Too Freakin' HOT!

[CaptSquid]

Interior temps climbed to immediately south of 100º the other day - with a lot of windows open. So I tightened the belt and headed off to Wally World to purchase a 10K BTU window AC unit. It only draws 8.2 amps, so it won't overload shore power.

The fun part? Removing a window in order to install the AC. I've cleared the caulking on the inside using a linoleum knife, but fear that there's some outside that may be holding the window in the opening.

Any suggestions to help me in removing said window?

[Arvik]

maybe get a can of dust off or freeze spray and blow it like crazy on the stubborn spots so they get crazy cold (frosty even) and it just might make the caulking brittle enough that a pair of flat bars (one on each side) will pop it loose??

[cadillackid]

I was working inside my bus yesterday.. I bought a 12K Inverter style soft-start Portable 2 Hose A/C to use while working in the bus and then also to use when im parked since i got ripped for talking about idling my bus ...

in full sun with a stock bus that unit did NOTHING.. well i wont say nothing.. it was 94 outside with a dewpoint of 68.. full sun.. non tinted windows... and it made my interior temps 90...

the unit uses dual 6 inch hoses and the air coming out of the oiutput hose was burning hot so I know it was moving heat.. makes me rethink the whole A/C thing... now when running my engine and the portable A/C of course it cooled down inside.. but at idle im estimating im pushing out about 30,000 BTU of A/C plus the 12,000 on the portable..

makes me think I need to tear out my ceiling, insulate and then install tinted windows.. though that will be a next summer thing as I want to run my bus and not have it in pieces the rest of this year..

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I was working inside my bus yesterday.. I bought a 12K Inverter style soft-start Portable 2 Hose A/C to use while working in the bus and then also to use when im parked since i got ripped for talking about idling my bus ...

in full sun with a stock bus that unit did NOTHING.. well i wont say nothing.. it was 94 outside with a dewpoint of 68.. full sun.. non tinted windows... and it made my interior temps 90...

the unit uses dual 6 inch hoses and the air coming out of the oiutput hose was burning hot so I know it was moving heat.. makes me rethink the whole A/C thing... now when running my engine and the portable A/C of course it cooled down inside.. but at idle im estimating im pushing out about 30,000 BTU of A/C plus the 12,000 on the portable..

makes me think I need to tear out my ceiling, insulate and then install tinted windows.. though that will be a next summer thing as I want to run my bus and not have it in pieces the rest of this year..

-Christopher

Yeah buses really are about a worst case scenario for insulation. At least the way they come they are.
Here in HOT and sunny FL, hardly any of us locals buy/use those portables. We tried using one for ONE room in an apartment. Totally worthless.
I guess they're more useful in places that don't get quite as hot.

[skoolie_n00bie]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Yeah buses really are about a worst case scenario for insulation. At least the way they come they are.
Here in HOT and sunny FL, hardly any of us locals buy/use those portables. We tried using one for ONE room in an apartment. Totally worthless.
I guess they're more useful in places that don't get quite as hot.

Don't call them worthless! Poor little A/C that could!

For real though, on mine, the exhaust plastic NON-INSULATED duct gets super hot...as if i'm burning a heater and an A/C unit at the same time. So my plan is to stick the portable unit with the exhaust right up against a window, on a shelf

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by skoolie_n00bie

Don't call them worthless! Poor little A/C that could!

For real though, on mine, the exhaust plastic NON-INSULATED duct gets super hot...as if i'm burning a heater and an A/C unit at the same time. So my plan is to stick the portable unit with the exhaust right up against a window, on a shelf

you NEED a 2 pipe unit or you are just bringing in more hot air and exhaisting some of your cool air...

I took and used 6 inch insulated flex duct for my exhaust tube and it didnt make much difference...

im going to have to re-think alot of my A/C strategies since I prefer warm weather and my bus will generally be travelling from cold weather toward warmth... in winter of course I'll have to deal with heat.. but theres probably a reaosn my bus stock came with 200k Plus in total Heating BTU

-Christopher

[Tango]

For what it's worth...I know a couple of local folks who tried using top of the line portable A/C's in fairly small spaces and wound up tossing them because they didn't cool worth a squat.

