I am adding an AC in the bedroom part of the coach. I have just found that it is not wired but they thing they can do it nicely since the breaker is under the bet and so they will go up the corner, into the cabinets and then under a decorator strip from there to where the fan is now.

My question is which air, there is Coleman, Carrier and Dometic Duotherm.

I have read a negative review of Duotherm on the Camping World website and a positive one on Coleman. But only one review each when I am sure they sell thousands of each.

I am looking at a Carrier 15K with heat pump and heat strip Anyone have any ideas..

Check this one out

I am planning on spending a summer in Yuma.. I am concerned..

"I am planning on spending a summer in Yuma.. I am concerned.."

NO, no no no.... WINTERS in Yuma...
"If I were replacing the unit in the Barth, I'd get another Duo-Therm, but a heat pump unit with strips...."
Regardless of the brand, I highly recommend a heat pump also; additional cost (over an A/C only) is not that much and a heat pump will generate adequate heat down to 45deg ambient (technically down to about 35deg.)and save much propane. If you want heat below that level, perhaps heat strips will be useful.

I replaced the dead Coleman in my SOB with a Carrier 13.5K BTU.

What I liked about the Coleman is the center register which blows air down, and that the end registers have a motorized up-and-down "sweep" function.

Why I like the Duo-Therm on the Barth better is that it has a true thermostat, that it lowers the fan speed (and hence the noise) as it approaches the set temp, and that it shuts off when the temp is reached. The Carrier fan stays at the selected speed the whole time.

The Duo-Therm kept StaRV II cool to about 80°F in the 105°F at the Nebraska Star Party - and thre was no shade! The Carrier in the SOB did as well with the smaller RV.

The particular unit you linked doesn't have heating strips, nor is it a heat pump.

If I were replacing the unit in the Barth, I'd get another Duo-Therm, but a heat pump unit with strips; the current model is A/C only, with heating strips.

One pleasant development is that prices have gone down substantially in the past two years on all RV A/Cs. And I would guess that all the manufacturers use the same compressors.

We are boondockers exclusively, so we have a slightly different take on things. I would put a Coleman Polar Cub in the bedroom. It has the advantage of being able to operate off a Honda 2000, which can run very quietly all night on just a little gas. With the price of gas, that could be a consideration. Of course, the Yamaha 2400 could run a bigger AC, but it is bigger and heavier. Trade Off.

I have an Onan 5.0 and I have a 30 amp breaker and a 20 amp breaker. They say that they usually put the forward air on the 30 amp and the rear on the 20.


What about this one

You are right Rusty I referenced the wrong ad. Another Carrier had a heat pump which warmed up to 40 and the a heat strip to take it from there. What about this Coleman. I like the idea of the oscillating fans.

While visiting the new Outdoor World this weekend I saw a small round Coleman heater that sits on top of the little propane bottle. It said for indoor or outdoor use. We never camp anywhere that it's really cold but Talladega can get a bit chilly and even January nights down here drop to the 40's. I don't intend to fire up the furnace and the Coleman roof unit is cold only so I was wondering about the safety of these little units. I'm sure I could keep a window cracked a couple inches and still stay warm. BTW, It's only about 30 bucks.
Or this unit; http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?skunum=19573&src=SRQB
Here's the first one I was talking about; http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextI...&cmCat=SearchResults

A lot of people use the "Buddy Heater" that CW sells, & you can find them in many hardware stores for around 100 bucks. We have one & use it to take the chill off in the AM, but I wouldn't leave it on while sleeping.

AZ swap meets, & some catalogs sell larger versions of the "Buddy"- type heater with ceramic heating elements, for permanent installation. We have a friend who uses one in preference to the RV furnace because of the noise factor, but some people claim (myself included) that constant use gives them a sinus infection.

The little Coleman has an attractive price, but I wouldn't use it while sleeping.

I'm with you Roy, anything that burns fuel amd produces heat doesn't seem to be what you want in an enclosed environment overnight. However, they do say it's safe for indoor or outdoor use. My other option is an electric ceramic disk unit, very small and very efficient, but then I'm limited to when we are 110 friendly. State parks and such are not a problem but racing is another story.

Our furnace went TU and it got cold while we were in N.C., and we were forced to use one of those little propane heaters. Of course we turned it off while we slept, but it was sure handy and heated the coach fine. I now have a new blower motor that I have to install.

quote:

What about this one

You are right Rusty I referenced the wrong ad. Another Carrier had a heat pump which warmed up to 40 and the a heat strip to take it from there. What about this Coleman. I like the idea of the oscillating fans.

I'm not familiar with the Colemans at all. I had the Carrier installed for about two years, and it worked fine. I just like the Duo-Therm's multiple fan speed and shutoff.

Another feature of the Duo-Therm is that once turned on, there's a delay, then it runs the airhandler fans, and after another delay, the compessor. This means that I can leave it on, then start the genset, and it allows time for the genset to warm up before putting a load on it.

As a former A/C tech., I would not recommend heat pumps. It basically reverses the coolant flow with the compressor, which over the long haul cuts the life of the unit by half. This is a great marketing scheme for A/C manufacturers showing this new technology to save you on utility costs. They can sell you twice as many A/C units too. All of these new appliances seem to be built with a limited lifespan (to sell more appliances). I have worked on several A/C's & refrigerators from the '50's that still work great, but no one seems to like the old style. I wish the old style would come back along with the ethics of build it to last, I guess that's why I have a Barth.

It sounds like it's a different arrangement than residential systems - mine has a four-way valve for reversing the coolant flow. The compressor runs normally.

The compressor runs normally with a solenoid to reverse the flow. My point is that this a waste of a limited life compressor. Heat strips don't have any moving parts to wear out. If your not worried about saving a few watts at a RV park, go with the heat strip. These heatpumps are trying to remove heat from already cold air and moving it inside. If you were moving heat from an underground source, it would make more sense. These compressors are not designed to last forever like Friedrich, GE, Frigidaire, and Tecumseh made in the 1950's. My understanding is that most compressors of today's vintage have around an 8 year lifespan.

I agree - I had to replace a compressor in my former house - it was a Tecumseh with 28 years on it...

quote:

Originally posted by Ed Chevalier:
I wish the old style would come back along with the ethics of build it to last, I guess that's why I have a Barth.

The ethics require the cash. That's why a Barth was one of the most expensive coaches of the day. Sadly, that’s probably why they’re no longer around.

In today’s climate of "build it cheaply, build it often" you'll find few pioneers that will start a business plan of "build it too last" They may use a slogan that says something close to that... but, it's just a slogan.

This thread has been an interesting read. I do not have a furnace in my coach and have been following this thread instead of responding to it. My coach is all electric with toe kick heaters. I have the original Coleman from 1991 and figured I might replace the front one with one of those with the heat pump and heat strips. I took my coach to this years June Pocono race and it was down in the 40's for 2 of the 3 nights.

If your looking for longevity, and not saving a buck, wouldn't the Duo-Therm with the true thermostatic controller be the way to go? I won't try to reason that the coach is already 15+ years old as we have members from the 70's talking about engine swaps.

We have several members that do have furnaces who NEVER use them. I think it was something about wanting to wake up in the morning as I recall.

So Ed, is there a "Holy Grail" for a roof mounted a/c with a heat pump? Is there a happy medium? Or, is it just an elusive wish?

BTW: Today is election day! No matter what your political stripe is... VOTE or stop whining! It's a right that many have died to maintain for us.

Bill N.Y.