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Old 10-03-2013, 02:49 PM   #1
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Upgrading to Dometic Penguin ii 15,000 High efficiency.

Has anyone here upgraded their front AC / Heat Pump from the 13,500 Penguin II to the Penguin II AC / Heat Pump 15,000 High efficiency?

If you did, did you notice a significant / measurable increase in the cooling capabilities?
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Old 10-03-2013, 02:59 PM   #2
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I ordered my 14 with two 15k heat pumps but came with 13.5's. So the first month I owned it, I had the 13.5's. Now with the two 15k's i do notice a difference! They cool much better and actually cycle and I set the temp to 68!! The air is about the same pressure coming out of the ducts but I noticed it is colder. Hope this helps..,

Jason
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Old 10-03-2013, 03:32 PM   #3
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I ordered my 14 with two 15k heat pumps but came with 13.5's. So the first month I owned it, I had the 13.5's. Now with the two 15k's i do notice a difference! They cool much better and actually cycle and I set the temp to 68!! The air is about the same pressure coming out of the ducts but I noticed it is colder. Hope this helps..,

Jason
Jason, thanks for the info. Our coach came with the 13,500 front and back. the front AC would cool, but in 90° heat it run constantly and would only cool down to about 80° on sunny day's. I added exterior solar shades for windshield and side windows and was able to get the inside down to about 76°. I'm more comfortable at 72° when it's 90° outside so I'm hoping to get there with the new 15,000 high efficiency Penguin II AC / HP. As an added benefit I hope it has enough cooling capacity to cycle on and off at 90°

Also, our back AC was not a heat pump so we are having the front 13,500 Penguin II AC / HP moved to the back and the new 13,500 Penguin II AC / HP will go up front.

These upgrades will give me 13,500 cooling and heat in the bedroom and 15,000 cooling and heat in the living room. Hopefully it will be worth the expense.

Marc
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Old 10-03-2013, 04:15 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by 62_inrightlane View Post

These upgrades will give me 13,500 cooling and heat in the bedroom and 15,000 cooling and heat in the living room. Hopefully it will be worth the expense.

Marc

Just for my info..... Do you know what it cost (no labor) to upgrade from 13500 to the 15000 unit? Will they take your old unit in trade??

I'd love to move my 13500 combo AC/HP to the bedroom and put a 15000 combo AC/HP in the front. My bedroom unit is always butt-freezin cold the way it is.


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Old 10-03-2013, 04:39 PM   #5
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Haven't camped in mine with the dual 15k's in the heat of the summer yet but I can say with temps around 88 to 90, I was able to keep my indoor temp around 68 with no issues! Last week it was about 82 and I kept my front door open and both AC's on and inside temp never went above 68. Both mine are the 15k penguin II heat pumps and so far I am happy with the upgrade except the blown compressor!! Lol!!! Sure I just got a bad one....
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Old 10-03-2013, 09:49 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by boowho View Post
Just for my info..... Do you know what it cost (no labor) to upgrade from 13500 to the 15000 unit? Will they take your old unit in trade??

I'd love to move my 13500 combo AC/HP to the bedroom and put a 15000 combo AC/HP in the front. My bedroom unit is always butt-freezin cold the way it is.


Boowho?
I don't have the estimate broken down on paper yet. Just the total to remove both units, move the front 13, 500 Penguin II AC / HP and re-install in the rear. Then install the new 15,000 Penguin II AC / HP High efficiency in the front.

New 15,000 Penguin II AC / HP High efficiency installed including labor to move current unit to rear plus freight and tax is $1,900

Backing into the number gets you to about $1,300 for the unit including shipping and tax. They estimated 3 hr labor for each unit so with 6 hr labor at about $100 per hour gets you to the $1,300 for the Dometic Penguin II High Efficiency 15,000 BTU unit in Black.

