AC THERMOSTAT MY PETS DIED
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Miscellaneous / Off-topic
Forum Discription: Pull a chair up to the campfire and chat. No religious, political or weapons talk, please.
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2810
Printed Date: 27 Apr 2024 at 3:40am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: AC THERMOSTAT MY PETS DIED
Posted By: brinklee
Subject: AC THERMOSTAT MY PETS DIED
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 12:11pm
|
Hello I own an RPod 176 and had it a month. I have owned several RV in the past. I took my rv to New Braunfels TX with my daughter and my 2 best buddies Brinklee 11 and Bailee 9 both are Maltese. Brinklee was a gift from my husband after my mom died...we had 3 goldens at the time....later he got cancer....they became one till he died. I got Bailee a few years later. Sat I got up made breakfast luvd on my boys, set the fan on high. We had been using the AC you have to due to the heat. I went back in and put the fan on high. I won't think about how what or why or what if. I came home to my dead babies from the heat. I am desperate to find another thermostat vs the one it comes with. I have been told the manual ones are no longer made. I think this is the only way I can move forward and trust my self. I know the unit is 12 volts so I can go to lowes to just get one. I have contacted a local RV shop for help. I have ask the dealer to contact the maker Domectic for help. I dont need a you did this or that...I have enought shame guilt and heart ache to last till I die and then some. I dont know if I will ever get past this nor my daughter. I had dogs that lived to be 16 years old never left them out side ...trust me 3 goldens are a handful. My family is devistated and this is alll my fault. Please respond if you know how i can get rid of this thermostat.
|
Replies:
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 1:11pm
|
Check with your dealer to see if they can recommend another thermostat for the air conditining. My sympathies about the loss of your pets. ------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 1:20pm
|
Welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear of the loss of your pets. We have 5 cats and a dog, and have had several that we were very close to. My wife has a tattoo of the pawprint of our "baby", a cat we adopted when we were still dating. He lived to be 15, but passed 2 years ago.
I've read your post several times and I don't understand what happened. Was the unit set to A/C mode but it never came on? Or was it blowing cold air when you changed the fan to high?
The reason I ask is the problem may not have been with the thermostat. With the fan on high its possible the unit froze up - with the small volume of air inside the pods even leaving it on low could present problems. We leave ours set to low overnight so the sound of the compressor cycling on and off doesn't wake us up and there have been several nights we've woken up to heavy condensation dripping inside. That's never been a problem during the day when we leave the fan on auto. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
|
Posted By: g4royce
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 2:03pm
|
I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. We had bought our r.pod to go RV-ing with our dog and named it after her. We would definitely like to hear what you think malfunctioned with the a/c and/or thermostat when you are ready to share. Take care. ------------- ChaiPod 2009 RP152 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe 3.5L V6 |
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 2:20pm
|
If it is the Dometic thermostat like our 177 has my guess is that turning the fan to high moved AC to Fan. The same thermostat runs the fan, air and heat. When on just fan the pod got way to hot. I read the poster wanting a thermostat that will not allow that to happen. Maybe a mechanical thermostat just for the air can be installed by a dealer familiar with the system. We also take our dogs with us when we go camping. ------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 5:12pm
I am wondering also, if the A/C unit was "on", or just the fan...? If it is screaming hot out and we have to leave the dogs in the pod, I leave the A/C fan on low, temperature on thermostat set to 75 or so. I also leave a window open and the fantastic fan on low, vent wide open. My therory is if the A/C fails, or the breaker trips (has happened), then there will be at least some airflow through the camper. I personaly like the concept of the manual thermostst more than the auto/digital one. Easier for me to see what settings I have selected. Also, I am not sure about the 12v comment, and that is part of what confuses me about what happened.. Regardless I hate it for you and your pups. EDIT: My wife points out that we also, whenever leaving the dogs alone in the camper in hot weather, make sure, just before walking out, that the A/C is in fact blowing cold air.. I also think you could use a seperate thermostat, household type, just for the A/C. I note that is how our airstream is wired/controlled... ------------- |
Posted By: joe & vickie
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 8:35am
|
Sorry to hear of your loss. I dont know what I would do If that happened to me. Where you were camped at, were you you hooked up to electric? If you wasn't your air conditioner wont work. The Air conditioner, Microwave & the TV only work on 110 Volt electricity, not on 12 Volt. Your lights & Smoke Detector & Gas Detector are all that work on 12 Volt. ------------- R-POD 177- Gitty up go FORD-F 150 |
Posted By: Paige
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 9:30am
|
Hi, I am so sorry for your loss. We have two very old pugs and over the years, as we have switched from one RV to another,,,it is always with the requirement of it having AC. Pugs are very susceptible to heat issues. We just bought our RPod and are working on its modifications before we take it out. Our pugs always go with us. We are not fond of the AC digital thermostat and with what happened to you,,,we are going to put that thermostat at the top of our modification list. Please, don't let the guilt get to you. When we had an ALiner type of RV, I also would put the Fantastic Fan on high with the thought that if the AC failed, the fan would at least get rid of the hot air. You did what you thought would be the best. Our thoughts go out to you. ------------- Paige and Pete 2010 177 - RPug 2012 Rav (six cylinder) New York & Florida residents 
|
Posted By: this_is_nascar
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 8:21am
|
It's been over a week since you posted this. As others have said, I think we need addtional info before making any recommendations. Something doesn't sound right here.
