11k ac enough in 105 temps?

[Steven]

Have put deposit down. Just not sure if the 11k unit will be enough.

[Mike and Carol]

Although we try to avoid the heat (not easy living in south Texas) we’ve camped in temps above 100 numerous times.  Our AC is 13.5K but it kept us plenty cool on Low.  You aren’t cooling a very large area.  I think you should be fine.  Mike 

[Steven]

Thanks. Not much shade out here. Friend here has 13.5k as well and it is sufficient. Just wanted to see if anyone had experience with smaller unit. 

[Mainiac]

Think a smaller unit would be more efficient, more quiet (important), and more than enough to cool an Oliver. A unit running longer and slower will remove more moisture, as it cools. Being cool, and with lower moisture, it should also be longer between operating cycles.

[katanapilot]

1 hour ago, Mainiac said:

Think a smaller unit would be more efficient, more quiet (important), and more than enough to cool an Oliver. A unit running longer and slower will remove more moisture, as it cools. Being cool, and with lower moisture, it should also be longer between operating cycles.

There is nothing quiet about the 11K BTU Dometic a/c. I did sound level comparisons with John Davies who was fortunate enough to have Oliver install a 13.5K BTU Atwood Air Command unit in his Oliver. The Atwood was half as noisy as the Dometic.

I’m ordering an Atwood for retrofit as soon possible. The Dometic is horribly noisy. I did the same retrofit in our previous motor home. 

[Geronimo John]

Steven:  Your question is a good one.

I really dislike our Dometic 13,500 BTU "Hammer Mill" air conditioner.  We have such a wonderful trailer and the noise of the Dometic air conditioners is my, and many other owners, biggest concern.  Much has been said about this noise issue.  For this posting, I am asking for owner inputs not about noise, but only capacity of their units.

 

IMHO, my four years of full time summer use in hot and sunny locations is that the 13,500 Btu unit is oversized for temperatures up to 106 degrees F in 85% sun that I have experienced.      

 

Apparently Oliver agreed as they reduced the size down by 2,500 BTU's to 11,000.  From Oliver University manuals for the past four years, it appears that owners have these units:  

 

• 2018      Used 13,500 Btu A/C exclusively.
• 2019      Used both 11,000 and 13,500 units.  I suspect that they were using up stock this year.
• 2020      Used 11,000 BTU A/C exclusively.
• 2021      Used 11,000 BTU A/C exclusively.

 

Assuming that the above is correct, we have now two full summers (2020 & 2021) and maybe for early 2019 units, a third full summer experience with the smaller A/C units in our OE2's.  For the 2019 owners that have the smaller unit, and all of our 2020 and 2021 owners, I respectfully request your thoughts on the smaller A/C's ability to keep Ollie cool in extremely hot situations.  Specifically:

 

• Is your Oliver 11,000 BTU air conditioner effective in extremely hot temperatures?

• If yes, how high of an outside temperature did you experience?  What was the situation?  

• Either way, what is your opinion as to the limit that the 11,000 BTU unit could handle in outside temperatures? 

• If you have an 11,000 BTU a/c in your OE2, have you ever wished it was the larger unit?  If so, please let us know your situation.

Thank you all!

Geronimo John

 

  

[ChrisMI]

Is there a quiet 11k unit available?  If not I think it’s kind of a moot point. We should be looking at available upgrade options and what sizes can adequately cool an elite II. Big question IMO is can a Houghton 9.5k unit keep the trailer cool on the hottest summer day. Also what is the amp draw on low of that unit 7-8 amps?  Could really help those running on lithium. Looking at amps is it more efficient for a 13.5k running a shorter duration vs a 9.5k?  One disadvantage of the hunghton is the thermostat (I presume) is on the intake air vs a separate wall mount. This might make the 9.5k more efficient because it might run longer less frequent cycles. 
 

