Our Farold's Conversion

[travelinwithus]

Any thoughts on an A/C unit Lorna?

[inkblots84]

http://www.olliesbargainoutlet.com/

Originally Posted by Part-time

I have been considering one of the portable air conditioners... I like that most of them can be used as a dehumidifier as well.
An 8,000 btu should be good for a full size skoolie. 250 sq ft. I'm just not sure of the power requierments.
They are a little bit on the pricey side compared to the window mounts, but then, I could get away with one 4" hole in the side somewhere to exhaust the heat and a little drain pipe through the floor and that's about it.
That would make for a clean intalation.
This 8,000 btu is about $400 at walmart.

I saw a 14000 btu portable Sylvania AC unit at an Ollies bargain outlet in Raleigh Nc for $329.99 and a 12000 btu for $299 a few days ago!
http://www.olliesbargainoutlet.com/

[Accordion]

I have had one of those portable air conditioners. I was not impressed with it. Also you have to make a four inch hole in the wall.

Roof ACs are just OK. They use a lot of electricity for the amount of cooling they provide.

Many people have mounted window ACs (inexpensive) in their back windows. You could mount two 5000 BTU ACs in each of your back windows. You could use one or two at a time.

Check out Tygercub's thread.

[bansil]

Our last trip we used the ac I put in window 5000btu,our bedroom is 12x8x6 roughly and that keep it a meat locker ,covering windows with curtains helped tons in front of bus.
With passenger windows,covered (afternoon sun) I had door open to bedroom and a boxfan at door it cooled the whole bus down to comfy temps with 5 people sitting around
I do have 1 more of those and a 6500 to install this summer
At the house I have LaTortuga plugged into a 20 amp circuit(with house freezer and a large fridge)also

I can run small ac on high,fridge,a couple lights(flouresant) and my circular saw and drill w/o any problems

I have 2 5000btu units $99 each
1 6500btu unit ebay fluke shipped to my door $65

So for less than 1 roof top I have lots cool-niss

Make sure you have 10/15 feet straight in front of ac so it doesn't recirculate the air and short cycle(very important)

Wow that was long

[Tango]

Gotta Agree with Bansil --- "RV A/C's" are way overpriced and under performing. Not to mention the crappy fiberglass covers that are always cracking and coming apart. I went with a little 8,000 BTU unit from WallyWorld. About a hundred-fifty bucks on sale and puts out way more cold air than any 13,500 RV unit I've ever owned. Cheap and easy to replace if necessary. And the way I set mine up there is no possibility of it ever getting snagged on a tree limb or causing leaks.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by travelinwithus

Any thoughts on an A/C unit Lorna?

Yes but last time I mentioned it I has taken to task for mentioning it. As for the cooling part of our hydronic system... We haven't gotten to that yet ($$$ or lack there of). So I will stay off that topic because our system is a big experiment. The only thing I will say is that we don't like RV airs and dislike anything on the roof.

Topic: Window A/C Units: Other install methods

[travelinwithus]

We took the day yesterday and went out rummaging. We found this 12,000 BTU A/C unit at a garage sale and I picked it up for $75. The unit looks brand new and I purchased it from an older couple that had Central Air installed in their house.



Now I am looking at installing it in Farold. I don't really want to pull out one of the windows in the back to put it in so I am thinking of mounting it above the rear door where we have TravelinWithUs.com painted. I did some measuring and it appears it will fit in there nicely and I don't think it would be too difficult to cut out the hole for it to slide into. Does anyone else have an A/C unit up there? What are your thoughts on the location?

[travelinwithus]

My layout is the same. I thought about putting it in the same location but in the front but thought that would look kind of ugly. I am wondering if a simple fan would circulate the air enough to transfer the cool air to the front.

[Accordion]

A good score on that window AC. I think that if you can fit it up there, it would be a good location.

A member (diesel Dan) made some ductwork for his AC. He made it out of wood. The duct could get the cold air to the middle or the front of the bus.

If I were to make a duct, I would glue Formica to the insides.

The problem is that you lose headroom.

I would mount an AC in that place, however, there is no room for one in that place on my bus.

Your best bet would be to use high velocity fans to move the air around.

I have an AC that size. It works great. I mount it in one of my side windows. But, I do not drive my bus much. I take it out for the winter, and of course, for driving.

I have a high velocity fan that does well. In the winter, I use it to circulate the heat. In the summer, I use it to circulate the AC.

This fan really puts out a powerful wind. It also oscillates if you want. I have been using it for over four years. You can feel the fan from the front of the bus to the rear. This particular one may be the srongest one that Lasko makes. They are still available, and they are around $50.




It is model 4924.

Go to the Lasko site for prices.

[bansil]

the reason I didn't mount mine up high was the "head ache"
I mocked up the inside and outside protrusions with card board boxes( roughly 1/3 inside 2/3 outsides)
we use our back door a lot!
And it was a headknocker for sure, that is the only reason why I dropped it down 2 feet into the backdoor window area

I could not bend correctly to not hit my head on the stupid mockup

good luck

[bansil]

Originally Posted by travelinwithus

My layout is the same. I thought about putting it in the same location but in the front but thought that would look kind of ugly. I am wondering if a simple fan would circulate the air enough to transfer the cool air to the front.

I was able to use a box fan on the floor, at the bedroom door to "push" air into front of bus, It worked surprisingly well, altho I had a "room" to condition the air before excess air was moved out thru door way

as long as ac doesn't suck in the cold air and freeze up, it will work full time

And some curtains on the sun side will help alot

[travelinwithus]

After a couple hours of work the A/C unit is installed





I also ran a new circuit for the A/C. Everything is working great and I can feel the cool air blow about half way up the bus. It was only in the high 60's or low 70's today so I couldn't really test how well it cools because it was already cool and the compressor didn't run but 1/4 of the time.

I sure am glad I installed it today rather than when it was 80+ because I was sweating my butt off as it was, lol.

I think it is going to work out well where it is. I will be sure to post an update the first chance I get to test it out.

[Accordion]

Great looking install. Now all you need is a strong fan. But, of course, we are all your fans.

[Diesel Dan]

I think that is the perfect place to mount that type of AC. It's a low-cost solution that may not cool quite as well or evenly as a top-mounted and centrally located RV unit, but costs a whole lot less to buy and replace if needed. I think if I were going that route, I would do the exact same thing you did.

[bansil]

Great install,

[gbstewart]

Looks good, that's where I have my rear a\c its a 5000 btu, works great for the back part of the bus, up font I have a portable 9000btu with 4 inch hole for exhaust. work fine, the newer ones are a bit smaller then the one I have, but this one is ok and I can run it off my generator when driving to keep the front cool.
gbstewart

[keith]

i want to but an A/C in the back too but i can't fine a wattage chart too see how much it putting. the only thing i run on my 4000 watts genset is a mid icebox when on the road... so if anybody has a watts cart pass on thanks

[GreyEagle]

Keith......... Is your generator set a 4000 KW? If so it will pull your AC.
That's what I have on my motorhome and I can run the AC plus a few small items too...

[Accordion]

My 4000 watt Onan generator would run my 13000 BTU roof air that was on my Dodge class C.

[travelinwithus]

Originally Posted by keith

i want to but an A/C in the back too but i can't fine a wattage chart too see how much it putting. the only thing i run on my 4000 watts genset is a mid icebox when on the road... so if anybody has a watts cart pass on thanks

I plugged my Killowat (measures watts and amps of appliances) and with battery charger and A/C running it was pulling about 1000 watts, 350 watts when the compressor wasn't running.