Got Earplugs?

[katanapilot]

Glad your installation went well.  I believe that due to the low amp draw of the Houghton, you will not need, nor will you want to install the easy start kit.

 

[Josnooze]

I just completed the change out of my Dometic unit for the Rec Pro Houghton unit. I am amazed how quiet the new unit is in comparison to the old Dometic. I did as others suggested and switched to an old school mechanical thermostat to control my propane heater.  All I have to say is come on OTT get with it and start offering a better, quieter AC unit.  

[John E Davies]

10 minutes ago, Josnooze said:

I did as others suggested and switched to an old school mechanical thermostat to control my propane heater. 

My trailer had a non-standard mechanical stat for just the furnace (since I had Oliver install an Air Command AC)-  it failed and I replaced it with this digital one. You will hate the mechanical one: inaccurate, hard to set to the exact right temp, unreliable (the contact points arc and then it quits working), and a really large dead band (temperature fluctuations). Give it a try, but if you start saying bad words, buy and install this one. You can theoretically adjust the dead band on the mechanical one, but it still has a whole lot of really bad features. 

Emerson 1E78-140 Non-Programmable Heat Only Thermostat for Single-Stage Systems

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

Actually,  I love my old analog tstat. Maybe I'm just old school.

It doesn't cycle a lot. I set it on lowest setting at night, put on a blanket, and good to go. 

 

[Patriot]

I called and talked with Mike Sharp at Oliver Service today and asked him if Oliver would switch out our Dometic Penguin for the new Truma AC? Mike told me that Oliver is going to be retrofitting the new Truma into present owners Ollies for those that want to pay for this upgrade. I did not ask what the price would be. He did say they hope to begin scheduling this in March of next year.
Naturally this all depends on supply chain etc. The LE 2 at the rally that we saw had the Truma unit installed was a 2020 model.  We may consider the upgrade to the new Truma. 

[Roadlotus]

Hi all,

I am interested in swapping the dometic for the houghton (I pick up my trailer this fall, but planning ahead because the Truma will not be available)

I read some of the posts about wiring in the Emerson. I called an RV tech near me and he was concerned that to put in the emerson, he would have to run new wiring, but I didn't think so. I thought it was more about doubling up some of the wiring on the existing thermostat. I just want to be able to update him as I won't be doing this myself. Can you help me explain?

Thank you!

Mary

[bhncb]

Doubling up, aka running parallel conductors, is conditionally permitted only to reduce voltage drop in a circuit. It cannot be done for the purpose of increasing current carrying  capacity of the wiring. There is also an issue with the type of wire not being rated for a primary circuit. I don’t believe you’ll find any certified RV tech that would install the thermostat this way.

I used a solidstate latching relay when I replaced my thermostat. It has the option for  a ground level input trigger and only two conductors in the original thermostat cable are required. Try suggesting this method to your tech as an alternative to rewiring.

[Roadlotus]

Hi BHnCB,

And can you confirm that you did not need to run new wiring from the roof or anywhere else? You just made the change at the location of the thermostat, correct? And thank you!

[bhncb]

Correct. The relay just replaces the furnace control function of the thermostat control module in the Dometic AC. The blue and blue/white  voltage wires to/from the furnace go to the relay contact terminals.  I rewired the green and yellow conductors in the thermostat cable to route ground to the replacement thermostat and back to the relay trigger input. The red conductor is unused. (Mine only had the three) Except for connecting the new thermostat, all rewiring is done overhead and straightforward.

This may not be the cheapest solution but, considering the labor rate for a tech to pull new wires, it might be. Another possible issue “could be” the thermostat contact rating. In order to direct wire it to the furnace, the minimum rating would have to be 7.5 amps @ 12 volts DC. (I’m assuming this is an LEII furnace) It might be hard to determine for residential thermostats but your tech needs to verify this rating.

[Roadlotus]

Thank you so much for the very detailed response. I will share it with the tech. Your expertise is much appreciated:)

[Hoosier]

On 8/8/2022 at 7:20 PM, bhncb said:

Doubling up, aka running parallel conductors, is conditionally permitted only to reduce voltage drop in a circuit. It cannot be done for the purpose of increasing current carrying  capacity of the wiring. There is also an issue with the type of wire not being rated for a primary circuit. I don’t believe you’ll find any certified RV tech that would install the thermostat this way.

