2016 with dual 15k a/c units

[Vasquez]

Hello, I am new to forums. We purchased a 2016 Big Horn 3010RE with the additional 15k a/c unit. I can not figure out how it really works.

Plus we were in 80 deg. and they seemed to have issues cooling. Any advice would be helpful. The dealership didn't seem to know how they worked, and the manuals are not helpful.

I tried several ways. main a/c on, and bedroom on. but they really seemed to struggle, which i would not expect at 80 outside, and set at 72 inside, we travel to hotter climates (100+) than that and now are worried on if the a/c can handle it. We have animals to worry about.

Also what recommendations do you have in hotter climates and only 30amp services are available? I tried only running 1 a/c and the fan, in the front but it got really hot in the front.

Thank you for any insight!

 

[danemayer]

Hi Vasquez,

Congratulations on the new Bighorn and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

I think you may have the Whisper Quiet air conditioners, where both living room and bedroom units are ducted and the ducts are common to both units. You can test this by turning on one unit and checking for air flow in the other part of the coach.

Whisper Quiet ducts push air out the vents on one side of the coach, and use the other side for the air return. From the units I've seen, the output side is on the off-door-side and the returns are on the door-side.

The filters should be on the returns.

I have heard of a Big Country where this was reversed, but the filters were still on the door-side. So the airflow to cool the coach was being restricted by the filters. The owner moved them to the return vents. I've also heard of another unit where the air flow through the ducts may have been reversed - not sure yet.

So check 1) which vents have airflow out when running each unit. They should all be on the same side of the coach, and 2) that the return vents have the filters.

Let us know what you find.

You should be able to run both units at the same time for maximum cooling. After you get the coach to a comfortable temperature, you may want to adjust the thermostat set points so that the unit further away from you does most of the work to maintain the temperature. So when watching TV, use a lower set point on the bedroom unit so it does most of the work. Adjust the living room unit to a higher set point so it doesn't come on as often. When going to bed, reverse the settings on the thermostat so your bedroom is cool AND quiet.

 

[MTPockets]

We have the same size Rig but one 15k and one 13.5k A/C's. We've been in lot's of 100 plus days and the A/C does fine. I'm sure someone here can give you good advice, but seems like something is amiss. As far as 30amp power, you can only run one A/C at a time as you must have 50 amp to run both.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

You must have 2 controllers 1 in the main living space and 1 in the bedroom. what do you have them set on ?

 

[Vasquez]

Hi Vasquez,

Congratulations on the new Bighorn and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

I think you may have the Whisper Quiet air conditioners, where both living room and bedroom units are ducted and the ducts are common to both units. You can test this by turning on one unit and checking for air flow in the other part of the coach.

Whisper Quiet ducts push air out the vents on one side of the coach, and use the other side for the air return. From the units I've seen, the output side is on the off-door-side and the returns are on the door-side.

The filters should be on the returns.

I have heard of a Big Country where this was reversed, but the filters were still on the door-side. So the airflow to cool the coach was being restricted by the filters. The owner moved them to the return vents. I've also heard of another unit where the air flow through the ducts may have been reversed - not sure yet.

So check 1) which vents have airflow out when running each unit. They should all be on the same side of the coach, and 2) that the return vents have the filters.

Let us know what you find.

You should be able to run both units at the same time for maximum cooling. After you get the coach to a comfortable temperature, you may want to adjust the thermostat set points so that the unit further away from you does most of the work to maintain the temperature. So when watching TV, use a lower set point on the bedroom unit so it does most of the work. Adjust the living room unit to a higher set point so it doesn't come on as often. When going to bed, reverse the settings on the thermostat so your bedroom is cool AND quiet.

Thank you for the input. I will look at it again asap, and let you know!

 

[Vasquez]

We do have two controllers, which has been a bit confusing. if you have them on Auto, one may run heat and one may run air. In the warmer areas we ran the bedroom cooler (70) than the main area (72). It just seems off, and the Bedroom one is way loud, compared to the other.

 

[danemayer]

We do have two controllers, which has been a bit confusing. if you have them on Auto, one may run heat and one may run air. In the warmer areas we ran the bedroom cooler (70) than the main area (72). It just seems off, and the Bedroom one is way loud, compared to the other.

The Dometic thermostats have to be set to COOL mode to run the Air Conditioning. The AUTO mode is a fan setting, that controls the air conditioner's fan speed.

The air conditioner fan will also fun along with the furnace if you have your thermostat (the one that runs the furnace) set to HEAT and the fan mode set to HIGH or LOW. That can be confusing as the air condition seems to be running, but it's really only the fan, not the compressor.

So make sure both thermostats are set to COOL and set the fan mode to AUTO on both.

 

[leaddog]

New to forums and in the market for a Bighorn with the dual 15K a/c units. How do you operate the cooling system there is only 30 amp service available? Specifically are you able to have one unit doing the cooling and run fan only on the other unit?

 

[jimtoo]

Hi leaddog,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

You will be able to run only one a/c on 30amp and should be able to run the fan on the other one. Don't think it would do much good to run just the fan on the unit, would do more good I think (what we do) is to run just a regular small box fan or similar.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M