Custom Air Conditioning Retrofit

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

Just make sure you take plenty of good texas BBQ with to bribe him with

I've been in texas actually 1 night since forever... we were north of dallas, and found ourselves at the Old House BBQ, which was pretty damn good, but their brisket was kinda dry.

I might just be in west texas next year, near Fort Davis. any recommendations ?

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I might just be in west texas next year, near Fort Davis. any recommendations ?

In the Fort Davis area I recommend Come and Take It, John. It's in Alpine, about 25 miles away. I haven't found a good barbecue place in Fort Davis unfortunately, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

Their brisket is nice and moist, and their sausage is the best in the area. Great ribs and pulled pork too.

They also have all the normal Texas sides, like homemade slaw, potato salad and pinto beans. But like any good Texas barbecue joint, it's all about the meat.

[rubicon327]

At about two years now...mini-split wasn’t cooling well in the high temps so I had my HVAC tech friend check it out. Was low on refrigerant. Sniffer on high sensitivity didn’t pick up any leaks on the entire system. We think it was possibly a very slow and intermittent leak from the Schraeder valve on the charge port. We’ll monitor, but it is back to working fantastic with a little R-410A injection. Only if the issue persists will we fully evacuate the charge and pressure test with nitrogen like we did at original start up.

[Defenestrator]

Might be worth adding some dye. If it only leaks when bouncing down the road, the sniffer won't find it.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Defenestrator

Might be worth adding some dye. If it only leaks when bouncing down the road, the sniffer won't find it.

+1

[rbryan4]

Thanks for the follow up Dave. I would expect that the system might be a little more susceptible to minor leaks, since it's a home system applied to a moving vehicle. But if all it takes is a little refrigerant every couple of years, no worries. I think you've more than proven it's superiority to the roof mount.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Thanks for the follow up Dave. I would expect that the system might be a little more susceptible to minor leaks, since it's a home system applied to a moving vehicle. But if all it takes is a little refrigerant every couple of years, no worries. I think you've more than proven it's superiority to the roof mount.

Thanks Robert. My thoughts exactly. The system only holds 1 lb. 7 oz. of R410A. We also realized from the manual that the service valve caps and the charging port cap all have torque specs. These were tightened down with some teflon tape. That may have been the problem. It ran great this weekend!

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Defenestrator

Might be worth adding some dye. If it only leaks when bouncing down the road, the sniffer won't find it.

Good idea. If I continue to have a problem I will consider this.

[rubicon327]

As some of you know I'm always looking for quiet A/C solutions. Especially something that can be retrofitted directly for the existing rooftop units as the average person is not going to do the gymnastics I did for a mini-split install. There is some buzz online about a new A/C unit that Advanced-RV out of Cleveland OH is offering. They are saying it is on the order of 3x quieter than the typical Dometic and Coleman units. It appears to be a modified Houghton Belaire unit designed in Austrailia. Right now it appears that only Advanced-RV will do the install as they have exclusive sales and support of this brand in the US, but this may change. Not cheap...$2,750 installed.

https://advanced-rv.com/framework/#systems

https://www.upfittersresource.com/co...-benz-sprinter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zQkBDPOLW4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs9RdgivzRI

[hrewer]

If this comes down in price, I'd be interested. Would love something quieter!

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by hrewer

If this comes down in price, I'd be interested. Would love something quieter!

Yes, definitely expensive @ $2750 for an in-kind replacement. This competes with the price I’d put on my custom mini-split install of about $2500 if I charged for my time. The unit appears to sell in Australia for about the equivalent of $1300 USD so even with shipping Advanced-RV has quite a mark up for labor and profit. Not sure of the extra cost the company is charging them to convert these for use with 120V power. These fit the standard 14x14 roof opening and should be a straightforward install. What would be nice is if an owner could get ahold of one and perform a self install.

[hrewer]

What is the Australian version called?

[Iowa Dave]

I bet the Australian version is called the
“Kool All A”.
Iowa Dave

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by hrewer

What is the Australian version called?

As Dave said...

Originally Posted by rubicon327

It appears to be a modified Houghton Belaire unit designed in Austrailia.

The brand is Houghton; the "Belaire" model line name doesn't appear in all listings, but is implied by the model name of HB3400 or HB3200. It is distributed in Australia by Finch.

