Custom Air Conditioning Retrofit

[jphil23462]

Correct. It is an AIMS 3000w 24v. Model # PICOGLF30W24V120VR
The other thing that isn't labeled is the MPPT. It's 150V | 60A.

[jphil23462]

Forgot to add that the whole point is to run the A/C and a few other small items. I have the Pioneer WYS009AMFI22RL. It is rated at 21.5 seer, 720 watts, and 6.26 amps.

[jphil23462]

Bumper is finish. Applied Ospho and Rust-0leum truck bed coating. Installed CURT 45795 14 in trailer hitch extension. Permanently mounted outside mini-split unit.

[rubicon327]

Interesting little “tabletop” A/C unit. Claims 2300 BTU. Can be plugged into 120V AC or run for 5 hours on integrated 24V lithium battery. Like that it has an intake and exhaust for condenser air so it doesn’t put the trailer under a negative pressure which then infiltrates unconditioned air. Probably easier to rig the condenser tubes to outdoors with the slider windows. Would it be enough to cool the smaller Escapes? Maybe just used at night to take the edge off while boondocking or in a campground without power? Recharged during the day on inverter in trailer with solar or on inverter in tow vehicle while exploring during the day? Not cheap.

https://www.zerobreeze.com/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UfisW9u6LTI

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Interesting little “tabletop” A/C unit. Claims 2300 BTU. Can be plugged into 120V AC or run for 5 hours on integrated 24V lithium battery. Like that it has an intake and exhaust for condenser air so it doesn’t put the trailer under a negative pressure which then infiltrates unconditioned air. Probably easier to rig the condenser tubes to outdoors with the slider windows. Would it be enough to cool the smaller Escapes? Maybe just used at night to take the edge off while boondocking or in a campground without power? Recharged during the day on inverter in trailer with solar or on inverter in tow vehicle while exploring during the day? Not cheap.

https://www.zerobreeze.com/

Interesting but yes a little pricey for sure ! Pat

[John in Santa Cruz]

2300 btu is nearly nothing.

[Eggscape]

Here is a video done by my favourite reviewer on the new Hyundai RV.
At 10 minutes in he states the AC will run 6 hrs on the fully charged batteries.
He admits he is no RV reviewer but there could be something to this as he usually gets his facts straight.
https://youtu.be/NaPpvH49zSM

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Interesting little “tabletop” A/C unit. Claims....... Not cheap.

https://www.zerobreeze.com/

https://www.wired.com/review/zero-br...r-conditioner/

much larger than the pictures look, requires an even larger/heavier battery pack that lasts 2-3 hours, 575 watt AC charger, and again, 2300 btu just isn't very much. oh, and its really noisy.

[jphil23462]

Although I'm in the middle of a large rebuild, I have finished the A/C part and it is up and running. I will detail the changes I made that are slightly different from Dave and his excellent write-up. First, I went with the Pioneer WYS009AMFI22RL 9000 BTU 110V unit. Yesterday when I got everything running, it was a hot 90's day in FL. I initially set the unit to 66 degrees and "Olive", our camper was frigid within two minutes. I raised the temp to 76 and then to 80 to see what the amp draw would be. It is very efficient and I agree with the gentleman who said if you keep it running 24/7, it will draw a minimal amount of energy as it is just keeping the temp status quo. BTW, at 76 degrees, amp draw ranged between 3 to 5. At 80 degrees, amp draw was between 0 to 3.

[jphil23462]

I wanted a sleek bumper design that could still accommodate a rear hitch for a bike or two. I built a 2x4 wood mock-up and had the welder build it using the same 2x3 rectangular metal tubing. I stood on it without issues. The outdoor unit weighs 83 lbs. I'm very happy with the result.

[jphil23462]

I followed Jim Bennett's cargo box move and am putting the spare under the front. Going with his lesson's learned, I purchased the shorter extension.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...box-12420.html

https://store.lci1.com/offset-winch-...on-166781.html

[jphil23462]

Here are the inside build pictures. Since my unit is slightly different, I chose to set the unit into the rear storage area by 3 1/2 inches. This allowed for a cleaner look and more headroom in the dinette area. There is a sheet of the original material behind the mounting bracket. It is just not shown in the build picture but will be seen in the final picture.