 

[ScubaRx]

On 11/7/2020 at 8:24 PM, katanapilot said:

...The Atwood was half as noisy as the Dometic...

How is this determined? The human ear's response to sound level is roughly logarithmic (based on powers of 10), and the dB scale reflects that fact. An increase of 3dB doubles the sound intensity but a 10dB increase is required before a sound is perceived to be twice as loud.

[Patriot]

We have the 11000 BTU Dometic Penguin in our 2020 Ollie. We sleep extremely well and cool with it on low auto. We rarely have used AC lately since we camp in higher elevations. We never used our AC on our recent trip to Upstate NY, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. But these work great when we decide on silence and are much cheaper than a new AC. 😎 

 

 

 

[katanapilot]

8 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

How is this determined? The human ear's response to sound level is roughly logarithmic (based on powers of 10), and the dB scale reflects that fact. An increase of 3dB doubles the sound intensity but a 10dB increase is required before a sound is perceived to be twice as loud.

If you look back at the posts made comparing noise levels on our Dometic Penguin II versus John Davies Atwood Air Command, you will see that his measurements showed at least a 10 dBA reduction compared to mine.  Baseline (a/c off) measurements were similar, indicating that the iPhone app we both used was reasonably accurate.  Further measurements I took comparing the original Penguin to our replacement RecPro/Houghton showed greater than 10 dBA reduction under most conditions.

[katanapilot]

7 hours ago, Patriot said:

We have the 11000 BTU Dometic Penguin in our 2020 Ollie. We sleep extremely well and cool with it on low auto. We rarely have used AC lately since we camp in higher elevations. We never used our AC on our recent trip to Upstate NY, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. But these work great when we decide on silence and are much cheaper than a new AC. 😎 

 

 

 

Yes, but having to turn the A/C off or wear earplugs while dining, watching TV, listening to music is not acceptable in my view. If this works for you, that's great.  I live in Georgia and really like having an A/C I can use in our heat and humidity without having to wear earplugs. The upgrade was very worthwhile to me.

[ChrisMI]

12 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

How is this determined? The human ear's response to sound level is roughly logarithmic (based on powers of 10), and the dB scale reflects that fact. An increase of 3dB doubles the sound intensity but a 10dB increase is required before a sound is perceived to be twice as loud.

I had missed this thread from a few months back. Looking at low fan/compressor on readings between the two reminds me of comparing an inverter generator to a contractors unit. 
 

Disclaimer - I’ve personally not experienced a 11k unit in an Oliver. However, I recently heard a similar unit in a new $18k trailer. I agree with @katanapilot new buyers need to start demanding Oliver provide current quality accessories to go with their quality trailers. 

[Mike and Carol]

4 hours ago, katanapilot said:

Yes, but having to turn the A/C off or wear earplugs while dining, watching TV, listening to music is not acceptable in my view. If this works for you, that's great.  I live in Georgia and really like having an A/C I can use in our heat and humidity without having to wear earplugs. The upgrade was very worthwhile to me.

I’ve said before that one of the few things about our Oliver that desperately needs improvement is the AC situation.  We rarely use it only when we have to.  To sleep with it on, we use earplugs.  The position right over the beds makes the noise worse with air blowing on you all night.  I’m watching these replacement threads closely for the right unit.  Thanks to all who post.  Mike

[Patriot]

8 hours ago, katanapilot said:

Yes, but having to turn the A/C off or wear earplugs while dining, watching TV, listening to music is not acceptable in my view. If this works for you, that's great.  I live in Georgia and really like having an A/C I can use in our heat and humidity without having to wear earplugs. The upgrade was very worthwhile to me.

Everyone’s camping style is different. Glad your happy with time and $$$ spent, stay cool in Georgia! 😉 

[Ralph Mawyer]

My 2002 Casita Spirt 17' had an awesome Coleman that was still going strong when I sold it last spring. ;-(.    When you have to wear AirPods to watch movies with AC on....