Dometic AC filter replacement (2019 model)

[CedarForks]

OK. I give up. Who's hiding the instructions on how to clean the filter?

[Overland]

Open up the front vent, reach in, and push down on the filter.  It will pop loose pretty easily.  Then just rinse with soapy water and air dry.

 

[Steve-Gwenne]

O my heavens, CedarForks --- honestly & truly I just about to submit the same question to the Forum!

 

I am mildly embarrassed to say that I have never cleaned this filter in the 2 years & 10k mikes we have had this trailer!

 

I just went out & retrieved the filter. I had to push down a little harder that I really wanted to but that could be due to non-use. :)) It is a wee bit dirty & will take some elbow grease to get it clean. It will be mentally added to my regular cleaning tasks.

 

Thank you so much for asking this question.

 

ps: does anyone know anything about the foam material above the filter? Seems like it would be a collector of junk. In looking at the air box, I really thought this foam was the filter.

[ScubaRx]

That foam IS the filter. Take it out and wash it well, pat dry and replace.

[Overland]

Yep, sorry I wasn't clear - remove and wash them both.

[CedarForks]

Oh, now it's starting to make sense: mine was delivered without any foam material. Now the hard task: getting somebody to send me the missing piece...

 

sgcausey: "...I was just about to submit the same question to the Forum!"

 

Yes, I don;t know what we'll do without this forum and its moderators.

[Overland]

Mine didn't come with one either.  There was a discussion here some time ago and the filter is supposed to snap to the back of the grill/screen, or fit between the two.  I could never figure out what part to buy and so I've been without - just cleaning the screen.  It never seems to get dirty, which should probably tell me that I need to get the filter.

[Steve-Gwenne]

oppsss ~~~ my mistake re gray foam pad.

 

I just went out and looked again. The foam I saw & felt was a strip of foam along the opening of the filter screen. I do not know how I interpreted this as a foam square. I did not look up into the air distribution box once I had removed the filter screen. See pic below of box without filter screen. [a bit blurry & I will clean before replacing the screen.]

 

The filter screen is made up of 2 pieces; a screen & a white filter. I am guessing these are the 2 pieces referenced by ScubaRx. They come out as one piece. If I am wrong, please let me/us know.

 

Also below are pics of the screen & filter. I have included these for future reference. Between ScubaRx's very helpful pic & these maybe we can help someone else. :)

 

In the filter pic, note the sliding tabs around the edges. Gently using these the 2 pieces --- screen & filter --- come apart. Both pieces can then be easily cleaned.

 

 

[Steve-Gwenne]

The screen/filter that I cleaned earlier today was filthy! Of course, this could be explained by the fact I had not touched in 2 years.

[Overland]

That's the same as what I have, but apparently, there's another piece that some people have.  I'll have to dig up the thread, assuming it was here that I remember seeing it.  It was a foam filter in a plastic frame that snapped to the screen.

[CedarForks]

Could the missing foam filter have something to do with the high noise level?

[mountainoliver]

Mine does not have any type of foam filter in the inlet. There is just the outer plastic grill and a plastic frame with a finely woven nylon screen that snaps to the grill and that’s it, just these two pieces. The terms used in the previous posts are somewhat confusing. There is an outside grill with round holes maybe 3/16 in diameter and a screen made up of monofilament nylon finely woven that acts as a filter. This is snapped to the back of the grill but no foam whatsoever. At least on my air conditioner. If there is an additional piece (a foam filter) mine is missing that. That would make three pieces: the outer grill, the woven nylon filter, and the foam filter according to the other descriptions?

[Overland]

That would make three pieces: the outer grill, the woven nylon filter, and the foam filter according to the other descriptions?

That's correct.  I couldn't find the previous discussion about this, so perhaps I saw it in another forum, perhaps in a dream.  But the piece I remember was a black plastic frame holding the foam and it snapped into the four, otherwise useless connectors on the back of the screen piece - very similar to this, but the same shape as the gill and screen.  Does anyone else remember this?

[Steve-Gwenne]

It is my fault that we are talking about a piece of foam.

 

Recently, I began compiling information of what we, as owners, needed to do in order to maintain our trailers. Steve & I have never owned any type of trailer. So, we are true novices. My thought is compile all information in an easy to read format & create a schedule. Then when it is time to perform maintenance we have all information needed & do not have to do looking for it in the manuals we were provided on delivery day.

 

To do this project, & in order to ensure I captured all components, I used the Oliver University [love the University info] list of equipment. Most maintenance information was found in the manuals provided on delivery day. For these, I used the University pdf to copy the needed info & pasted it into my maintenance notebook.

 

Some equipment does not come with a manual, such as the Dexter Axle & the water pump. For these I copied the needed information from the University manual into my document.

 

Then there was other equipment where the linked manual did not provide maintenance information. This was the case of the <span style="font-weight: 400;">13,500 BTU Penguin II A/C. To locate maintenance info I went to the Dometic site and did a search for my model/SKU [9105304190]. On this page were a couple of manuals. I used the Installation & Operating Manual [https://www.dometic.com/assets/59/01/3312500_55901.pdf?att=true]. </span>

 

In this manual there is a section title Maintenance, page 14, which states that you should clean the air filters every two weeks. In our two years of use we had never changed the filters. So, I scurried outside to remove the filters. Well, I could not find them. I placed my hand in each open vent and felt what I thought was foam. I <span style="text-decoration: underline;">thought</span> I felt it at each opening. Getting ready to post a question of the Forum I saw CedarForks request for the same information. With ScubaRx's response I was able to locate & remove the filter.

 

In responding to CedarForks & ScubaRx, I referenced the foam BEFORE I returned to the trailer to reinsert the filter. Had I done this, I would have seen that there was <span style="text-decoration: underline;">no foam</span> & this whole foam conversation would not have started.

 

It was my misinterpretation of materials that got this incorrect conversation started.

 

I have a tendency to provide toooo much info in an explanation & the above is probably a good example of that tendency. Hopefully, I have not muddied the waters any further. If I have please do not hesitate respond.

 

Thank you.