18 replies to this topic

[Rollrs45]

Well guys, I'm at a bit of a crossroads here. I was looking to install a second A/C unit in the bunk area or master bedroom of our 5'er. I was originally told these areas were not wired for a second unit, but power could be drawn from the overhead lighting already there.

I called Keystone today because I was worried that two units would pull too much Amperage for my 30 amp setup. Now Keystone is saying they do not recommend a second unit be installed. Instead, they suggest I upgrade to a 15K unit, which I was originally told would not make that much of a difference. (By the way, when I filled out my customer satisfaction survey after the original purchase, I told them the 13,500 b.t.u. A/C was not enough for that size of a coach. Guess what Keystone is installing on the Sydney's now....... 15K with 50 amp shore power hmmmmmmmm, maybe they listened for once?????)

Anyway, I figured I would ask you all and solicit suggestions or recommendations. Is there some type of load management system I could purchase? Is switching to a 50 amp setup as easy as replacing the breaker box, or am I looking at a major overhaul? Will the 15K make a difference, or am I wasting my time?

Thanks for the help!

Mike

[Crawfish]

Mike, I have been thinking about doing the same thing. At the summer rally last year the temps got up to 100+ on some days and the a/c could not keep up. It would run continuous all day long and the inside temp got down to about 82. That is not cool enough for me. I am thinking I have the 15K unit in our camper, but not sure now after reading your post so I am going to check it out. As for adding another A/C unit I am thinking you will have to go to a 50 amp setup. This is why all the 5'ers with two a/c units have 50 amps. If each a/c uses around 15 amps that would be 30 amps and you would not have anything left for anything else. As for upgrading from a 30 amp to 50 amp, I do not know how much trouble it would be since I have never been involved in a mod like that. Tommy or someone who has done this mod might be able to shed some light on the subject. I do know, some people have installed a second a/c unit on their camper but not sure if they upgraded to a 50 amp. I have heard of someone, can't remember their name, that installed a second a/c unit and ran the wiring to the storage area and used an extension cord to supply the power to it. I don't know if I would do this are not. I think I would go with the 50 amp upgrade.


Leon

[swanny]

We have a 50 amp service and a 15000 ac in our unit. Last year in Fla. the ac ran A LOT, but the inside temp was comfortable. A 13.5 would have been, well, not good. The best advice I can give is, do everything you can to keep the cold air in and the hot air out. The things I did to help with this are, cover the sunny side windows with auto sun shades and move them as the sun moves. I sealed off all my floor vents so the cold air wouldn't go down through the duct work and out the furness. I have air return vents for the furness under the steps to the BR. this was a huge area of air loss. I found out one afternoon when I opened the basement door and everything was cool in the basement. I seal all roof vents with the reflective insulation backed with a thick fluffy stuff. I have a fast cool slide on my ac, I keep the BR door closed and I open the slide and all the cold air is sent to the LR,bath and kitchen. This year I bought a pull down outside shade for the picture window, this will stop the sun from hitting the window. You can even see through the shade when it's down. This was a very easy install. Lastly make sure you start the ac before it gets hot.

To answer the 30amp and two ac'c question, It will probably be a big problem.

Hope all this helps, kevin

[dreamtimers]

I've been working on the DW to let me do this one, (no joy so-far). The easiest thing is to pull a second ac power drop for the second A/C and plug it into the 110V 20A with a second drop cord. Upgrading to a 50A breaker/converter box would be a great solution, but a lot more involved and I would think quite a bit more expensive, (though I have not priced 50A converters I would expect $200-$300+, power cord, connectors, etc.).
The unit I'm looking at is a Coleman ~8k polar cub. This is a low profile unit. I plan to replace the vent in the bed room and dump the A/C there. I think attempting to hook into the duct system would create serious problems, back pressure, etc. Haven't decided if I want the expense of switching to 50A.

Keep us posted, this is a mod I think a lot of us southerners would like to do.

Dave

[Rollrs45]

I like the idea of installing a second unit and running a separate power cord. Although this would be a quick solution, I would probably upgrade to 50 amp eventually.

Thanks for the tips guys!

