Which Air Conditioner Poll

[Joe_GA]

Hey guys. I'm looking for public opinion. There are 6 RV AC companies. In your opinion, which is the best? Dometic, Coleman, General Electric, Advent, Furrion and Attwood

[NJKris]

I think they all suck rather equally these days. Same for home units. They have cut costs so much on materials, my skin is thicker than the metals they use, which makes them prone to leaking refrigerant.


***I may be jaded, first time I used my RV A/C, it didn't blow cold air. Whole unit had to be replaced. Brand new RV, brand new A/C. Coleman.

[robo44]

Based on my personal experience with my Truma Water Heater, I would go on a limb and vote for Truma (Not on your list). They have just entered the market with their AC. Its only installed on newer MH now, but like the AquaGo Water Heater, a few years, they plan to sell to the public via authorized installers.

https://go.truma.net/aventa

[Chuck_S]

Don't know who makes the Coleman AC 'cuz Coleman doesn't make ACs -- or anything else. They're a licensing company, nothing more, which explains the many cheap, crappy products sold under that brand name and made by dozens of companies. But that doesn't mean the Coleman-branded AC units are bad.

-- Chuck

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

Don't know who makes the Coleman AC 'cuz Coleman doesn't make ACs -- or anything else. They're a licensing company, nothing more, which explains the many cheap, crappy products sold under that brand name and made by dozens of companies. But that doesn't mean the Coleman-branded AC units are bad.

-- Chuck

Airxcel

[Joe_GA]

Originally Posted by NJKris

I think they all suck rather equally these days. Same for home units. They have cut costs so much on materials, my skin is thicker than the metals they use, which makes them prone to leaking refrigerant.

True, true, true. Back in the '80's i went to school for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and they were training us on 20 to 25 year old units. They still worked great. Nowadays, pin hole leaks in condensers are real common because they are so thin.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

Don't know who makes the Coleman AC 'cuz Coleman doesn't make ACs -- or anything else. They're a licensing company, nothing more, which explains the many cheap, crappy products sold under that brand name and made by dozens of companies. But that doesn't mean the Coleman-branded AC units are bad.

-- Chuck

No, just mine was! I do have to say Airxcel was very good about warranty replacement, a transmission shop 20 min away was one of their authorized repair centers and did a good job. What was nice is I made an appointment for them to look at it and do paperwork, which they did while I was there, then returned a couple weeks later when new unit came in, and they did it while I waited. No 'stuck at dealer' for months horror show.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Joe_GA

True, true, true. Back in the '80's i went to school for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and they were training us on 20 to 25 year old units. They still worked great. Nowadays, pin hole leaks in condensers are real common because they are so thin.

I was told to hang on to my 25-30 year old Lennox as long as possible, because the new ones just don't last. The outer cage is rusty and ugly, but it's still pumping cold air!

[The Evil Twin]

Truthfully, I think it's best to get the least expensive name brand. None of them really "make" a unit. They all source the compressor, coils, fans, motors, relays, etc from the global pool of parts. Unless you work on them yourself, you will likely be replacing it in the period of time no matter what.

All that said... Airexel is probably a decent bet. They make satellite dish cooling systems. Those are pretty bullet proof. Almost literally depending on the application.

[jjam]

Both of my Dometics are two years old and with outside temps over 95 ever day are cooling well.The installation and ductwork was very bad.After I repaired all the air leaks and balanced the airflow things are not bad.
Also if your serviceman tells you it needs refrigerant you may want to ask them how it got out.

[aircommuter]

I thought Coleman was Airxcel rv line. They are still beta testing the Truma, my Dometic compressor seized at 8 hours. From the list it is anyone’s guess.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by aircommuter

I thought Coleman was Airxcel rv line. They are still beta testing the Truma, my Dometic compressor seized at 8 hours. From the list it is anyone’s guess.

Correct, the Coleman ones are Airxcel.

[bclemens]

Atwood was the best cooling back in the day with the lowest draw...but that is a product near the end of its lifecycle.

The Truma looks to be about (3) times the cost of all the others. Not saying it won't be good, just that it will be quite a bit more. I have high hopes for it.

The Coleman-Mach has been a good A/C, just frustrating. We do know now, how to quickly diagnose, which makes it MUCH faster to just move on to a new replacement. Before however it too far too long for them to approve a replacement.

