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02-07-2020, 02:45 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: NJ
Posts: 606
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Portable Air Conditioner?
Anyone have experience using a portable air conditioner in an RV? My 5th wheel is 30amp with one roof air conditioner. On really hot days the interior stays quite warm. Since adding a second rooftop A/C is not possible with 30amp, I'm looking at this:
Friedrich ZoneAire Portable and Compact Air Conditioner and Heater, 10,000 BTU
It runs on 15amps and is reasonably compact, but weighs 61 pounds. I'd like to know if any RVers on this forum have tried something like this to help cool the rig on those really hot days when a single rooftop A/C doesn't really do the job.
__________________
DrLewie
Flemington, NJ
Former: 2007 Cardinal 30W LE
Now:2018 Arctic Fox 27-5L
2008 Ford F-250 Long Bed Diesel
Total of 30 Months on the Road Since 2008
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02-07-2020, 03:04 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 1,670
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I use a portable sometimes and it helps, draining the condensation water is a pain. I already have the portable and would not have bought one for this use.
I do have 50Amp service and have not decided yet if I will add a second roof air.
Some people on the form have added a 2nd roof AC on 30Amp units. they ran a separate power connection and a 2nd cord to the power pole.
__________________
Almost not an SOB
Artic Fox 3018 5th Wheel - on order
Grand Design 2800BH TT 2021
Prior TT 2017 Flagstaff 831CLBSS Classic Ultra lite - SOLD 5/21
TV 2024 F350 DRW - on order
TV 2017 F150 6.5' bed 3.5 Eco-boost Max tow 1800lbs payload
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02-07-2020, 03:07 PM
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#3
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Pickin', Campin', Mason
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: South Western PA
Posts: 19,051
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DrLewie
Anyone have experience using a portable air conditioner in an RV? My 5th wheel is 30amp with one roof air conditioner. On really hot days the interior stays quite warm. Since adding a second rooftop A/C is not possible with 30amp, I'm looking at this:
Friedrich ZoneAire Portable and Compact Air Conditioner and Heater, 10,000 BTU
It runs on 15amps and is reasonably compact, but weighs 61 pounds. I'd like to know if any RVers on this forum have tried something like this to help cool the rig on those really hot days when a single rooftop A/C doesn't really do the job.
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There was a thread about this subject about a year ago and someone did add one with the ducting going into the basement storage.
But... you can add a 2nd A/C to a unit with a 30a service. You need to add a 15a receptacle to the side of your R/V and wire the 2nd A/C unit to a breaker box fed by that. You'll power that receptacle with an appropriate sized extension cord back to the 15a/20a plug in the pedestal.
There have been several threads here how to do so.
__________________
2022 Cedar Creek 345IK 5th Wheel•Solar & Inverter•2017 Ford F-Series SCREW 4x4•Factory Puck•B&W Companion•TST Tire Monitor w/Repeater•Sinemate 3500w Gen.
F&AM Lodge 358 Somerset, PA - JAFFA Shrine - Altoona, PA
Days Camped ☼ '19=118 ☼ '20=116 ☼ '21=123 ☼ '22=134 ☼ '23=118☼ '24=64
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02-07-2020, 03:44 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: N. Illinois
Posts: 2,371
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Have you thought of using a dehumidifier, blocking roof vents/skylights with foam plugs and running a few circulating fans?
__________________
2016 Flagstaff 27VRL Emerald
14K Equalizer
2020 Silverado 2500HD CC 4X4 6.6L gas 3.73
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02-07-2020, 03:58 PM
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#5
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Trailer Park Supervisor
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Northern NJ
Posts: 8,417
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Wow, 10k btu seems pretty big for a 2nd A/C. You want to make sure the unit is not so large that it 'short cycles', as it won't remove humidity effectively.
__________________
2019 Rockwood Geo Pro G19FD w/off road package
2015 Ford F150 XLT Super Cab 4x4 V8
Yes, I drink the water!
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02-07-2020, 04:04 PM
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#6
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Citrus County, Fl.
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hernando, Fl
Posts: 2,368
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I use a Frigidaire portable in my 32' Forester. It is very quiet and reduces the temperature 5 degrees below what the single 15K unit can do. Draining it is not an issue, I move it to the door and drain the water into a bucket.
I vent it out one of the windows and for power I use a #12 extension cord hooked directly to the pedestal. There have been some of the older campgrounds that only had a 30 amp hookup so I was unable to use it.
__________________
2016 Forester 3011DS
2017 Toyota Corolla SE toad
PREVIOUS: 2015 Flagstaff 832IKBS
99 Terry 31G
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02-16-2020, 11:43 AM
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#7
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Handyman
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Mobile, AL
Posts: 124
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Down south when it's 95 outside, 80 inside the RV with roof air running continuously, I don't think "short cycling" is an issue.
