Window Air Conditioner in TV Box

[Wbago97]

This might be a crazy idea, and I'll keep searching to see if I can find any example.


I have a Winnebago 97 Adventurer with a TV box in the front. I mounted a LED in front of it years ago, so that is just empty space behind it.

It seems that spot could hold a 5000 btu window unit inside with the following considerations:
-Vent the hot air to roof and pan to drain the condensation water.
-Run some small ducts for the cold air.
-Hang LED TV from ceiling if I have to.

What might I be missing for any safety concern?



Background:
I've only recently fixed the dash air conditioner, although I have yet to see how well it's going to work in the Texas summer. I've run the generator for the roof air, but with all the other ceiling vents closed that's barely runs enough air for the driver's side which has a vent right above the seat, and will do little for the passenger's side.

Thank you

[jacwjames]

Does the available power for the TV run off the inverter. If so how big of inverter do you have, will it run the AC unit? How heavy is the unit, will the box support it?



No reason it wouldn't work, I know of a Monaco owner who put a small 5K unit in the bedroom that ran off the battery/inverter to keep the bedroom cool at night. But he had beefed up his battery bank.

[MrMark52]

1. Unless just properly designed, the window u it is going to struggle to get adequate condenser air while your driving down the road or highway.

2. The quality of insulation in the coach is what determines how much cooling will be needed while underway - there are a number of variables involved here to include sun exposure, air leakage, etc..

3. The exposed surface area of a coach as a ratio of it’s volume has a major impact on comfort level.

4. The temperate comfort level one would expect to receive in a MoHo is not the same as one has sitting at home in their recliner.

5. We use one of those small vertical oscillating fans like you find at Sam’s/Costco to blow rooftop A/C air at the cab area.

6. Those big windshields represent a major heat gain load on the A/C system.

7. If you decide to roof mount the TV at the front of the coach, make certain the base mounts into a structural component of the coach. You would be surprised how much load the cantilevered forces of the TV weight can apply to the base mount when going over humps/bumps in the roads.

[Wbago97]

Originally Posted by jacwjames

Does the available power for the TV run off the inverter. If so how big of inverter do you have, will it run the AC unit? How heavy is the unit, will the box support it?



No reason it wouldn't work, I know of a Monaco owner who put a small 5K unit in the bedroom that ran off the battery/inverter to keep the bedroom cool at night. But he had beefed up his battery bank.

Electrical is not a concern as I would probably still run the generator and roof air. I also have a 5000W inverter and battery system if I don't run the generator.

The window unit I have in mind seems to be at least smaller and about as heavy than the old tube TV that was there before.

[Wbago97]

Originally Posted by MrMark52

1. Unless just properly designed, the window u it is going to struggle to get adequate condenser air while your driving down the road or highway.

2. The quality of insulation in the coach is what determines how much cooling will be needed while underway - there are a number of variables involved here to include sun exposure, air leakage, etc..

3. The exposed surface area of a coach as a ratio of it’s volume has a major impact on comfort level.

4. The temperate comfort level one would expect to receive in a MoHo is not the same as one has sitting at home in their recliner.

5. We use one of those small vertical oscillating fans like you find at Sam’s/Costco to blow rooftop A/C air at the cab area.

6. Those big windshields represent a major heat gain load on the A/C system.

7. If you decide to roof mount the TV at the front of the coach, make certain the base mounts into a structural component of the coach. You would be surprised how much load the cantilevered forces of the TV weight can apply to the base mount when going over humps/bumps in the roads.

Thanks for your detailed reply. On point 7, I have ideas for that which don't need to look perfect given the age of my motorhome.
Regarding the others, I understand I need to have certain expectations on the insulation and heat and also am considering more fans such as what you mention.

Could you give me a little more detail about the first point? Thank you

[MrMark52]

Originally Posted by Wbago97

Could you give me a little more detail about the first point? Thank you

It’s been awhile since I put my hands around a window unit, and things may have changed or depending on of the specific manufacturers design philosophy - from what your describing, the condenser coil will be facing into the wind - but if the condenser fan is trying to push air the opposite direction then the capacity of the A/C unit will be reduced.
For a heat transfer (and in this case), you always want the coolest air in contact with the coolest refrigerant.

There can also be issues with the condensate caused by the direction of air flow. On the older units, quite often the design allowed a condensate drain pan that caused condensate to flow toward the condensing coil. That and insuring the unit was tilted slightly to the rear as it stuck through the window.
This allowed the condenser fan to pick up and sling water at the coil which improved coil efficiency.
With air blowing through the coil backwards, condensate water may end up going places it shouldn’t, or may be getting pushed back up onto the evaporator section so as to spill over into the coach.

To offset the above, you could just build a metal shield/duct that blocked “road air” from blasting into the condenser - but it has to be designed to prevent it from catching rain.

Believe it or not, it might be easier to just add another MoHo unit just above the windshield - at least doing it that way you’ve eliminated any air flow dynamic issues you might encounter. Now the only concern would be structural.

[jacwjames]

I read the description a little different. I thought he was going to install it in a TV box in the coach and vent it to the outside somehow. So it would pull air from the inside, and then push it out of the coach.

[MrMark52]

Originally Posted by jacwjames

I read the description a little different. I thought he was going to install it in a TV box in the coach and vent it to the outside somehow. So it would pull air from the inside, and then push it out of the coach.

Unless he isolates the entering air stream from the discharge air stream in some way, then the condenser air will become stagnant and the unit will quit cooling.
The space that the unit sits inside the cap gets warm/hot as well just from the sun shining down on it.

The rejected heat has to have someplace to go.

[96 Wideglide]

The majority of a window unit (the condenser coils and air intake), has to be outside the building!

[Boomper]

We've all seen houses/apartments that use a section of plywood to close the gap made when a box style A/C unit is installed. Simply mount the A/C box in a side window, use plywood to cover any portion of the window that is insecure, and you'll have a working unit. The A/C unit could be mounted on a slider so it could be slid inside while traveling. The supporting framework on the outside could be painted to match your coach.

This could be a stylish mod and undoubtedly be a conversation starter at the campground.

[Wbago97]

Replying to the additional posts since I was last on and thanks for those.

If I did this I would want to mount the whole thing inside the TV box, not make any substantial mods for the exterior portion of the window unit sticking out of the front or put it in a side window.

Of course, this would have substantial hot air inside that box and the condensation and I was thinking of venting that through the roof above it while sealing around it as well as a pan under to catch the condensation.

I'll try to post a picture of the box and rough drawing later. It might be too crazy an idea, but that's why I'm here

[MrMark52]

Condenser air and conditioned air are two different air streams.

Heat rejected from the condenser into the condenser air has to be discharged somewhere - otherwise there would be no reason for having condenser air and conditioned air.

Otherwise we could just set a window unit inside of a cardboard box in the middle of the floor, cut some holes out for the cold air to blow out, and call it a day.

[Mudfrog]

This doesn't sound like an easy project. You would need to duct in fresh air for the condenser coil and then have another way to duct the exhaust back out.

Was at first thinking something along the lines of how an boat's engine compartment is sometimes vented. My old inboard had vents pointing forward on the starboard side and backward on the port side. This allowed fresh air to flow through when the boat was moving. You could run the duct through the cabinets to vents mounted on the sides of the motorhome. Don't know if this would even work but the vents would certainly draw some attention.

And of course as mentioned, you'd need to make sure condensate drains properly.

[Argosy]

I doubt if most window ACs are designed or constructed with 60+ mph horizontal rain as a norm. I think all you're doing is creating a huge potential for leaks.