Replacement AC Units-II

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Replacement AC Units-II

August 08, 2015, 09:56:09 am

This topic has been discussed a year ago, but I wanted to add a bit regarding an AC unit a friend of mine has in his new SOB RV. It's an Atwood that boasts being quiet, moves a lot of air and really cools. Pricing online shows the units to be a bit less expensive than the current Dometic Penguins.
From my personal experience in my friend's RV... They are much quieter than my current OEM system, has excellent air flow and does it cool (my friend likes to keep his RV at 73 in these current hot GA summer days).
The jury is out on quality/durability/reliability as my friends unit is a current production Grand Design Reflection, but so far he loves it.
Here's a link...
Atwood 15,000 BTU Ducted AC

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #1 – August 08, 2015, 10:12:45 am

Thanks, Ron,

I really appreciate posts like this - they help me keep up with the latest advancements in RV tech, without having to do the "legwork" myself. I am especially interested in the subject of air conditioners, because even though our OEM units are still working great, I know their eventual demise is inevitable. It is nice to hear that the manufacturers continue to refine and improve their designs. We (the DW and I) are totally spoiled - for us, A/C is not a luxury, it is a necessity!

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #2 – August 08, 2015, 10:42:11 am

Great info- thanks.

I think someone on the forum had the Atwood A/C's put on recently. Hope they work as good for him as they do for your friend.

Mostly I hope I don't have to replace mine for a while since I am now looking at replacing my water heater...........

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #3 – August 08, 2015, 11:10:00 am

At 13.6" High, it is much higher profile than the Dometics that are on our coach. Coleman has an interesting new low profile unit;
Coleman Mach 8 Low Profile Air Conditioners on Sale - PPL Motor Homes
No first hand reports that I know of from the forum...
Don

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #4 – August 08, 2015, 05:32:36 pm

Timely thread. One of my units when set on auto cycled on and off constantly, every 10 to 15 seconds. I moved the fan switch from auto to low to get through the trip. I'm hoping it's an easy issue to fix. It was cooling fine. Even when the fan on low instead of auto it cycled off once in a while, coming on again when the temp went above where the thermostat was set.

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #5 – August 08, 2015, 06:22:06 pm

Atwood Air Command AC

Dometic HP Air Conditioner/Heat Pump

Replacing Air Conditioners

(I love "search"

)

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #6 – August 08, 2015, 06:23:51 pm

Quote from: Don & Tys (AKA acousticart) – August 08, 2015, 11:10:00 am

At 13.6" High, it is much higher profile than the Dometics that are on our coach. Coleman has an interesting new low profile unit;

No first hand reports that I know of from the forum...

Not hands' on first hand, but when we needed to replace our Dometic Penguins we asked Mike Rodgers at MOT about the Coleman Machs. He advised that at the time they had a lot of "customer come-backs" and steered us away from them.

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #7 – August 08, 2015, 07:16:51 pm

I have the Attwood Air Commands. Installed about 6 months ago and they are great. Quiet, and they cool very well. Rudy came over and looked at mine and also bought the Atwood. I believe he is very happy with his as well.
You might want to buy them quick---- Dometic is buying them as we speak. Deal has not yet been approved by the government.

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #8 – August 08, 2015, 08:10:21 pm

Yes Sir, like my Attwoods a bunch. If anyone wants stand height Coleman's, I have 15 and 13.5 for anyone that wants one In Baytown. Come get it. They worked fine when replaced but not as quiet plus do not have the internal features and modes that the Attwood does.

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #9 – August 08, 2015, 09:48:09 pm

Just before our trip to FMCA Reunion in Madison WI (very impressive venue, by the way), we had two 15 K Atwood Air Command ducted AC/heat pumps installed. They replaced two 13.5 K Penguin AC/heat pumps. The difference is night and day. (The Atwoods do sit taller than the penguins, but does not appear to cause any problems.)

