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Old 07-11-2011, 02:05 PM   #1
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Adironack-a/c problems

We talked to our RV dealer and he told us our RV, that has a 13 amp a/c only is supposed to cool the RV down about 15 degrees less than the outside temp. We had called him w/ a/c probs. It took it 5 hours to cool down after being run all day at house and then making 1 1/2 trip and then stopped at park and set up and turned it back on. Finally on 2nd day got cooler. Is this normal ?

It's new and we have two fans running in it. Granted we had 5 people in and it seems to cool down better with door shut.

Just wondering if this is common and we can check out anything else.

RV guy is saying this is as good as it gets. Dissappointed.

Can anyone offer any help ?

We parked under shade both times and this was only our 2nd trip out.

Thx for any suggestions.
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Old 07-11-2011, 03:49 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bella222 View Post
We talked to our RV dealer and he told us our RV, that has a 13 amp a/c only is supposed to cool the RV down about 15 degrees less than the outside temp. We had called him w/ a/c probs. It took it 5 hours to cool down after being run all day at house and then making 1 1/2 trip and then stopped at park and set up and turned it back on. Finally on 2nd day got cooler. Is this normal ?

It's new and we have two fans running in it. Granted we had 5 people in and it seems to cool down better with door shut.

Just wondering if this is common and we can check out anything else.

RV guy is saying this is as good as it gets. Dissappointed.

Can anyone offer any help ?

We parked under shade both times and this was only our 2nd trip out.

Thx for any suggestions.
Assume you have one A/C. They are normally around 13,000btu and it does take it a long time to cool RV. Not much you can do except wait. It will also not drop temp down a lot either. When traveling, leave one of your roof top vents open a little and it will help pull out some of the heat buildup in the RV. Also, when traveling pull all window shades down. If you have sun shining on big windows, you can put some reflex insulation on them to stop heat buildup
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Old 07-11-2011, 04:02 PM   #3
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My MH has two 13000 Btu units and I'm happy to see 75 inside when it's 90 outside. With much less insulation than a house, cooling any mobile space is hard to do. Keeping "Heat loads" like lights, people, water heaters, stoves, microwaves, etc. to a minimum as well as good use of shade will always help - but you may just need another A/C unit to give you what you want.
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Old 07-12-2011, 05:15 PM   #4
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Yes. That is normal. Even with properly functional a/c, it usually takes a good 24 hours to cool down an rv that has been in the open sun closed up for any reasonable length of time, such as when towing in hot sun. The walls, roof, insulation, wood interior hold heat for a long time.
That's my experience anyway.
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Old 07-13-2011, 08:51 AM   #5
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Thx so much for the tips. Will a 15 amp really make a difference ? Tried to get the dealer to swap it out for us, but he says he will for 1200 bucks. We just bought it as a new unit. ;(

We have blinds on all windows and ran it the day before all day and disconnected when we left and stopped running it for an hour while we made the trip. Oh well, will buy another fan and crack the vent.

Thx for the help- it does have a high ceiling and dh made some stryofoam vent things to put in to block the hot light coming through-we kept those in.
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Old 07-13-2011, 05:21 PM   #6
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. . . and it seems to cool down better with door shut.
If you're trying to cool it with the door(s) open, you are going to need a HUGE
A/C unit. When running the A/C all doors and windows should be closed.

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Old 07-14-2011, 11:43 AM   #7
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What I meant was, that it's going to have a harder time with people running in and out of it. I know that. But they did have to go in and get their stuff to swim. I love it when people pull stuff out of context.

Thanks for the help, from those wanting to help.
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Old 07-14-2011, 12:01 PM   #8
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We bought our first 30' 5th wheel while we were living in Ohio - it was a pretty well built mid-line unit (brand doesn't really matter for the purposes of this discussion). It came with a single 13,500 BTU air conditoner and was "adequate" for the North Central US.

When we moved back to SE Texas, however, the limitations of that 13,500 BTU air conditioner became obvious. As the ambient temperatures went above 85 or 90 degrees, the inside temperature would increase 1 degree for every 1 degree increase in outside temperature. Between the latent heat load (dehumidification evidenced by the water running off the roof) and the sensible heat load (the actual temperature as measured on a thermometer), we just didn't have enough cooling capacity.

The point is - if you have a 30 amp rig with a 13,500 BTU air conditioner in the summer in Texas, your situation is far from unique.

We learned our lesson! Both 5th wheels we've purchased since then have had 50 amp service and 2 air conditioners. With our current rig's combination of excellent insulation qualities and 15,000 BTU + 13,500 BTU air conditioners, we can hang meat inside our 5th wheel on a 100 degree day.

In Texas, the rule of thumb when it comes to RV air conditioners is that it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Rusty
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Old 07-15-2011, 07:47 PM   #9
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You can figure the percentage increase in capacity between 13,500 and 15,000 btuh...a bit over 11% more capacity.

To see if your existing unit is performing, run it on high speed for about 20 to 30 minutes and then take a reading at the air outlet closest to the unit and then one at the inlet to the unit. The outlet should be 18 to 20 degF lower than the inlet.

You do not judge the performance by measuring the interior temp and the out side temp. The dealer does not know what he is talking about...but is that a surprise.

$1200 to swap to a 15000 BTUH unit is highway robbery. A Coleman 15K unit is $555.00 plus the inside grill if you need a new one. A max of ONE hour of labor to make the swap.

Coleman RV Air Conditioners - PPL Motor Homes

Raise a big stink that they did not properly equip the unit for your climate and tell him he messed up on the unit size.

If your unit is 30' or larger, I'd get a second unit and get the wiring fixed for two units if you do not have 50 amp service.

Ken
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Old 07-16-2011, 01:26 PM   #10
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I think the correct answer to your cooling problem would be: Take the temp on the incoming air through the filter, after the AC has been on several hours, write down that temp. Now take the temp of the output air at the duct, write that temp down. For a correct cooling AC there should be between 15 to 20 degrees difference. It would not make any difference if it is a 11,000 btu or the 15,000 units. The only difference from a small AC to a Large AC, the larger can remove more heat faster. If heat is removed faster, the inside temp drops faster. The thing to remember, AC's do not put out cold air, they remove heat from the air an what you have left comes out the vent as cold. The outside ambient temp has nothing to do with the out put of your air, it's only the difference of the input to output that counts. Temp of the room means nothing. If the 15 to 20 degree is the difference that's the best it'll do cause the HOT air is leaking into your RV faster than it is being removed, but 15 to 20 degree will still be the same. Hope this helped
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