I have salvaged a 2023 Dometic Brisk Air II that was being thrown out. The system refrigerant was recovered using a BPV-31 piercing valve which has since been removed. The unit fan and compressor respond to AC power and I would like to take a crack at recharging this to see if it works in any capacity. There are mixed opinions on this since these are sealed units and the RV industry prefers to dispose of and replace rather than repair. While many will say it isn't possible to service these units, I have seen plenty of videos of people adding a piercing valve to sealed units to recharge them with R22 or R410A, etc. There are companies that sell recharge kits with a BPV-31 for this exact purpose. I do have some questions, since I have called a handful of local HVAC and automotive AC recharging businesses in town and they all claim they will not recharge an RV unit... Here are my main questions, I have many, but these are the main points for now. 1. Refrigerant. This unit shows R410A on the compressor body label. I understand the R410A was produced to replace R22 and has been doing so in the past several years. I see some conflicting information online as to whether or not this system could be refilled with R22A, which I could do myself. Some sites say not to mix the refrigerants, while others state that it'll work fine, potentially at a slightly less efficiency. Will refilling this unit with R22A be asking for an immediate failure, or will it work? We have an 8 ft truck camper, so even if this unit operated at 50% capacity it would be more than sufficient. 2. Oil. From what I can find R410A uses POE oil while R22 used Mineral based oil. Most of the information online is pertaining to switching out R22 with R410A as the intended replacement, not the other way around. From what I have read putting R410A in an R22 system can cause corrosion from acidity build-up. I have also read that running R22 with a POE oil would be fine... Can R22A be run inside an R410A unit that has been evacuated of refrigerant? 3. BPV-31. I see some of the sellers on Amazon have remarked that their specific piercing valve shouldn't be used on a R410A system. Is this due to chemical reaction with the valve or gasket, or is this due to the higher pressure of the R410A refrigeration systems? Is this unique to the 'off-brand' BPV-31 units or does it include the SUPCO? I haven't seen this disclaimer on a SUPCO sales page yet... Any support is welcome. We've never had an AC unit before, but this thing seems like it may be worth investing some parts in R22A is candidate. I'm not sure the cost of professional R410A refill would be worth it if I can even find anyone to do it... There was a thread on here I found on google regarding refilling a unit and it sounded promising, however it was an R22 unit, and I can't seem to find it on the search function in this forum.
Hi orangetang and welcome to the forum. You lost me on this after your first paragraph but I'm kinda-sorta sure there will be others who will have some knowledge and answers to what you asking. Hope you can n get this solved so you will be able to use this unit. Enjoy a happy holiday season and also safe and happy travels ahead............... Regards, BankShot.....(aka Terry)
Has the unit been mounted on the roof yet? If not, did you make it clear to the A/C shops you talked to that it would be a carry in bench fix, not a roof mounted fix? Their tech having to get on the roof is the usual big objection to working on RV units.
I did to the first couple I called, after that it was either they don't do R410 at all or don't work on non commercial or residential units, period. I appreciate you bringing this up because it's something I had considered and expected to potentially make a difference in finding service. For example, if I have already pressurized and vacuum tested the system for leaks, the unit has all the refrigerant removed AND the unit is on a bench, why would they say no to such easy money.
Welcome to the forum I can't speak for the entire industry but I would think most commercial hvac contractors will have their service techs tied up either on commericial service calls/repairs or commericial service pm's. There is a high demand for qualified and experienced commericial hvac service techs so my guess finding some one to work on a domestic A/C unit would be difficult. IMO Just 2 cents here, why don't you call one of the local trade schools and see if one of the students will work on it. I would think the students should be working under an instructor and they should have all the equipment necessary for the repair.
Try calling some stores that sell residential window air conditioners and ask who they use for service. I know a lot of today's units are likely throwaways, but the larger units should be repairable.
