ROOF AIR - replacement

Topic: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted (Read 1044 times) previous topic - next topic

ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

June 11, 2016, 11:07:06 pm

I need to replace my roof air units.
I wanted the opinion of the forum on what is the CURRENT top choices.
I have read great reviews from members on the Atwood Air Command 15k units. Is everybody still happy with this choice?
How about the Coleman Mach 8?

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #1 – June 11, 2016, 11:37:06 pm

Still pretty happy w/ Air Command. Been more than a year as your coach in hot and cold climes w/ few concerns. We have the same layout and year and have not used our rear (Penguin) AC since the install.

Blows a good deal of air and scrolls almost all the time--very quietly. Low setting on the fan works for us once we get to temp. Heat pump is a huge improvement in the cool weather.

Short comings are few: drip on recliner at times, minor. Filters can load faster due to air volume. Sort of funny filter fit and the fixed fins don't clean easily. The remote is non-op since new.

I'd buy it again. We thought we'd put a second one in our bath/bed area, but we have not had a compelling reason to do so yet. Pretty cool for now.

The TV volume is much lower at night in the Texas summer nights! Paul

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #2 – June 12, 2016, 08:47:27 am

I sure like my Atwood 15K btu heat pumps. Leaving a rally today and everyone that came to our coach remarked how quiet the A/C was. Works great for us.

Purchased two from My12voltrvstore.com for $1332 delivered. Thanks KemaJohn for the assistance.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #3 – June 12, 2016, 09:13:11 am

I have no idea from personal experience but last year I thought one of my AC's needed replacement. i liked what I found when researching Atwood. I mentioned it to James at Tennessee RV and he strongly suggested that I stay away from anything Atwood except for their water heaters. He said they are not reliable long term.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #4 – June 12, 2016, 09:22:17 am

If you can still get the 15Kw heat pump....they may be fine, we found they were out of stock or no longer available from the four or five dealers we called. Including my12voltstore.com. I had three suppliers tell me the 15 kw heat pump by Atwood was discontinued as Atwood is now owned by Dometic.

?

We found the 13.5 non heat pump readily available. We went it and it is working fine so far, a little quieter than the Penquin inside the coach. From outside cant tell the difference.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #5 – June 13, 2016, 10:44:10 am

We installed the 15k unit last year and have been very happy with it---far superior to the Dometic we replaced due to noise. I purchased both a 15k unit and a 13.5k unit at the same time. I installed the13.5k unit in the bedroom this past weekend due to the failure of the old Dometic unit. The install was simple ( 3 hours total remove and replace). As expected, the new Atwood is quiet and works very well. We are very pleased with the units, and would buy them again.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #6 – June 13, 2016, 11:59:00 am

Does the atwood seem to deliver more cooling as claimed, compared to your old ac? Ive seen them referenced around here. Sad to see dometic bought them and is discontinuing them. They seem like a favorite for all who have tried them.

I have owned many roof acs, old coleman, carrier, dometic and even a 15k Chinese unit on a bus. The new dometics are louder than anything with the new 410a freon and higher pressures.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #7 – June 13, 2016, 12:46:17 pm

@rvlooker

How new of a Dometic are we talking about? The Brisk Air 2 units were redesigned in 2013 (or so) and are supposed to be fairly quiet. They changed them quite a bit under the hood. Can't say that I've used one personally since my 18 year old Penguins are still running.............for now.

http://www2.dometic.com/dc0efb6a-748f-459b-b389-a37c1e5780a8.fodoc

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #8 – June 13, 2016, 01:10:27 pm

If you can find the larger Attwood go for it. Ours has been much better than the Dometic.

Keith

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #9 – June 13, 2016, 01:35:53 pm

We've got fresh Carriers, work fine, sorta. Nothing like those big ugly Colemans to cool a coach down ,NOW!

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #10 – June 13, 2016, 02:04:20 pm

The 15K Dometic that I replaced was a 2013 model, ant it was LOUD--- it was working fine, just so loud that it was impossible to listen to the TV or talk while it was running.
The Atwood cools very well. The exit air seems to be much colder than the Dometic was, and it does not sweat inside. We like it. If you can find one get it. They are well designed and well made, and the price is reasonable.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #11 – June 13, 2016, 02:25:01 pm

My travel trailer had a 15k coleman. That thing was unreal. It cooled that turd down like no tomorrow. The briskII like your link is the one in my friends rv, a sprinter c, and is louder than anything I have ever heard. Its mostly compresser noise. The carrier didnt impress me with performance, but it was quiet and reliable. Not that it matters, they are discontinued and no longer an option. The australian atwoods seem to be the best by far. Surprising dometic killed them off, maybe they will be back as dometics in the near future?

