A/C only or A/C Heatpump when replacing

[YC1]

I had to make that decision as well on our 2008 Endeavor. HP or not. Propane usage full timing is incredibly low. We have about 7 gallons left of the 28 it holds and the last time we filled was about 4-5 years ago.

Just getting any AC unit was a challenge in the last two years. We changed them both out 6 months apart and replaced the 15K units with 13K units. Both are heat pumps.

The new 13.5's work well and the HP part works fine but as mentioned they are just as noisy as using the air conditioners.

We have done lots of things to quieten them and the noise is less than half of what it was. The floor furnaces will make toast if wanted and I silenced them quite a bit as well.

Be careful of where you order the AC's if using the same mfgr, which is probably a good idea because they are plug and play.

I received two broken ones. The first had 6-8 defects inside that I found before installing it. It was usable and we were desperate.

The second AC for the rear six months later came smashed on one end. The packaging was dismal. Sent it back and re-ordered. They would not just do a simple reorder and the price jumped $200. Amazon made good on that but the second one arrived damaged as well but still usable. The shroud was broken and they could not send me just the shroud. Using a workaround I got my new shroud.

IF you change just one you will have to install a board to make it backwards compatible so changing them at the same time will eliminate that added cost. And you can opt for the new wi-fi thermostat.

The old AC units and the new boards removed from the new units to put in backwards compatible boards were sold. Surprisingly a man with a trailer came to the property and picked them up. I mean he just shouldered them and loaded them up. I called him SIR!

Anyway, do keep in mind the compatibility issue with the thermostat as you decide.

And yes, the 13.5 units work great in Central Florida in the Summer.

[jacwjames]

Originally Posted by YC1

The old AC units and the new boards removed from the new units to put in backwards compatible boards were sold. Surprisingly a man with a trailer came to the property and picked them up. I mean he just shouldered them and loaded them up. I called him SIR!

If you don't mind saying, what did you get for your old AC's.



I have the two I took off, they still work and thinking about selling them. I changed both for piece of mind, wanted to be sure I had good units while traveling.
Just hate to list them on Craiglist as I know I'll open a can of worms there. May have my wife put them on Facebook Market Place.

[NOLAfolks]

Thanks all for your suggestions. We generally winter in the south ( Florida or gulf coast area). At night we are good to below 40 with just a comforter. Day light hours we are either out or if active inside it is generally 10-15 deg warmer than outside, but that is just us. Podivin, thank you in particular for noting an alternate brand. Have not heard of Houghton (mfg) but will look into it. Please keep me up to date on your experience as this gets installed and whether or not you are happy with your decision. I am going to hold off a few months , if possible, before pulling the trigger.

[Sweetbriar]

I would replace the front A/C with a 15K BTU heat pump and the rear with a 13.5k BTU A/C only. If the original 13.5K models did the job then you might find needing just the 15K A/C, particularly during summer nights to condition the cool the air in the coach. Fall back on adding in the rear 13.5 if the front can't keep up.

Having the heat pump is an added benefit for the occasional cool mornings and having the heat pump up front while ducting air to the rear will keep most of the over night and early morning noise up there and away from the bedroom.

Regarding brands I really don't have an opinion. If you're happy with the performance of the originals over their service life than maybe stick with the OEM. The elephant in the corner is, who actually makes the stuff under the shroud? XYZ and ABC Corp that supply to all the final manufactures?

[blang311]

AWe seldom if ever use our heat pumps just because they are SOOOO noisy. When its super hot out and the AC is keeping me cool, it somehow doesnt bother me like the heat pump in the cold does. Crazy I know.

[Podivin]

Originally Posted by NOLAfolks

Thanks all for your suggestions. We generally winter in the south ( Florida or gulf coast area). At night we are good to below 40 with just a comforter. Day light hours we are either out or if active inside it is generally 10-15 deg warmer than outside, but that is just us. Podivin, thank you in particular for noting an alternate brand. Have not heard of Houghton (mfg) but will look into it. Please keep me up to date on your experience as this gets installed and whether or not you are happy with your decision. I am going to hold off a few months , if possible, before pulling the trigger.

Per your request here is my experience to date.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f54/repl...ml#post6081112

[NOLAfolks]

Podivin, thanks for the link. I followed it and it was helpful. Houghton is apparently now owned by Dometic, which seems to own everything RV chill related. Similarly Colman is apparently owned by Airecell. Its all a bit confusing. Based on all your input it seems straight A/C seems the way to go for us. That said I do like the units that offer and optional heat strip. Since we generally stay in camps with electric hook ups so it should not matter if the occasional heat supply is a HP, electric space heater or electric heat strip. The thing we dislike most about HP is the noise and the fact that it blows cold air (if set to 68-74). Since noise is a major issue, I have read the Colman/Aircell MACH 10 & 15 are quiet (about 60 dB) and the Recpro/Haughton is about the same. I have not found any data on the Penguin/ Penguin II other than they claim it is quiet. Nothing definitive. Also, it appears the units come separate from any thermostat, interior defuser, etc. Except for the RecRro complete kit it looks a good bit like mix and match. Other than RecPro, any suggestions on where to actually get a quote on everything needed?

[bentjm]

Originally Posted by blang311

AWe seldom if ever use our heat pumps just because they are SOOOO noisy. When its super hot out and the AC is keeping me cool, it somehow doesnt bother me like the heat pump in the cold does. Crazy I know.

