Air Conditioner |
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hogone
Senior Member Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1043 |
Topic: Air Conditioner Posted: 26 Aug 2013 at 2:18pm |
Sleepless: How about the re-foaming the dealer did after you picked it up and found the breaches?
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Jon & Pam
2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD |
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Sleepless
Senior Member Joined: 07 Jun 2013 Location: Titusville, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 556 |
Posted: 26 Aug 2013 at 2:11pm |
Several motor homes ago, I read about the benefits of using foil insulation on the inside of all the windows. This is the same product sold at Camping World, Home Depot, Lowes, etc., and is very similar to the sun shades sold for car windshields. We keep ours on all the windows when the RV is in storage or we have a sunny camp site with little or no shade.
On the R-Pod, I pre-cut the insulation and fit it behind the blinds. The valances hold it next to the window and the bottom rests on the blind brackets. With the R-Pod, I have been using a small strip of Velco on either side, to keep the insulation even closer to the window. The foil is highly reflective, keeping the heat or cold outside and dramatically reduces the run time of the A/C. One small electric heater will keep the pod toasty warm. On our last trip, at 7000 feet, the temperature one night dropped to 37, and the single heater kept us warm. As for drafts, we have not found any. Bob |
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2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD)
2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
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hogone
Senior Member Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1043 |
Posted: 26 Aug 2013 at 1:56pm |
My A/C is dometic. I have always run it in the auto position, so the whole unit does cycle off. I am by no means unhappy how it cools, I'm just amazed at how long it runs and quickly cycles considering the size of the pod. Granted, I keep it cool, but still. And as I said, it blows out some nice cool air. Blinds are always closed in these conditions. Sammycamper, do you recall where they may have found areas that were poorly sealed with foam, etc, at least those that would be accessable? I have looked around, but didn't find anything striking. The other night when it thumped, Pam said "I think somebody just hit us"!!!
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Jon & Pam
2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD |
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Sleepless
Senior Member Joined: 07 Jun 2013 Location: Titusville, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 556 |
Posted: 26 Aug 2013 at 1:29pm |
I forgot to mention that I agree with Doug's comment about sizing an A/C unit to the size of the space to be cooled. The pod is the smallest RV I have owned with a full-size A/C unit, but here in Florida (and during our recent trip to the Southwest), the "excess" capacity is great when we pull into a campground. It quickly cools the interior to a pleasant temperature which we always welcome. Inside humidity is kept at a comfortable level.
What one has to remember is that a properly sized unit is ideal if you are maintaining a comfortable temperature for several days, much like it is ideal for home cooling. In an RV, which is much too warm when you reach a destination, I appreciate the quick cooling which the standard pod A/C gives. There are two sides to the coin, and each person much choose the side he or she prefers. Bob |
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2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD)
2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
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Sleepless
Senior Member Joined: 07 Jun 2013 Location: Titusville, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 556 |
Posted: 26 Aug 2013 at 1:16pm |
I have mentioned this before but did not receive much, if any, feedback from my comments. We have had several RVs in the past and have found the Coleman units to be much quieter than the Dometics. Our last trailer had a Dometic and we could always hear it cylcle on and off, it would "thump" sometimes, and the fan was very noisy. Our pod has a Coleman and we never notice when the compressor cycles on or off and the fan is very quiet compared to the Dometic. In 2001 we lived in a new motor home for 6 months while our home here in Florida was being built. We used the 2 Coleman units for both cooling and for heating, and normally did not even notice when one or both of the units units were on or off.
In the pod, we keep the Coleman running all the time, mostly to create a little "white noise" to keep our dogs distracted from outside noise and to keep them comfortable while we are on excursions. With the fan running continuously, we don't know when the compressor is running or not. That brings up my question. Do all of you that are complaining about excessive noise have Dometic air conditioners? Bob |
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2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD)
2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
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sammycamper
Senior Member Joined: 23 Oct 2012 Location: Minnesota Online Status: Offline Posts: 111 |
Posted: 26 Aug 2013 at 12:34pm |
We have only used the A/C since the dealer sealed things properly, and have been quite satisfied. We camped under extremely warm and muggy conditions the last time out, and the only place we could get comfortable was inside the rPod. It's a small space, so the A/C and furnace fans do seem loud; but they are actually a little quieter than what we had in our last camper. I don't think we have experienced the thump sound that you mentioned when it turns on, though.
One "problem" I did experience with the A/C was that the fan kept running constantly, and it was annoying the heck out of me. It seemed to me that it hadn't done that on a previous trip. Then I discovered that there are two settings for the fan at the thermostat: ON and AUTO. I must have inadvertantly set it to ON, and when I switched it back to AUTO, all was well.
Sam
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2012 rPod 173
2008 Trailblazer 4WD V6 |
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hogone
Senior Member Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: St. Louis Online Status: Offline Posts: 1043 |
Posted: 26 Aug 2013 at 12:05pm |
I see quite a few comments on the 13,500 BTU A/C being oversized. First off, definately loud! I was out for 3 days this past weekend, temps around 88-90 (half sun/half shade throughout the day). Thermostats are definately not accurate. I kept mine (thermostat) at 66 which actually per my inside thermometer (not the wall thermostat)was about 72. The air runs alot even at night time. Seems to run for a couple of minutes, shut off for a couple of minutes, etc. Is this others experience? If this is the case (which I have seen in the colder temps with the heater), it seems the pod is poorly insulated, or maybe this is the standard. This is my first camper, so maybe this is normal. The A/C does get good and cold however. Also mine makes a pretty good "thump" when the compressor turns on and off. Techntrek, are you saying a smaller version A/C would be more efficient and actually cool better? Just curious. Again, not unhappy, just curious as to why it (A/C) runs so much for the size unit and small pod. hogone
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Jon & Pam
2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 26 Aug 2013 at 9:39am |
A/Cs need to be sized for the space they are conditioning. 11,000 BTUs provides too much cooling power, so it doesn't run long enough to remove moisture properly. We really should have about 5000 BTUs in our pods, 8000 for the pop-out tent models (since they have more air exchange with the outside). Since I don't want to mess with adding a window A/C I'll have to settle for the smallest RV A/C on the market which is the 9000 BTU Polar Cub. From what I've read they used to make a 7000 BTU polar cub which would be better, but not anymore. A bigger issue for me is the noise. Because they are so oversized for the space they produce a lot more noise which then bounces off all the hard surfaces in the pods. I had a 13,500 BTU A/C in my popup but since it was so much larger (about 26 feet open) and was all tenting and soft window plastic it sounded a lot quieter than the 11,000 BTU unit in my pod.
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Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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sammycamper
Senior Member Joined: 23 Oct 2012 Location: Minnesota Online Status: Offline Posts: 111 |
Posted: 25 Aug 2013 at 11:54pm |
Sam
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2012 rPod 173
2008 Trailblazer 4WD V6 |
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furpod
Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128 |
Posted: 23 Aug 2013 at 12:07pm |
The filters are for sure available from FR, saw somebody buy a set while at the Int'l rally.
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