My rear air went out and my A/C man checked it out and said the compressor was bad...called around, no compressors available anymore, someone said the factory in Mexico that made them burned down, no longer made. After talking with FOT they suggested the Penguin II, noone here seemed super impressed with it. Since I have a Tracstar on the roof I thought perhaps I don't need another low profile unit, so I called and talked to Dometic and they said the Brisk Air II is a modular unit like the old units were, so my old control board could be used with it. I replaced my control boards 3 yrs ago when my 4 button thermostat quit acting good (I wasn't on here then). I put a 5 button thermostat in then and had to change boards so I didn't really want to spend the money on new boards and thermostat now. The Brisk Air II was in stock at PPL for $360 so I picked one up and put it on. I haven't had time to measure with it on yet, but I think it is about 1/2" taller than the Tracstar. I don't know if its quieter yet, hard to tell, but I will compare soon since I have 1 old and 1 new on there. I'll also meter it to see which draws more power, the new is supposed to be the most efficient out there. It isn't as sleek looking as the old Penguin but I'm ok with that for the price and perfomance, since I'm only losing 1/2" of clearance. Perhaps this can help someone having A/C issues....
I did have to cut off the wiring harness in order to connect to the board, but it was very simple to get wired up regardless.
The only downside so far is that it didn't come with a heat strip. I will probably just buy the one for it instead of trying to use the old since I'm seeing it online for $59, I think it's worth that to have a new one.
FWIW, we've had our coach four years and traveled to Montana three times in December/January. We have never used heat strips. Portable ceramic heaters work nicely for 120VAC heating.
We also would never use our roof air units for heating, as heat rises and why put wear on an expensive unit, when a cheap floor lever space heater does a better job. Also our heating element gets in the way of cleaning the evaporator coils from inside or from on the roof.
When and if I ever replace an a/c it will be with a quieter unit. Some of the new units are really quiet. Do not know the brand just heard them run. DAN
Just remember what Barry said about heat rising. Use a small fan to bring the heated air down to the living level rather than stratify up near the ceiling. We did this all winter and only run the front furnace at nite. During the summer we do the same with the AC units. Run whichever unit is farthest from where we are. Reduces the noise where we are.
FWIW the older AC units had piston type compressors that make more noise and vibration than the newer rotary type compressors. So most new AC's will make less noise; also the piston compressors make more noise with age and use. The other source of noise is the fan, and that depends a lot on the design and materials in the unit. Noise is also reduced by duct work on both the return air and outlets, but with many roof mounted units that isn't possible. If your coach has a drop ceiling for air distribution, it will be quieter, even though the return air grill is usually just below the unit.
I replaced our front AC on our 320 with a Penguin II. That baby was LOUD.
jor
I just finished replacing my 2 penguins with brisk air 2's. had to update it all, new digital thermostat and both control units, but was an easy conversion. Had heat strips , but like so many here elected not to go back with them. I also elected to step up from 1300 btu units to the 1500 btu ones.The biggest difference that I noticed right off was the air flow from the ducts. and we also no longer need a frig if you want to crank her down. the new design, to me is a lot better for sealing the condenser,and the units are both very quiet while running. The airflow from the vents on high can be a little distracting, but on a 100 degree day just turn the sound system up a little. Larry
AC is a WONDERFUL thing... I've got to check my rear roof unit. No blower function. Hope I can fix it with some judicious tapping. That worked on my SOB Class C unit. Everybody is mentioning heat tapes... Did some models come without a furnace, aquahot or other heating system? I've never found electrical heat to efficient or cost effective.
The heat strips in the duo therm do work ok but the primary reason to retain them is as a backup.
Dislike intensely only having one system for anything.
On our U295, one of the choices at the Comfort Control Center (thermostat) is Heat Strips. One can choose to run the propane heaters OR the heat strips. If I want heat, I use the propane furnaces. Sometimes I use electric heat via a portable ceramic heater to supplement the propane furnaces.
I am not aware of any Foretravel coaches that did not use propane furnaces or a hydronic system for primary heat for the house.
Did you have the flat ribbon 6 wire running from the thermostat to the a/c?
If so where you able to "pull" the flat wire out and replace it with the RJ11 wire Dometic says it needs?
Thanks Kerry
Kerry we used the same cable that was there...
Tony thanks for the help but I think the 98 models have the telephone cables already run vs ours has the cable with the 10 wire flat connector. There is an adapter but on our MH we didn't have 12V at the a/c unit our was at the thermostat.
So we had to run 12v + and - and phone wire to get updated for the new a/c install.
Thank you Kerry