Community Forums

Smitty77 · 03-04-2019, 08:25 AM

Many of us older CC's came without a AC Diffuser built in.

Our coach has the Dometic Penguin II's 15K units installed. Yes they are ducted, but they also have the plastic grill return and cold air direct dump from the bottom of the AC unit. These are loud. Closing the direct air dump does reduce the noise some. The filter is, well, I suppose they do filter some...

Our coach was before the increase of internal headroom height, so space for tall people is a factor.

All of that leads up to my question to fellow CC owners with the similar set up for AC that we have in our era coach. Has anyone tried the WackO Products DA100 silencer and filter? And if so, how much noise reduction do you feel your seeing as far as a percentage.

I've read a few reviews, where people used their phone to do a before and after decibel reading. One gent in a non CC said his went from 77 down to 72. While not a dramatic drop at about 6.5% reduction, but it is some drop

!

I do feel the filtration would be superior with the WackO setup.

I'm 6' 2" (Used to be 6' 3.5" -but 40 plus years of the DW grinding me down

!), so head room, especially with a ball cap on, is a factor for the front AC unit...

Another reason for posting this here in the CC Owner's area, is that I read comments that some felt they missed the ability to have the direct Cold Air Dump from the unit. The loudest exhaust of cool air into the coach for sure. But also the one with the greatest air flow. A few felt that their specific coach design of the ducting systems itself, was not able to completely handle the increased volume of air when the Cold Air Dump grill was closed off. (We personally quite often close our front grill off, to reduce the noise level while watching TV. Leaving the rear zone (We have only 2 AC's, others of cours will have 3 and a few CC Prevost based units may even have 4(?).) Cold Air Dump grill open at these times, with a small fan blowing towards the front of the coach, in extreme over say 105 degree temps. And if we're needing to catch up with the heat gain, we will leave the front zone open too as needed.)

So was wondering if any other 40-42' coach CC owner's of my era have any first hand experiences on this product?

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/WackO...it-p/da100.htm

OK, best to all, and TIA for any info sharing

!
Smitty

jcussen · 03-04-2019, 09:01 AM

Actually 5 db is quite a difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCnsw9oRDsM

DJ55 · 04-10-2020, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smitty77

So was wondering if any other 40-42' coach CC owner's of my era have any first hand experiences on this product?

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/WackO...it-p/da100.htm

OK, best to all, and TIA for any info sharing

!
Smitty

Hey Smitty, I was wondering if you ever installed one or two of these silencers on your coach and what you think about them. I'd like to quiet down my front A/C in particular, but I'm concerned about appearance and headroom (like yours, our coach has the lower ceiling height). Thanks for any input you can provide.

gsander1 · 04-10-2020, 11:49 AM

Dave, I put one on the front A/C in my coach. It makes a substantial difference and we would do it again. You lose about an inch or so of headroom but we can now hear the TV without turning it up.

God luck.

Jpiland · 04-10-2020, 11:59 AM

I put one in last year and to me it Was a big difference. I could watch TV with having it blaring. You can carry on a conversation with someone and not have to scream. All while the A/C is on. I highly recommend it. Easy install and quick. Best of luck on your decision..

phays · 04-10-2020, 04:43 PM

I've added one to my front A/C. I don't have any measurements but it does make a significant reduction in noise level.

A 3db reduction is cutting the noise level in half. So anything above 3db would be a great deal for something so simple. As an experiment before purchasing the Wacko I sealed the "dump" vent with duct tape. I could detect a significant level in noise. But duct tape on the diffuser was a bit ugly. That little experiment led me to order the Wacko.

My only concern is that it could have been made more visually appealing by tapering the edges instead of having them straight up and down.

mike brez · 04-10-2020, 05:18 PM

I never use my ducted ac. I always use the big air dump grate for that reason and at 200 bucks each I would never have one.

jcussen · 04-10-2020, 06:24 PM

Don't have a CC but do like mine, also a 5 db difference. But agree, $190 for a piece of molded plastic is expensive, but worth it to me.

Smitty77 · 04-10-2020, 06:30 PM

I have not, as of yet, added one. Though I admit as C-19 is stretching out when we'll leave our temporary non coach stay - that it is one of the top 3 items I've considered ordering...

I see no downside to this, especially for the front, or front and mid, AC's. (Rear? The only time it is on, is while traveling, with AC vent closing ducted towards the front of the coach. And while in temps that only one AC is enough to support, we leave the front unit off to reduce the noise. When sleeping, and needing AC, we run the front, and shift ducting vents towards the rear.).

gsander1's earlier post on this mod, about painting it to match the ceiling, is all the endorsement I need... Procrastination is one of my virtues, and admit still 'negotiating' with the DW about how long we hold onto our coach - vs moving to another CC. But no bearing on this product....

Best to all,
Smitty