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Old 07-07-2018, 09:17 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Portable a/c vent question

I have a 6 window shuttle bus.

I bought a portable A/C unit that has a single vent (after my a/c heater combo took a crap)

My plan was to vent it trough one of the tiny sliding windows above the 3’x3’ windows but it’s not ideal.

What are your thoughts about drilling a whole through the fiber glass shell below the windows and make it more of a straight shot outside with the nasty hot air?

Sort of like a large (5 in I think) dryer vent with the flapper things

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Old 07-07-2018, 10:41 AM   #2
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As long as you place the hole in a location that doesn't require cutting structural members.

I would suggest trying it out with a temporary vent out the window before cutting a hole. I have used a couple of the single hose portable a/c units and was disappointed in their performance.
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Old 07-07-2018, 11:37 AM   #3
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Make sure you have a positive flow drain line on it to outside, these things make an unGodly amount of condensation. That's probably 3 gallons in that tub in just a couple hours.
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Old 07-07-2018, 11:45 AM   #4
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One of the units I tried did not have a condensate drain. It sprayed the condensate on the condenser and exhausted it out the vent.

The other one had a drain. At one point I had the drain line kink and restrict the drain. I was amazed at how much water covered my floor in a matter of hours.

Lesson learned. Like o1marc said, pay attention to the drain line...
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Old 07-07-2018, 11:49 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW_Steve View Post
One of the units I tried did not have a condensate drain. It sprayed the condensate on the condenser and exhausted it out the vent.

The other one had a drain. At one point I had the drain line kink and restrict the drain. I was amazed at how much water covered my floor in a matter of hours.

Lesson learned. Like o1marc said, pay attention to the drain line...
Fortunately on my unit it has a safety feature to prevent that. If the hose kinks water backs up in the system and it automatically shuts down. Now if you happen to not pay attention to the level in you tube, yes, you end up with a massive wet spot on the floor. My issue is the cats love the fresh water and sometimes tip the tub over trying to get at it.
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Old 07-07-2018, 12:55 PM   #6
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2 hose is the only way to go.. otherwise you asre sucking ytou freshly air conditioned air right back out of the bus and introducing humidity right back in... I have a 2 hose inverter drivern unit with no condensate drain and im not the most impressed even with that high end unit.. it will cool a bus sitting in the shade.. or a nicely insulkated one while its parked.. wont even touch the heat for driving... I would only do something that is not permanent as you'll likely find a better source of A/C at some point.. or winter will come and you'll want that bus all sealed up and not another open to have to cover.. id try and make a piece to fit in the sliding window that way you can take it out easy.. for mine I made a piece so it fits in the a school bus window.. ..comes out when im done with the unit for the day or week or season

-Christopher
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Old 07-07-2018, 01:15 PM   #7
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... wont even touch the heat for driving...
Well, that's bad news. I bought a one-hose model (all I could find) which we plan to use for the front quarter of our rig while driving. The back 3/4 will be cargo.

So what do you recommend? Point it at my dear wife and be happy with the fan for myself?
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Old 07-07-2018, 01:32 PM   #8
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Yikes! very good info! How did you re-do the drain line to avoid problems? Use clamps to keep it in place?
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Old 07-07-2018, 03:11 PM   #9
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I pulled out this window A/C unit that I picked up from my parents when they passed this year. I put it on a Homer bucket on the front porch and turned it on to see if it still worked, it does. I went and took it down to the bus and found it to be about an1/8" too tall, so I had to cut a bit off the top lip of the window and it slid in tight. I'll secure it better later. Just as I took it downstairs it started to pour rain for about 7-8 minutes. When I went back upstair I was amazed to see that 7-8 minute storm completely filled a 5 gallon bucket. You can definitely tell the windows are tinted when they are overlapped.
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Old 07-07-2018, 06:01 PM   #10
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After an hour the inside temp dropped 7°, I can live with that.
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Old 07-08-2018, 07:59 PM   #11
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I made a plywood insert for our window

It’s masked off for painting but you get the idea IMG_1694.PNG
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Old 07-18-2018, 09:08 AM   #12
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It’s been a while....but I decided to go this route.

I bought a plastic cutting board from Big Lits for $8 and cut it to fit the sliding window opening. Cut a hole for the hose to go through and POOF!!! It works.

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Old 07-18-2018, 09:10 AM   #13
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Can’t post the picture for some reason. Ugh
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Old 07-21-2018, 06:02 PM   #14
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bus window A/C

Quote:
Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
...about an1/8" too tall, so I had to cut a bit off the top lip of the window and it slid in tight...
I have the same EFFECTIVE unit. It fit after i removed the rubber bumpers that stops the upper window pane.
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Old 07-21-2018, 09:37 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 25074 View Post
I have a 6 window shuttle bus.

I bought a portable A/C unit that has a single vent (after my a/c heater combo took a crap)

My plan was to vent it trough one of the tiny sliding windows above the 3’x3’ windows but it’s not ideal.

What are your thoughts about drilling a whole through the fiber glass shell below the windows and make it more of a straight shot outside with the nasty hot air?

Sort of like a large (5 in I think) dryer vent with the flapper things
I”lol tell you how I did mine. I looked and could not find a 5 inch dryer vent....so I bought two of the 4 inch vents spaced then a inch apart and built a box ( manifold) on the inside of the wall to hook the 5 inch hose to. It workes great.
Mine puts the condensate on the hot side and never have had to deal with it.
( mine make condensate in heat pump mode though)

To make mine more eficeient I installed 2 more 4 inch vents about 6 feet down the wall from the others. They lepmty into some ductwork under a cabinet though a wall and points to the hot coils on my AC unit. (With the hot air coming out some has to get back in some way)
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