Updating A/C Units on 2003 Monaco

[Coreyph]

I have a 2003 Monaco Windsor with the Penquin I AC units with heat pumps and the Duro Therm Comfort Control Thermostat. Has anyone upgraded their A/C units and if so what kind did you upgrade with? Penquin II's? When you upgraded could you tell a difference in cooling with the new units.

I am assuming you would have to replace the Duro Therm Thermostat as well. Thanks for all the help.

[barmcd]

Originally Posted by Coreyph

I have a 2003 Monaco Windsor with the Penquin I AC units with heat pumps and the Duro Therm Comfort Control Thermostat. Has anyone upgraded their A/C units and if so what kind did you upgrade with? Penquin II's? When you upgraded could you tell a difference in cooling with the new units.

I am assuming you would have to replace the Duro Therm Thermostat as well. Thanks for all the help.

I went with the Penguin II when my living area Penguin I crapped out. I don't have linked systems so it was an easy replacement. I replaced both AC unit and thermostat. Since the original unit wasn't cooling, yes it was a big improvement!

[clyon51]

Originally Posted by Coreyph

I have a 2003 Monaco Windsor with the Penquin I AC units with heat pumps and the Duro Therm Comfort Control Thermostat. Has anyone upgraded their A/C units and if so what kind did you upgrade with? Penquin II's? When you upgraded could you tell a difference in cooling with the new units.



I am assuming you would have to replace the Duro Therm Thermostat as well. Thanks for all the help.

Haven’t done that particular upgrade. I can tell you an ‘upgrade’ in cooling would only happen in you upgraded from 13500 BTU units to 15000 BTU units. If you currently have a 4 button thermostat, an upgrade to 5 button would require new control boards on each unit. If you did upgrade your penguin I ‘s to penguin IIs, you would have to upgrade your thermostat to a 5 button if you presently have a 4 button.

[96 Wideglide]

Dennis, how are they for noise?

One of these days, one of my Duo-therms will pack it in, and I'll have to make a decision .

[barmcd]

Originally Posted by clyon51

Haven’t done that particular upgrade. I can tell you an ‘upgrade’ in cooling would only happen in you upgraded from 13500 BTU units to 15000 BTU units. If you currently have a 4 button thermostat, an upgrade to 5 button would require new control boards on each unit. If you did upgrade your penguin I ‘s to penguin IIs, you would have to upgrade your thermostat to a 5 button if you presently have a 4 button.

There are a lot of moving parts to swapping out for new Penguin II depending on what you already have installed. You can't use the 4 button thermostats with them, there are no retrofit boards. You need new T-stats like this if you have a multi zone unit.



And two of these if you have a single zone unit like I do.



I believe you can get a retrofit board if you have a 5 button thermostat.

[barmcd]

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

Dennis, how are they for noise?

One of these days, one of my Duo-therms will pack it in, and I'll have to make a decision .

Ben,

I have the high capacity Penguin IIs with heat pumps (they don't call them 15K units) and they are just as noisy as the Penguin One I replaced. Frankly, after having them for about 2 years, I'd skip the heat pumps and save a couple hundred dollars per unit.

[96 Wideglide]

No, I need heat pumps, and don't know how loud the Penguin 1's were !

[RamiDav]

I replaced with Penguin IIs on my 03 Windsor and no I can't say they were
a great improvement probably about the same .
I wouldn't replace them unless they were not cooling
When they stop working you gotta do something so I bit the bullet and bought
2 heat pumps and a new thermostat .
Actually if you want to replace just one they say you can put the board from your
old A/C into the new A/C and they will work together with the old 5 button thermostat.
Might not work well with warranty though , don't know if they could tell as long
as you put the new board back in .

We use the heat pumps a lot The noise bothers some people but I guess either
we have gotten used to it or we can't hear very well . LOL

The new thermostats are so much better they may be the best part of the whole
change .

Since you can't buy the old Penguins the IIs are about it
You may want to buy new drain cups , I did , they are plastic and were getting old .

Ray

[barmcd]

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

No, I need heat pumps, and don't know how loud the Penguin 1's were !

Loud. Loud enough to be intrusive in my opinion. I don't know that any of the roof units are remotely quiet. I guess it depends on where you travel. Most of the time we use the propane heater, once the sun comes up it's normally warm enough that the heater doesn't come on again. We rarely use the heat pumps.

[jcussen]

Originally Posted by barmcd

There are a lot of moving parts to swapping out for new Penguin II depending on what you already have installed. You can't use the 4 button thermostats with them, there are no retrofit boards. You need new T-stats like this if you have a multi zone unit.



And two of these if you have a single zone unit like I do.



I believe you can get a retrofit board if you have a 5 button thermostat.

Agree. I changed to the P two's with the ccc 10 button. Nice thing about the ccc, is that you can program it for different temps at different times, although I have never used that feature.

[barmcd]

Here's a thread I started when I went through the swap out.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/dome...mp-292988.html

[Mhcorrigan]

If you are going to change a/c units and stick with the Penguin units, by all means get the 15K units with heat pumps. They come with a board that requires the 10 button thermostat or you can get a board for a 5 button one it the 4 will not work. Also change the gasket between the a/c and roof at the same time.