One, (1) Uno, AC vent in bedroom?

[GoingMobile]

Thank you Dan and James!

I Finally talked to a regional rep and he insists that the engineers are stating that the design of the unit is to have only one AC vent in the bedroom. I took Dan's advice and asked if they had any other suggestions to improve the AC flow into the bedroom and he suggested buying some louvered vents and replacing some the the vents with them to redirect the airflow. There doesn't seem to be much consistency with HL as I have seen several others posting on the forum that HL has approved this request. It looks like I will have to take care of this myself at my own cost.

 

[danemayer]

Thank you Dan and James!

I Finally talked to a regional rep and he insists that the engineers are stating that the design of the unit is to have only one AC vent in the bedroom. I took Dan's advice and asked if they had any other suggestions to improve the AC flow into the bedroom and he suggested buying some louvered vents and replacing some the the vents with them to redirect the airflow. There doesn't seem to be much consistency with HL as I have seen several others posting on the forum that HL has approved this request. It looks like I will have to take care of this myself at my own cost.

Greg,

With 2 air conditioners, it should be very easy to turn the bedroom in most units into an icebox. The cubic footage of a bedroom is usually about 1/3 of the cubic footage of a living area. If you can't get reasonable cooling in the bedroom with both A/Cs running, it should be relative easy to get acknowledgement that something is wrong.

The discussion should focus on the temperature in the bedroom vs the living room, with both units working at max to a low set point.

Let's say hypothetically that the living room can be easily cooled to 70 degrees, but the bedroom stubbornly stays at 80. There is something wrong. Not necessarily with the number of vents in the bedroom by the way, although adding a vent might be one way to improve cooling.

You might try running just the bedroom A/C unit to see how much cold air gets through to both the bedroom and to the living room. And then try the same with just the living room A/C.

 

[GoingMobile]

Hi Dan,
I explained much of what you said above to the HL rep. He just stuck to the company line that since the unit was built according to the engineering plan, HL will not approve any modifications. I have hit a dead end with HL and will need to find a solution on my own and out of my pocket. Thank you for your replies. I have found a wealth of valuable information on this forum.

 

[Gary521]

I would think that this is a fairly easy thing to do. There are companies on the internet that sell AC vents. First get the vent ( for hole size ) and then rent a hole saw ( I you don't have one ). I would assume that the Exhaust line traverses the length of the unit. Find the approximate center and drill away.

 

[GoingMobile]

I priced buying the blade at Home Depot ($60). I didn't think to ask about renting one.

I also asked the dealer for a quote to do the job as we are getting both AC units replaced and a few other warranty fixes.

Thank you!

 

[GoingMobile]

Greg,

With 2 air conditioners, it should be very easy to turn the bedroom in most units into an icebox. The cubic footage of a bedroom is usually about 1/3 of the cubic footage of a living area. If you can't get reasonable cooling in the bedroom with both A/Cs running, it should be relative easy to get acknowledgement that something is wrong.

The discussion should focus on the temperature in the bedroom vs the living room, with both units working at max to a low set point.

Let's say hypothetically that the living room can be easily cooled to 70 degrees, but the bedroom stubbornly stays at 80. There is something wrong. Not necessarily with the number of vents in the bedroom by the way, although adding a vent might be one way to improve cooling.

You might try running just the bedroom A/C unit to see how much cold air gets through to both the bedroom and to the living room. And then try the same with just the living room A/C.

Hi Dan,
I finally have two functioning AC units (both failed in warranty and were replaced under warranty) so I can now monitor performance and collect data.

At 8:30 this morning I set both AC thermostats to 70 degrees. I also have a thermometer in the living room with a sensor outside. Both ACs have been running non stop since 8:30 am and are not keeping the rig very cool (see temps below). Is this typical RV AC performance?

Time	Outside	Livingroom	Hall	Bedroom
8:30	79	75.2	76	76
9:30	82	71.4	74	74
10:30	84	73.2	75	76
11:30	87	75.5	77	79
12:30	89	75.3	77	79
13:30	91	75.7	78	81
14:30	92	77.7	79	82

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Thank you!

 

[danemayer]

In our 2011 Landmark, the bedroom A/C dumps into the room, and is not ducted. It's a 13,500 BTU unit and it freezes the bedroom. I think it can get the bedroom temp down to 60 without much difficulty. It puts out enough cold air into the hallway that it will confuse the living room unit's thermostat. So I have to set the living room thermostat down to the low 60s to keep it running.

That said, if I have direct sun on the large doorside windows, even with sun shades, wood blinds, and dual pane windows, the living room will get up to 80. The temp outside seems less relevant than the intensity of the sun. And if I don't stay ahead of the afternoon sun by cooling the living room to 66, it'll get even higher than 80.

 

[GoingMobile]

We have the so called Whisper Quiet system with 2 15K btu ACs and we don't have the option to "dump" the cold air. I hope these AC units are engineered to run for hours and hours on end. I am also on metered electric right now and am chewing up kwhs.