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #12 – June 13, 2016, 04:22:17 pm

Maybe I'm missing something, but camping world shows the 15K Atwood AC in stock and on sale in their internet store.
The 12 volt store was selling these like hot cakes-- maybe they are just out of stock?

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #13 – June 13, 2016, 08:45:30 pm

Just on My12voltstore.com and shows Atwood A/C will ship 2 or 3 days. Check it out.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #14 – June 13, 2016, 10:48:07 pm

Quote from: Rudy – June 13, 2016, 08:45:30 pm

Just on My12voltstore.com and shows Atwood A/C will ship 2 or 3 days. Check it out.

I sent them a email but have not heard back.
They appear to be located in the Chicago area, I was hoping I could pick it up and save the shipping fee.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #15 – June 14, 2016, 02:13:11 am

Lon,

I called them on the phone during the business day and got immediate info and order placement.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #16 – June 14, 2016, 03:14:18 pm

Most people think that what they bought is the best; it's just human nature. Most of the parts used to made a roof air conditioner are similar. How they are designed though might make unit A louder of less efficient than unit B or C. Unless someone does a side by side test there is just no way to know which is the better unit. All of the units on the market today are quieter and more efficient than what was made 15 or 20 years ago. If you had a 13K BTU AC, today's 15K BTU AC may not use any more power, so you can probably get a bigger unit and not overload the wiring. Just check that the amp draw is not more than the amp rating for the wire. I doubt if that would be a problem as most of the AC wiring in my coach can handle 20 amps, but to be on the safe side limit the load to 15 amps.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #17 – June 14, 2016, 06:25:12 pm

The Atwoods are quieter due to a two fan design-- that is, there is a separate fan motor for the evaporator and for the condenser. The condenser fan can run full speed to move heat while the evaporator fan can run at lower speed and quieter. Most other designs use a single blower motor with a fan blade on each end.
We checked ours with a db meter--- it is considerably quieter than the Dometics ( single fan design) I had installed, one of which was only a year old.
I don't know if the Atwood is the best or not, but it has worked out very well for us. I would buy them again. Compared to others, they are reasonably priced and work well with a high efficiency scroll compressor.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #18 – June 14, 2016, 06:40:40 pm

The problem with changing roof AC's is the interior trim footprint, you want something that will cover what the old one did.

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #19 – June 14, 2016, 07:27:00 pm

The Atwood non ducted is almost the exact size ceiling footprint as the old Dometic Penquin unit

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #20 – June 15, 2016, 01:25:43 pm

I've got a couple of questions for those of you with ducted Atwood units.

I see that they have remote controls for the units. Is there also a wall mounted thermostat that needs to be hooked up? If so, are you able to use the existing phone cable that the original Dometic units used to connect the new thermostat up to the Atwood? Are the Atwood units able to control multiple zones through the remotes or through a new thermostat or do you have to install a new wall thermostat for each AC? I've heard that the heat pumps shut off at 45F and force you to switch over to the furnace (or other heat source) at that temperature, has anyone verified that this indeed happens?

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #21 – June 15, 2016, 04:50:01 pm

Quote from: rsihnhold – June 15, 2016, 01:25:43 pm

I've got a couple of questions for those of you with ducted Atwood units.
I see that they have remote controls for the units. Is there also a wall mounted thermostat that needs to be hooked up?

Yes.

Quote from: rsihnhold – June 15, 2016, 01:25:43 pm

Are the Atwood units able to control multiple zones through the remotes or through a new thermostat or do you have to install a new wall thermostat for each AC?

No; Yes.

Quote from: rsihnhold – June 15, 2016, 01:25:43 pm

I've heard that the heat pumps shut off at 45F and force you to switch over to the furnace (or other heat source) at that temperature, has anyone verified that this indeed happens?

I do not know about the Heat Pump setting. When it got cold enough, I switched to the heater.

My biggest complaint is that I could not find a way to set the thermostat below 60 degrees F. I wanted to keep it at about 40 to prevent freezing, but could not get it to set below 60. May have to get different thermostats just for the Atwood heaters. Needs some more investigation.

Hope this helps,

Trent

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #22 – June 16, 2016, 12:15:34 pm

Any opinions of the Coleman Mach 15?

Re: ROOF AIR - replacement - non ducted

Reply #23 – June 16, 2016, 01:09:15 pm

Coleman, good A/C, much more noise than Attwood. Gave my two Coleman away in favor of much quieter Attwoods.

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Reply #24 – June 16, 2016, 01:28:55 pm

I miss the Colemans, especially when we're getting into the low to medium 100s around here! Our Carriers will handle it, but not like those ugly monsters could.

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