12 volt AC - Outequip

[Roadlotus]

Hi Everyone, 

(2022, #1284 Road Lotus) First, yes, I am the one who traded the Penguin for the Dometic Fresh Jet - a definate improvement. And yes, now 2 years later I'm interested in lowering the decibels even further while increasing efficiency. I had a possible compressor issue with the Fresh Jet and started looking at minisplits and 12 volt units. I don't see as much progress for the minisplit for a rooftop unit, but there are a number of cool 12-volts. I found an RV shop that also likes them and has installed several and recommend the outequip (https://share.google/spwjdojULsQUUI5zf) which does look (and sound) awesome. I'm going to be off grid in Montana later in August and debating the switch. My biggest question is how hard will it be for the tech to get wiring to the battery? Is that especially have in the Elite II?

Have anyone tried this mod? I have the full lithium solar package and this looks like a worthy update to extend my cooling power. Thanks in advance!

Mary

[jd1923]

7 hours ago, Roadlotus said:

My biggest question is how hard will it be for the tech to get wiring to the battery?

That's the real trick! You need to run two +/- 6 AWG cables (read from their spec) from the Oliver basement up to the rooftop. This unit also has an external power cord, so you would need to create a new waterproof entry for that to the rear of the 14x14" opening.

You should talk to OTT for your hull and see what they say. I do a lot of mods and would not consider this. We will stay with 120VAC to reuse the 12 AWG 120VAC wiring. With all the turns and patches of insulation between hulls, I would think it would be extremely difficult to use the existing wiring to pull two new cables that would be somewhat thicker.

This inverter model (not sure it's quiet enough, but very good on battery Ah) is now down to $1275 plus tax with a lower sales price and 15% promo code:

https://www.turbro.com/products/greenland-13500-btu-inverter-rv-air-conditioner-with-heat-pump

Edited Friday at 02:57 AM by jd1923

[Roadlotus]

Thank you! I sent your response to the tech and also the Turbro info. I'll call Oliver tomorrow. I figured wiring would be the hitch so thank you for the response

[jd1923]

4 hours ago, Roadlotus said:

Thank you! I sent your response to the tech and also the Turbro info. I'll call Oliver tomorrow. I figured wiring would be the hitch so thank you for the response

I have an itchy finger on biting the Turbo Greenland deal, but we do not need A/C for most of our travels.

My wife Chris and I plan to watch YouTubes on this  product tonight, hoping there are new ones but if you have not watched one yet, here is a goody.

Best wishes, JD

 

Edited Friday at 03:18 AM by jd1923

[routlaw]

Hi Mary, while I don't have an answer for your direct question regarding cooling I can suggest you most likely will not need it in Montana in August. FWIW have lived here for nearly half a century without AC and have never turned our existing AC on with our Ollie #70. Never not once. We are already seeing cooler nighttime temps this past week, last night being around 50 degrees. Assuming your are planning on traveling to the western mountainous part of the state (most people do) its unlikely you would ever need to turn your AC on. More likely turning your furnace on to take the chill off after waking up. 

Thus far we have had a rather mild summer with no excessive heat but Montana weather can be unpredictable. I have even seen it snow in August, not often, but it can happen. Not sure where you are traveling from but if you can make it through those areas without adding to or changing your current AC most likely you'll be fine once you arrive here in MT. 

Hope this helps.

[Tom and Doreen]

11 hours ago, jd1923 said:

.....if you have not watched one yet, here is a goody.

 

 

Wow, Tom has some impressive engineering skills for sure!  Amazing what engineering feats he can accomplish living in such close confines as his trailer including a 3-D printer, awesome!!  

[Roadlotus]

Thank you everyone. I agree about MT and will be travelling through some heat to get there. (NV and AZ). I am thinking long-term mainly. 

I did call Jason and he referred me to Mike, who said he'd be happy to talk to the person doing the mod, and agrees it could be tricky. But I didn't hear much push back from him.

So I'll keep researching, and I think the 12 volt is still on the short list - tho the Greenland looks interesting. It's pretty heavy (150 lbs). I think either would be a good mod. Guess no one has tried either yet. I think I was the first on the freshjet, and tho I was grounded due to two surgeries last year, I look forward to more travel now. 

