Geronimo John

Roger. Thanks.

JD: SOME mfg, like Battle Born, specifically warn not to keep their batteries on charger at 100% for long durations. You may want to verify what your MFG says. GJ

And I "ASSUME" that you have run a #4 AWG all copper cable from the frame to the B- terminal as well. I have to adopt a different set of charging parameters, and once done will check performance. If it does not improve, then I will likely try adding such cables to the anderson connection at the TV rear bumper and battery. Would certainly prove your hypothsis. BTW: Assume is often spelled Ass of You and ME. LOL

Crazy Horse said use gasoline. But I think rocket fuel would be more effective. GJ

Ty J: Is this a drain tube? If so it would be simple to penetrate the hull on both sides and pipe them down via the existing Dometic drain tube. GJ

Art is bringing my hydraulic crimper too the Rally. If you have the measurements (with a bit of slack of course), the right cables and lugs to fit THAT cable, I would be glad to mechanically crimp them for you. This cable size and lug ID issue has stumped some of the best of us, so I highly recommend buying them from the same vendor. GJ

Wow you are of of the VERY few that are actually seeing 30 amps from the 30 amp model. I hope you will be at the rally so I can your setup. Good job. GJ

You are correct in that OTT video says two gallons as well. I use 2.5+ gallons. Just a matter of how long your stroke is! 🙂 GJ

Flooded Lead Acid (FLA) starter batteries usually employ maintenance-free designs. But FLA deep cycle batteries require regular maintenance to each of their cells. The plug you are showing typically serves as a vent path. They are not intended for service, but on many battery's they can be removed for adding DI as you suggested. The question is does this vent provide a pathway that DI will flow equally to all the individual cells? Regardless, doing so can be very dangerous. A small droplet of sulfuric acid splashed out of the battery can easily blind and/or disfigure. Personally IF it were mine, I would not even consider trying to refill these batteries. Just not worth the risk. Especially since they are 5 years old. Bad news you need new batteries. Good news is you need new batteries, and it is a perfect time to upgrade to Lithium. See JD's and several other posts on DIY battery upgrades. Good luck, GJ

Scott Oliver's design is amazingly effective in giving us a very safe towing trailer. Heavy, compact, non-swaying, a shape that reduces side loading of gusts, tandem axle, four shocks, EZ flex, the strongest frame of any trailer in this weight class, E-rated tires, and the Anderson Hitch transferring weight forward for those that need it and an extra long tongue. The amazing part is the design. Even more amazing is that it is Stock on all our trailers. GJ

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Actually IF I were Dometic, with all the really bad publicity they sadly have received about A/C units that owners have despised so much.... I would wait about 5 years before introducing a new one in the USA. After that we all will have totally forgotten about our mutual bad experience and they will come out with an inverter unit with internal drainage, a fan selector switch tied to the AC Compressor run, and a remote T-stat/thermistor. In a lower profile unit using a brand new even more efficient refrigerant and sold at half the price of their competitors. GJ

Another approach is to remove the old wash cloth bar assembly entirely. Here is a teaser about it. There is a full DIY that Art wrote up I beleive. DIY - Art's Bathroom Cabinet Magical Transformation.docx

Diane: Thank you for posting back. Frankly the cost is super reasonable.

Dear Santa: I've been a good boy, can I get one of these? GJ

Thank you Geoff. I will be adding three likely so it would not work well if they are not matching to the OEM. I do appreciate your suggestion. I do agree that the OEM ones are not the best for their intended purpose though. If the OEM ones are no longer available, I may just bite the bullet and replace them all to match. $$$ though.... GJ

Searching the forum for the source of our thru the wall coat hooks. Saw where an owner posted this before, but not finding it now. Thanks GJ

PLEASE correct me if I missed the spec: Both units will need a Mod for the fan running all the time when on (No fan off with compressor switch), for remoting the thermistor to a central of cabin location, and don't have a gravity drain feature like the ole hammer mill Dometic. I really hope that they didn't go down the same "rabbit hole" that Houghton did. GJ

I really like the fact that these units have Inverter design compressors. For me, the Houghton's two Mods issue and not having the Inverter compressor edge: For sure would take the Houghton off my recommended list for sure. The 45 Db on low speed may be correct. If so that's 2X WOW!

Yep. Sold mine for $550.

Most likely. If you want to get an idea about what is required for the Houghton's, it very likely would be similar for the Atmos units as well. The Mod to turn supply air fan on/off with the compressor is just a ACR style relay. I had proposed this long ago and one of the SOB owners ran with it. GSM Bear was very helpful in the process. The Mod to remote the thermistor that controls when the compressor comes on / off is just an extension of the cable of the existing thermistor or just buying one with a longer tail. Normally an easy mod if your trailer has an easy path to where you want to be sensing cabin temp. In the case of OTT's, it was a tough nut to crack. There is EXTENSIVE "Deep Rabbit Hole" posts on those two topics. Some of my thoughts and a lot of others are attached below. Warning: it gets deep into it in the attachments. But in actuality it is not impossible for a talented and courageous electrical tech to accomplish these mods. But as you said, "Such mod would void the warranty so one is for sure at risk. Last thought is that if a person were so inclined to do the mods, I would run the unit for a full season just to make sure it is good to go, then decide to proceed "at risk". GJ Houghton Single Line Relay Wiring Diagram from GSMBear.docxGSM BEAR V2 RecPro Houghton Interior Fan Mod v2.pdfHoughto 3400 Humidity Relay Mod (13 JULY 2024).docx