[CaptSquid]

Let's try this again. I HAVE ALREADY PURCHASED A 10K BTU home window unit. My problem now lies in removing a single window so that I may install said AC unit in the hole now left vacant.

HOW DO I REMOVE THE WINDOW? I'll try the cold spray, but I need more suggestions.

[somewhereinusa]

I can't say about a Thomas, a Bluebird has the windows basically held in with putty. There is one large screw on each side, the bottom sits in a channel. Steady pressure inward at the top was enough to get the putty to start releasing.

[Azuleslight]

This is why i am insulating the floor the ceiling and sidewalls. I also plan to have some insulated "curtains" ive seen a few people make.

[CaptSquid]

From what I can see, I've removed 4 clips inside and a bunch of putty between the frames. There is the possibility that I'll need to break the seal from the outside, too. I'm using a linoleum knife. I'll recover the vacant space with some 3/4 CDX once the box is inside.

Azuleslight, Í insulted the sides this last winter and the floor just prior to that. Even with a white roof, it is STILL TOO FREAKIN' HOT!

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

I can't say about a Thomas, a Bluebird has the windows basically held in with putty. There is one large screw on each side, the bottom sits in a channel. Steady pressure inward at the top was enough to get the putty to start releasing.

Ditto Amtran/IC, only with 2 screws per side

[Booyah45828]

Mine is the same way. Remove 4 screws and washers, lower the window, and pull in at the top.

[Piersg]

On y thomas the windows are held in by two clips on each side and a bunch of putty/caulking/butyl tape/etc. Some windows came out easily others took a lot of work with the putty knife. On the stubborn windows I used a thicker blade putty knife/scrapper and worked in all around the frame, and then used a lot of force to free it. The trick is to pull the window frame into the bus from the top of the frame.

[BurlKing]

our '92 thomas there were two screws on each side of the window(access them when window is rolled down, one on top which is a pain to get to unless youve got a small drill. then all thats left is to take a blade shove it in the crack between the window and bus and go around the window to cut the glue. after that just push it out, real simple and takes a minute or two.

[Jolly Roger]

2-lb Sledge hammer or a booted foot and then as you demo and rebuild for your AC opening then you will see and know exactly how the rest are fastened? Mine has 4 screws in the top half of the window frame only visible if the window is down and nothing but caulking in the bottom and all around inside and out. And all of my Thomas body windows have to be removed from the inside.
Most of my existing caulking was dried up and flaked out/away and wasn't bad to remove but if I have to change a window now with the new caulking then I will need a hammer/boot.
Good luck CAPT.

[skoolie_n00bie]

What about this for cooling? https://youtu.be/jPuh8IFbIzQ ;)

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Mark_In_MA]

Originally Posted by Tango

For what it's worth...I know a couple of local folks who tried using top of the line portable A/C's in fairly small spaces and wound up tossing them because they didn't cool worth a squat.

I've heard the exact same thing about those 2-duct units - and Massachusetts isn't exactly known to get "hot" either!

[cadillackid]

I looked at my 2 duct unit and found out exactly the reason why it fails to cool to the specifications...

1. the 2 ducts are next to each other so a lot of recirculation of the exhausted air to the intake occurs.. when i separated the pipes I saw an addtional 2 degree drop across the evaporator. (more cooling)

2. the CFM of the fan for the condenser is just 2 low... I have 2 pipes that are 6 inches and the amount of air moved is just not nearly enough over the condenser to cool .. I took an old blower I had laying around and as an experiment connected it to the exhaust pipe and turned it on... Yes indeed ot lowered the consenser air temps by 6 degrees.. which allowed the compressor to ramp to a higher speed.. and resulted in an additional 3 degree drop across the evaporator...

so with 2 simple steps i had increased the capacity of this little unit quite a bit...

my little unit is a climax inverter type so it has the ability to ramp its compressor up and down...

Next hot day my experiment will be with some pull down window sunscreening to see iftinting my windows or installing mild sunshades might help out.. it seemed like on a cloudier day the unit cooled very well... makes sense in a greenhouse on wheels that the sun would be the culprit
-Christopher

[RHOMBUS]

Squid, what Burl King said:

Look for a screw or 2 in the window tracks. #2 phillips.