I also appreciate that the OTT Service answered my call! 

cheers,

Mary

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, routlaw said:

Assuming your are planning on traveling to the western mountainous part of the state (most people do) its unlikely you would ever need to turn your AC on.

Wish this had been true for WY and CO during June this year! 🤣

[routlaw]

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

Wish this had been true for WY and CO during June this year! 🤣

Well for sure CO can be an entirely different story and also WY to a less degree depending on what part of the state. Most of MT is around a mile high elevation and that combined with being above the 45th parallel makes a big difference. But on top of that the western part of the state seems to sit in some voodoo vortex with the jet stream thus some highly unpredictable weather at times that can change on a dime. 

[Snackchaser]

1 hour ago, Roadlotus said:

Mike, who said he'd be happy to talk to the person doing the mod, and agrees it could be tricky.

This is interesting!  I'm assuming that the "tricky" part is installing the larger 12 volt wire, and he seems to imply that it could be done??  It would be nice if he could expand on that because myself and others have previously dismissed this as an option.  Perhaps there is a way, and I'd be very exited to hear about it.

But a word of caution for your installer.  Unless there is some sort of adaquate void or channel that the existing 120 volt wire is routed through, then be very wary about using the existing wire to pull in a new wire, or using a fish tape.  It's well known that wires can get hopelessly jammed and stuck when doing this in any location, and the Oliver is particularly challenging because of the tight space between the roof and ceiling with curves and pinch points.  Make sure your installer has plenty of Wire Pulling Lubricant and experience in this regard, because there is some risk that the 120 volt circuit could get fouled up without being able to get the 12 volt cables in.  

I'm looking forward to any news on this, and good luck!  Geoff

[Roadlotus]

I've texted the installer for his thoughts. I wish I had more feedback from Mike at OTT. I don't want to infer too much either way, He did not shut down the idea and was willing to talk to the installer. Beyond that I want to be careful about implying anything. Maybe someone at OTT will see this thread and chime in?

Edited Friday at 07:08 PM by Roadlotus

[SeaDawg]

I get the hesitancy on Oliver's part. A few people have asked me about dc units in the past year, and I've been hesitant,  too. 

12v requires much bigger wire, and not being able to "see" the available interstitial space gives me pause

What do you not like about your freshjet? You were the Pioneer, here, and I think a lot of folks would like to hear your impressions after a few years.

 

[Roadlotus]

Hi SeaDawg,

that's a good question. I think the fresh jet is basically fine. The decibels at the low speed are quite comfortable and I can run it for a few hours on solar. I had both of my hips replaced last year so I didn't use the trailer at all. When I did my traveling right after it was installed, they messed up the installation so that it dripped inside the trailer. I managed through leveling, but it was actually an issue with the install. They corrected that when I got back and then I didn't really travel much after that.

I just took the trailer in for overall maintenance and upon return, I got a strange sound from the AC. It was working before I took it in, so I thought maybe they did something during maintenance. And the housing was not sitting quite right. So I took it back and they took the housing off and were able to hear the sound again and said it was the compressor. i'm just a couple months out of the two-year warranty, but I am within my overall trailer warranty that I bought with the trailer (separate from OTT) While they were checking to see if the warranty covered it, I did some investigation about moving over to a 12 V which would give me more time on solar. I'd like to be a little less dependent on electricity and I will be going to Montana to study with a teacher I see annually and I won't have hookups for almost 2 weeks on the land. But as was noted, I probably won't need AC much at all, and I will have my solar.

I'm still downsizing my life and hoping to have some real time in the trailer in 2026. So I'm thinking ahead about efficiency and future proofing. The idea of running directly off the battery seems great. Although ideally the mini split seems like the best long-term plan.

So the fresh jet is fine. I think most of my problems have been with the shop I've been working with 🙂 I'm going to change that, but I needed to use them for the truma recall.

When they realigned the housing top of the AC, I took the trailer home and I have not heard the noise since. So I will probably just stay with what I have, but I am intrigued with this question and I'm very curious going forward. And what better place to explore this question than the experts here in the forums.

I'm sure that's more information than you wanted, but I appreciate the question 🙂

-Mary

[SeaDawg]

Mary, @Roadlotus, I  think you've had a tough year, and hoping all is now well.

Thank you for your candid response. Its not easy when combining work, camping, and life.