A/C Recirculation

Carterwlsn

New member
Is there any way to make the a/c recirculation stay on for more than 15 minutes? It is too hot this time of the year to cool the outside air.:bash: Is there a good reason the Germans think I am not getting enough fresh air?
 

SprinterUSA1

New member
Is there any way to make the a/c recirculation stay on for more than 15 minutes? It is too hot this time of the year to cool the outside air.:bash: Is there a good reason the Germans think I am not getting enough fresh air?

Carter,


very good reason. If you only had the circulation going and it would not switch to fresh air automatically you would at somepoint not have enough oxygene and fall asleep. Happened to me in a Lincoln once. Nothing happend though but I switched back to normal mode right away. I much rather keep pushing the button. Also the A/C cools pretty well though. Never had the fan on any setting higher than 1.


Same reason for the fresh air from the vents above the radio in heating condition when left open. They always blow fresh air never warm.


SprinterUSA1
 

Carterwlsn

New member
I just can’t see how this would be possible to not have enough air in a Sprinter. They are so large, and it is just me in the van 99% of the time. Besides, like you said, fresh air always blows out the vents above the radio. Maybe at some point you would run out, but surely you would run out of fuel before you ran out of air. I have not ever seen a vehicle other than this one that does this.

" Also the A/C cools pretty well though. Never had the fan on any setting higher than 1"

Where on earth do you live? It was 98+ degrease outside today. I had the air on full blast, and I kept the air recirculation on all day and I was still sweating. I wish I had rear air!:bash: The back didn’t even get close to being cool. It could be worse. I could have black instead of white. I still need to install rear insulation, and add a re-engineered recirculation switch. This should help keep me cooler.
 

SprinterUSA1

New member
I just can’t see how this would be possible to not have enough air in a Sprinter. They are so large, and it is just me in the van 99% of the time. Besides, like you said, fresh air always blows out the vents above the radio. Maybe at some point you would run out, but surely you would run out of fuel before you ran out of air. I have not ever seen a vehicle other than this one that does this.

" Also the A/C cools pretty well though. Never had the fan on any setting higher than 1"

Where on earth do you live? It was 98+ degrease outside today. I had the air on full blast, and I kept the air recirculation on all day and I was still sweating. I wish I had rear air!:bash: The back didn’t even get close to being cool. It could be worse. I could have black instead of white. I still need to install rear insulation, and add a re-engineered recirculation switch. This should help keep me cooler.

Carter,

yes the van can hold a lot of air. But when engineered they accounted for the possibility that you might have more people in there than just the driver. Once you do that that large volme of air does not last very long. Fresh air blows only when circulation is off!!! NCV3 has the same setup.
Reading your posts I am assuming you have a cargo. Would a partition be an obstacle for you. That really helps. As for the flowers: a roof mount A/C unit is the way to go. Insulation will help to stay cool and cuts down on noise too.

I live in Massachusetts. I did spend almost a year in Houston/TX and as you know it gets pretty hot and humid there. Even than I only run the fan on 1. Of course that may have had to do with my partition. Less air to cool.


SprinterUSA1
 

KenB

Member
must be the partition...

Houston is a Killer for heat/humidity.

I have the passenger model, all dark glass and insluated (not well insulated) panels I will be adding insulation anytime I have a panel off for repairs or adding equipment.

In Oklahoma, texas, arkansas, even Michigan and Wisconsin I have run the A/C mostly on "3" or "4" and have wished for an '11' setting... 'cause '11' is better than '10', after all its '11'! :thumbup:

When the front, on "4", runs out of cooling potential (on any sunny day above 90F), we fire up the rear air. The thermostat 'roller' on the rear control is effective in hot weather, but in humid weather it is not...

To explain, the rear-air temp roller does moderate the temp of the air coming out of the back, we assume this is by turning off the compressor part of the time... what that leaves is the fan blowing (high or low), but allowing the blowing air to evaporate the moisture that was previously condensed on the coils. This feature turns the van into a realtively cool sauna.

In hot weather, the temp roller control for the rear air works better as the compressor seems to cycle more frequently.

The vent in the dash (around the radio) does not draw air from the heater core, but does use either inside or outside air depending on recirculation setting (and IS cooled if the A/C is on). This dash/radio air will be somewhat warmer than ambient when you have recirculation ON and the heater blowing hot air to the "foot" position... In this case, the intake is drawing warm air from the passenger side foot area under the dash.

On a 95F day, we have all A/C on, the front on '3', the rear on "2" to start and "1" to keep up, but we can usually close the ceiling vents on the rear air.

My wife has asthma, so the recirculation is usually on if there is ANY traffic... the van is not so tightly enclosed as to not bring in at least some outside air while on recirculation. A Lincoln might be that tight, but my '79 Grand Marquis never was. The marquis was, however, comfortable enough to put you to sleep...:cheers:


KenB
 

kendall69

New member
....I wish I had rear air!
I can attest to the rear air being a life saver.

My rear air was not working for 80 days since new, at temps 120 PLUS!!!! - The front air was not enough to cool the passengers, or anyone from the behind the drivers seat.

Rear air was fixed, and now my daughter, need a blanket when it’s 120 outside. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I can haul flowers or meat in the sprinter now if I want, it’s a walk in cooler on wheels.
:rad:
 
We can thank Mercedes for their ideas on recirculation. On the two older Mercs that I owned, the recirculation policy was the same exact way - active for about 15min., and then it would switch back to fresh air again.