How noisy? You can download a sound meter app to your phone.

My Dometic Penguin II units are right at 53 dB inside my 2005 Newmar MADP.


I think ducting and roof insulation/construction has a lot to do with how noisy they are.

[bentjm]

Originally Posted by NOLAfolks

Podivin, thanks for the link. I followed it and it was helpful. Houghton is apparently now owned by Dometic, which seems to own everything RV chill related. Similarly Colman is apparently owned by Airecell. Its all a bit confusing. Based on all your input it seems straight A/C seems the way to go for us. That said I do like the units that offer and optional heat strip. Since we generally stay in camps with electric hook ups so it should not matter if the occasional heat supply is a HP, electric space heater or electric heat strip. The thing we dislike most about HP is the noise and the fact that it blows cold air (if set to 68-74). Since noise is a major issue, I have read the Colman/Aircell MACH 10 & 15 are quiet (about 60 dB) and the Recpro/Haughton is about the same. I have not found any data on the Penguin/ Penguin II other than they claim it is quiet. Nothing definitive. Also, it appears the units come separate from any thermostat, interior defuser, etc. Except for the RecRro complete kit it looks a good bit like mix and match. Other than RecPro, any suggestions on where to actually get a quote on everything needed?

How many watts are the heat strips? They can't be much. From a brief search it seems they are 1,650 watts/14 amps and they are either on or off.

Just additional information.

[Podivin]

Originally Posted by NOLAfolks

Podivin, thanks for the link. I followed it and it was helpful. Houghton is apparently now owned by Dometic, which seems to own everything RV chill related. Similarly Colman is apparently owned by Airecell. Its all a bit confusing. Based on all your input it seems straight A/C seems the way to go for us. That said I do like the units that offer and optional heat strip. Since we generally stay in camps with electric hook ups so it should not matter if the occasional heat supply is a HP, electric space heater or electric heat strip. The thing we dislike most about HP is the noise and the fact that it blows cold air (if set to 68-74). Since noise is a major issue, I have read the Colman/Aircell MACH 10 & 15 are quiet (about 60 dB) and the Recpro/Haughton is about the same. I have not found any data on the Penguin/ Penguin II other than they claim it is quiet. Nothing definitive. Also, it appears the units come separate from any thermostat, interior defuser, etc. Except for the RecRro complete kit it looks a good bit like mix and match. Other than RecPro, any suggestions on where to actually get a quote on everything needed?

Note that the Houghton that I bought is a heat pump. It's 39 degrees here this morning so I thought I'd test the heat function. I went out and turned it on, then went back about about 45 minutes later. Incoming air was 62 degrees, outgoing air was 85 degrees. So it's working quite nicely in these cooler temps. According to the manual it will make heat down to 30 degrees.

[Cat320]

AC only. Heat pumps are loud and inefficient, we never use ours. If we need a little extra heat we use Lasko towers and burn the CG's electricity

[TheCatsRV]

Originally Posted by Cat320

AC only. Heat pumps are loud and inefficient, we never use ours. If we need a little extra heat we use Lasko towers and burn the CG's electricity

Probably because they are U.S. made and designed.


Japanese (Mitsubishi and Daikin also d.b.a. and Amana and Goodman) are much more efficient (like 300%). A resistive heater is by definition 100% efficient.

A heat pump is as loud as an A/C. Only difference between the two is the former has a reversing valve which switches where it evaporates and condenses the coolant, and the latter doesn't.

[DRM901]

Originally Posted by Podivin

The rear AC/HP in our RV has quit either heating or cooling, so I was asking myself essentially the same question, go with the HP option on the replacement or not. Since I'm in Florida I don't have to worry about being in really COLD weather, so the HP works fine for me, when I use it, which isn't often. However I use it some, and it's nice to not have to worry about a space heater running when I'm not right there to watch it. But dang they want a lot of extra money for the HP option. And then if you change brands from what's installed you also have to put in a different thermostat and interior cover, so more money. And then there are availability issues on many of the models as they are backordered for two or more months.
So, after lots of research and going back and forth I decided to go with the option below (though I ordered it from the mfg where it's less than on Amazon). It's a different brand than what's in the RV so it won't work with my current thermostat, but it comes with a remote and a wall mount for the remote, so there's the 'thermostat'. It comes with everything needed, no extras to buy, I just had to specify that I needed the 'ducted' model. It had generally good reviews, was a reasonable price and ETA for delivery is 10-12 days, I'll know soon whether or not that holds true.
Of course the true test is when I get it set up and turned on, which wont be for a few weeks, hopefully I won't regret the decision.

https://www.amazon.com/RecPro-Condit...cx_mr_hp_atf_m

That RecPro brand looking interesting. They even have a 22k BTU unit, but that one is expensive.

If I have another Coleman Mach 8 go out I may have to research that brand as an alternate.

[TXiceman]

Originally Posted by Cat320

AC only. Heat pumps are loud and inefficient, we never use ours. If we need a little extra heat we use Lasko towers and burn the CG's electricity

A 1500 Watt electric heater will produce approximately 5200 BTUH of heat. On the sale current, a heat pump will produce 10,000 BTUH or more heat depending on the model and ambient temperature.

Ken