Been out of the picture for a while. good to be back. Just started getting serious about replacing carpet. spent the day pulling carpet from the front of Barth. & I thought i was almost finished. The plywood box the doghouse hinge is attached to came out pretty easy & the whole engine is exposed. any reason I remove the dash air while I have the "opening" or not. It would be really easy to remove it. IT DOES WORK!! Bill NY pointed out the roof AC's are too close together sooooo I thought I would consider moving the front roof air to where the front vent is & move the vent to where the ac was. I may do this anyway but we'll see.
Tere

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:
Bill NY pointed out the roof AC's are too close together sooooo I thought I would consider moving the front roof air to where the front vent is & move the vent to where the ac was. I may do this anyway but we'll see.
Tere

When we were at the Milford Indiana Rally - I commented how it might be better if their A/C units were farther apart. Their coach, I believe, initially came with only 1 factory A/C unit installed.

My thought had to do with... Why would someone install a second A/C unit so close to the first when there was an additional vent opening farther forward?



On a 28 foot long roof, here is a view from the front looking back. Vent - A/C Unit 1 - A/C Unit 2


nice roof job - click here

I had mentioned that, I would have separated them a little farther and used the front vent opening instead.



I had just recently installed 2 new 15k btu Carrier Roof A/C units with Heat Pumps on my 33' roof and noticed their setup.

You tend to notice certain things after you complete a job like that... and, I decided to ask about their setup.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
Just as an FYI. I replaced both of my Coleman Roof 15k BTU A/C units with 2 New Carrier A/C With Heat Pumps.

If you are thinking about installing a new a/c unit, you might want to consider one with a heat pump and save your propane when you are plugged into shore power.

Specs: 115VAC, 12.9 cooling amps, 11.8 heating amps, Nominal Cooling Capacity 15,000 (BTU), Nominal Heating Capacity 11,600 (BTU).

I purchased both units from http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/familyrvrepair/ for $645.05 each (top & bottom complete) plus $89.00 for shipping. If you live in Florida, you can pick it up from him. Very good ebayer and prompt with shipping.

Seeing that my coach is 100% electric, this was my best option.

As Danny pointed out, I also have a basement A/C unit too.

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
I always wondered about air conditioned basement storage space. Now I know!

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:
any reason I remove the dash air while I have the "opening" or not. It would be really easy to remove it. IT DOES WORK

I took mine out to take away any heat put into the radiator. I need all the cooling I can get for engine coolant, engine oil and transmission coolers. The AC condenser puts heat into all of these.

We seldom need inside AC, as it is usually quite dry, but our on current trip it got above 100 outside, so we fired up the gen and ran the roof air.

BTW, on all my MHs, I ended up relocating the genset fuel pump so that the fuel line in the genset bay is pressurized to avoid the vapor lock that occurs around 110. One required a return bleed, but, so far, the Barth has not.

Hey Bill,
Good pictures! Just a note: we did not put the front a/c in. We bought it that way. FYI-Between the two a/c's is the accordion door that separates the bedroom from the kitchen. if I had done the installing I would have put it in the front vent opening. How difficult would it be to relocate the a/c?

QUESTION would you(any of you barthmobilers) purchase a unit that did not have dash air. If not why not if so why? Or don't give a rip!

Jim really wants me to remove it & I am willing I'm just a little reluctant. Best barthmobiler quote "If it ain't broke, fix it until it is" (rusty) I think relocating the a/c to the front vent location would have to happen if I removed the dash air. would it be as easy as just removing the compressor, evaporator, condenser, dryer, hoses, ????? anything else????

Tere

Does anyone want to purchase a used dash a/c? How much would I charge for one?????? I could sell the freon too!!

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:

QUESTION would you(any of you barthmobilers) purchase a unit that did not have dash air. If not why not if so why? Or don't give a rip!

Tere

I did. The a/c compressor had been removed by a previous owner when we bought our coach. I have often thought about removing the rest of the system just to get it out of the way because I have no plans to repair or replace it. I would like to even replace the dash controls with one that did not have a/c.

Nick

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:
How difficult would it be to relocate the a/c?

Probably little more than a longer electrical wire.

quote:

I think relocating the a/c to the front vent location would have to happen if I removed the dash air.

Yup. All the glass of the windshield and side windows lets in a lot of heat. Whether or not the dash air is in place, a more forward mounted roof air helps cool the front when parked.

quote:

would it be as easy as just removing the compressor, evaporator, condenser, dryer, hoses, ????? anything else????

I would leave the compressor in position if you have disk brakes in back. The compressor pulleys act as idlers to keep both belts spinning the power steering/power brake pump.

My 2 cents...

I had dash a/c that did not work - I decided to remove it instead of repairing/replacing it. I removed everything that was a/c related.

because I did this before I really drove it anywhere I can not compare temp readings. But, I do know that I have more room to work and I would suspect lower engine temps as a result. I would also do it again without hesitation.

I figured dash a/c, for the most part, was useless anyway on a P32 or a Oshkosh as there was too much volume to fill to cool down the coach. When I really need a/c, I run the generator and flip on the 2 roof units.

I guess the first thing I should do if i do this is go have the freon removed by an expert.
Tere

If your dash air is working I would not remove it unless you really think it causing an overheating problem. one thing it does provide is better defog/defrost than a non air system. If it was non functional it would be a toss up. Personaly I enjoy the cool air from the vents blowing on me. Living in hot and humid Tenn. , I would sure leave it alone if its working.
Doorman.
P.S. Bill I see your basement air is the one you gave to me at Milford. Just like to thank you again for it.

I don't know! We just lost our dash air earlier this year and I miss it a lot! It was so nice if it got a little warm to just reach over and flip some cool air from the dash.

The last few trips we have made with the generator and roof air on, was OK but--not the same! I like the cool air from in front not the rear of me! I do run the dash A/C in the recirculate mode (even thou there is no cooling) as it picks up the cooler air from the floor area and sends it out thru the dash vents.

I will replace the dash air this winter and probably go to a bigger unit if possible, We would close off the rear portion of the coach and the dash air would keep us cool to 95+ outside. With the roof air, we also close off the rear portion of the coach and we can ride in 100+ outside temperature with just 1 roof A/C going. If we have more people on board, we run both roof A/Cs.

When we are driving with the ceiling ACs on, we turn the defroster fans around so they blow on us.

Helps a lot.

quote:

P.S. Bill I see your basement air is the one you gave to me at Milford. Just like to thank you again for it.

Ohhhh, I get it now.... You had me going there fer a minute... That is the shroud that goes on the outside.... I was wondering because he gave Cloudy and I the shrouds that go on the inside.... Thanks again Bill N.Y.!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:
I guess the first thing I should do if i do this is go have the freon removed by an expert.

If it works, and it's not overheating your engine, leave it alone. You might want to also check your fan clutch too. It might be slipping a little.

quote:

Originally posted by Doorman:
P.S. Bill I see your basement air is the one you gave to me at Milford. Just like to thank you again for it.

quote:

Originally posted by Patch1st:
That is the shroud that goes on the outside.... I was wondering because he gave Cloudy and I the shrouds that go on the inside.... Thanks again Bill N.Y.!!!!

You're both welcome - glad the old parts were usable by a fellow Barth owner.

You guys are a big help. Thanks for helping to think this through.
Tere

I'm with Bill H,our dash air is not working so we use the roof air. The defroster fans are on low speed(one on each of us)and they do a good job circulating the cabin area.............