Air Conditioner Location

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Postby cracker39 » Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:25 am

I bought the Haier 5000 BTU, and you're right about them being compact. Mine weighs 46 lbs. The mounting "box" is high in the rear wall.

My Lowes didn't have them in the store, and couldn't find them in their order book. One clerk even called their order service and couldn't get them. So, I did finally find it at Target, and this was the only model they had.
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a/c and drain, etc

Postby oklahomajewel » Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:15 am

I searched and found this thread -- with good info !

I am going to mount my a/c, From Lowe's 5050 btu , about $89.
The flow is pretty much straight and not tilted up -- I didn't want one that is blowing the air straight at the ceiling. This one is 41# , and about 16"Wx12 2/9"H x 14" D... (I'm doing that from memory)It seems to have a breaker in the plug with a test and reset button. Good extra protection since I've decided on the power strip method. The front return area pops open to change/clean the filter.

I took it out of the box and plugged into a power strip to just turn it on and see how much heat it puts out, how much drainage, etc.
I had it just sitting on a stool in my workshop, the 2 fan settings put out a good amount of air! Then I set the thermostat on 8 (out of 10) and on medium cool (there is L M H) and it put out some good good cold air!
I let it run for probably 45 minutes, and it didn't crap out being plugged in the power strip, did put out quite a bit of drainage.


I'm just wondering now about the heat coming off the backside and how much area to give there. I will have mine on the passenger side, and planning at least a 7" x 7" or so area cut out on the side wall with a screen and a hinged "door" that will open up like an awning and prop open. Then I can close and secure that while traveling, cooler weather etc.
I saw Rickxr2 has his on the side , and has a vent on the roof -- but I don't want that with the possibility of heavy dew or rain coming in thru there. Or having a leak there on the roof.

Any thoughts are MUCH appreciated. I realize the AC will probably not be running very much at all, but there will be heat generated just the same with the fan running , right?

Julie :sweaty: in Oklahoma this week, getting up to 100* already!!!
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Postby bdosborn » Sun Jun 11, 2006 1:22 pm

Arne wrote:I've been thinking about the hose hookup... does the cold air come in the top and go out the bottom, or the other way around?

Arne,

I've tried mine both ways and it makes little difference to the average cabin temperature since the supply and return are so close on mine. I settled on the supply being lower just because it blows cool air across us when we first get inside. At night the air settles down over the top of us when we sleep since we're lower than the supply opening. If I had been smart enough to design the a/c into the trailer :x I'd put the supply higher than the return so the cool air would settle over us at night. But really, the cabin is so small that I don't think it makes a lot of difference which way you have it. I think the final location of mine will be supply and return through the floor, in each corner at the bottom of the bed.
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Postby john » Sun Jun 11, 2006 2:07 pm

Do you have a roof vent? if so you can open it a little to allow the warmer air above you to escape (kind of like a drain in the tub) then the cool dry air will replace it being the only source of new air.

I had a similar problem with a pocket of warm air above and solved it with two vents (one on each wall) near the roof. My A/C sits on the floor in the galley area.
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Re: a/c and drain, etc

Postby bdosborn » Sun Jun 11, 2006 4:48 pm

oklahomajewel wrote: I will have mine on the passenger side, and planning at least a 7" x 7" or so area cut out on the side wall with a screen and a hinged "door" that will open up like an awning and prop open. Then I can close and secure that while traveling, cooler weather etc.

Julie,

I think you need to be able to pull air in through the side and out the back of the A/C to vent the hot condensor air. You might check on yours and see how the air is pulled through. It will probably overheat if you just vent the back.
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Postby ARKPAT » Sun Jun 11, 2006 5:26 pm

Julie

You need to have as much clearance for the exhaust air from the condenser to rid the air conditioner of the heat it has extracted from the trailer. Key is if it has vents on the sides they need to be able to pull air thru them to blow out the outside ( back of the unit ). You can get a small hose to drain the condensate from the A/C that drips from the unit. As for the amount of space behind the unit check the paper work with the unit about spacing. I would say the same size as the A/C it self at the rear if you cannot find the information. Others may have a different set of criteria that they use. Just what I think.

P.S I'm started this weekend. Floor and walls. I know Pics ; i will have to borrow a better camera. My friends think
I'm nuts not to get a pop-up camper. Little do they know.
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Postby RAYVILLIAN » Sun Jun 11, 2006 7:47 pm

Ours is as simple as I could make it. The AC rides in the truck till we get there and than sits on the tounge with a vent that goes in the window in the front of the Warrior. I looked at a lot of small AC and with most of them the air goes in the front and is blown up then does a 90 degree turn to come out the front. Since I'm useing a $30 garage sale AC I just took the cover off and made a vent that goes out the top and eliminated two 90 degree curves. Air now blowes in the window across the ceiling and back down in the back of the trailer and works great. The only problem is that with out return air it doesn't cut down the humidity as much. But it cools the trailer down to 70 on a 90 degree day in about 1/2 hour.

Julie some where is a thread about Mikes Little Dinner. He had to cut a larger hole in his side wall because the AC was over heating due to not enough air flow trough the back of the unit. Maybe some one could find it for you. Here's the thread
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... unning+hot
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Postby oklahomajewel » Tue Jun 13, 2006 7:34 pm

Bruce, and Pat.... thanks, but I have come up with another idea, and believe it will work. Thanks to Rayvillian.

I posted it on another thread, but essentially I plan on now having a duct booster fan to help pull the air from the back and out, and a separation between that and where the intake is.

The vent on the side by the intake will be more like 10" I guess.

Julie
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Postby oklahomajewel » Tue Jun 13, 2006 7:36 pm

Pat Hopkins wrote:Julie

P.S I'm started this weekend. Floor and walls. I know Pics ; i will have to borrow a better camera. My friends think
I'm nuts not to get a pop-up camper. Little do they know.
WOOHOO.



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:D


YEAH PAT !!! Git er dun!!! I know what you mean by people thinking your crazy for not just getting a small rv or pop up. I have to KEEP reminding them that I am happy with my paid off Honda Accord, and I don't have $14K for a pop up and it's just me really anyway.
But I'm not trying to please them, and they are usually people that either have no camper or rv or any desire to campout, or they have a big rig and never go anywhere!! haha
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Postby Larwyn » Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:43 pm

I mounted my ac unit centered in the rear of the trailer. Built a box around the sides and top for intake air up through holes in the floor. Added another small box on top of that one for fresh air intake for the ceiling mounted vent fan when ac is not needed. Yet another box to direct the hot exhaust air out the back of the trailer. With all these boxes around the unit, it aint so small anymore. Oh yes, and there is that other small box inside the blanket chest to cover the controls which I relocated there. But I had already maximized cabin space (minimizing galley space) from the begining. Now with ac center back, shore power left rear, and battery etc. right rear, it is more utility room than galley. But there is lots of counter space above all that, so it did not come out so bad after all. Just hope all my "engineering" on that ac installation works out as well as I intended........... :D
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Postby asianflava » Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:57 pm

Even though my unit is centered and up near the top, the curb side gets a lot more air than the street side. I think it's because of the direction the squirrel cage fan is turning.
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Postby ARKPAT » Wed Jun 14, 2006 12:19 am

:thumbsup:
Julie good advise from Ray about the duct fan for venting.
8)
You will be cool in the summer camping season comming up. You are making good progress looking at the pictures in the album you have posted. :applause:
This weekend is marked for more work on the trailer. I'm looking forward to more progress and can not wait to start camping in it.
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