[Joe_GA]

That Truma AC sounds promising, but not available for a good while. So far, more votes for the Coleman (Airxcel) than the Dometic. The reason that I'm asking is because I want to install a 3rd AC in my camper. My wife has COPD and has trouble breathing in heat and high humidity. I have 2 Dometic units now and it would make sense to get a 3rd and tie it into the same thermostat. However, a Coleman or other brand could be used with a 2nd thermostat. I don't plan to tie it into the existing ducts. It will just dump cold air into the kitchen area.

NJKris...we had a Lenox system installed in a new house we built in 1986. When we first fired it up the compressor was bad. I thought that was a really bad omen. However, that heat pump never had another problem while we lived there until 1998. The last time I rode by that house was about 2014 and it looked like the same unit was still there.

Thanks for all the replies, y'all.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Joe_GA

That Truma AC sounds promising, but not available for a good while. So far, more votes for the Coleman (Airxcel) than the Dometic. The reason that I'm asking is because I want to install a 3rd AC in my camper. My wife has COPD and has trouble breathing in heat and high humidity. I have 2 Dometic units now and it would make sense to get a 3rd and tie it into the same thermostat. However, a Coleman or other brand could be used with a 2nd thermostat. I don't plan to tie it into the existing ducts. It will just dump cold air into the kitchen area.

NJKris...we had a Lenox system installed in a new house we built in 1986. When we first fired it up the compressor was bad. I thought that was a really bad omen. However, that heat pump never had another problem while we lived there until 1998. The last time I rode by that house was about 2014 and it looked like the same unit was still there.

Thanks for all the replies, y'all.

If the A/C keeps it cool enough, try a dehumidifier. I only have one 13.5k AC unit, and it gets incredibly humid in 17.5 foot trailer (box size) in between cycles. Last 3 night trip, I dumped 5 gallons of water from dehumidifier.


As for my Lennox at home, in last 25-30 years, I'll I've done is replace fan capacitor and get a little more refrigerant recently. Apparently it has a microscopic leak somewhere, was told a leak test would not be cost effective.

[Joe_GA]

Originally Posted by NJKris

If the A/C keeps it cool enough, try a dehumidifier. I only have one 13.5k AC unit, and it gets incredibly humid in 17.5 foot trailer (box size) in between cycles. Last 3 night trip, I dumped 5 gallons of water from dehumidifier.

For the most part, my current 2 AC units to the job. The longer a properly working AC runs, the more humidity is removed from the RV. The 3rd AC will be mostly used for a quick cool down when first arriving at a new stop and for those days when the outside temps are above 95°. Since my RV has the dark, full body paint, it is hard to cool when the sun is beating on it. A dehumidifier will remove moisture, but it adds another heat load to the AC units.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Joe_GA

For the most part, my current 2 AC units to the job. The longer a properly working AC runs, the more humidity is removed from the RV. The 3rd AC will be mostly used for a quick cool down when first arriving at a new stop and for those days when the outside temps are above 95°. Since my RV has the dark, full body paint, it is hard to cool when the sun is beating on it. A dehumidifier will remove moisture, but it adds another heat load to the AC units.

Very true. My small camper cools down pretty quick, then it short cycles, thus my need for the dehumidifier.

[cfo111]

Originally Posted by NJKris

If the A/C keeps it cool enough, try a dehumidifier. I only have one 13.5k AC unit, and it gets incredibly humid in 17.5 foot trailer (box size) in between cycles. Last 3 night trip, I dumped 5 gallons of water from dehumidifier.


As for my Lennox at home, in last 25-30 years, I'll I've done is replace fan capacitor and get a little more refrigerant recently. Apparently it has a microscopic leak somewhere, was told a leak test would not be cost effective.

WOW 25 year old unit has got to be a power hog? My Lexair heat pump draw about 1/4 what yours summer cooling months 130 dollars month winter top heat 185 month that 185 is only one month highest that is for a 27000 square ft home and total electric.

[NJKris]

heat pumps no good up here. My old unit is actually pretty efficient for 3.5 ton unit. I was told upgrading to newer 'high efficiency' unit, I would likely not recoupe extra cost of unit. My leccy bill is about 130/month, that is AC, basement dehumidifier, electric hot water and all electric appliances. Oh, and 400g hot tub.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by cfo111

WOW 25 year old unit has got to be a power hog? My Lexair heat pump draw about 1/4 what yours summer cooling months 130 dollars month winter top heat 185 month that 185 is only one month highest that is for a 27000 square ft home and total electric.

You must be a sultan! I have about 2300 sq ft, 8 ft ceilings.