__________________
2016 Salem Cruise Lite 253RLXL
2013 F-150 XLT 5.0 Crew Cab
2009 F-150 King Ranch 5.4 Crew Cab
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02-16-2020, 09:44 PM
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#8
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Brake is on left
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: USA
Posts: 1,095
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NJKris
Wow, 10k btu seems pretty big for a 2nd A/C. You want to make sure the unit is not so large that it 'short cycles', as it won't remove humidity effectively.
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We have a pair of 15k's on our rig. I will say that we only run one at night. During July-August they both run. We "camp" at race tracks so there is zero shade.
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02-17-2020, 09:44 AM
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#9
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Trailer Park Supervisor
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Northern NJ
Posts: 8,417
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I haven't had the pleasure of extreme hot weather RV camping yet. We've only used our single 13.5k unit once so far.
__________________
2019 Rockwood Geo Pro G19FD w/off road package
2015 Ford F150 XLT Super Cab 4x4 V8
Yes, I drink the water!
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02-17-2020, 02:27 PM
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#10
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Handyman
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Mobile, AL
Posts: 124
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I don't camp in July and August. My 1 AC won't keep up and I don't think 2 will.
__________________
2016 Salem Cruise Lite 253RLXL
2013 F-150 XLT 5.0 Crew Cab
2009 F-150 King Ranch 5.4 Crew Cab
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02-17-2020, 02:43 PM
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#11
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Trailer Park Supervisor
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Northern NJ
Posts: 8,417
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Ahhhhh, the deep South. Like heaven and hell all in one!
__________________
2019 Rockwood Geo Pro G19FD w/off road package
2015 Ford F150 XLT Super Cab 4x4 V8
Yes, I drink the water!
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02-17-2020, 03:21 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: KS
Posts: 2,369
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Curious if you could keep the portable AC outside and duct the cool air in...would've seem to be easier to move the AC twice than empty the water constantly. Sure you would lose some efficiency but could be worth investigating. Not sure about how it would handle rain.
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02-17-2020, 03:27 PM
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#13
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Citrus County, Fl.
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hernando, Fl
Posts: 2,368
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On mine, I only need to empty the water about every 3 days or so. Not bad considering when I need to supplement the roof AC it will run most of the day.
__________________
2016 Forester 3011DS
2017 Toyota Corolla SE toad
PREVIOUS: 2015 Flagstaff 832IKBS
99 Terry 31G
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07-09-2020, 10:32 AM
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#14
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Richmond, IN
Posts: 68
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Portable A/C units are horribly inefficient. You'd be better off with a window unit sitting outside and ducted in a window (you have to have a duct OUT for a portable unit anyway). You'll use a lot less power; you may be able to run a roof unit AND a 10-15K window unit on 30A. The room air conditioners use about twice the power (amperage) as a comparably sized window unit. Window units are 1/2 the price of the portable units and a lot lighter.
All that being said, I ended up buying a portable unit (from Aldi of all places) for my 28' boat (no good place to put a window unit) and will be using it in my truck camper shell for the kids. I haven't used it except to test in the camper, but it made the boat really nice when it was 85+ and humid.
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08-12-2020, 09:51 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Pensacola, Florida
Posts: 394
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Just a thought. It's something I had been considering, and we decided to take the plunge.
I had originally ordered our Vlite 26WFKSS with a single 15K AC, thinking the 30amp service versus the 50amp with two 13.5k units would give us more flexibility. The 15k has to work pretty steady when temps climb into the mid 90's. I have noticed since, those times when there isn't 50amp available, are few and far between. Hind sight is always 20/20(or should be unless one is casting about for excuses).
I went ahead and ordered an 11k Dometic Penguin unit that runs on 20amp, with the controls on the Air Distribution Box inside on the ceiling, instead of a thermostat on the wall. I'll be mounting it over the roof vent in the bedroom.
The plan to make it work, is not to hook it up with the existing electrical system in the trailer. I'm going to run its own power from a 15/20amp inlet plug on the outside of the trailer, that will plug directly into the 20amp plug on the power supply at the campground. The TT will have two cords plugged in. The 30amp for the TT, and the 20amp for the second AC.
The plus side of this, is the ability to run a gennie to power the bedroom AC, if I need to. I had tried a variety of things to use the gennies(a pair of 2000's)to power the existing AC, but the draw from the 15k was too large even with a Smart Start capacitor. It'd run a few minutes, and the gennies would kick out.
We have a really nice portable AC, but it takes up a lot of room, and requires the exhaust (after passing over the cooling condenser), to be discharged outside of the trailer...ergo...it pulls in air from outside to be cooled(nature hates a vacuum), as well as trying to cool what's in the trailer already.
