeah, kidding.   Sort of.)

AldebaranJill