I used a solidstate latching relay when I replaced my thermostat. It has the option for  a ground level input trigger and only two conductors in the original thermostat cable are required. Try suggesting this method to your tech as an alternative to rewiring.

Add me to the list of new Rec-Pro conversions. Yes it is a game changer, Working on heater now, Can you share the model of SSR you used? The ones I am looking are are probably overkill and has heatsinks. The wire coming out of my thermostat are Red, White and greenish probably doesnt matter. Thanks in advance. Shane

[bhncb]

4 hours ago, Hoosier said:

Can you share the model of SSR you used?

The SSR is an InPower VCM-10. http://www.inpowerelectronics.com/products/vcm-10

The standard automotive relay pin format let you use a pre-wired 5-pin socket for easy connection to the existing wiring. I used  an Accele Electronics BRS14E. An Internet search will return  a source for both.

[Hoosier]

2 hours ago, bhncb said:

The SSR is an InPower VCM-10. http://www.inpowerelectronics.com/products/vcm-10

The standard automotive relay pin format let you use a pre-wired 5-pin socket for easy connection to the existing wiring. I used  an Accele Electronics BRS14E. An Internet search will return  a source for both.

Thank you kindly. 

[Hoosier]

On 10/2/2022 at 10:21 PM, Hoosier said:

Thank you kindly. 

I wanted a diagram for the Oliver manual using the solid state relay with neg. trigger.

Disclaimer: The wire colors in your hull may differ use a DVM to figure it out, Thanks to bhncb for the info, The diagram took longer to make than this mod. 

[GSMBear]

Hi all -- I have a different brand RV but have been following this thread because I'm experiencing some of the same humidity problems with the Houghton/RecPro A3400 that others here have had.  I've seen a fairly recent video on YouTube from FloridaAmbient that discusses an additional relay to switch the fan on/off in tandem with the compressor cycles.  He says it has made a "huge difference" with the interior humidity.  His video is short and I gather that with his mod you only have one fan speed.  He selected Low but it appears each speed has its own relay and a different speed could have been selected (this is my assumption, it's not stated in the video).  My RV is 23' from snout to tail so maybe 19' of interior living space with no slides.  The AC unit is about as center as it can be so I'm not concerned about having only the low speed.  Once the interior is brought down to the set temperature, it pretty much runs at low anyway.

My brother is an electrical engineer and I trust him to guide me through this process.  I have the parts ordered and he will be visiting in mid July and will be staying in the RV.  We plan to do this mod and document it will with pictures and narrative and I'll turn it into a PDF.  Stay tuned.

I hope it's okay with the forum guidelines to post an external link!  Here is the video:

 

[Mike and Carol]

2 hours ago, GSMBear said:

I hope it's okay with the forum guidelines to post an external link!

Welcome to the forum.  External links are fine, this one is interesting.  Let us know how your mod works!  Lots of interest in quiet ACs, Houghton, Truma and Dometic Freshjet.  Mike

[MAX Burner]

"Casablanca" Thermostat Update:

We returned home yesterday afternoon after spending 4 days on the road between DEN and ABQ.  

Sort of a test trip for our newly mounted MicroAir Easy touch RV
T'Stat.  Installation was a "breeze" (pun intended) - and like our original Dometic T'Stat, the MicroAir unit controls the Dometic "Noisemaker" AC/Heat Strip and the Atwood furnace.  It's got an "away" function which keeps the internal temps over a longer "cycle-time" when not occupying the OTT - jury still out on this function.  What we really like is the WiFi and BT modes, so we can monitor/control internal temps while away from Casablanca using the iPhone App.

Headed to TX today and should experience much wider temp ranges than we had in CO over the weekend - will follow-up with posts during the week...

"Ravel-On!"

 

[2008RN]

Max Burner, The MicroAir Easy touch RV T'Stat has a very colorful display and seem intuitive. Hope it functions great.

[connor77]

Just updating this thread....RecPro now offers covers for Houghton AC's.  I've ordered one but haven't received it yet so I don't know anything about the quality.  Around $30 for the cover that fits the 3400 model that many (not all) have installed.  Free shipping too.  Free shipping might be Fourth of July related.

Happy Fourth to all!