Community Forums

Fixerswife · 07-03-2024, 03:36 PM

Our rig currently has the original Dometics and we are going to need to replace at least one of the units. Any suggestions about what the best unit to replace it with would be?

Additional concern, we did upgrade the thermostat to the micro-aire - if we replace one Dometic AC with say the Coleman would the thermostat still work or would we have to replace the one with the Dometic? Or would we have to replace all 3 and the thermostat if we wanted a better AC upgrade?

d23haynes57 · 07-03-2024, 04:11 PM

I would think that all 3 are of the same age and have similar usage. Why does 1 need to be replaced? Will the others need to be replaced soon. I am not familiar with the current market options, but I would consider the possibility of this also being an upgrade opportunity. The AC dealers should be able to help with compatibility to your thermostat, including heat, and the remaining units.
You want the highest capacity you can get, if you don't have now go for heat pumps.
Maybe there are now units available with all controls built in that can use wireless remote or better yet Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. I'm thinking of separating the t-stats out on my Fortravel so I can control the heat and AC from my phone remotely as we can do with the house. Also for the 3 zones now I can't use the Oasis heat and AC heat pumps simultaneously. I sometime like to do that to heat the unit quickly.

coachmanrvr · 07-03-2024, 04:50 PM

We have a 2012 Aspire and just replaced the front air (2nd out of the 3) with the same Dometic unit. They come with a 2 yr replacement warranty. While expensive units they maintain all the functionality of the original. (Gen start when calling for air or heat pump etc...)

Fixerswife · 07-03-2024, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coachmanrvr

We have a 2012 Aspire and just replaced the front air (2nd out of the 3) with the same Dometic unit. They come with a 2 yr replacement warranty. While expensive units they maintain all the functionality of the original. (Gen start when calling for air or heat pump etc...)

One of the reasons we were considering another brand was because I've read on here that the Colemans Entegra went to are a lot quieter than the Dometics but then I've also read about a few issues with them as well.

TB673 · 07-03-2024, 07:08 PM

If you went with another brand, the MicroAir EasyTouch Thermostat most likely wouldn't be compatible. Best to contact MicroAir.
As far as the noise, here are a couple items that mat help:

https://wackoproducts.com/

https://rvairflow.com/

Also for d23haynes57, in our case, the bedroom A/C hardly ever gets used, as we get enough cooling with the ducted Main A/C.

Tim

voltdoc · 07-04-2024, 04:29 AM

The multi-unit thermostat technology is similar, but proprietary and not compatible, between dometic and coleman. Regardless if you are using the stock or micro-air tstat. So mixing brands will be problematic. You are best off sticking with a compatible dometic (unless you were replacing all three units).

In regard to noise, there is inside noise and outside noise. I think the dometic's you have do not have "ducted" returns. Inside, there is just one large grill for the return air immediately under the AC unit. These are louder inside than units designed for ducted returns which tend to baffle the AC air flow and motor sounds. In late 2013 Entegra went to the coleman's and added ducted returns, which quieted things down inside. However, your coach was not built with the return air ductwork, so there is probably no benefit to switching brands. I don't know if it's practical or even possible to add return air ductwork, but at the very least it would be a major project.

In regard to outside noise, while the new circa 2013 coleman's were quieter inside, outside they had this awful 5 bladed fan that sounded like a jet engine. It was really loud. Then they went to a three blade fan, which changed the pitch and made it a little quieter, but the fans couldn't handle the motor rpm and self destructed after a few months. Eventually they built a stronger fan. Meanwhile, a third party came out with a "quiet kit" that added smart speed control to the fan motor, plus some shroud modifications that made a major improvement to the outside noise. Finally circa 2017 or 2018 coleman re-engineered the whole mess and since then noise wise they have been pretty quiet outside too.

brobox · 07-04-2024, 04:37 AM

Rob, thank you for that explanation. It's going to be a great day, I learned something new. My 21 is much quieter running inside of the hanger than my 14 was even with the fan blade update. The 14 was acceptable, but the 21, I don't even pay attention when it's on. Now I know why, thank you.

Fixerswife · 07-04-2024, 06:02 AM

VoltDoc, thank you so much! That is exactly what I was wanting to know. You've saved me a lot of research. I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us all!

Jimjensen · 07-04-2024, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voltdoc

The multi-unit thermostat technology is similar, but proprietary and not compatible, between dometic and coleman. Regardless if you are using the stock or micro-air tstat. So mixing brands will be problematic. You are best off sticking with a compatible dometic (unless you were replacing all three units).

In regard to noise, there is inside noise and outside noise. I think the dometic's you have do not have "ducted" returns. Inside, there is just one large grill for the return air immediately under the AC unit. These are louder inside than units designed for ducted returns which tend to baffle the AC air flow and motor sounds. In late 2013 Entegra went to the coleman's and added ducted returns, which quieted things down inside. However, your coach was not built with the return air ductwork, so there is probably no benefit to switching brands. I don't know if it's practical or even possible to add return air ductwork, but at the very least it would be a major project.

In regard to outside noise, while the new circa 2013 coleman's were quieter inside, outside they had this awful 5 bladed fan that sounded like a jet engine. It was really loud. Then they went to a three blade fan, which changed the pitch and made it a little quieter, but the fans couldn't handle the motor rpm and self destructed after a few months. Eventually they built a stronger fan. Meanwhile, a third party came out with a "quiet kit" that added smart speed control to the fan motor, plus some shroud modifications that made a major improvement to the outside noise. Finally circa 2017 or 2018 coleman re-engineered the whole mess and since then noise wise they have been pretty quiet outside too.

One other thing I would advise for a quieter system would be the addition of a soft start unit. They truly reduce the compressor startup noise.