The portable AC will over burden the existing electrical system, unless you run its own cord to the power pole outside. When our 15k is running flat out, we're limited on what else can happen in the trailer...ie...no running the microwave. It trips the breaker on the power pole.
I will add, with me doing the work, I'll be in about $1K with the new rooftop. A decent portable unit, will be in the $600 range, and come with all the space issues.
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08-12-2020, 09:58 AM
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#16
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Pickin', Campin', Mason
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: South Western PA
Posts: 19,051
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Quote:
Originally Posted by katkt
Just a thought. It's something I had been considering, and we decided to take the plunge.
I had originally ordered our Vlite 26WFKSS with a single 15K AC, thinking the 30amp service versus the 50amp with two 13.5k units would give us more flexibility. The 15k has to work pretty steady when temps climb into the mid 90's. I have noticed since, those times when there isn't 50amp available, are few and far between. Hind sight is always 20/20(or should be unless one is casting about for excuses).
I went ahead and ordered an 11k Dometic Penguin unit that runs on 20amp, with the controls on the Air Distribution Box inside on the ceiling, instead of a thermostat on the wall. I'll be mounting it over the roof vent in the bedroom.
The plan to make it work, is not to hook it up with the existing electrical system in the trailer. I'm going to run its own power from a 15/20amp inlet plug on the outside of the trailer, that will plug directly into the 20amp plug on the power supply at the campground. The TT will have two cords plugged in. The 30amp for the TT, and the 20amp for the second AC.
The plus side of this, is the ability to run a gennie to power the bedroom AC, if I need to. I had tried a variety of things to use the gennies(a pair of 2000's)to power the existing AC, but the draw from the 15k was too large even with a Smart Start capacitor. It'd run a few minutes, and the gennies would kick out.
We have a really nice portable AC, but it takes up a lot of room, and requires the exhaust (after passing over the cooling condenser), to be discharged outside of the trailer...ergo...it pulls in air from outside to be cooled(nature hates a vacuum), as well as trying to cool what's in the trailer already.
The portable AC will over burden the existing electrical system, unless you run its own cord to the power pole outside. When our 15k is running flat out, we're limited on what else can happen in the trailer...ie...no running the microwave. It trips the breaker on the power pole.
I will add, with me doing the work, I'll be in about $1K with the new rooftop. A decent portable unit, will be in the $600 range, and come with all the space issues.
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Several folks have done this very thing.
A forum search will get you some reading if so desired.
__________________
2022 Cedar Creek 345IK 5th Wheel•Solar & Inverter•2017 Ford F-Series SCREW 4x4•Factory Puck•B&W Companion•TST Tire Monitor w/Repeater•Sinemate 3500w Gen.
F&AM Lodge 358 Somerset, PA - JAFFA Shrine - Altoona, PA
Days Camped ☼ '19=118 ☼ '20=116 ☼ '21=123 ☼ '22=134 ☼ '23=118☼ '24=64
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08-12-2020, 10:24 AM
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#17
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15,243
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Be aware that some campgrounds ( especially older state ones) have a 30A breaker upstream in a locked area to protect the wiring to the pedestal. Hence the pedestal only has 30A avail o matter which configuration of outlets you use. If that breaker trips in the middle of the night you may have to wait until morning to get it reset.
__________________
2015 Freedom Express 248RBS
TV 2015 Silverado HD2500 Duramax
TST Tire Monitors
Honda 2000I + Companion
2 100W solar panels
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09-01-2020, 10:00 AM
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#18
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Wherever we’re parked
Posts: 92
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Our roof mounted a/c went out while we were enroute and we stopped at a Lowe’s and bought a portable room a/c and vented it out one of the small windows. It fit perfectly between the couch and end of kitchen counter. Saved our trip. Temps between 94 and 103 for 2 1/2 weeks. It was hotter in SD than La. Ran it on our small generator when we got home for 4 days while power was out from Hurricane Laura in our bedroom in the house.
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Always at home regardless of where we are
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06-22-2021, 03:04 PM
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#19
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanMoor
Portable A/C units are horribly inefficient. You'd be better off with a window unit sitting outside and ducted in a window (you have to have a duct OUT for a portable unit anyway). You'll use a lot less power; you may be able to run a roof unit AND a 10-15K window unit on 30A. The room air conditioners use about twice the power (amperage) as a comparably sized window unit. Window units are 1/2 the price of the portable units and a lot lighter.
All that being said, I ended up buying a portable unit (from Aldi of all places) for my 28' boat (no good place to put a window unit) and will be using it in my truck camper shell for the kids. I haven't used it except to test in the camper, but it made the boat really nice when it was 85+ and humid.
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You ever think about mini split heat pump I installed a 110 volt, 12,000 btu and it will make ice,,it only takes about 1,000 watts to start and runs on about 800 watts vary happy and so quiet you can hardly hear it,,the only way to go and about same price as rv,ac
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