Do you think you need a/c?

[Buddy-ESC]

We don't have one, most times don't need one but when you do, it is really, really nice to have. You can always try a red neck air conditioner...

 

[rbryan4]

We used the AC extensively at the Bluebonnet Rally -- first time we had to. Never hit temps high enough to turn it on until then.

It is a bit loud, but no more irritating than the heater. And, what a difference it makes on a hot humid night! If you live down south like us, it's a must have.

 

[MyronL]

I wish there was some way to place a value on the term, "it's also very noisy." I mean, like compared to what?

Crinkling cellophane in a quiet theater is noisy. Chewing celery sticks is noisy. A fog horn is noisy. Listening to rap music is ... well that's enough of that, now.

How noisy is yours? Is it tolerably noisy on low but intolerable on high, but you can still sleep with it on? If on a scale from 1 to 10 the Maxi-Fan on high rates a 5 is the Penguin an 8 on low? Is the Coleman Mach 1 louder than the Mach 8?

Oh, and a side note: I found what looks like a real good price for the Penguin II on a site called AdventureRV.Net. Anyone ever use them?

....ah, rbryan, that's what I'm looking for. ("...no more irritating than the heater.")

 

[batcat]

I don't care how noisy it is. In Louisiane we run ACs 24/7 7 months out of the year!

 

[float5]

Works for me. Much quieter than the one I had in a Casita.

What year was your Casita and which A/C did you have, please?

 

[tractors1]

What year was your Casita and which A/C did you have, please?

2006 LD and a Coleman something.

 

[bdornbush]

Oh, and a side note: I found what looks like a real good price for the Penguin II on a site called AdventureRV.Net. Anyone ever use them?

I bought a lot through them when I was restoring a vintage trailer. They have great prices but their customer service is not so great. I had quite a time returning a defective part. I found it defective when I opened and installed the item, and they said they would not accept returns on used items. I finally persuaded them that I needed to install it to tell it was defective, but that took a lot of effort on my part. I would use them again but only for items I was sure I would not return.

 

[markvt]

I have heard good and bad things about the Dometic Duo-Therm Penguin 11,000 BTU air conditioner ETI installs. Since I am now considering buying one, and installing it myself, I was wondering how you who have it on their roof like it.

Please feel free to vent.

Hi Myron,
I am with the group that A/C is a most have at times. I work in a factory and to me the Dometic Duo -Them A/C is still very loud and annoying . If you do purchase a A/C unit I would highly recommend the use of a wall mounted thermostat to operate the A/C. It does cut down on some of the cycling on time of the A/C unit.

 

[davescape]

I wish there was some way to place a value on the term, "it's also very noisy." I mean, like compared to what?

Maybe some data would help:

Furnace 61 dB
Range Hood 71 dB
Maxx on max 71 dB
Water Pump 73 dB
AC 83 dB

All measurements were taken from on top of the bed with an tablet app.
We haven't used our AC yet because we hit the hot spots early in the year and they cooled down rapidly as the sun set.

 

[tractors1]

Perhaps there is an advantage in getting a bit older - maybe things that sounded noisy when you were 40 aren't so irritating when you are 65+.

 

[float5]

The idea that the water pump and the Maxx fan make nearly as much noise as the A/C, well, not to me they don't. Our A/C seemed much louder than either. It is not just noise but a certain kind of noise.. That cannot be quantified I guess. Of course, the pump is off shortly usually. I would put the A/C at 12 to the Maxx 5.

So, Myron, when you get it, it won't be nearly as noisy as you think because some of us are telling you it is loud as heck! There are lower settings. Someone with the Polar Cub said he could sleep on the lower setting. I cannot imagine sleeping on the lower setting of ours but maybe that is just me.

 

[cpaharley2008]

Having had the Polar Cub in my 19 Escape and the Dometic in my 21 Escape, to the best of my recollection the following are my observations. The Polar Cub is more quiet than the Dometic, but you could not get the digital thermostat with the Polar Cub. The standard Dometic without the digital thermostat is louder. But with the digital thermostat's ability to lower the fan speed as well as cut off at the set point makes a big difference in sound. In addition I notice there are several Dometic models being used by Escape, perhaps some of them maybe a bit more quiet than others.

 

[MyronL]

Ya, Charlie, like sometimes the wife.

But I digress. Thanks, davescape of BC... excellent perspective. And now, Mark, I am having second thoughts...as installing a lemon and being stuck with it could really ruin my summer. Yet, I have been known gamble. The thing about the Coleman Polar Cub, Jim, (and the low profile is what I really like about it)... but what scares me are the many complaints about the fan... cracked blades...bad replacement parts, loose bolts on the roof, etc.

 

[rbryan4]

The location of the AC on the 19 being so close to the bed does make it louder, but we found as others have stated that the digital thermostat makes a difference in noise level by making the system run at low speed much of the time. We had an "adapting" period of one or two nights when it would wake us occasionally as it turned on, but we got used to it and were able to sleep through the night the more we used it.

 

[kvermeulen]

Think of resale down the road.

ken

 

[Jim Bennett]

I know friends that when in hot climates just run the A/C in the evening, and just shut it down once they went to bed. Is this not an option for most cases?

I know the few times I might have run the A/C, if I had it, during the evening it cooled enough that the Maxx Fan on a low setting, with the window cracked over our head, made things bearable.

 

[kstock11]

I have done a lot of travel for business and found that there is always a challenge in sleeping well the first night due to new "to me" sounds. Usually the second night and on, sleep is fine. I've observed the same with the ac in our 19. By the second night, I sleep fine. Like others, we are pleased with the digital thermostat. After spending a night at Lake Mead @99 degrees boondocking, and days in Utah and Texas @over 100 degrees with hook-ups, we would not go without ac.

 

[MyronL]

I hear you. I well remember one brutal night in Oklahoma, spent in our old Burro. What we wouldn't give for AC just at least, to get that heat pushed out of there!

 

[markvt]

Yet, I have been known gamble. .

Myron here's just a thought I saw the other day a window 5000 BTU air A/C unit on sale for $99.00 dollars. I was thinking I guy could just set it up in the bathroom I would not make it permanent. Then vent the heat out the ceiling vent or window in bathroom and just run a drain line to the floor drain. I would bet this would go a long way for A/C when you are living in the north.
Mark

 

[bdornbush]

We added a window unit to our vintage trailer and found that the ducting of hot and cold air must be done carefully to get good results. If you set it up in the bathroom, you would need to build some ducting to make it work and run a fan to circulate the cold air out of the bathroom.