Spot on! Those of us who have completed Mod 1 and Mod 2 for the Houghton's really like them. But having to do the mods to get there is not realistic for most of the audience with Mrs. Lincoln. Same darn mistake Houghton made. Where was the ATMOS designed an where manufactured? The Dometic Penguin II also had bi-lateral drainage. But it was an internal drain down a tube to near the port side tire. The Houghton and if I am reading your note correctly both flow the condensate over the roof. Please confirm. IF so, then both of these units are not quite as good in the condensate drain design as the Ole Dometic. All over-the-side drainage designs have to be bi-lateral. Reason is that with Heat Pump's you may well be operating the system in freezing temp's. If they were not bi-lateral designs for flow, you would have a condensate pond inside the roof top unit on the low side. Such ponds in freezing weather can cause serious problems. I wonder how long it will be before we have Houghton type Mod 1 and Mod 2 for the Atmos units?

Nice work JD! Perfect loss of 4 holes and creative cable stabilization assembly (AKA Bolt). A+

Good, but long, video. Thanks for sharing. It appears that the Atmos 4.4 design is very well done. Has many of the same concepts used by the Houghton. Two design details for further update by Atmos owners: In the video they did not make it clear that when the heat pump is in cooling mode, that the fan does not have to run when the compressor is off. This is a deal killer if the Supply Air Fan and the Compressor cycle together. Unless you are one of the 10%ers as discussed already. The other detail that potential purchasers should be aware of is the unit's height. Here is a comparison: Dometic Penguin II 9 1/2" Houghton 9" Amos 11.14" For most not a problem. For some that 2.5" could be if you have a 10' entrance height. Just measure and be sure especially if your entrance to the storage factify has an UP ramp as you back in. Looking forward to learning about the cycling of fan and compressor topic. GJ

Not me. Past was 3 - 4+ month full time and rest in HI. This year two trips scheduled for a bit longer. GJ

ASSUMPTION: From the internet,: Swamp coolers are primarily used in the dry, hot climates of the Southwest United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Utah and California, and are less common in areas with higher humidity." Keeping in mind that not all occupants in these states use them, as is evident the number of AC in those states. For this post, I'm saying I think that in the USA, for mechanical cooling in the USA, let's estimate that 5% of USA cooling units are Swamp Coolers. And the other 95% use regular refrigerant A/C's and/or Heat Pumps for mechanical cooling (AC). Now to your above thoughts: The AC evaporator coil has the capacity to store well over a quart of water on its very large amount of heat transfer surface. You turn on the AC and it is dry. As humid air passes over the coil, it condenses water from the air and it stays on the coil. Eventually the coil is saturated, and it begins to drain water out of the AC unit. As it continues to run the process continues and water flows out of the unit. This is true for all AC units. For the Houghton Set1, and most USA air conditioning units, the fan and compressor units cycle together. This keeps the condensate on the coil between runs. The humidity in the cabin is lowest just as the unit shut off the compressor. The humidity will then rise naturally due to occupants and their activities. But this typically is a slow process and before it gets out of comfort range, the control system cycles the compressor back on. Comfort is assured for 95% of USA applications. But for Houghton's Set 2 units and similar designed units, when unit Thermistor/T-stat reaches set point, they shut off the compressor but not the fan. The condensate then gets evaporated into the cabin. For 95% of US applications this is not good. This can be demonstrated with any heat pump. Just turn the heat pump on in "Cool" mode, and run the unit until you see condensate exiting the unit. Then switch the Heat Pump to heat and FEEL the humidity as the heat pump inside coil heats and evaporates that entrained condensate. You will be amazed. And can then fully understand one of the problems with Houghton Set 2. Your scenario in AZ is very much like what the AU Houghton typical customer wants. You are spot on. BUT most OTT owners are FAR more concerned with too much humidity and heat. As such, you likely would LOVE the Houghton Set 2 units....Until you took a vacation to most other USA locations. So, as you mentioned 🙂 This is why I have made the case for Houghton to provide a selector switch serving the supply air fan and compressors so as to allow the occupant to switch them accordingly to their needs. This would greatly benefit the vast majority of USA users and the bottom line for RECPRO and HOUGHTON. Combine this with a remote thermistor/T-stat and it would fix the cycling issue as well. Doing so would make it easy for all of the USA Market to use their product out of the box. And if they really really wanted the Air Stream and OTT customers to smile big, redesign the lower pan of the unit to allow for gravity drain of the condensate without needing an electric condensate pump like they have now added to the 15K BTU unit. Again they took the wrong design path....... Until such design improvements are made, their amazingly wonderful unit would not seem to be suitable to those chose not to execute Mod 1 and 2. But for those that can, it is a GREAT unit. GJ Sorry for the above response from deep inside the rabbit hole.