The rear unit is installed in the bathroom and colds (not cools) the rear of the coach very quickly. The front unit is enough to cool the entire coach unless it gets very hot. They are very, very quiet. If you need to cool an area, or yourself, quickly, just stand under the unit and slide the two levers and it blocks the ducts (I think) and dumps COLD air straight down on you!.

I had hoped that the front unit would be strong enough to make up for our nonworking dash air. It did, until it got hot, and the sun coming in the front windshields was just too much. I sat a Ryobi fan about mid sofa to try to blow more cold forward, but once that cockpit got hot, it was hot.

Ours is a 2000 model, and the ducting stops about the sofa. I think it was soon after that they changed the ducting to come further forward. Had ours been so configured, I am confidant the Air Command would have been enough.

BTW, the ducting does go all the way into the bedroom and the front AC puts enough cold through them that you do not need the rear AC on while you sleep. Assume it could get hot enough at night to require the rear AC. If so, it gives almost instant cold, right NOW!

If any one has specific questions, bring 'em on.

Trent

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #10 – August 08, 2015, 10:41:39 pm

Somebody posted about having IR blocking film installed on the windshield that cut the heat down tremendously.

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #11 – August 09, 2015, 08:05:52 am

Trent, Nice affirmation on the Atwood roof airs. We have the same roof ducting setup.
Do you have the specific model number of your units, do you know of any issues getting the Atwood's air flow into the existing ceiling ducts? Who did your installation, did you keep the same inside ceiling plastic trim pieces (that hold the filter and have the sliding slats to let the air flow down into coach instead of the ducts)? What did you do for the old wall thermostat? Does it now just run the furnace?

Thanks, Barry

PS some have extended the forward ceiling outlets by adding new long ducts to the front, but we have not made this mod.

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #12 – August 09, 2015, 08:18:58 am

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – August 09, 2015, 08:05:52 am

PS some have extended the forward ceiling outlets by adding new long ducts to the front, but we have not made this mod.

Compared to some of the more complex remodel projects we read about on this Forum, extending those air ducts seems like it would be pretty simple. Use some kind of rectangular tubing for the extension, secure to ceiling, place outlets where desired, cover with fuzzy ceiling material.
Piece of cake!

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #13 – August 09, 2015, 09:09:55 am

Barry,

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – August 09, 2015, 08:05:52 am

Do you have the specific model number of your units

I purchased them from PPL; the receipt has their model number:
PART UNIT TOTAL
QUANT. NUMBER DESCRIPTION PRICE COST

2 08.0588 *15.0 A/C TOP UNIT-DUCTED 568.00 1,136.00
2 08.0592 *CEILING ASSEMBLY-DUCTED 95.00 190.00
1 SHIP *SHIPPING 260.00 260.00

06/15/15 STORE PARTS $ 1,326.00
06/15/15 SHIPPING $ 260.00

TOTAL $ 1,586.00

Online, the shipping was called freight, so I assumed they were coming by truck. PPL sent them FedEx, and I got them two days later!

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – August 09, 2015, 08:05:52 am

do you know of any issues getting the Atwood's air flow into the existing ceiling ducts?

No, As far as I know, they just removed the old ones and installed the new ones on the roof. The kit included a piece of rigid foam to trim and separate the return air from the cold air. There were no changes to the existing duct work.

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – August 09, 2015, 08:05:52 am

Who did your installation

Dave's RV in Claremore, OK. They are an "authorized dealer" for Atwood Mobile Products. I think mine may have been the first ones they installed. The original estimate was four hours of labor, $440. They took two days and charged me about $1200! The installation was straight forward. Their time was spent learning about Foretravels and rerouting the wiring.
I ~~think~~ know I could have done the installation much faster and better, if I had some way to handle the weight of the units onto and on the roof. I know I could have done the rewiring much better.

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – August 09, 2015, 08:05:52 am

did you keep the same inside ceiling plastic trim pieces (that hold the filter and have the sliding slats to let the air flow down into coach instead of the ducts)?

