Poll: RecPro/Houghton Air Conditioner - Escape Trailer Owners Community
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View Poll Results: If you were given the option by ETI to have a RecPro/Houghton air conditioner instead
I would absolutely choose the RecPro/Houghton unit. 19 82.61%
I would probably choose the RecPro/Houghton unit. 3 13.04%
If the price was comparable I would choose the RecPro/Houghton unit 0 0%
I would not choose the RecPro/Houghton unit. 1 4.35%
Voters: 23. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 10-08-2021, 01:56 PM   #1
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Poll: RecPro/Houghton Air Conditioner

Now that I better understand forum polls I will try again. The system apparently only allows one poll question, so everyone is encouraged to amplify their opinion in a reply.


My goal is to see if there are enough Escape owners/purchasers to persuade ETI to make the RecPro/Houghton air conditioners available to new purchasers. We have a 21C on order and, at this point, will order it A/C ready and have a Houghton installed ourselves. It is much quieter than the current units, and, I understand, does not protrude as far into the unit, important for those of us who have hit our head on the current offerings.
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Old 10-08-2021, 02:11 PM   #2
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I voted yes, that was pretty easy since I have a Houghton 9500 btu unit sitting in my basement waiting for my trailer to be delivered in another 1.5 weeks.



I'll post some pictures of my scaffold when I hoist this thing into place. My wife and I are on design #3 for how we think we're going to do it. And I'm just lucky because I have a balcony over the driveway in the front of my house.


A picture of the current home of the AC is attached, as well as the planned work zone where I'm going to install it from.
Attached Thumbnails
JGG08480.jpg   JGG05761.jpg  
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Old 10-08-2021, 08:19 PM   #3
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Two happy Houghton owners/users

We have about 5000 miles with our E19 Houghton, in both SE and SW regions. Our daughter's family sure likes the Houghton in their 21NE. The comfort and noise differences are amazing compared to the Dometic.

73/gus
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Old 10-09-2021, 01:29 AM   #4
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I’d absolutely go for the Houghton. If a Dometic is the only choice, I think I’ll have a Houghton installed locally. I’m pretty sensitive to noise and light, so is the wife. No point having something that you’d rather not run.

I am looking forward to seeing @JefferyG s review
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Old 10-09-2021, 04:27 AM   #5
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I intend to omit the AC on my 5.0TA and add a Houghton myself after delivery, probabbly the 13,500 model
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Old 10-09-2021, 06:45 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gklott View Post
We have about 5000 miles with our E19 Houghton, in both SE and SW regions. Our daughter's family sure likes the Houghton in their 21NE. The comfort and noise differences are amazing compared to the Dometic.

73/gus
Hey Gus, 2 questions.
1 have u done a decibel ck n what was it

2 how well does the heat pump work

Thank you
David
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Old 10-09-2021, 07:44 AM   #7
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As I posted in your previous thread that was deleted.
It may not matter what people want.
If the Australian made Houghton isn't certified for use in RVs in Canada and the United States, Escape might not be able to install it.
An example of this is the Dickson Marine Cooktop. Since it isn't certified for RV usage, Escape can't install it.
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Old 10-09-2021, 08:44 AM   #8
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Measured sound levels

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldtimer View Post
Hey Gus, 2 questions.
1 have u done a decibel ck n what was it
Yes, details in 3rd paragraph here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldtimer View Post
2 how well does the heat pump work
For cooling, the heat pump rapidly cools the trailer interior, pulling about 11-12A when compressor is running. We are learning more about adjusting the temperature and fan speed to accommodate the issue of cold-air intruding into the return plenum where the temperature sensor resides. Overhead cabinet proximity to the two side vents causes this issue.

For heating, we have not used the AC3400 in that mode. We normally use our Dyson AM09 space heater, which is super quiet, or our little Lasko 754201 space heater. Our wool comforter and the space heater provide for a nice sleeping environment.

73/gus
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Old 10-09-2021, 08:51 AM   #9
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I find as I age, so do my ears which creates "What did you say" several times a day! Campsite noise, nor furnace, nor a/c, so far has not impacted my camping and the ability to sleep......
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Old 10-09-2021, 09:02 AM   #10
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Houghton doesn't list ITL certification

Quote:
Originally Posted by TTMartin View Post
As I posted in your previous thread that was deleted.
It may not matter what people want. If the Australian made Houghton isn't certified for use in RVs in Canada and the United States, Escape might not be able to install it. An example of this is the Dickson Marine Cooktop. Since it isn't certified for RV usage, Escape can't install it.
This is an ETI OEM issue to obtain the QAI seal, as discussed here.