 

[TravelTiger]

Hi Dan,
I finally have two functioning AC units (both failed in warranty and were replaced under warranty) so I can now monitor performance and collect data.

At 8:30 this morning I set both AC thermostats to 70 degrees. I also have a thermometer in the living room with a sensor outside. Both ACs have been running non stop since 8:30 am and are not keeping the rig very cool (see temps below). Is this typical RV AC performance?

Time	Outside	Livingroom	Hall	Bedroom
8:30	79	75.2	76	76
9:30	82	71.4	74	74
10:30	84	73.2	75	76
11:30	87	75.5	77	79
12:30	89	75.3	77	79
13:30	91	75.7	78	81
14:30	92	77.7	79	82

<tbody>
</tbody>

Thank you!

Greg, I have a 2016 Big Country, with the Whisper Quiet ACs. We are near the center of Texas, in Cisco. We had living room cooling issues, so I went on a quest to remedy the situation. One thing I found was that the duct within the ceiling continues past the last vent at the front and rear of the coach. I used metal duct tape to close off the ventline, so the air has no choice but to go down out of the last vent.

Also, Our WhisperQuiet units did not seem to aid each other very much. So I divided the system so they each only cool their part of the coach. I again added metal duct tape to block just past the last vent in the kitchen for the kitchen/living unit, and just past the bath vent to block for the bedroom bath unit. With two smaller duct systems for each, they seem to produce faster air out of all the vents.

As Dan said, you do have to stay "ahead" of the afternoon heating. Our doorside gets the afternoon sun pretty directly until about 6:30pm. I keep all my solid shades down, especially on the sunny side, except maybe 2 with a 4" gap for my cats to see out. I also have a few circulating "Vornado" fans,) that I start up fairly early, as well. (One tower in the living room, one countertop in the kitchen, one small desk size on the dresser.) With the Vornado fans, the breeze makes the temperature on the skin feel much cooler.

I try to limit cooking heat, limit having the door open for long, and put out the awning if able, to create shade.

Today, its 94. These things help keep the living room at 78 or lower during the hottest part of the day (3:30-5:30). My thermostat, in the hall, can read 82, due to sun coming in the door window, while the bedroom I could hang meat, it's likely 76 or lower.

I've recently added some Reflectix metallic bubblewrap to a few west-facing windows. This also seems to help reduce heat transfer.

BTW, at a recent stay in an RV park 90% full of fulltimers, (in rigs mostly 5 years old or newer) 100% of them had Reflectix in many of their windows, so this is not a Heartland specific issue.


Hope this helps with some real world solutions. I love RV living, but this is the price Texans have to pay. LOL!

 

[GoingMobile]

Greg, I have a 2016 Big Country, with the Whisper Quiet ACs. We are near the center of Texas, in Cisco. We had living room cooling issues, so I went on a quest to remedy the situation. One thing I found was that the duct within the ceiling continues past the last vent at the front and rear of the coach. I used metal duct tape to close off the ventline, so the air has no choice but to go down out of the last vent.

Also, Our WhisperQuiet units did not seem to aid each other very much. So I divided the system so they each only cool their part of the coach. I again added metal duct tape to block just past the last vent in the kitchen for the kitchen/living unit, and just past the bath vent to block for the bedroom bath unit. With two smaller duct systems for each, they seem to produce faster air out of all the vents.

As Dan said, you do have to stay "ahead" of the afternoon heating. Our doorside gets the afternoon sun pretty directly until about 6:30pm. I keep all my solid shades down, especially on the sunny side, except maybe 2 with a 4" gap for my cats to see out. I also have a few circulating "Vornado" fans,) that I start up fairly early, as well. (One tower in the living room, one countertop in the kitchen, one small desk size on the dresser.) With the Vornado fans, the breeze makes the temperature on the skin feel much cooler.

I try to limit cooking heat, limit having the door open for long, and put out the awning if able, to create shade.

Today, its 94. These things help keep the living room at 78 or lower during the hottest part of the day (3:30-5:30). My thermostat, in the hall, can read 82, due to sun coming in the door window, while the bedroom I could hang meat, it's likely 76 or lower.

I've recently added some Reflectix metallic bubblewrap to a few west-facing windows. This also seems to help reduce heat transfer.

BTW, at a recent stay in an RV park 90% full of fulltimers, (in rigs mostly 5 years old or newer) 100% of them had Reflectix in many of their windows, so this is not a Heartland specific issue.


Hope this helps with some real world solutions. I love RV living, but this is the price Texans have to pay. LOL!

Thank you for the tips! This forum is full of awesome folks with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

I already blocked off the duct at the rear of our coach. I am currently unable to do the same at the front since I only have one AC vent in the bedroom and it is behind the AC unit. I can feel cold air escaping through the light fixture in the front closet and can feel coldness in the ceiling all the way to the front cap so I am sure that I am losing a good amount of cold air there, HL has refused to cut another vent in the bedroom citing that the HL engineers stated that it was engineered that way. I plan to get another vent cut into the ceiling and blocking off the duct to the front cap. Hopefully that will improve the efficiency of the AC system.

Thanks Again!