Installing new A/C
- Thread starter gowestygirl
- Start date
Bernd Pfrommer
Active member
- the previously installed AC (11.5kBTU) was oversized for our camping pattern (drive/hike during the day, only run AC at night). Whether the current one is undersized, we'll find out. The first tests look very good though. We'll go camping with it tomorrow for the first time. Unfortunately by now even Florida is cold enough at night to not need an AC...
- variable speed system that ramps up/down rather than switch on/off hard during the night
- more efficient when running off of batteries
About the price: resizing the hole, redesigning the electrical system etc is such a pain that I didn't want to skimp on the AC. This is hopefully the last one I'll ever put into our camper. Wonder what it'd cost to have it done professionally.
Bernd Pfrommer
Active member
Update on noise: my 22 year old son was the first one to test the AC for several nights. He said it makes a very high pitched sound, he needed ear plugs to sleep. Turns out he is right, I'm too old to hear it. Attached is a spectrogram of the noise the RTX 2000 emits and indeed there are peaks at around 16kHz that neither my wife nor I could hear.
Bernd Pfrommer
Active member
Today on the Tampa RV show I came across a RoadTrek class B that had a 20k BTU Pro Air AC driven at 12V and it was really exceptionally quiet. Definitely appeared quieter than the Dometic RTX 2000, and lower pitch.
Did you send the plot to the manufacturer? It could be a bad bearing and a warranty issue.
Bernd Pfrommer
Active member
I will contact them about it but I doubt it's the bearing because those rarely make a noise in the 16KHz range.
Bernd Pfrommer
Active member
The last two nights we took the camper out into the Florida summer heat (Cedar Key, north of Tampa) to test if the RTX 2000 was up for the job.
Test #1: partial shade (see picture), running off of batteries in "auto" mode. Outside temperature 88F, thermostat set to 72F, parked the van in partial shade (see photo) and let the AC run for several hours. Looked at the thermometer around 2pm: 82F. So as expected the RTX2000 is not powerful enough to keep the temperature to 72F, but the temperature (and humidity) sure was a lot more comfortable inside the van. Power draw was about 400W.
Test #2: night time, outside temperature beginning of the night about 82F, thermostat set to 72. Reached setpoint after about 2h after sunset. For sleep time we set the evaporator coil fan to "manual" on it's lowest setting so it would not cycle on/off. That produces a constant fairly low noise. The only extra noise is then when the condenser coil fans and the compressor spin up which at the beginning of the night happened about every 2 minutes, later in longer intervals (I was asleep then). In the early morning the outside temperature had dropped to 75F. The noise level is very much lower than the one of the original AC. The second night I managed to get 8h of sleep with only waking up once. That was never possible with the old AC. So it is a substantial improvement.
Conclusion: the AC is definitely powerful enough to achieve what we wanted it for: keep the camper cool during the night in Florida climate. The noise level, though not as low as I hoped for, is acceptable.
Test #1: partial shade (see picture), running off of batteries in "auto" mode. Outside temperature 88F, thermostat set to 72F, parked the van in partial shade (see photo) and let the AC run for several hours. Looked at the thermometer around 2pm: 82F. So as expected the RTX2000 is not powerful enough to keep the temperature to 72F, but the temperature (and humidity) sure was a lot more comfortable inside the van. Power draw was about 400W.
Test #2: night time, outside temperature beginning of the night about 82F, thermostat set to 72. Reached setpoint after about 2h after sunset. For sleep time we set the evaporator coil fan to "manual" on it's lowest setting so it would not cycle on/off. That produces a constant fairly low noise. The only extra noise is then when the condenser coil fans and the compressor spin up which at the beginning of the night happened about every 2 minutes, later in longer intervals (I was asleep then). In the early morning the outside temperature had dropped to 75F. The noise level is very much lower than the one of the original AC. The second night I managed to get 8h of sleep with only waking up once. That was never possible with the old AC. So it is a substantial improvement.
Conclusion: the AC is definitely powerful enough to achieve what we wanted it for: keep the camper cool during the night in Florida climate. The noise level, though not as low as I hoped for, is acceptable.
Attachments
I recently converted from Kerstner coal powered AC as well.
Went with a 13.5k BTU Houghton 3400. Because of the way the air handling works, use of the existing upper cabinet wasn't possible.
I wanted this unit because it is known as one of the quietest AC's available and is supper efficient, drawing less than 10 amps with the compressor running and therefor a great partner to the Honda EU2200. It's also the only other low profile 1+ ton unit outside of the mach 8 and seems notably more refined than the coleman.
Install went very smooth and found a few added bonuses: the additional headroom is quite amazing and makes the cabin feel much larger for something taller than 6 feet.
The now open vent above the bathroom door is really great to use as ventilation with the bathroom fan. Anyone who has installed such a fan knows that you have to prop the door open or it draws from the black tank and really stanks up the cabin.
So far extremely impressed. Have been able to keep the cabin 70* on a 100* day in direct sun, running off generator. They do claim that an easy start device isn't required, but I installed one so it can easily start/stop/run off of eco mode. The generator has no notable "gut punch" when compressor starts.
Went with a 13.5k BTU Houghton 3400. Because of the way the air handling works, use of the existing upper cabinet wasn't possible.
I wanted this unit because it is known as one of the quietest AC's available and is supper efficient, drawing less than 10 amps with the compressor running and therefor a great partner to the Honda EU2200. It's also the only other low profile 1+ ton unit outside of the mach 8 and seems notably more refined than the coleman.
Install went very smooth and found a few added bonuses: the additional headroom is quite amazing and makes the cabin feel much larger for something taller than 6 feet.
The now open vent above the bathroom door is really great to use as ventilation with the bathroom fan. Anyone who has installed such a fan knows that you have to prop the door open or it draws from the black tank and really stanks up the cabin.
So far extremely impressed. Have been able to keep the cabin 70* on a 100* day in direct sun, running off generator. They do claim that an easy start device isn't required, but I installed one so it can easily start/stop/run off of eco mode. The generator has no notable "gut punch" when compressor starts.
Bernd Pfrommer
Active member
Googled it but couldn't find a good hit. Mind posting more about it? Although that should almost be another thread....Also, "VanLink" install.
200mbs where there is zero cell service
Scubalong
2020 144 4x4 Graphite Grey
Starlink
Correct. Starlink, should have made separate post!
junkyard_sal
New member
I wonder what else is out there now, but this looks like an option that could work if my kerstner is crapped out
13.5k BTU Houghton 3400
13.5k BTU Houghton 3400
See my post, 5 up ^ (#28).
Rocksnsalt
There Can Be Only ONE
I am so envious of people with a garage tall enough for their sprinter …