Community Forums

mymyst · 06-23-2018, 07:47 AM

Curious to know, on 2017 CS and newer with bigger battery bank and 2 big inverter's, has anyone tried/been able to run just one of the roof top a/c's while going down the road, eliminating the need to run the gen set for a/c? Often we could get by with just one of the roof top units running to help the useless dash air along. We now turn all 3 on during summer months travel in the south, but fiind that only one of the three are actually running MOST of the time. Would be nice not to have to run that big Onan to keep the coach reasonably cool while mobile. Is it possible?

palehorse89 · 06-23-2018, 07:56 AM

Newmar King Aire is the only Coach that I know of that can do this other than the "Big Boy's" due to the large 16 battery bank and a very large engine alternator to supply the demand from the AC draw on the battery's...........some expensive upgrade's would have to be made to your Coach I would think........

brobox · 06-23-2018, 08:09 AM

Not on an Entegra. If you look at the circuit panels above the driver's seat you will see what items that are not on inverter, ACs being one of those.
If the dash air is lacking, have it checked. After ours was replaced it does well even in the FL heat.

mymyst · 06-23-2018, 08:21 AM

Dang! Hard to tell whihc breakers are/are not powered off inverter in the CS...different config than our '15 Anthem. <sigh>

Mr_D · 06-23-2018, 08:35 AM

Country Coach used to have that option. 320 amp alternator and 6 8D AGM's for power. Mine doesn't have that. New Lifeline 8D's are just under $700 each, I just had 4 installed yesterday. Do have the room for 6 if I want to add 2 more.

757driver · 06-23-2018, 08:40 AM

Your alternator and perhaps associated wiring would need to be beefed up to handle the load of replenishing 150-200 DC Ah back into the house battery bank just to keep up.

brobox · 06-23-2018, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mymyst

Dang! Hard to tell whihc breakers are/are not powered off inverter in the CS...different config than our '15 Anthem. <sigh>

On the 19 Aspire I was able to look at the right panel was inverter. The panel that has the 3 ACs washer dryer, basement breakers are non inverter. Also backwards of my Classic

Gary.Jones · 06-23-2018, 12:13 PM

I agree with whoever posted above. Your dash AC should be able to keep you and the wife cool just with the dash AC. Our Anthen could not do that and we discovered that the dash AC had a problem. Our Dynasty before that was just underpowered and in 100 degree southern temps (e.g., Galveston is July), you just had to run all the ACs with the genny burning diesel all afternoon. However, once we got out Anthem's dash AC fixed, it handled us well. On this new Cornerstone, it again does a very good job with just the dash AC running. It struggles a little 3:30 - 4:30 in very hot afternoons, but I have not yet needed to run the genny to keep us cool.

Gary

Guernsey · 06-23-2018, 08:36 PM

Under extreme heat in places like Arizona, we do turn on the generator and run the two front AC’s while driving. Other than a little additional noise, the results are worth while. And in my opinion, most generators are not run enough. More regular use helps keep the generator in top operating condition.

mymyst · 06-24-2018, 10:09 AM

Now that I have looked at the OH breaker panels more closely, I now understand how the power distribution is set up. Dang...would be nice to suck a few amps off to be able to run one of the a/c's.....

brobox · 06-24-2018, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mymyst

Now that I have looked at the OH breaker panels more closely, I now understand how the power distribution is set up. Dang...would be nice to suck a few amps off to be able to run one of the a/c's.....

Fire the generator up, they need to be run anyhow.

To check your dash AC use a digital thermometer, I use my BBQ thermometer, and place the probe in the center vent. It should read at least 20 degrees below ambient temp, but preferably in the 50 degree range.

Marcosdad · 06-24-2018, 04:38 PM

We do fine with the dash A/C...but the cooled seats help a bit

Victory Blue · 06-25-2018, 05:06 AM

The answer that the dash AC should keep you cool is relative to what temperature you need to “feel” cool. Some think 80 is cool. Personally I like 72 degrees or cooler (68 is wonderful). The dash AC doesn’t even come close to keeping me at 72 when it’s 85+ outside. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s simply that the volume of air it’s trying to cool is much greater than it was designed for.

For all your summer travel days it’s unlikey you’ll put even 100 hours on the generator if you use it when need while driving.

oneknight · 06-25-2018, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mymyst

Now that I have looked at the OH breaker panels more closely, I now understand how the power distribution is set up. Dang...would be nice to suck a few amps off to be able to run one of the a/c's.....

Thing is, it's not just a few amps.
If you figure 13 amps @ 115VAC to run one roof air, that is one hundred and thirty amps @ 12 volt battery voltage.

I'm on several solar forums, and that is always the first question newbies ask.
"How much solar do I need to run my AC (along with everything else in my camper)?

The answer is always "too much"