Seeking New Air Conditioner for Hull # 145

[ScottyGS]

Hey Gang, 

It's past time to retire the Penguin AC for something quieter and more suited to our eventual upgrade to a 600ah Lithium system. 

I know we have owners with the Truma, Houghton, and dometic freshjet 3 series.   (Thanks to Roadlotus for her write up on the FJ3)

I am leaning toward the new Dometic Freshjet 4 or 5 series.   Reasons include:  A) Quieter than the penguin (what isn't)   B) would be easy to fit into the existing structure  C) Service almost anywhere D) Has iphone app control as well as the Air Distribution Box control   and E)  Should be energy efficient enough to allow a few hours operation on a 600 ah system. 

I was considering the Furrion Chillcube but the possibility of condensate overrunning the pan down the side of the trailer is a deal killer. 

Just wanted to ask what I might not be considering on the above list OR if there is an outlier that is not on my Radar. 

TIY,

Scotty

[jd1923]

10 hours ago, ScottyGS said:

I was considering the Furrion Chillcube but the possibility of condensate overrunning the pan down the side of the trailer is a deal killer. 

Scotty (or Greg), you may know I’m the only one here with the Chill Cube installed on an Oliver. So you may say I’m biased!

I just ran a test which I’ll post soon on my Chill Cube thread. Ran it for one full week on batteries, set at 80F (it’s parked at home). Daily high temps low 90s! Without A/C with the AZ sun the cabin would be high 90s or more.

Not a drop of condensate down the hull. The Chill Cube has a condensate trough that the condenser fan runs through, picking up the water like a water wheel. But can’t promise there wouldn’t be any in humid climates. There would be much less.

Ran it for 7 days using on average 96 Ah per day ONLY! We have 320W rooftop solar which adds power in addition to the 96. Your Oliver and ours are both 2016 models. Maybe you have the same solar.

Without solar say it adds to 240 Ah per 24 hours. That’s about 10A per hour average. On full blast, it pulls 60A but not for long. Our Dometic P2 took 150A minimum and would take forever to cool down.

I'm starting another test this week with set temp at 74F. 80F is a good summer storage temp and at 74F it will be very comfortable inside. I'll bet I can run it 3-4 days at 74F in 90F+ heat. I cold never imagine this when we had LA batteries and the awful Dometic.

BTW, I’m talking DC amps that can be read with Bluetooth connection to a shunt. We do everything on 900 Ah batteries, usually un-plugged (600 Ah is a good number).

I now know for a fact the Chill cube takes 30-50% of the power compared to ANY RV A/C in the market today that is not an inverter or variable speed compressor!

If there is a little drip, level front and curbside jacks up 1/2” and the excess will run down the back corner. It’s basically distilled water, so will not stain the fiberglass like rain water catching all the chems they put in our skies.

The Chill Cube will run on batteries twice as long as the Freshjet and it’s also quieter than any other model out there, no compressor bang like the Truma, Houghton, Tosot or any US market Dometic product.

And if you’re dead set on the condensate issue, the Freshjet is your only choice.

You couldn’t pay me to own anything else now that we’ve experience the Chill Cube (a non-paid advertisement)! 😎

Edited 16 hours ago by jd1923

[Ronbrink]

11 hours ago, jd1923 said:

If there is a little drip, level front and curbside jacks up 1/2” and the excess will run down the back corner. It’s basically distilled water, so will not stain the fiberglass like rain water catching all the chems they put in our skies.

In humid climates there will be more than just a little drip, but being slightly off level as you suggest will divert any runoff to a rear corner. Even though condensate is like distilled water, be assured there will be some staining from contaminants it picks up as it leaves the condenser and drains outward. Maintaining adequate wax on the gelcoat will help reduce said staining and further cleanup of any resulting streaks. 

[Ronbrink]

17 hours ago, ScottyGS said:

I was considering the Furrion Chillcube but the possibility of condensate overrunning the pan down the side of the trailer is a deal killer. 

Having the condensate collect in pans in the DPll and drain via the inner hull tube Oliver installs is not without issue. Many have experienced, self included, condensate water dripping inside the cabin either from drain line blockage, improper leveling on setup or excessive humidity conditions. I have no regrets abandoning the tube drain with my chosen a/c replacement and no further worry of internal leakage. Just say’n!

[BigTexas]

Another Chill Cube customer here however I've not installed it yet.  I waited until the heat pump version came out to make my purchase.  I didn't see the no drain system as a problem.  I have a small window unit at my vacation home that uses the same method of throwing condensate on the condensing coil for additional evaporative cooling.  It sounds like a waterfall when it starts but has never dripped.  Now, I realize I'm making a big leap of faith the Cube will work the same but I'm not too worried if a little condensate flows off the trailer.

We're still rocking lead acid batteries and don't have an inverter.  My goal wasn't energy conservation as we're usually plugged in or occasionally on a small generator at lunch stops.  My goal was quiet and humidity control in the trailer.  My hope is when the Cube ramps down to a constant run state, it will achieve both.  Fingers crossed

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, Ronbrink said:

In humid climates there will be more than just a little drip

My friend Ron, of course you know! Our son Adam played a USTA Tennis Tournament in the very nice Houston suburb of Clear Lake 15 years ago. I remember sitting outdoors, large-brimmed hat on for the sun, I was drippin' wet just watching! 😎 The 16-year-old boys had drenched shirts before the first set was won.

Traveling the west vs. the gulf states is night and day. Wish we had a forum member in the east with a Chill Cube for comparison.

The Chill Cube condenser fan wets the condenser by design. To my knowledge, no other A/C unit has this feature (perhaps Furrion has a patent). The water-cooled condenser increases the overall cooling efficiency.

In very dry climates (the spring is our windy dry season), the little bit of condensate it pulls out of the dry air quickly returns to the air (evaporates). I have yet to see any condensate drip on our hull. When greater cooling is needed and it's humid, the fan should create a visible mist blowing from the condenser coils. More mist means less drip. But when the volume of condensate gets large it would overflow the condensate trough and run down the hull.