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

I bet the Australian version is called the
“Kool All A”.
Iowa Dave

Sounds Canadian to me.

[Iowa Dave]

What would you expect from a guy who didn’t know it was Puh con not pee can for the first 70 years of his life? But man my mother could really make a great pecan pie. I was cleaning up the leaves in my orchard yesterday and found a Granny Smith apple that had been buried in the leaves for about a month and had not frozen. Tasty and reminded me of when we used to have them in pies years ago.
Iowa Dave

[viator36]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I’d be happy to help.

Hi Dave,

I live in Middlesex County, NJ and I need to finalize my 21' build sheet in two weeks. I read through your 34 page thread on your mini split system and I am interested in exploring the possibility of asking you to do the installation for my new 21'. Please let me know if you are interested in the challenge of doing it in a 21' with a different layout. I need to make a decision in two weeks so I can tell ETI whether to install the Dometic a/c or leave my trailer a/c ready for your install.

I am posting my message to you here because I am not allowed to pm you since I haven't earned trusted status on this forum.

Thanks,
Jake

[Doug & Betty]

Dave, Having Southern roots on one side of my family, my dear Grandmother corrected me one time saying that (to use your example) puh-con was the correct pronunciation. That a pee can is what one kept in the their bedroom for use at night. Never forgot this lesson, one of many from my grandparents. Doug

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by viator36

Hi Dave,

I live in Middlesex County, NJ and I need to finalize my 21' build sheet in two weeks. I read through your 34 page thread on your mini split system and I am interested in exploring the possibility of asking you to do the installation for my new 21'. Please let me know if you are interested in the challenge of doing it in a 21' with a different layout. I need to make a decision in two weeks so I can tell ETI whether to install the Dometic a/c or leave my trailer a/c ready for your install.

I am posting my message to you here because I am not allowed to pm you since I haven't earned trusted status on this forum.

Thanks,
Jake

Jake,
I’d be willing to help, but need a few questions answered first:
-Where are you planning the indoor unit-over the rear dinette in the cabinetry or in front over the bed (assuming no front window, but a shelf)
-Are you foregoing the front storage box so you have space on the tongue mimicking my install or are you thinking about something on the rear?

These decisions matter because it will determine the runs for main power, indoor unit power/control wiring and refrigerant lines. I don’t recommend the outdoor unit on the rear for multiple reasons.

We can discuss logistics and costs more later. FYI the A/C ready option will only have a breaker that is useful. We’d disconnect the wiring and run new to the outdoor unit because it will be terminated at the roof and not helpful to us.

Please also understand that I work full time and this would be done on nights/weekends. I’ll also need to schedule my welder for outdoor unit platform and HVAC tech for startup. This isn’t something that will be done in one weekend.

Dave

[viator36]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Jake,
I’d be willing to help, but need a few questions answered first:
-Where are you planning the indoor unit-over the rear dinette in the cabinetry or in front over the bed (assuming no front window, but a shelf)
-Are you foregoing the front storage box so you have space on the tongue mimicking my install or are you thinking about something on the rear?

These decisions matter because it will determine the runs for main power, indoor unit power/control wiring and refrigerant lines. I don’t recommend the outdoor unit on the rear for multiple reasons.

We can discuss logistics and costs more later. FYI the A/C ready option will only have a breaker that is useful. We’d disconnect the wiring and run new to the outdoor unit because it will be terminated at the roof and not helpful to us.

Please also understand that I work full time and this would be done on nights/weekends. I’ll also need to schedule my welder for outdoor unit platform and HVAC tech for startup. This isn’t something that will be done in one weekend.

Dave

Dave,

To answer your questions:

-I intend to have the indoor unit over the rear dinette in the cabinetry
-I intend to have the outdoor unit on the back of the trailer with the spare tire and rack relocated and the current support bar reinforced/platform added if needed.

I hear you that you are full time working so it would be nights/weekends work. I am retired and my schedule is more flexible so I don't think it should be a problem.

We can talk about logistics and cost and other things that you think are important for this mod. But first I want to hear your reasons against the rear location for the outdoor unit. Is the rear location a no no? Please elaborate. I thought (non engineering background) the rear location would be so convenient for the setup and haven't thought of foregoing the front storage box. Let me hear your explanation first. Thanks.

Jake