73/gus
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Old 10-09-2021, 09:08 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TTMartin View Post
As I posted in your previous thread that was deleted.
It may not matter what people want.
If the Australian made Houghton isn't certified for use in RVs in Canada and the United States, Escape might not be able to install it.
An example of this is the Dickson Marine Cooktop. Since it isn't certified for RV usage, Escape can't install it.
That’s news to me. I had a Dickson Marine cooktop shipped to Escape and they installed it just fine. Sounded like they had done it many times before. This was earlier this year (May delivery).

They might have discontinued the practice but that’s for production efficiency rather than code.

They did make one change due to the code issues - Escape had offered up to 4 lithium batteries when we placed the order but ran into venting requirements in the Canadian RV code (even though venting is not a lithium issue) and modified all orders to reduce the max to 2 batteries.
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Old 10-09-2021, 10:06 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kavm View Post
That’s news to me. I had a Dickson Marine cooktop shipped to Escape and they installed it just fine. Sounded like they had done it many times before. This was earlier this year (May delivery).

They might have discontinued the practice but that’s for production efficiency rather than code.
Or they may have researched the product further planning on offering it themselves and found out it wasn't certified and shouldn't have installed it in yours or other trailers.
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Old 10-09-2021, 10:11 AM   #13
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A little further information.

I had the name of the company incorrect, it is RecPro, not RexPro.
Some research on a Canadian site got me to this location for the various units, I think the prices are in Canadian dollars.
https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-condit...ol-non-ducted/


They show a lot of different models, including some with heat pumps. With this many models on offer from a Canadian vendor I expect they are certified in Canada. A simple phone call can make sure.


This site appears to be in Bristol, IN, and should show in US dollars:
https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-condit...5k-non-ducted/

Thanks for all the responses so far. The poll is open for 7 days. When it is done I will put a presentation together and send it to Karl.

The more responses the more persuasive it will be.
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Old 10-09-2021, 10:16 AM   #14
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JeffreyG and GKlott:

Where did you purchase your units? I presume the price was reasonable. Did it include shipping?
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Old 10-09-2021, 10:36 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TTMartin View Post
It may not matter what people want.
If the Australian made Houghton isn't certified for use in RVs in Canada and the United States, Escape might not be able to install it.
All 120/12-volt equipment, electrical hardware and consumer electronics must be CSA approved for use in your RV.

https://firecomm.gov.mb.ca/docs/rv_b..._en_nov104.pdf
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Old 10-09-2021, 11:41 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TTMartin View Post
Or they may have researched the product further planning on offering it themselves and found out it wasn't certified and shouldn't have installed it in yours or other trailers.
You could, of course, be correct. We have no way of knowing internal reasoning at ETI. However, when we made the decision on our build in 2020 - our sales consultant remarked on Dickinson Marine cooktop being an excellent choice. So, they had installed it for customers in 2020 or earlier in addition to our build in mid 2021. The Canadian code compliance at Escape is checked by a third party - QAI. So, QAI must have permitted the cooktop installation for a fairly extended period of time.
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Old 10-09-2021, 11:56 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kavm View Post
You could, of course, be correct. We have no way of knowing internal reasoning at ETI. However, when we made the decision on our build in 2020 - our sales consultant remarked on Dickinson Marine cooktop being an excellent choice. So, they had installed it for customers in 2020 or earlier in addition to our build in mid 2021.
Escape changed cooktops due to the owners having problems with the Suburban SD2. I'm pretty confident they looked at the Dickson as an option since it is made in BC. There has to be a reason it's not at least offered as an option.
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Old 10-09-2021, 12:57 PM   #18
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So I guess a lot of us are installing illegal components on our home away from home lol. Wonder if Dometic is using its possible influence to keep products it can’t control from being certified lol. Better products would hurt their bottom line. Just throwing this out there. Things like this has happened before.

David
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Old 10-09-2021, 01:42 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by TTMartin View Post
Escape changed cooktops due to the owners having problems with the Suburban SD2. I'm pretty confident they looked at the Dickson as an option since it is made in BC. There has to be a reason it's not at least offered as an option.
Without wanting to be argumentative about it, I was responding to the speculative comment that Dickinson Marine cooktop do not meet the Canadian RV code and offering evidence that they have done so for customer-supplied Dickinson Marine cooktops for a period of time. And, they would not have done so in violation of the code.

Whether to offer Dickinson Marine cooktop as an option in Escape or not is a completely different question and I have no idea of ETI's reasoning behind that. There can be commercial, supply chain or other reasons for that. As far as I know, it has not been an Escape offered option so far. I was simply providing counter arguments for the Canadian code violation rationale offered earlier.
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Old 10-09-2021, 02:04 PM   #20
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No matter why Escape did, and now won’t install the Dickinson, according to the Force10 website the Eno is certified CE and AGA. There is no mention of any North American RV certification.
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