Installing Second Air Conditioner
- Thread starter Lynn1130
- Start date
Tombstonejim
Well-known member
I just had it done last week. You need a thermostat, and the plastic trim around the inside of the unit. the trim will vary depending on weather you have it ducted or not. Mine is a 13500. It made a tremendous difference. Darn things are still too loud though.
My 2nd AC is scheduled to be installed next week. 13.5K is what is installed if you already have a 15K unit and all the wiring is in the ceiling if you have the AC prep and second breaker. You just need to choose standard or low profile and of course brand. I went with a standard because of all the complaints about how load the low profile Penguin IIs are. I'll just have to be more careful on low clearances.
I installed one on my last rig. 13.5k btu. I installed one with the thermostat built into the unit. No external thermostat.
One difficult procedure could be getting the unit up on the roof.
The second will be removing the existing vent, if there is one, and associated sealant.
Over all, a pretty easy job.
Peace
Dave
One difficult procedure could be getting the unit up on the roof.
The second will be removing the existing vent, if there is one, and associated sealant.
Over all, a pretty easy job.
Peace
Dave
Lynn1130
Well-known member
The unit that I am looking at is a Dometic 457915.XX1c0 13.5 Brisk Air. I have found a good price on-line and it has the ceiling assembly with recessed dial controls and one piece rotating air deflection louvers. I am beyond the stage of doing these big jobs myself. I have found that paying someone who knows what they are doing saves time and extra expense for job screw ups on my part. Smaller jobs are not a problem, these type things can be, and as my son-in-law once said "become major clusters".
I would suggest you pull the vent apart first. I did not and ordered an unducted unit then found when we pulled the vent down that it was set up to allow the front (2nd) aircon to feed into the ducts also but I didn't have the kit to do so. If your front vent is set up to feed into the ducts then you should do so as it allows you to use the front aircon to vent the entire coach when you are in a 30A campground and you get sick of listening to the main aircon.
With regard to installing, the biggest difficulty is getting the unit onto the roof. I planned to use a low hanging branch and a pulley system but then saw sense and got a local RV tech involved. He had a manual forklift which made it much safer. Also we found when we got it up there that the bolts supplied with the unit were not long enough because the roof on our unit (Big Country) was extra thick. Fortunately the RV tech had some long bolts in his kit.
When you remove the existing vent you are also going to have to get rid of all the sealing gunk around it which is largely a matter of elbow grease.
With regard to installing, the biggest difficulty is getting the unit onto the roof. I planned to use a low hanging branch and a pulley system but then saw sense and got a local RV tech involved. He had a manual forklift which made it much safer. Also we found when we got it up there that the bolts supplied with the unit were not long enough because the roof on our unit (Big Country) was extra thick. Fortunately the RV tech had some long bolts in his kit.
When you remove the existing vent you are also going to have to get rid of all the sealing gunk around it which is largely a matter of elbow grease.
Lynn1130
Well-known member
I called Heartland to clear up some questions and found out that there is no ducting and no connection to the installed thermostat. It is necessary to have and use the directional ducting and controls on the air conditioner. I need the low profile unit as the standard unit will add 3-5 inches to the current height. Don't need that issue every time I try to clear some low hanging object. Otherwise it is a drop in, hook it up and turn it on.
I understand not all A/C units are created equal. Who makes the quietest unit? I have heard good things about the Atwood. My Dometic in the living room is rather loud. I hear the Penguins are also very loud but it looks like Penguin's a Dometic brand so are all Dometic loud? Is the Brisk-Air any quieter? What about the Coleman. Who makes a quite, dependable a/c unit for the bedroom. A heat strip or heat-pump might also be a great option while I'm at it. There are you tube videos showing the installation. It is pretty straight forward. How To Install an RV Air Conditioner by RV Education 101®
Sandpirate69
Well-known member
I personaly like the coleman manufacturer. I have great experience with coleman and my 2nd a/c unit in the bedroom is a coleman. I'm also thinking about getting rid of the dometic in the main section of the rig and replacing it with a coleman. I also have a friend that blocked the duct going to the bathroom and bedroom from the main a/c. He then ducted the bedroom a/c to feed the bedroom and bathroom. I think he has a thermostat in the bedroom. I would love to do that to mine. But yes the coleman is a bit loud. I usually run it in the day time to help keep the rig cool, then at night i shut off.
Lynn1130
Well-known member
I guess I am going to have to find a Cyclone that has one installed. My RV service manager has some questions about how the unit and the inside control panel would work and look considering the contour of the roof and ceiling at the vent/install location. I know that there are probably many out there with the penguin already installed but I want to be sure before I take the step. If someone already has this install and would not mind sending photos or posting photos I would greatly appreciate it.
Did you find one to look at? I am in the same boat and wondering how others dealt with the contour of the ceiling.
Lynn1130
Well-known member
I did, or at least a photo of one and it seems that there is no issue getting them on there and the fit is fine.
After all of that research I decided that rather than spend a grand or more for air conditioning I would put a Fan-Tastic Vent 6600R with remote in that space. We do not do hot weather that much and will get more use out of that for much less money. Plus it weighs less.
After all of that research I decided that rather than spend a grand or more for air conditioning I would put a Fan-Tastic Vent 6600R with remote in that space. We do not do hot weather that much and will get more use out of that for much less money. Plus it weighs less.
dalspot
Well-known member
We debated the second AC too on our Sundance. Haven't done it. Due to the cost, noise and the fact that it would just dump down into the bedroom. We did replace the factory fan with the Fantastic Fan, which we've seldom used. What we found really helps to circulate the air is a tower fan placed in the doorway of the bedroom to move some of the cooler living area air in.
Karen
Karen
Jimsryker
Well-known member
I had the dealer install a Dometic Brisk II prior to pickup. $650 installed. No thermostat. Just controls on the unit itself. It will heat and cool. We have not used it yet but I plan to run my Honda EU3000si at the back of the rig to power this "quieter, more energy efficient" A/C unit. I hind sight, I wonder how much use this A/C will see. It's nice to know we can use it however if need be. We do some desert camping on occasion.
Grey Ghost
Well-known member
Hi, we also live here in the heat and was also thinking of putting another unit in the bedroom. We have a Heartland Greystone 29mk and enjoy the 5ver, but it does get HOT here and the one unit just doesn't get it or keep it cool if up at the Lake. (Pleasant) Have you put the additional unit in yet? If so who did you have do it and what brand did you get?
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