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Old 06-15-2015, 09:32 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Kubla View Post
just for your information, my 35 foot bluebird wanderlodge left the factory with 3 20,000 btu AC units, not sure how much insulation it has but more than a school bus, the walls are twice as thick

I was thinking a 24K BTU unit and 2 inside wall units for my 28 foot bus, not sure if it would be enough though
Big RV's often come with 2 or 3 13.5-15k units and they do ok.
I think my bus with a 12k split and a backup 5k in the rear will do fine. Can always add more, though.

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Old 06-16-2015, 09:23 AM   #22
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The homework I did on "portables" found nothing but disappointment with users. Output was not remotely comparable to similarly sized units of any other type.

The mini-splits are great, but only if you score the right brand/model. A few are fantastic, most are trash. There again, the more real world info you can gather, the better.
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Old 06-16-2015, 09:35 AM   #23
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What "portables"?
The little swamp cooler things are useless here.
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Old 06-16-2015, 11:11 AM   #24
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Well, I guess we'll find out. I just ordered two 12000 with 15 SEER rating. Toshiba compressors
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Old 06-16-2015, 11:13 AM   #25
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NICE!

Looking forward to seeing how this goes.
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Old 06-16-2015, 03:21 PM   #26
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Well, I guess we'll find out. I just ordered two 12000 with 15 SEER rating. Toshiba compressors
I've been looking at a couple of these units on ebay. I talked to my AC guy yesterday while he was here, and he had nothing but good things to say about them.

I can't wait to see how yours work.
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Old 06-18-2015, 06:30 AM   #27
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Well, I guess we'll find out. I just ordered two 12000 with 15 SEER rating. Toshiba compressors
I can't wait to this as well, I like the ideal of the split a/c, keep us posted with pictures.
tks
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Old 06-18-2015, 08:57 AM   #28
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I have a mini split Ac in our bus it's a 24000 btu with heat. It works perfect my problem is that it physically to big and interferes with my design , so I'm building my own
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Old 06-18-2015, 10:32 AM   #29
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I have a mini split Ac in our bus it's a 24000 btu with heat. It works perfect my problem is that it physically to big and interferes with my design , so I'm building my own
So you are running 240 VAC off grid? Or are you running one of the super expensive 48VDC models? Didn't know they made one anywhere near that big.
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Old 06-18-2015, 01:00 PM   #30
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We have a 10,000 BTU window AC in the rear of the bus. Stock insulation, reflectix window covers, and a wall behind the driver's seat. The wall is peg board and has two open 19x19 window holes in it. 32 ft bus. Still yellow. The window unit by itself currently cools the bus to 85 in 100 degree heat in the sun. I expect once we put the other two walls in and paint the roof white we'll have much better results. Down to 75 degrees is reasonable for us. We'll only really care about cooling the back two rooms, but if we needed the whole bus cold I think a small window AC mounted in the front would do it. Your bus is considerably larger, though.

Do these split units draw a lot more power than window units? For the price difference I can't see spending the extra money.
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Old 06-18-2015, 01:51 PM   #31
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Do these split units draw a lot more power than window units? For the price difference I can't see spending the extra money.
It's kinda complicated. The new inverter mini splits take standard 120VAC, convert it to 38VDC then convert it back to AC. They then control the cycles of the AC to control the compressor. Basically once they start they stay running, no hard compressor starts. Since they don't shut down, just slow down you don't get the cold,shut down,hot,start up cycle. Everything I've read say they use less energy. They are also much quieter than the roof shaker RV style or the wall shaker window style.
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Old 06-18-2015, 02:23 PM   #32
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They use about half what a roof unit does.
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Old 06-18-2015, 11:24 PM   #33
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I just did mini splits in my office. I have a 30 x 30 school building split into an office, a conference room, a classroom and another office. IT was big money and they do work but are really quirky. The big thing is the fans are very very very low power. If you try a mini split think about a fan or two to move air around.
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Old 06-19-2015, 05:11 AM   #34
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We had splits in our CHUs (Containerized Housing Units), battalion HQ, and pretty much everywhere in Iraq, and they'd turn the CHUs into an icebox; I don't remember what the BTUs were, but I think most of the compressors were Mitsubishi. Which wasn't bad, unless your remote was lost and KBR didn't have them and wouldn't replace it ("Go borrow the remote from someone with the same unit," they said).

A CHU, just for comparison, is a 20x8x8 shipping container styled as quarters, so a 40' bus should be no problem for them
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Old 07-05-2015, 07:38 AM   #35
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Hey somewhere long time since I've been on here. I found links for the Mitsubishi system where you can hook up a their ducted system instead of the wall mount. I was thinking of using that system if I ever get the money.
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Old 07-05-2015, 11:30 AM   #36
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The two big issues I ran into while researching:

1. Fitting the outdoor units on the bus. Most are a little tall to put under the skirt and too wide to put on the back without blocking the emergency exit.
2. Dealing with vibration. Lots of the cheaper ones seem to crack copper lines when put in trailers, a bus would be worse I think.

They are still the best path IMO to get a.c. and heat from a small genny or inverter.
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Old 07-05-2015, 07:07 PM   #37
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I would have gone with a Mitsubishi except for the unit's proportions and size. No way I could hang it anywhere on a shorty.

And the point about vibration is an important one when it comes to mounting ANY kind of household appliance. The must be isolated from vibration as much as possible. They were never engineered to go on a paint shaker and survive.
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Old 07-05-2015, 09:48 PM   #38
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Spoke too soon the mini split died the Chinese junk will cost more to fix than I paid for it because the compressor is out. The factory warranty wouldn't cover it because they said being mounted on a mobile application is what caused the failure. They clam that the compressor oil was " splashing" inside the compressor from the movement of the bus and cause the compressor to run dry of oil and therefore die. I say hog wash its a cheap Chinese junk. I have been mounting house units in buses for over 20 yrs. and have never had an issue. So I bought a 2 1/2 ton goodman Ac american made and the compressor is made in their factory and comes with a ten yr warranty . So I made a palinium for it and will have in finished in a couple days .
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Old 07-05-2015, 09:54 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rvingoffgrid View Post
Spoke too soon the mini split died the Chinese junk will cost more to fix than I paid for it because the compressor is out. The factory warranty wouldn't cover it because they said being mounted on a mobile application is what caused the failure. They clam that the compressor oil was " splashing" inside the compressor from the movement of the bus and cause the compressor to run dry of oil and therefore die. I say hog wash its a cheap Chinese junk. I have been mounting house units in buses for over 20 yrs. and have never had an issue. So I bought a 2 1/2 ton goodman Ac american made and the compressor is made in their factory and comes with a ten yr warranty . So I made a palinium for it and will have in finished in a couple days .
at what point did they need to know that it was mounted on a bus/mobile?

either way, good info!
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Old 07-05-2015, 09:58 PM   #40
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I have heard of the LG split units being installed in boats with good result.
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