Mike

[campingnut]

mike, what about just adding a portable ac unit? they can just sit in the floor....
billy had one in his camper when the ac went out.
he said, it was cool.
im not sure, but talk with billy about this.
it may be just what you need to help cool it down at 1/2 the price.

lamar

[OutbackMac]

Do more camping in Canada? Or sleep on a bag of ice HA HA . iam with Mike tough decision 50 amp conversion would be alot of $. i would look into the floor model ac and be happy

[Rollrs45]

OutbackMac, on 11 May 2010 - 08:12 AM, said:

Do more camping in Canada? Or sleep on a bag of ice HA HA . iam with Mike tough decision 50 amp conversion would be alot of $. i would look into the floor model ac and be happy

Been there. Nice scenery...... but I kind of like the beach life!

OK guys, here is what I'm thinking. I like the idea of installing a second smaller unit and running a separate extension cord just for the AC. I figured I could have the wiring run down the wall and install an additional exterior box for plugging in at the campground. But, I have a question for all you electricity experts.

The AC I'm looking at is the Coleman Polar Cub. The specs show it's has 9200 b.t.u. and draws anywhere between 8.2 - 11.5 amps. Its' 115V, 60hz, 1 phase, 1750 watts.........blah, blah, blah. Will a regular old extension cord plugged into a regular socket run this thing? It would be the only thing plugged into the cord.I'm just not familiar enough with electrical wiring to know what any of that info means.

Mike

[Reverie]

You would have to use a 20gauge cord at least. You would also have to keep the distance from the power source to a minimum. If you use a 16 gauge cord I suspect it would heat up very quickly.

I would not use multiple cords as that would likely result in an increase in resistance over the entire length. Couple that with the possibility of poor connections, hot and humid weather, the second A/C would tax even a pair of 20 gauge cords in series.

Reverie

Follow this LINK for a better explanation.

[Rollrs45]

Reverie, on 16 May 2010 - 11:31 AM, said:

You would have to use a 20gauge cord at least. You would also have to keep the distance from the power source to a minimum. If you use a 16 gauge cord I suspect it would heat up very quickly.

I would not use multiple cords as that would likely result in an increase in resistance over the entire length. Couple that with the possibility of poor connections, hot and humid weather, the second A/C would tax even a pair of 20 gauge cords in series.

Reverie

Follow this LINK for a better explanation.

Neat website. Thanks for the link!

Mike

[Crawfish]

I am looking at the portable model. Here is the one I am considering. NewAir AC-10000E 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

I can get it for $322 and free shipping. The reason I am looking at a portable is we might trade up on our camper in a few years and I don't really want to invest any more money in it. This way I can use the portable a/c somewhere else instead of just the camper. What do you think? Am I wasting money or making an investment. I sure don't want to suffer like we did last summer.


Leon

[dreamtimers]

Rollrs45, on 16 May 2010 - 08:52 AM, said:

Been there. Nice scenery...... but I kind of like the beach life!

OK guys, here is what I'm thinking. I like the idea of installing a second smaller unit and running a separate extension cord just for the AC. I figured I could have the wiring run down the wall and install an additional exterior box for plugging in at the campground. But, I have a question for all you electricity experts.

The AC I'm looking at is the Coleman Polar Cub. The specs show it's has 9200 b.t.u. and draws anywhere between 8.2 - 11.5 amps. Its' 115V, 60hz, 1 phase, 1750 watts.........blah, blah, blah. Will a regular old extension cord plugged into a regular socket run this thing? It would be the only thing plugged into the cord.I'm just not familiar enough with electrical wiring to know what any of that info means.

Mike

I'm looking at the same unit. I'd planned to drop a cord, (likely 12-14ga), through the ceiling and down the inside of the bathroom wall to a connection box near the main electrical connection if reasonable. I'd use at least 12-14 ga. outside just to be on the safe side. Nick is right, the fewer connections you can have, the better. You could even use romex, (same stuff in your house), for the inside run if you wanted, it's just that it would be a little stiffer to run through walls or surface channels.

Reverie, on 16 May 2010 - 11:31 AM, said:

You would have to use a 20gauge cord at least. You would also have to keep the distance from the power source to a minimum. If you use a 16 gauge cord I suspect it would heat up very quickly.

Hey! Nick
wire is like shotguns, bigger number, smaller diameter.
just teasing... I'm quite sure it was a typo.