[jphil23462]

Because I am still finishing the solar install, which included ripping out all the wiring, I will not discuss that here. Equally, I changed the dinette area, which is why we had the factory delete installing the table or providing cushions, etc. Attached are the build picture and where I'm at currently.

[jphil23462]

One final note, I did use the 3' RectorSeal hoses on the outside as per Dave's recommendation. This unit uses a 1/2" and a 1/4" hose. If I had to do it again, they do make a 6' length flexible hose and I most definitely would have gone with that option.

[jphil23462]

I moved the tire to under the front. Technically, it is located just under the second step leading up to the bed. Just posted pictures under Jim's thread so anyone searching could see both examples.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post348187

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by jphil23462

One final note, I did use the 3' RectorSeal hoses on the outside as per Dave's recommendation. This unit uses a 1/2" and a 1/4" hose. If I had to do it again, they do make a 6' length flexible hose and I most definitely would have gone with that option.

Joel: Nice work! A working mini-split on a 5.0 is exciting to add to the 19 and 21 that are already in service. On that note viator36 (Jake) contacted me a few weeks ago about his mini-split on the 21 not cooling properly. He brought me the trailer and after using a sniffer and some leak detector we figured out that the 3' flex line had some tiny holes right near where it entered the trailer. No evidence of any damage on the insulation. Guys at the supply house said they don't hear of them failing so I'm hoping it was an anomaly and went with an exact replacement. I replaced the 3/8" line section and did a full nitrogen pressure test, vacuum and refrigerant replacement with my HVAC tech friend. Working perfectly again after a few hours of work!

[Ron in BC]

Wow, some major mods nicely done.

Ron

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Greg A

Mike, with Happier Camper had been in Tucson for a Dometic event. Dometic selected them to test a new AC unit on their Demo which he brought to Quartzsite. It was a 6500 btu unit that is designed to be very quiet and run fine on battery. Mike had run it for about 4 hours on Sat on the flooded batteries, and said for those with Lithium it could run pretty much continuous. They are in the process of getting it certified and it is not released yet. If all goes well, it will be released before long. Not much info beyond that, other than your wish for RV AC improvements is getting close, Dave.
It is super quiet and quite a step forward to see it in action.

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Copied this from the Quartzsite thread for relevancy. While I’m not the biggest fan of Dometic overall I am going to be optimistic on this. Glad to hear that they are working on a small, quiet unit! Please update here if you get any new information. I will do the same.

Did some more research. Happier Camper had a post back in 2016 about a Dometic FreshJet 1100 air conditioner that they were the first to use. Probably didn't get much attention at only 3,500 BTUH. But now I see that Dometic expanded that line. These are heat pumps with inverter compressors so they have a soft start and can quietly cool, dehumidify and heat similar to a mini-split. Adjustable blowers speeds, LED light and remote control. Go Dometic! I'm speculating that the unit that Greg mentioned that Happier Camper was showing off at Quartzsite is their 2000 model (6,800 BTUH) modified for use with 120V/60Hz electric service. They also make several other capacities including the 3200 (9,550 BTUH) which is perfect for our Escape trailers. I've been waiting for something like this with a quiet inverter compressor, advanced features and lower capacities for smaller applications to come to market. Dometic PLEASE modify these for distribution in North America!!

[cpaharley2008]

All good news. I remember my first 2012 E19 had the smaller Coleman 9200 but and it was nice. Sorry to see it go.......

[jphil23462]

Like the unit but there are two points. 1. It is a 230V unit only as you stated they didn't have a U.S. version in 110V. 2. This would be a convenient swap for those who have the standard A/C. However, for our purposes, we were looking for the energy efficiency of the mini-split because I think I may be able to run it off batteries. Therefore, I need the clean roof for solar panels. Speaking of which, if the weekend provides a no rain/no wind day, I will be installing them. I may be asking a bit too much of Florida this time of year. Hahaha.