Air Conditioning FYI

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Air Conditioning FYI

Postby PapaJ » Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:35 pm

Hello All.

After moving the shell of my 10,000 BTU around the Tear Drop for a couple of weeks. I decided to take everyone's advice and buy a smaller (5,000 BTU ) unit.

I looked on E-Bay and just for the heck of it, took a run over to Brandsmart in West Palm Beach. They had several units costing between $78.00 and $118.00.

I finally stuck a crowbar in my wallet and settled on a Whirlpool 5000 for $88.00 which was the going rate for several of the units on E-Bay. Brand new in the box with no shipping charges.

I don't know if Brandsmart is a national chain, but I thought I share the information. :)
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Postby Mary K » Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:45 pm

I'v never even heard of Brandsmart, and I'm in NW FL...hum...???


Hey, good deal though. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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Postby PapaJ » Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:49 pm

I know there is another one in North Broward County, Deerfield Beach I think but if you don't have them up in the Panhandle, they are probably not a national chain.

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Postby Podunkfla » Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:54 pm

Sounds like a good deal PapaJ... and ya don't hafta wait on shipping. I just got lucky and got one really cheap on ebay ($54. w/shipping) but, I haven't seen another one that cheap. I'd have bought one locally too... but nobody had any this time a year.
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Postby amandastevenisbet » Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:03 pm

How do you plan on mounting the AC unit? I also live in south florida and it gets hot down here. I couldn't even imagine life without an AC. Especially while tring to sleep.

Me without AC -----> :x
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Re: Air Conditioning FYI

Postby Kurt (Indiana) » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:22 pm

PapaJ wrote:Hello All.

I decided to take everyone's advice and buy a smaller (5,000 BTU ) unit.

:)

Good choice.
5000 btu is more than enough. I bought a Goldstar 5050 btu for $55 last year at Home Depot and it was the best investment so far. I no longer get "hung up" on hot camping weather. I know if it gets really hot, as it sometimes does, I can always crawl in and cool off.

This will make the experience a lot more fun :thumbsup:
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Postby PapaJ » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:12 pm

amandastevenisbet wrote:How do you plan on mounting the AC unit? I also live in south florida and it gets hot down here. I couldn't even imagine life without an AC. Especially while tring to sleep.

Me without AC -----> :x


Hi Labelle:

My folks lived in Palmdale back in the 70's.

I think I've narrowed it down to the bulkhead in the galley or centered in the front. One of the reasons I went with the smaller unit is because a few weeks ago I ran it by a bunch of folks here and the general consensus was to go with a smaller unit. The other was 10,000 BTU's.

After moving the shell around for a couple of weeks and discovering some Hurricane damage once I took the shell off, I figured I's go with a small 5,000 BTU unit

I own a few acres in Okeechobee, and I can't imagine sleeping out there without an A/C. :fan: :)
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Postby WarPony » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:29 pm

I bought a Kenmore from Sears that is 5,200 BTU's and it is WAY more than we need. OMG, with the thing on full blast, you could leave raw meat on the mattress and it wouldn't rot!!
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Postby Elumia » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:47 pm

all the better for storing adult beverages!
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Postby Ira » Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:12 am

Brandsmart is big down here, and yeah, they're the cheapest around. But a pain in the ass getting out of the store, though:

They have a ridiculous line/pay system, and they're always trying to sell you an extended warranty. (I'm going there this weekend to buy my external speakers.)

But Papa, I can't believe you even CONSIDERED putting a 10,000 BTU in there. Way overkill. I went 5200 like most everyone else, but I really splurged:

$119 for an Admiral with a digital thermostat and remote control--because as everyone knows, in a TD, it's a real long walk from your bed to the AC!

And I mounted front and center for a simple reason:

With so little space in a 4 by 8, I didn't want to take up any galley space by mounting it there. Also, to me, it seemed more complicated configuring it in there and designing the galley around it. Putting it in the front was a snap, and I just open the tongue box lid to vent.

Funniest thing about buying the AC was it was like the FIRST thing I bought for my TD, after the HF trailer. My wife thought I was nuts, even though I explained that I needed the AC dimensions so I could correctly frame for it.

A year and a half later, and she STILL thinks I'm nuts.
Last edited by Ira on Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby amandastevenisbet » Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:06 am

Can anyone post a picture of their AC mount?
And yes I have waited over an hour in line at Brandsmart for an radio. Great prices, but very bad receiving lines in the warehouse. Instead I go across the street and pay $10.00 more and get out in less than 5 minutes.
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Postby Ira » Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:31 am

Mine is just stuck in the front like this, projecting out into the tongue box. It was just a matter of laying the first cross-spar on the floor, positioning the second one at the right position so it would grab the AC framing, and then adding two vertical supports on the sides.

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Postby stjohn » Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:54 am

I put mine on the tongue ,now I'm starting to think it's not such a great idea
Its good idea as far as space goes But its loud next to your head every time it cycles(pretty often) it is disturbing bong :shock: :shock: ten mins.later bong :shock: :shock: to late for me but something for the rest of you to think about :)
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Postby Ira » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:19 pm

Mike, that's the thing:

Why the heck does everyone sleep the reverse way like that?

I plan to sleep head to rear, toes to front. The overhang on mine doesn't bother me at all when I'm in that laying position, but maybe that's because I'm such a shrimp.

But is this a big issue for large guys with the same overhang? That they're hitting their heads on it?
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Postby stjohn » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:35 pm

6" 3oo plus# maybe a big boy thing :thinking:
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