Crawfish, on 16 May 2010 - 05:58 PM, said:

I am looking at the portable model. Here is the one I am considering. NewAir AC-10000E 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

I can get it for $322 and free shipping. The reason I am looking at a portable is we might trade up on our camper in a few years and I don't really want to invest any more money in it. This way I can use the portable a/c somewhere else instead of just the camper. What do you think? Am I wasting money or making an investment. I sure don't want to suffer like we did last summer.


Leon

Just be sure you have a suitable place/window to vent the hot air out as this one uses an exhaust duct. I'd use a separate cord to power this one also.

Best of luck to all, does not look as if I'll get mine this yr.
Dave

[Wolfpackers]

I doubt you'd be using over 50 ft of cord, including what runs from the unit to your connection point, so 14 ga. should be all you need, but check the price difference on 12 ga. & if not a whole lot more, you may want to use that. Don't recall where you were going to install, but am guessing in the bedroom of your fiver. Assuming you were going to have a dealer do the install, I would think they could fish wires to an inconspicuous place to connect your shore power cord to, maybe in the storage area or below it. You can always sneak a cord in/out around the slide, in the bottom corners...I've done so a few times. The unit may fit into your bedroom vent opening as is or it may need to be enlarged a bit.

Good luck with your decisions...see ya in a 11 days.

Brent

[Glen&Lee]

Crawfish, on 16 May 2010 - 05:58 PM, said:

I am looking at the portable model. Here is the one I am considering. NewAir AC-10000E 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

I can get it for $322 and free shipping. The reason I am looking at a portable is we might trade up on our camper in a few years and I don't really want to invest any more money in it. This way I can use the portable a/c somewhere else instead of just the camper. What do you think? Am I wasting money or making an investment. I sure don't want to suffer like we did last summer.


Leon

Leon,

I use almost the identical unit in my server room at work for supplemental cooling. If I run the thermostat down too much the server room gets really cold. I'm sure it will cool your camper, but you better buy an ice scraper too, you'll need to scrape the ice off the inside windows to be able to see outside.

glen...

[Rollrs45]

Wolfpackers, on 17 May 2010 - 12:32 PM, said:

I doubt you'd be using over 50 ft of cord, including what runs from the unit to your connection point, so 14 ga. should be all you need, but check the price difference on 12 ga. & if not a whole lot more, you may want to use that. Don't recall where you were going to install, but am guessing in the bedroom of your fiver. Assuming you were going to have a dealer do the install, I would think they could fish wires to an inconspicuous place to connect your shore power cord to, maybe in the storage area or below it. You can always sneak a cord in/out around the slide, in the bottom corners...I've done so a few times. The unit may fit into your bedroom vent opening as is or it may need to be enlarged a bit.

Good luck with your decisions...see ya in a 11 days.

Brent

Leon, I like that unit for your rig. Our rig is new so I'm more inclined to do a permanent install.

Brent, we don't have a vent in either of the bedrooms. Any install would require cutting a hole in the roof.

See you guys soon!

Mike

[dreamtimers]

AdventureRV.net has a special on Dometic 13.5k units for 439.99, (reg $699). This includes the control unit that goes inside the tt.



linky thing


Thought someone might be interested.

Dave

[Rollrs45]

dreamtimers, on 20 May 2010 - 09:04 PM, said:

AdventureRV.net has a special on Dometic 13.5k units for 439.99, (reg $699). This includes the control unit that goes inside the tt.



linky thing


Thought someone might be interested.

Dave

Not a bad deal!

[dreamtimers]

Rollrs45, on 21 May 2010 - 07:45 PM, said:

Not a bad deal!

Who knows, might order one myself.

[Rollrs45]

Just wanted to check in and see if anyone thinking of performing this upgrade has pulled the trigger. Summer is fast approaching and I don't want to suffer like we did last year. I'm waiting on my local dealer to call me with a price quote.

I decided to drop a second 13,500 unit in the front and convert the entire camper to 50 amp. There was concern about running a separate line and whether a normal plug would allow for the amperage jump when the unit kicked on. So, I decided on the 13,500 because it is the most common manufacture AC and the price is right.

I figured the AC will run around 500, new converter 250 - 300, 50 amp cord 130ish, and whatever misc. parts and labor. Maybe I can walk away around 1500............(hopefully)!!

We'll see!

Mike