No, the Air Commands consisted of two packages; a large and heavy roof unit, and a ceiling assembly, which included the ceiling grill, the thermostat, and the remote control.

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – August 09, 2015, 08:05:52 am

What did you do for the old wall thermostat? Does it now just run the furnace?

The old (dual thermostat) went the way of the old penguins. Each AC unit has its own thermostat which controls the AC/HP *and* the apropos heater (two wires that are interchangeable).
The front thermostat was installed where the original dual unit was installed. The rear one is going to be installed where the old remote temperature sensor was for the old Penguins. GTB means I need to do some minor whittling to get it to fit between the TV cabinet and the top of the drawer. Remember the thermostat also senses the ambient temperature as part of the process.

Hope this helps; let me know if you have more questions.

Trent

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #14 – August 09, 2015, 09:26:30 am

Wow Trent,

With Kema John's help, I purchased from 12volt store at two 15k non-ducted heat pumps for $1338 total delivered. With a friends forklift, I installed them in a little over an hour. First time I have installed roof A/Cs.

Really glad you are as happy as we are with them.

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #15 – August 09, 2015, 09:26:50 am

Trent, do you think all the wiring changes were for the low-voltage thermostat? And no changes needed for 120-volt power? How do you now control your propane furnace?

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #16 – August 09, 2015, 09:48:45 am

Barry,

The 120 VAC is already at both ceiling locations. I assume the 12 VDC and the two heater wires are already at the former dual control location. I think most of the wiring was to get the 12 VDC and heater wires to the rear location. Part of the problem was routing the existing connectors for the thermostat wiring. If I had been doing it, I would have removed the pins from the connectors so I could route only the small wire bundle and not the MUCH larger connectors. I might even have connected with the existing wiring to the front thermostat instead of running the new, depending on condition. The rear *should* have been a piece of cake, because it was going from the ceiling of the walk-through-bath into the closet and under the TV cabinet; plus the two control wires from the rear heater, into the same closet.

IIRC, each thermostat has mode settings for cool, heat pump, and heat. The heat position would control the Atwood heaters. I do not think it is only because they are Atwood heaters.

No, I have not tested the heaters yet. But, for $1200 labor, I expect them to be wired properly; guess I better test them. I have my fingers crossed that the front heater now works, since it did not before.

My things-to-do-soon list includes checking and cleaning the heater areas for the heaters and the refrigerator, which stopped working on propane during our trip.

More about my trip and unintended expenses in another thread, sooooon.

Trent

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #17 – August 09, 2015, 02:12:06 pm

We replaced the original units in our 1992 GV U-225 about 2 months ago. Chose the Atwood Air Command based on discussions on this forum. Ours are non-ducted and we got them both, including the ceiling assemblies and shipping, for $1550 from PPL. So far we are very impressed - very quiet, nice remote control, and having a thermostat we can set to a temperature are big improvements over the original Duo-therm Brisk Air units.

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #18 – August 09, 2015, 02:55:44 pm

I and my electrical guru mechanic are both heat strip fans. His experience is that heat pumps life is less than the strip models.

Plus the heat pumps do not work in cold weather.

Looked at the brisk ll Dometic units and they appear to offer both functions in the unit?

Any thoughts?

I hate not having a winter interior backup heating system not built in.

Yes it does not heat the tank bay like the aqua hot

Re: Replacement AC Units-II

Reply #19 – August 09, 2015, 09:52:55 pm

Quote from: Caflashbob – August 09, 2015, 02:55:44 pm

I and my electrical guru mechanic are both heat strip fans. His experience is that heat pumps life is less than the strip models.

Plus the heat pumps do not work in cold weather.
Any thoughts?

Heat pumps will be able to put out more heat in moderate weather for a given amount of electricity. Heat strips are going to be limited to about 1200-1500 watts. Depending on how efficient the heat pump is, it theoretically could "pump" two or three or more times the heat than electrical energy it consumes. Modern house heatpumps are good down to freezing and below...but I doubt an RV heat pump has all the same defrost systems.

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