No trade in value for the old unit from the dealer.
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Old 10-04-2013, 05:29 AM   #7
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FYI, all wires and everything already there and you're just replacing pretty much the same unit will only take an hour. When they put my 15's on mine it took 1 person just over 2 hours... May want to ask around.
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Old 10-04-2013, 07:53 AM   #8
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Could this be a DIY project? I would love to do this myself.
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Old 10-04-2013, 07:59 AM   #9
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Could this be a DIY project? I would love to do this myself.
Look at the install procedures and it is actually really easy! Hardest part is getting the ac on the roof.
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Old 10-04-2013, 09:52 PM   #10
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On my previous motorhome, I replaced my older 13.5 with a 15k and the process was simple, except for what JTN8 indicated. I pulled my mh next to a second floor window and handed the 100lb plus ac to a helper on the mh roof. I applied a new roof gasket and bolted the ac down. The wiring was all standard and easy.
My 13.5s can cool my current Berkshire at temperatures well into the 90s. Las Vegas was well over 100 and was too much. I will be in the market for a 15k replacement next year.
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Old 10-05-2013, 08:42 AM   #11
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I had a problem with my front AC and had it replaced. Took a couple of hours. You need to unhook the central drain, the electric and telephone wire from the old AC and the hold down bolts. Once off, you will need to transfer the condensation 'catch cups' (not sure what they are really called) to the new AC. You can then install the new AC in the coach. The only thing you need make sure of is that the new AC will work with your current thermostat. If not, you may need to replace the control board in the new AC.
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Old 10-07-2013, 08:04 PM   #12
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Last year, my front 13.5 heat pump/ac was replaced on warranty. After suffering thru the heat of 2 13.5 units I decided to pay the difference and have a 15 installed. It did make a difference but to be completely honest, the biggest change came from the sheet of bubble foil insulation I cut for the front windshield.
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Old 10-08-2013, 07:19 AM   #13
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I am having a problem with noisy ac units and was curious if any of you had very loud units and did to upgrade help with air noise? I've been told that Dometic has a kit to help with noisy units and I'm looking into that also.
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Old 10-09-2013, 09:08 AM   #14
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I am having a problem with noisy ac units and was curious if any of you had very loud units and did to upgrade help with air noise? I've been told that Dometic has a kit to help with noisy units and I'm looking into that also.
I've heard about dometic having a fix for older A/C's but mine are brand new and still very noisy. My coach came with 2 13.5's (by mistake) and they were noisy when the compressor came on and once I got the 2 15k's put on they too are very noisy when the compressor kicks on. My last coach had both A/C's up front and never noticed it but having one in the back bedroom, you notice it much more when sleeping. I leave the fan on high when we go to sleep and I seem to not wake up as much as when we left it in auto and you'd here it all turn on. Now you only here the comp turn on and it us not as drastic I guess..,
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Old 10-09-2013, 01:42 PM   #15
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I also have two 13.5 AC units. They have been loud since we bought the MH. After the roof was replaced I thought the sound was better but DW does not agree. To help we use a fan to push the air from room to room. We use the back when we are watching TV and the front when sleeping. We added a front windshield cover, awning over the windows and snap on sun covers on the slide windows. This all helps and have tested with temps up to 90. We just bought a small cheap fan but it pushes a lot of air.



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Old 10-21-2013, 08:59 PM   #16
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follow up on my original post.

I picked up the coach today after having the front Penguin II AC with Heat Pump moved to the rear and having a new Penguin II 15,000 high efficiency with Heat Pump installed in the front.

I tested the install with the outside air temperature at 71° and found that the new 15,000 Penguin II high efficiency with Heat Pump was putting out chilled air 41.9° at the air dump register --- 29.1° cooler than the outside air temp.

I also tested the rear Penguin II 13,500 with Heat Pump and it was putting out chilled air at 45.9° at the air dump register. 25.1° cooler than the outside air temp.

This supports the previous statement by JTN8 that the air feels colder from the 15,000 vs the 13,500.

Also I check the thermostat to make sure the heat pump was an option on both zones. It was and both units were putting heat out during the test. It looks like both units are doing what I had hoped. Now the next test will be in 85° + temps with sunny skies.
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Old 08-25-2014, 12:33 AM   #17
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I replaced my front unit with a 15. In my case the original unit was faulty coming from the factory. I still find the in really hot weather ... bot units are running all of the time and the cooling is not great. I cut a cover for the front windshield out if foil bubble wrap ... This made a big difference and the cost was only about 40 dollars.

Tim
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Old 09-15-2014, 12:52 PM   #18
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Who sells the foil bubble material in large sheets?
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Old 09-15-2014, 01:13 PM   #19
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Who sells the foil bubble material in large sheets?

Lowe's has them in rolls.
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Old 09-15-2014, 03:24 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by 62_inrightlane View Post
follow up on my original post.

I picked up the coach today after having the front Penguin II AC with Heat Pump moved to the rear and having a new Penguin II 15,000 high efficiency with Heat Pump installed in the front.

I tested the install with the outside air temperature at 71° and found that the new 15,000 Penguin II high efficiency with Heat Pump was putting out chilled air 41.9° at the air dump register --- 29.1° cooler than the outside air temp.

I also tested the rear Penguin II 13,500 with Heat Pump and it was putting out chilled air at 45.9° at the air dump register. 25.1° cooler than the outside air temp.

This supports the previous statement by JTN8 that the air feels colder from the 15,000 vs the 13,500.

Also I check the thermostat to make sure the heat pump was an option on both zones. It was and both units were putting heat out during the test. It looks like both units are doing what I had hoped. Now the next test will be in 85° + temps with sunny skies.
Update:

Since the post above the 13.5 unit that I had moved to the rear failed and had to be replaced in June 2014. I went ahead and replaced it with the same 15,000 Penguin II high efficiency unit as I had installed in the front. The coach now has 2 - 15,000 Penguin II high efficiency with Heat Pump. Wow this was the difference maker! We use a small fan to move some of the cool air from the rear to the front.

Michigan had a cool summer and it never got to 90° where we were at. I was never able to test the units in hot weather until we stopped in GA to visit with our kids. I can say that setting in the full sun with outside temps in the mid 90's I was able to keep the inside of the coach a very cool 74°. The rear unit did cycle on and off but the front unit ran constantly while the sun was out and the temp was above 90° Also did not put on the outside sun screens which would have provided additional help keeping the inside cool if I had.
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