------------- "Ray & Connie" - 2017 R-Pod RP-180 - 2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD-Off Road |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 9:32am
Just an "aside FYI".. Water Heater controls, 'fridge controls, fantatsic fan, furnace and water pump all also require/use 12v. Your 'fridge, water heater and furnace use gas and 12v at the same time, to work in 12v mode. The 'fridge can work in 12v mode only, but not for long, even with dual batteries, 10 hours or so is the longest I would let ours run in 12v. Back on topic, I too am puzzled that we have not heard back the result of her findings/research into what happened or finding a new thermostat.. I know by now I would have resolved it and posted here to help the pod.. ------------- |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 2:55pm
I wouldn't go more than 30 minutes in DC mode for the fridge. That heating element uses about 120 watts, or about 10 amps @ 12 volts. That is an extremely large load for one battery. Since you shouldn't go below 50% depth-of-discharge, for your typical 100-110 amp deep cycle battery that is only about 4 hours to hit that mark (not 5-6 as you might think, look up "Peukert Effect" for more info... bottom line the larger the load, you get fewer total amps from the battery). You definitely won't get to 10 hours without ruining the battery permanently.
Sorry, off-topic, but wanted to clarify that.  ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
|
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 23 Aug 2012 at 9:31pm
While true, 4 hours worth of drain is probably the max you should go, I will point out, that the battery doesn't drain constantly running the fridge. UNLESS you are cooling a warm, empty fridge from the get go.. No one does that I hope. Last fall, I let ours run after coming home, just sitting in the driveway, full of groceries and frozen goods.. well not full, we had just been out camping, but there was still a fair amount of stuff in there. (I always over pack socks and food) After about 12 hours, in 75-80 degree heat, no A/C, my batteries where still at 70% or so, 12.32v. This is with dual, group 24 batteries. ------------- |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 24 Aug 2012 at 8:58am
|
Good to know, thanks.
I guess we can consider the original topic closed for now, since it is unlikely the OP will return. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
|
Posted By: Mama Bear
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2012 at 1:07pm
| OMG...so sorry that happened...we just bought a 177 R-pod and also want to take our golden doodle...can someone please tell us what happened. |
Posted By: Mama Bear
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2012 at 1:14pm
| What's a fantastic fan? |
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2012 at 1:28pm
|
We nevewr heard from this poster again, so anything I say is just a guess. The psoter said she was running the air then set the fan to High. Air and Fan are controlled by one thermostat, and my guess is that changing the fan speed moved the unit to fan and turned off the air. The closed up pod and Texas summer heat resulted in a sad outcome. It took me a little while to get the hang of the thermostat. I recommend you work with yours until you get reliable results. In my case the problems were with the operator, not the equipment. We also camp with dogs, and rarely leave them alone in the Pod. If I knew I had business of any nature that would keep us away from the Pod all day I would leeave the dogs home. Any time I left them in the Pod I would make sure all environmental equipment was working as I wanted it to before leaving. ------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: wildflowerz
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2012 at 1:49pm
| I'm glad people are still discussing this post. We will be traveling with our dogs and I am a bit scared to leave them in the pod if we can't take them. I am considering finding local kennels if we have to leave for the day and it's too hot. |
Posted By: Paige
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2012 at 2:26pm
|
I have left our dogs in our RV for many hours. We leave windows open as well as AC going,,,just to be on safe side. Better to have chilly dogs than hot dogs...especially pugs. If going to be gone for the day, I have someone check on them. It isn't an option for us to leave them home. ------------- Paige and Pete 2010 177 - RPug 2012 Rav (six cylinder) New York & Florida residents
|
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2012 at 5:54pm
|
We have brachyceohalic dogs as well that don't do well with extreme heat. I am convinced that the AC/thermostat are safe if working correctly and set correctly. Any system made by man is prone to failure, and for that matter there is no guarantee that the electricity at the campground will not fail or that some joker will not unplug the camper or shut off the breaker on the post. I like your suggestion of having someone check on them if you are gone. ------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: Bill Ky
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2012 at 8:09pm
|
We got our pod in the middle of August four days after this was post, so in order to ensure our guys would be safe I did some tinkering with the
thermostat and have found that my unit has to have the fan set to auto
for the A/C or furnace. When ever it is set to high or low only the fan
is working.
