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!

Search for "scanvik mixer" assembly.

There have been plenty of other discussion and "how to do it" on most of my recent modifications. In fact I relied to a great extent on member posts on what they did and where they got the parts to do it. The modifications I made, in no particular order are: - Installed quarter turn PEX shut-off valves in the hot and cold water PEX piping just prior to the outdoor shower. - Insulated the heck out of the space below the drivers side bunk bed with adhesive Reflectix. Two to four layers, depending on the available space - Used the well documented John Davies method of providing interior wall bump protection and anti breath condensation during cold weather use. (I had a wet mattress last Elk season just from my breath condensing on the wall near my face.) - Modified the bathroom heating duct with rigid flex ducting and rigid elbows to greatly improve the air flow. Almost doubled the velocity of exiting air! - Insulated the heck out of the undersink area of the bathroom, using the aforementioned adhesive backed Reflectix. Four to six layers in this case. - Used pipe insulation to cover all exposed PEX piping in the undersink area of the bathroom. - Installed a fixed bathroom faucet in the bathroom. - Installed a Scanvik Shower Mixer and shower hose to replace the prior "extendable" shower. - Installed shut-off valves in all four water connections under the bathroom sink. - Installed a marine deck hatch in place of the prior washcloth rack. Installed the pump switch in the lower left corner of the deck hatch. Photos will also show a prior modification where I replaced the kitchen faucet with one more suited to how I do dishes... Photos follow. Enjoy!

I agree with John on this. The “stern lecture mode” by ScubaRX kind of torqued me off a bit. A first for me on these forums.

When my Bright Way batteries finally die I will switch to Concordes. (They are made in USA; but with some Chinese parts, which caused no end of problems for Concorde a few years ago. I had these batteries in a 5th wheel trailer 10 years ago. They started showing blue electrolite corrosion at the + post bases of both batteries. Concorde customer service said some sailor words, but then send me a brand new set of batteries (6V) for free. When I asked them what to do with the replaced batteries they said "give them to someone who does not mind minor leaks, or recycle them." When Concorde sez "sealed", they mean SEALED. You can mount them in any orientation, even upside down if you are so inclined.

Is anyone else having trouble keeping the fresh water tank (and plumbing) free of slime mold? I have been using Chlorine Dioxide water treatment, and it just does not seem to do the job. For instance 6 weeks ago I flushed all lines in the trailer. I filled the fresh water tank with almost 100 parts per million of ClO2 in fresh water. I let it sit for 2 days, drained and refilled with a 10 parts per million solution (drinkable, but no taste). I am now getting ready for a trip, so I drained the fresh water tank again today. I saw dozens of colonies of slime mold exit the drain. Now I have to do the entire system again to be sure I got it all. That means all intake pipes, the city inlet has to hand pumped, and the filter has to be removed, washed and reinstalled. Grrr. Is anyone having better luck with household or swimming pool bleach? Slime mold, yuck, gives me the willies...

Meh! The written by Lawyers comment is spot on.

Do I read that correctly? Do you have a Truma furnace as well as AC and hot water. I don't see that offered on any part of Olivers web site. How did you find out about it?? Thanks,Bill

We are so screwed on the West Coast. Truma has only two service centers, Lakeland Florida and Elkhart, IN. Bah, humbug!!

Slightly less? That is like OMG less. Thanks for the info Steve.

When I read the email announcement about the upgrade I thought: "FINALLY!" I have found it very hard to get restful sleep with the Penguin A/C roaring in my trailer. The Truma Aventa Eco sounds like the solution... OK, the price is <!!!> but heck, some of the things we do with our trailers is financially nuts anyway. (My heating system upgrade probably cost me a thousand bucks in parts and tools, not even counting the hours of labor.) I have called Truma, and they confirm that the CP Plus control panel "will/can" control either heat + hot water, or A/C + hot water. They promise to update their website to show that capability. We will still get a remote, but with the CP Plus panel the remote can go into a drawer with all the other ones I don't use. Before I jump on this and schedule a 5,000 mile trip to Hohenwald, does anyone see a downside that I may have missed? Thanks, Bill