theOrca

With the vital assistance of "Rangered," I have to throw the red flag on Dometic's claim that the 13.5K and 15K versions of the FreshJet3 draw the same amperage. At max draw, my 15K unit draws 18 amps. "Rangered" measured his 13.5K version as only drawing 15 amps at max load. Sometimes I really wonder about the nuttiness of factory claims for their equipment. It is as if their engineers and sales folks don't even know each other exist... Doh!

This subject is of great interest to me as I am located in in Western Washington State. Hohenwald is a l-o-n-g way from me, and I am having some issues with a recent swap of the Penguin to FreshJet3 A/C's. For those who have an interest, Bretz RV in Liberty Lake, Washington still does not have a functional service department. Their Missoula, MT location does have a service department, but it has NO ONE there who has been trained by Oliver (on site or back at Hohenwald). Due to distance, I decided not to call Bretz at Nampa/Boise, ID. The whole concept of "distributed Oliver sales and service" will eventually depend on Oliver owners having confidence in the ability of their local "Joe's RV" not only being able to sell them an Oliver, but also be qualified to maintain it. (For a $110K trailer, that confidence will make or break a sales decision.) At this point, those of us in Washington State are seeing little reason to be confident of any of that.

If you want real "sticker shock," price Anchor wiring at West Marine! To give due credit though, Anchor wire has at least 3 times the number of tinned strands of any other brand of wire of equal size. There is just no good substitute for Anchor wire if making battery terminals, but the moaning of your checkbook can be off-putting.

Reports that Dometic claims that the FreshJet 3, 15K and 13.5K units draw the same number of Watts/Amps has lighted my BS warning lamp. I respectfully request that someone with a FreshJet3, 13.5 K unit actually measure the running amps of their A/C on low, medium and Turbo, and publish same on this forum. An easy way to do that is to use the handy dandy monitor located in the rear cubby of the Legacy Elite II. Please pick a time when your batteries are fully charged, and just before testing that the monitor shows 1 amp or less of current draw. It does not matter if you are on shore power or on generator power. Please mention ambient temperature during the test. With the 15K version of subject A/C, I measured 13 amps on low, 15 to 16 amps on medium and 18+ amps on high (Turbo). Many thanks to all who can respond. Signed, The puzzled Orca!

ADB is the "air distribution box" on the inside side of the roof. My install dealer and I are still working out the ramifications of they having installed a 15K BTU FreshJet3 instead of my requested 13.5K BTU version. There is now some question as to my Honda 2200 being able to run the 13.5 version. I can attest to the fact that it is NOT able to run the 15K version. 😒 Measured data 15K Dometic FreshJet 3 (with the Dometic Easy Start) and a Honda 2200 gen: Sea level, 73F. Low setting on the A/C - 13 amps. Generator runs fine Medium setting on the A/C - 15 to 16 amps, gen running hard, evidently right at it's max wattage output. High or Turbo setting on the A/C - 18 to 19 amps - Gen shuts down immediately due to overload. I am having difficulty getting my mind around the fact that Dometic claims that the amperage draw of the 13.5K unit and the 15K unit are the same. If they are the same, then why is one de-rated to 13.5K? in my mind, BTU = energy = watts = amps.... 🤯

Your input caused me to pull the trigger on a Fresh Jet 3. I am having mine installed at Highway Trailer Sales in Salem, Oregon next week. Everything is in their hands except for the needed extra roof seal that lets the condensate drains flow through the Olly drain. Despite it appearing in a Dometic advertisement, they have NOT produced a Fresh Jet 3 "non manual" ADB. I think their universal ADB woulld be a bad idea since it was not designed specifically for the Fresh Jet 3. I would have liked to have had a non-manual ADB so that I could use the Olly thermostat. I went with the ADB with manual controls. I guess I can always change out the ADB if Dometic ever gets around to actually producing a Non-manual Fresh Jet 3 version. I will post again after the install...

Footprint and the required opening are different subjects, not at all the same. Footprint equates to where and how much support the roof provides the upper unit. You do not want unsupported weight when fiberglass is being stressed by having that weight transferred to it by leverage. It is desirable to have the entire floor pan of the upper unit supported by the roof. Bolt pattern is always "outside" of the 14x14 opening, and is sometimes very different between brands. These are subjects which require "data" to resolve.

It never fails to amaze me how far out in front of Oliver corporate we owners are. I inquired of HWY RV in Salem Oregon as to the install of a Dometic Fresh Jet 3 to replace the Penguin II noise generator in my hull number 615. They messaged Jason E, and he advised them that "as we have not installed a Fresh Jet 3, we advise caution as the fit might not support the unit properly." That is a very reasonable decision, and stopped me from proceeding. However, in searching the Forums it appears that at least three of us have switched out the A/C and no one mentioned any problems. Lack of reporting is not "data," so I have asked Dometic to provide me with footprint and bolt pattern drawings of both the Penguin II and Fresh Jet 3. Will they do it? I guess that depends on the attitude and enthusiasm of the person at Dometic who gets my email. I sure hope they do as I am very leery of proceeding when "not 100% sure." Could someone who HAS switched a Penguin II for a FreshJet 3 please comment on footprint and bolt pattern? (Please!) In summary, so far I have not found actual data as to the direct comparison of any of the three units mentioned. If and when I get actual data, I will append it to this topic. I can say that I really liked the attitude and professionalism of the service folks at HWY RV in Salem, Oregon. If my replacement project becomes a go, you can be sure that they will be the folks that do the work.

That is the European model John. There are two models for here in the USA,, 15,000 and 13,500 BTU.

Yuk, bad math... Sorry! (And the Navy sent me to school on this stuff.)

Keep in mind that a 10db difference equates to 100 times the perceived noise level. Even a punk rock band member could distinguish that big a difference!

Flexibility is the key to indecision! (Lock, unlock, lock, etc.)

“Bravo Zulu!” That is navy speak for “ great decision.” Thank you all. BillS

Swell, just swell !

Just to the point it turns under the floor. The kinks and restrictions were between that point and the vent!