------------- Bill & Marilyn, Tinker Belle (Yorkie), Sparkle (Mini Dachshund) & Tootsie (the turtle) '12 RP175 '07 Dodge Ram 1500 |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2012 at 9:25pm
|
Mama Bear, welcome. Fantastic Fan is a brand of RV exhaust fan.
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
|
Posted By: Mama Bear
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2012 at 12:11pm
Thank you for clarifying. …I also thought that maybe the fan was accidently turned on instead of the air…its awful…I really feel for them …Me and Papa Bear have discussed that if we are camping in hot weather will leave our Sadie girl (golden doodle) home in an air-conditioned house with a pet sitter…This situation had to be very difficult for her to post so I would like to thank her for the warning.
|
Posted By: Mama Bear
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2012 at 12:18pm
|
Is the fan portable or installed in the RV? |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2012 at 12:22pm
It is installed. All rv's have fans far as I know, and fantastic fans/vents are the best. Rpods come stock with an 8000 series in the bathroom. It moves serious air. We are going to upgrade ours to a 6600 soon. ------------- |
Posted By: Mama Bear
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2012 at 12:45pm
|
Okay...got it...thank you. So you leave the air and vent running at the same time?
|
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2012 at 6:44pm
|
Not usually, but many here leave the vent cracked open (fan off) and a window or two cracked open during cooler weather to prevent moisture buildup. There was some discussion here on leaving the fan running with a window cracked open along with the A/C in case there is an A/C malfunction or the utility power goes out. The fan would still run off of the pod's battery. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
|
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2012 at 7:46pm
|
With the air conditioner you can circulate the air in the pod by running it in the "fan" settings without running the air. I think that may be part of the confusion in this thread. Two different built in fans.
------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2012 at 11:04pm
|
Most of the reason we are going to upgrade is so if the a/c quits, the thermostatically controlled fantastfan will come on and start pulling air through the trailer ... we currently leave the fantastic fan onlow.and.a.window open,even with.a/c running, just in case ..
------------- |
Posted By: mdballou
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2020 at 2:58am
| No matter what you do, get a Waggle. Nimble rv pet sensor. I have one and do recommend it. Sorry. |
Posted By: EchoGale
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2020 at 8:02am
|
These are half off right now for Black Friday. The website says it works with verizon. I have ATT&T but would consider switching. Can you tell me how it works? Do you have to buy an extra data plan for it? ------------- Julie |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2020 at 10:05am
|
What if everything is working right, but your out, and the campground loses power? I've had that happen a few times. But I never ever for any reason leave my pet locked up in a camper, and haven't had a problem yet. Most every place I go forbids leaving pets in the camper. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2020 at 12:12pm
|
Some/many of the places where we camp, there is no cell service. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: mdballou
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2020 at 12:34pm
|
The waggle from nimble is awesome as it shows the temperature of your camper on your cell phone. You can set a temperature range hi and low and it will send an alert to your cell phone if temperature goes outside of your range in either direction. The best thermostat would not work in a power outage. Waggle plugs in and also has an internal battery. So if you lose power it would still work and also send you an alert that you lost power. We absolutely love it and have 2 yorkies. Note: Waggle works on cellular signal, not Wi-Fi.
Anyone with a furry family will love it! |
Posted By: mdballou
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2020 at 12:48pm
| Waggle from nimble does NOT get added to your cell phone plan. It has its own cell phone service. It uses Verizon network. As far as data, it does use a small amount on your cellphone service for you to receive temperature information and alert information. Price of unit varies. $200 for basic and $300 for basic plus GPS. Units are usually on sale or you can get a coupon. Thanksgiving weekend sale is 50% off. BUT you do need a cellphone plan from them. We get the yearly and runs $120 yearly. They do offer monthly if that is your choice. I hate the cost of the cellphone subscription but it is worth it for the piece of mind. |