I notice on my 2005 that when I'm at highway speeds, the air coming out of the vents blows nice and strong - especially from the dash vents. It's when I slow down to speeds between 25-50 that I need to adjust the dial and increase blower speed.

I also have the rear air unit and it is definitely a lifesaver when I have folks traveling with me. I have found, though, that when it's just me - even in the 92+ degree days we've been experencing here in Wisconsin, the dash air is more than enough to keep me cool. I run the rear when I first start up to cool off the back, and then really don't run it after that.

HERE'S A QUESTION: Is there any way that one can blow just plain old FRESH AIR into the rear cabin if you have the rear A/C unit? I would imagine that you could, but I can't find the button/switch that one would use to accomplish this. Am I dreaming again that this is possible?? :rolleyes:

-Michael
 

sikwan

06 Tin Can
HERE'S A QUESTION: Is there any way that one can blow just plain old FRESH AIR into the rear cabin if you have the rear A/C unit? I would imagine that you could, but I can't find the button/switch that one would use to accomplish this. Am I dreaming again that this is possible?? :rolleyes:
That's a good question, Michael. I don't think there's a way to divert fresh air through the back, at least in the rear air design that I'm installing with the factory control switches.

If I'm not mistakenly, there should only be small holes or one hole through the roof to route the low/high pressure refrigerant lines and electrical.
 
Hmmmmmmm ... interesting. I read in the user's manual that there's a "blower switch" that can be used to aerate (sp?) or pump "air" into the cargo area. I'm wondering if the words "cargo area" mean that this would only be available on cargo versions? And by air, do they mean air conditioned air, or just plain air (ack! I'm way too technical, aren't I?) But that didn't really make sense either, because of all the cargo vans I've seen, I think I've seen maybe two with the rear heat/ac unit.

If there's a fan up there, I would think that it should be able to direct fresh air into the cabin. If one has the rear ac/heat unit, then one should have that switch that the manual talks about, but I've looked all over for it, and it is definitely not anywhere on the center console. I have a blower switch to the right of the steering column, but the manual says that's for heat only.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo ... I dunno. :idunno: Perhaps another Sprinter mystery that's meant to be lived with and not fully understood! :bounce:

-Michael
 

sikwan

06 Tin Can
Hmmmmmmm ... interesting. I read in the user's manual that there's a "blower switch" that can be used to aerate (sp?) or pump "air" into the cargo area.
Michael, the "blower" is the roof fan. I have a Fantastic Vent Fan in place of the oem blower fan.

Look at the blue van on the left.
2003_sprinter2.jpg
That may not be the right one, but I've seen them on a lot of Fed-Ex trucks out here.

Something like this...

http://www.trucknvans.com/CRL_6_Compact_Dome_Van_Roof_Vent_p/cb354.htm

CB354-2.jpg
 
Ooooooooooooooooooooo! :clapping: I always wondered what that little thing was on there. Well, now that you mention this, it makes more sense why I don't have the switch.

Do these roof fans come as optional equipment on the Sprinter, or are they add-on? How do you control your fan - is it manually controlled from the fan itself, or do you have a switch that does this?

I guess the concept I'm still not grasping is why the roof unit cannot just blow air. I look at these units like the units you'd see in a hotel room - the units blow heat, air conditioning and just plain outside air, depending on what you want them to do. Is there something special about the roof a/c / heating unit that I don't know about that prevents them from blowing fresh air? I dunno ... it just seems weird to me that if you have the roof unit, that you'd have to get something else to blow fresh air into the cabin. Am I missing something ??
DEFINITELY wouldn't be the first time! Feel free to :bash: me over the head if it's something obvious. :smirk:
-Michael
 

SteveN

New member
Tacky solution to keep Front A/C upfront - Purchase Spring tension shower curtain rod and clear shower curtain ( layer 2 if you can). ( Told you it was tacky). Certainly not airtight but might be enough to keep you sweatfree.
 
Steve - I LOVE IT! FANTASTIC! :bow: Sometimes, it doesn't take an expensive fix to accomplish a simple task ... I like your way of thinking!
 

schmeer

propane generator
See http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sprintervan/message/31396. Tony Andric at www.DogShowVans.com, an earlier converter of Frieghtliner Sprinter cargo vans into Dog show vans.
The link to "http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sprintervan/message/31396" is no longer working.
Does anyone know a cure to kill the 15 min auto shut off on the AC recirculation?

We have a 2007 Sprinter based 23' RV by Winnebago and we regularly have to travel thru the Mojave Desert to get to Henderson NV (Vegas) from LA to visit our daughter. At 110+ degrees we do not need outside air and the dash is not adequate to cool the volume of air inside unless the recirculation is on. We do not want to run the RV generator while driving (to run the roof top AC).
 

Old Crows

Calypso 2014 View Profile
Here's why: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/02/13/ford-motor-co-defect/97856978/

While there may be a mechanical with the exhaust system, it's not a good idea to recirculate 100% of the time.

Back in the late 20th century..... just the opposite was true. The Baltimore cops had trouble with the HVAC sucking in all kinds of nasty. Shortly thereafter, the cars started having 'flow-through' ventilation.... just like today. Along with the RECIRC button to help not suck up fumes from the cars around you. Wasn't intended to be on 100% of the time.

Best settings I've found. Temp 70F =/- a couple of degrees; fan speed at least 3; output/outlet selector between 3 o'clock (all dash vent) or 9 o'clock (vents and floor). 6 o'clock is mostly floor. Not so good in summer.
 

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