Looking for comments from users of RecPro Houghton Air Conditioner units

[rcsb]

Have a 17B with a 9500, had dometic 11.5, best improvement I have made on the trailer. I live in Fl. it works fine. Just installed a softstartrv and now it runs easily with my Honda 2000 generator in eco mode. They now offer a heat pump version and a soft start version, I would get both and not look back.

I have a 2021 21C where I recently installed a Houghton 9500 with a heat pump & installed a softstart too. I removed that loud, noisy jet engine Dometic Penguin AC. I have really put the 9500 to the test these last few days in Las Vegas, NV where temps were 116F degrees outside & the 9500 worked like a champ. 20-25F degrees difference, inside vs outside & it takes about 60 minutes to initially cool down my 21C. The 9500 is so much quieter than the Dometic Penguin that we ran the 9500 for 3 days & nights. Sleeping was very comfortable & quiet with the 9500 running on low at night the whole time. A few weeks ago I ran the 9500 in 80 degree F with humidity level at 70% & within 30 minutes humidity dropped down to 45%, when I turned off the 9500 & opened the door it went back up to 70% humidity within 2-3 minutes. I too can run the 9500 with my Honda 2000 Generator on eco mode, the soft start really works well. So far I have nothing but praise for this Houghton 9500, I highly recommend it.

 

[FlatlandFlyFisher]

I was camped next to a 'sprinter style' camper [1] this weekend, where the owner had recently upgraded their Dometic sleep-destroyer to an Dreiha ATMOS 4.4. It's spect. for 53 dB.

I'm curious if this brand is on anyone's radar screen.

Is there anything on the market that works directly off of 12 V DC? It would seem to be more efficient to 'not' have to run through the inverter to cool the trailer.

[1] Not really a Sprinter, but a nice unit.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Final update. I got the unit on the roof saturday afternoon and set about installing the inside portion. Greased the bolt threads with Vaseline where they went thru the brass threaded inserts in the base, and snugged it all up. Connected the wires with three Wago connectors, pulled the accordion duct down and snapped into place. Hardest part was installing the trim/louvers as I was doing it my self and you need four hands to deal with the wires to the electronic unit and then positioning it without wires getting out of place.

I installed the four main screws that hold the louvers on but decided to not install the two on each side that are right on the edge. Plastic is thin and the screws served no purpose but to break the plastic.

I need to do a little headliner cleaning front and back where the Dometic louvers marked the ceiling. All in all the unit cools good, and I pulled it outside and ran it on my built in Onan 2500LP generator for an hour.

I opened up the old Dometic to remove the Easy Start I installed early last year and discovered the problem was a broken tube at the condenser outlet. I also found the sticker on the compressor with refrigerant type and pressures, It was an R22 unit so the cost of repair and recharging would be prohibitive, given the cost of R22.

Thanks for everyone's help and advise.

Charles

 

[Sailor now Trailer]

We swapped out the dometic wind tunnel for a 9500. It keeps our 21 at 72/74 degrees when it’s 103 outside here in Texas. Love how quiet it is. No longer get woke up when it kicks on at night. With it now having the option for the heat pump, it’s a win win.

I am interested to learn from those that have swapped the Dometic AC for the Rec Pro Houghton. I just bought the RP Houghton 9500 with the heat pump and intend to remove the Dometic this spring when the temps are warmer here in Minnesota. I'm not sure how to search this forum for information on the actual swap, and the work involved, wiring etc. I have read that the roof on the Escape is not meant to be climbed on so how does one get the job done?
Any and all help is much needed and appreciated.

 

[Rockhead]

When I get on our 21s roof, I first lay down a couple of packing blankets then place a 2x 4 in the valley ridge then lay a 3/4 sheet of plywood down. This distributes my weight over a large area. I weigh 250lbs. hope this helps

 

[MVA]

I am interested to learn from those that have swapped the Dometic AC for the Rec Pro Houghton. I just bought the RP Houghton 9500 with the heat pump and intend to remove the Dometic this spring when the temps are warmer here in Minnesota. I'm not sure how to search this forum for information on the actual swap, and the work involved, wiring etc. I have read that the roof on the Escape is not meant to be climbed on so how does one get the job done?
Any and all help is much needed and appreciated.

Interesting timing. We just finished replacing the 11k BTU Dometic unit today with the 9500 BTU Houghton with heat pump and soft start. A couple of thoughts that may help:
- The Domestic unit is heavy; about 95 lbs. The foam gasket between the AC unit and the trailer was adhered to both, so a bread knife was used to cut the gasket. Fortunately, we have a structural cover over our trailer, so we used straps to lift the old AC up and pull the trailer forward clear of the hanging old AC unit. This was the most difficult step for us. Time spent cleaning the old caulk, adhering the new mounting flange, and waxing the roof prior to installing the new unit. Like Rockhead, we used 2x4s in the lower roof area and spanned the roof with two 2x4s (see pic) (two required to clear roof mount and AC horn). We used two 8' ladders to form scaffolding on the side of the trailer, lifted the new unit on the scaffolding, then lifted onto the roof, and then slid into position.

Concerning the wiring, the wiring from the Dometic AC to the Dometic thermostat is apparently not consistent trailer to trailer. Ours was 24 awg; not sufficient for a new furnace only thermostat. Hence, I ran a new 18/2 pair from the old/new thermostat location to the furnace. Be aware that the Dometic AC unit has a 12VDC feed that needs to be appropriately isolated since it is not needed for the Houghton unit.

 

[MVA]

BTW - for those that have replaced the Dometic unit with the 2800 Houghton unit, the new interior cover is shorter in length than the Dometic cover, leaving a couple of holes visible. Did you just leave those holes or fill them, and if you did fill them, how?

thanks

 

[vermilye]

The results of my first real test of the 9500BTU Houghton in 97°F weather:

I plugged in the power cord before I finished setting up the trailer & fired up the AC to cool down the trailer from 97°F inside. A fellow forum member wanted to know how the 9600BTU Houghton worked under real conditions, so I kept track - 3:00 97°F, 3:20 90°F, 3:30 85°F, 4:15 78°F. 4:30 77°F. By 5:30 it reached the set temperature of 72°F with an outside temperature of 99°F. At 8:00 it is still 97°F outside. I didn't track the humidity, but the outside is 74% and in the trailer it is 40%. The inside temperature is still dropping. The AC is running on automatic - the fan runs in high continuously & the compressor the same. Once it reached the low 70's the fan ran on low, and the compressor cycles off & on in 10 minute intervals.

 

[Rockhead]

We just left them alone. Doesn’t bother us but if one wants to they can get decorative material and make a beauty rim like one see above lites and ceiling fans. Just have to find a sheet of it large enough to cover what you want covered

 

[Sailor now Trailer]

BTW - for those that have replaced the Dometic unit with the 2800 Houghton unit, the new interior cover is shorter in length than the Dometic cover, leaving a couple of holes visible. Did you just leave those holes or fill them, and if you did fill them, how?

thanks

Thanks for your timely response.

 

[mr.stang]

I just put in a couple stainless steel Philips head screws in the two holes they serve no purpose but it looks finished.